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 | |
|
President
|
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 |
|
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 a group that helps states in the United States work together on transportation. They create important rules and guides for building and maintaining roads, bridges, and other ways people travel. This includes highways, but also air, rail, and public transport.
Even though AASHTO helps set rules for the whole country, it is not part of the federal government. Instead, it is an organization made up of the states themselves. AASHTO's rules are not federal laws. They are ways for states to agree on how to handle transportation across the country.
Contents
What is AASHTO?
AASHTO is like a club for all the state transportation departments in the U.S. It helps them share ideas and make sure roads and other transport systems are built safely and correctly. They publish guides and tests for things like how to design highways. They also cover air, rail, water, and public transportation.
How AASHTO Started
The organization began on December 12, 1914. Back then, it was called the American Association of State Highway Officials. Its main focus was on highways.
Why the Name Changed
On November 13, 1973, the name changed to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. This new name showed that the group now covered all types of transportation. Even so, much of their work still focuses on highways.
AASHTO's Special Role
AASHTO is not a government agency. However, it has a special power. The companies and groups that work with state transportation departments usually follow AASHTO's decisions. This helps keep things consistent across different states.
Who Can Join AASHTO?
AASHTO has different types of members.
Voting Members
The main members of AASHTO are the transportation departments from every state in the United States. The transportation departments of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are also voting members.
Associate Members
Other groups can join as non-voting associate members. These include:
- The United States Department of Transportation (a federal agency)
- Some cities, counties, and groups that run toll roads in the U.S.
- Most Canadian provinces
- The Highways Department from Hong Kong
- The Turkish Ministry of Public Works and Settlement
- The Nigerian Association of Public Highway and Transportation Officials
See Also
- National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation System Protocol (NTCIP)
- National Association of City Transportation Officials
