Jim Ahern, president of Ahern and Associates, a roadway construction firm headquartered in South Charleston, W.Va., and Mike Crow, Kansas Department of Transportation (DOT) director of operations, have been named the respective private- and public-sector recipients of the 2006 American Road & Transportation Builders Association's (ARTBA) prestigious "Jake Landen Memorial Safety Award."
Established in 1989 by ARTBA's Traffic Safety Industry Division (TSID) in memory of safety industry leader and past ARTBA Chairman (1976) J.C. Landen, the award annually recognizes outstanding contributions to highway safety. The award was presented to Ahern and Crow during the TSID summer meeting in Olathe, Kan.
Ahern was recognized for his firm's strong safety record and his industry leadership advocating for federal policies aimed at improving transportation and traffic safety. Ahern has served many years on ARTBA's Safety and Insurance Committee, as president of the association's Contractors Division and as a former member of OSHA's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health.
Crow has had a distinguished 34-year career with the Kansas DOT, holding several positions in planning, field construction, maintenance and traffic engineering. He has been director of operations since November 2003. The 3,000-employee agency is charged with handling the state's road and bridge maintenance, transportation planning, data collection and evaluation, project scoping, designing and letting and administrative support.
Crow is a long-time member of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering. He has spent much of his career promoting safety through involvement in public- and private-sector roadway safety committees and organizations.
