Climate Adaptation & Resilience in Transportation, USDOT

May 30; 10:00 am - 11:15 am: online webinar

The USDOT is implementing many programs to adapt to climate change and make infrastructure resilient to natural hazards exacerbated by climate change. This webinar highlights efforts to improve infrastructure resilience through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other funding opportunities, as well as through resource and the development of tools and resources. For more information and registration, visit USDOT Climate Change Center 2024 Webinar Series page.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

Title II - Accessibility for State and Local Government Funded Facilities, U.S. Access Board

June 6; 11:30 am - 1:00 pm: online webinar

During this webinar Access Board Accessibility Specialists will review what the different accessibility laws are, how they apply, and compare how the requirements for state or local government entities differ than those in the private sector. In addition to these concepts, the accessibility specialists will cover a broad overview of key components that are likely to apply to government funded spaces, such as accessible routes, toilet rooms, and counters.

For more information or to register, visit Great Lakes ADA Center’s Title II – Accessibility for State and Local Government Funded Facilities webinar webpage.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

Certification User Group Summer Work Session, ODOT Certification Program

June 25; all day: Chemeketa Eola

Register now! The Certification User Group Summer Work Session will be held on June 25 at Chemeketa Eola. This year’s session will include opportunities to discuss and work on issues in a variety of topic areas as part of the 2024 Local Agency Guidelines (LAG) manual update. Review the draft agenda and register now. Questions? Contact ODOT Certification.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

FHWA Emergency Relief Program Overview, ODOT

June 27; 9:00 am - 11:00 am: online Teams meeting

ODOT’s emergency operations program will be providing an overview of the FHWA ER program, what types of repairs qualify, and training on how to complete the program documentation. FHWA staff will be available to answer questions. Local agency staff are invited to attend. To receive the Teams meeting link for this training, please email ODOT Certification.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

Nondiscrimination Programs Training Series, ODOT

Various Dates and Times: online Zoom meetings

Join ODOT’s Office of Equity & Civil Rights for a training series focused on nondiscrimination programs including Title VI (Civil Rights), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and environmental justice. We invite you to join us for one or more of the sessions listed below.

• Title VI (Civil Rights): Both sessions will repeat the same material, choose one:
  • July 11 or October 11 (both 10:00 am - 11:00 am)
• Americans with Disabilities Act:
  • November 1, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
• Overview of Nondiscrimination Laws
  • June 6, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
• Environmental Justice
  • August 1, 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Register now! Questions? Contact ODOT Title VI Program.

Image courtesy of Unsplash.com.

Mobility Program Training Series, ODOT

Various dates and times: online webinars

ODOT’s Mobility Program is offering a variety of trainings related to mobility requirements that are applicable to federal-aid projects. Local agency staff are invited to sign up for any of the trainings listed below. 

• Accessible Documents for Mobility Advisory Committee Meetings Sign-up in Workday
  • Wednesday, June 12, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
• Mobility 101 Introduction to mobility policies & procedures.  Sign-up in Workday
  • Tuesday, June 18, 9:30am – 11:30am Or take an on-demand, self-directed version at your own pace.
• ORS 366.215 Review Process What is required under this law and how to identify impacts. Sign-up in Workday
  • Tuesday, June 18, 2:30pm – 4:30pm
• Understanding Oregon's Critical Route Pairs Why these routes are important, and tools available to help with restriction coordination. Sign-up in Workday
  • Thursday, June 20th, 2pm – 4pm
• Preparing for a MAC Meeting Understand the MAC Charter & how to prepare for meetings. Sign-up in Workday
  • Monday, June 24th, 9:30am – 11:30am
• Mobility Considerations Checklist Essentials What info is required & how the form is used. Sign-up in Workday
  • Monday, June 24th, 2:30pm – 4:30pm

Questions? Contact Bill Gross.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

Contract Administration Training Certificate, DAS Procurement

Self-paced, online virtual training

Did you know project staff working on consultant selection procurements for federal-aid projects are required to complete the DAS Contract Administration Training Certificate? If you haven’t taken this course, or haven’t taken it recently, we recommend taking this course in Workday Learning. The DAS Contract Administration Training Certificate consists of 11 self-paced modules and provides basic procurement training necessary for administering public contracts. Questions? Contact DAS Training.

Discovering the American Community Survey, American Census Bureau

Self-paced, online virtual training

This comprehensive course covers the American Community Survey (ACS), the Census Bureau's largest survey, which provides data for over 40+ topics from the nation down to the block group geography levels. In this course you will learn:   

• ACS foundational information such as topics, tools, geographies and population thresholds for data coverage, how to find information on the survey questions, data release schedules and more.  
• ACS geographies and geographic comparison tools and resources. 
• How and where to access ACS data through tables, data tools and more. 
• How to solve data usage issues such as how to know what data set to use and how to compare data over time. 
• Statistical concepts. 
• Advanced data usage knowledge such as how to download Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to conduct your own statistical analysis.  

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is designed for researchers, students, grant-writers, local planners, business owners and those who need to understand and access the fundamentals of the American Community Survey in order to use the data.

Image courtesy of Enayet Raheem on Unsplash.

FHWA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Discretionary Grants

FHWA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Discretionary Grants Guidance FHWA and ODOT recently partnered to provide information to local agencies about steps to take before applying for discretionary grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

FHWA and ODOT have since developed a tool to assist local agencies in evaluating their level of experience with federal-aid project delivery and Determining How a Federally Funded Project Will be Delivered. If your agency is considering applying for or has been awarded a discretionary grant, please inform your regional ODOT contact.

Questions? Contact Ashley Bryers, FHWA.

Update on PROWAG

The U.S. Access Board issued its final rule for accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in public rights of way (PROWAG) August 8, 2023. The PROWAG guidelines will become enforceable once they are adopted, with or without modifications, as mandatory standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act by the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), or the four Federal agencies that set standards for the Federal Government under the Architectural Barriers Act. The USDOT and USDOJ are still reviewing these guidelines. The ODOT Discipline Design Manuals will be modified as needed when PROWAG is adopted by the USDOT and USDOJ in its final form.

Until USDOT and USDOJ adopt accessibility standards for pedestrian facilities in the public right of way, public entities have some degree of flexibility in determining how they will comply with the general obligation under Title II of the ADA to ensure their facilities are “accessible to and usable by” individuals with disabilities. Review this statement and find additional ADA resources on ODOT Engineering for Accessibility page.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

AASHTOWARE and OregonBuys

When ODOT Office of Equity & Civil Rights implements the new AASHTOWare system for collecting civil rights data, all prime contractors and subcontractors will be required to have an account in OregonBuys. Registering in OregonBuys assigns a unique identifier to each contractor to ensure data can be tracked across all ODOT and local agency projects. We encourage you to talk to your contractors about signing up for OregonBuys in advance of AASHTOWare implementation. Questions? Contact ODOT Certification.

Image courtesy of ODOTFlickr.

ODOT Teams Guest Access

Certified LPA staff, have you signed up for guest access to ODOT MS Teams? Join us!

Signed up but haven’t logged in recently? Please note: Teams access expires after extended periods of inactivity, so we recommend logging in on a regular basis.