US-93

ADOT, Game and Fish host major environmental conference

ADOT, Game and Fish host major environmental conference

SR24-1

ADOT, Game and Fish host major environmental conference

ADOT, Game and Fish host major environmental conference

June 25, 2013

Transportation planners and engineers have a lot to consider when designing or improving a roadway in Arizona.

It’s not just about getting people from one place to the next – safety, planning priorities, community concerns, fiscal constraints all get taken into account (along with so many other factors).

There’s also a big relationship between transportation planning and the environment. In fact, that connection is so important that it’s the focus of a pretty big conference being held in Arizona this week…

The International Conference on Ecology and Transportation focuses on that correlation while showcasing research and best practices from the field. Held every two years, ICOET brings the participation of hundreds of transportation and ecology professionals from the U.S. and countries worldwide.

ADOT's booth at this year's ICOET conference showcases recent efforts.

You might remember that we blogged about the conference nearly two years ago when it was first announced ADOT, along with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, would host this year’s event.

Hosting the conference gives our state some really good exposure and the chance to show how ADOT and its partners not only build and maintain Arizona’s transportation system, but do so in a way that is sensitive to the surrounding environment.

Arizona’s wide range of ecology makes it an ideal state to host the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation. State transportation planners must take into account diverse wildlife populations and varied topography in the low and high desert plateaus as well as rocky and tree-covered mountain terrain when planning Arizona’s highway system.

During ICOET, ADOT and Game and Fish will have the opportunity to showcase joint efforts that consider the environment during the planning and building stages of transportation infrastructure. One such effort was the construction of wildlife crossing bridges and culverts as part of improvements along US 93 near the Nevada state line to reduce the number of collisions between vehicles and desert bighorn sheep. Conference participants will also learn more about wildlife crossings along SR 260, context-sensitive highway improvements in Sedona and sustainability and preservation efforts for transportation solutions at Grand Canyon National Park.

To learn more about ADOT’s efforts, check out our previous blog posts. For additional information on this year’s conference, visit icoet.net.