Editor's Notebook July 2023

Craig Mongeau - Editor in Chief - July 2023

In America, any road will take you to where you want to go. The street from your driveway can take you to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico; it can take you and your family to a vacation in Yellowstone National Park and to the Grand Canyon; it can take you New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and to the countryside; and it can take you to see you children's or grandchildren's soccer game. And of course, it takes you, all of us, to work. Some roads feed us, like interstates on which most of the country's goods and services are transported.

As such, some roads are more vital than others. Along the Northeast Corridor, I-95 is one of those vital links. The city of Philadelphia and motorists up and down the eastern seaboard are experiencing the serious ramifications now when a major artery is severed, which occurred on June 11 when a tanker fire caused an overpass to collapse.

To reopen the highway as quickly as possible, crews will backfill and pave over the area to create six lanes, three in each direction, while the new bridge is being constructed along both sides of the temporary roadway. Officials so far have been reluctant to say how long this will take, but everyone knows this has to be done virtually right away because right now, there is at least an hour-long detour in either direction to get back on I-95. I've said this before: roads are a national security (and national well-being) issue. Accidents happen and you can't plan for every possibility. But should flame resistant material be part of all bridge construction? I'm certainly not the one to answer this, but it's a question I'm sure engineers and DOT experts will likely be thinking about.

This October 18, all roads (including the newly repaired I-95 overpass in Philly) will lead to the N.Y.S. Highway & Public Works Expo in Syracuse. We recently launched a new website for the Superintendent's Profile, and in doing so, we also revamped the N.Y.S. Highway & Public Works Expo registration process. To register as an exhibitor, you can create a secure account via this link: www.superintendentsprofile.com/create-expo-account. After creating the account, you can log in and purchase your booth space.

We know that time is more critical than ever. If you want to skip this process and have us replicate your order from last year's show, please send our Trade Show Manager, Teddy McKeon, an e-mail at tmckeonjr@cegltd.com.

And finally, a quick thank you to those who have already signed up to exhibit. Since launching the new site in May, we have again seen tremendous support from the local vendors. We look forward to seeing you in October, but in the meantime, have a great summer. P