Wednesday, June 28. 2006
Happy Birthday Interstate System!
Today I had the honor to be a part of Pennsylvania's celebration of the signage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 which took place at the Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg.
Dignitaries, media, and those who were a part of the re-enactment of the 1919 Army convoy that showed a young kid by the name of Eisenhower the necessity of good transportation, gathered at the Gettysburg Middle School for a shuttle bus to the event at the farm, which ironically can not be accessed via any Interstate. The bus ride was a nice jaunt through the historic borough. I sat next to a gentleman from Omaha, Nebraska who was representing Werner Enterprising trucking. He gave me a foam stress reliever in the shape of a Werner 18-wheeler. He mentioned he had never visited anything in Pennsylvania, but had driven through it many times. Not surprising, considering only two routes from New England to the rest of the country bypass the Commonwealth.
At the farm, we got a tour of the house where dignitaries such as Winston Churchill and Nikita Khrushchev visited the Eisenhowers. After everyone had taken the tour, it was time for the press conference.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Allen Biehler was appropriately the first speaker. Others included Joe Brimmeir, CEO of the PTC, J. Richard Capka from the Federal Highway Administration, and Ted Leonard from the Pennsylvania AAA Federation.
After the press conference, I introduced myself to Rich Kirkpatrick who is PennDOT’s Press Secretary and invited me to the event. He praised the work I have done on the site and said it is a great resource, especially the history of the highways. While talking with him, Secretary Biehler came over to speak with Rich. At that point, I introduced myself and Mr. Kirkpatrick remarked, “This is the guy who does that website.” He gave me a Interstate 50th pin, similar to the graphic on the AASHTO site.
While waiting for the bus back to the school, I overheard a man talking about the weather. I introduced myself and he did as well, mentioning he was a representative from the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors which own pahighways.org. I mentioned that I own the .com and that I had discovered they owned the .org one day.
Back at the middle school we had a lovely catered meal. I had the honor to sit at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. While standing in line, I got to talk with Director of ODOT Gary Ridley. I mentioned that I liked the new Oklahoma shield, and we began discussing the states that used their outlines for their shields. I also mentioned that I have been to Oklahoma storm chasing, and that I had talked with Gary England of KWTV-TV for a paper in college. Mr. Ridley mentioned that Gary helps them with winter forecasts to determine where ODOT crews will be needed. The others at the table asked me what organization I was from, I said, “I do a website called Pennsylvania Highways,” Mr. Kirkpatrick happened to be walking behind me and said, “It is a great website and resource.”
All in all, I had a great time and was honored that PennDOT even considered inviting me. Many thanks to Rich Kirkpatrick and the PennDOT Press Office.
Pennsylvania Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Interstate System - PennDOT
Dignitaries, media, and those who were a part of the re-enactment of the 1919 Army convoy that showed a young kid by the name of Eisenhower the necessity of good transportation, gathered at the Gettysburg Middle School for a shuttle bus to the event at the farm, which ironically can not be accessed via any Interstate. The bus ride was a nice jaunt through the historic borough. I sat next to a gentleman from Omaha, Nebraska who was representing Werner Enterprising trucking. He gave me a foam stress reliever in the shape of a Werner 18-wheeler. He mentioned he had never visited anything in Pennsylvania, but had driven through it many times. Not surprising, considering only two routes from New England to the rest of the country bypass the Commonwealth.
At the farm, we got a tour of the house where dignitaries such as Winston Churchill and Nikita Khrushchev visited the Eisenhowers. After everyone had taken the tour, it was time for the press conference.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Allen Biehler was appropriately the first speaker. Others included Joe Brimmeir, CEO of the PTC, J. Richard Capka from the Federal Highway Administration, and Ted Leonard from the Pennsylvania AAA Federation.
After the press conference, I introduced myself to Rich Kirkpatrick who is PennDOT’s Press Secretary and invited me to the event. He praised the work I have done on the site and said it is a great resource, especially the history of the highways. While talking with him, Secretary Biehler came over to speak with Rich. At that point, I introduced myself and Mr. Kirkpatrick remarked, “This is the guy who does that website.” He gave me a Interstate 50th pin, similar to the graphic on the AASHTO site.
While waiting for the bus back to the school, I overheard a man talking about the weather. I introduced myself and he did as well, mentioning he was a representative from the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors which own pahighways.org. I mentioned that I own the .com and that I had discovered they owned the .org one day.
Back at the middle school we had a lovely catered meal. I had the honor to sit at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. While standing in line, I got to talk with Director of ODOT Gary Ridley. I mentioned that I liked the new Oklahoma shield, and we began discussing the states that used their outlines for their shields. I also mentioned that I have been to Oklahoma storm chasing, and that I had talked with Gary England of KWTV-TV for a paper in college. Mr. Ridley mentioned that Gary helps them with winter forecasts to determine where ODOT crews will be needed. The others at the table asked me what organization I was from, I said, “I do a website called Pennsylvania Highways,” Mr. Kirkpatrick happened to be walking behind me and said, “It is a great website and resource.”
All in all, I had a great time and was honored that PennDOT even considered inviting me. Many thanks to Rich Kirkpatrick and the PennDOT Press Office.
Pennsylvania Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Interstate System - PennDOT
Calendar
Quicksearch
Categories
Syndicate This Blog
Blog Administration
Powered by
