American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | AASHTO |
|---|---|
| Formation | December 12, 1914 |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Purpose | Coordination among state departments of transportation |
| Headquarters | 555 12th Street NW, Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20004 |
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Region served
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United States |
| Jim Tymon | |
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President
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Craig Thompson, WisDOT |
| Garrett Eucalitto, CTDOT | |
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Secretary, Treasurer
|
Russell McMurry, GDOT |
| Affiliations | 50 state departments of transportation and in District of Columbia and Puerto Rico |
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Revenue (2019)
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$88.86 million |
| Expenses (2019) | $81.58 million |
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Employees (2016)
|
134 |
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Volunteers (2016)
|
150 |
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Formerly called
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American Association of State Highway Officials |
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is an important group in the United States. It helps set the rules and guides for how roads, bridges, and other transportation systems are designed and built. Even though its name mentions "highway," AASHTO also works with air, rail, water, and public transportation.
AASHTO is not a part of the federal government. Instead, it is an organization made up of the states themselves. Its main goal is to help states work together. This way, they can have similar rules and policies for transportation across the country.
Contents
What AASHTO Does
AASHTO helps make sure that transportation projects across the United States are safe and well-built. They create guides and standards that states can follow. These guides cover many things, like how strong a bridge should be or how to test materials used in roads.
History of AASHTO
The organization started on December 12, 1914. Back then, it was called the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO). Its main focus was on highways.
On November 13, 1973, the name changed to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. This new name showed that the group now covered all types of transportation, not just roads. Even today, a lot of their work is still about highways.
AASHTO is not a government agency. However, the organizations that work with its members usually follow AASHTO's decisions. This helps keep transportation consistent and safe everywhere.
Who Can Join AASHTO
The main members of AASHTO are the transportation departments from each of the 50 states in the United States. The transportation departments of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are also voting members.
The United States Department of Transportation is also involved. They are an associate member, but they do not have voting power.
Important Standards and Guides
AASHTO creates many important standards. These are like instruction manuals for building and testing transportation projects. They help engineers and construction workers know the best ways to do things.
For example, some standards might explain:
- How to test the strength of materials used in roads.
- How to make sure asphalt mixtures can handle heavy traffic and different temperatures.
- How to check if a road surface will last a long time without cracking.
These standards help ensure that roads and bridges are built safely and last for many years.
See also
In Spanish: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials para niños
- National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation System Protocol (NTCIP)
- National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)
