A roundtable discussion held during the Transportation Research Board’s 2021 annual meeting explored how state department of transportation executives are adapting to the “dislocations” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic so they can continue to improve the quality of life and economic opportunities for all people.
“It goes without saying that COVID has changed every aspect of our lives and will leave scars that will take a long time to heal,” explained Victoria Sheehan, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2020-2021 president.
Sheehan – who served as the roundtable’s moderator – added that, “every aspect of the transportation industry has been upended due to pandemic” with remote learning, telework, and steep increase in e-commerce changing traffic patterns across the country.
“This is challenging our traditional assumptions about transportation and could have major land use implications,” she said. “But we are also now beginning to see that there is light at end of the [COVID-19] tunnel.”
For a full breakdown of this roundtable, please visit AASHTO's site.
All TRB sessions are being recorded and these archived recordings will be made available to registrants through February 16, 2021.
