The role of a transportation agency has evolved in recent years from the traditional construction and maintenance focus of the interstate highway construction era towards a real need to actively manage and operate our transportation network as effectively as possible. Well-designed and managed systems operations improve travel-time reliability, bringing smarter and safer approaches to reducing nonrecurring congestion while significantly improving mobility.

As state and local transportation agencies look to improve the functionality of their highway networks, the field of systems operations has become a more critical function, and the latest information, techniques, and practical guidance must be readily available to practitioners and policymakers alike.

That’s why I am honored and proud to be leading a new effort spearheaded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and three partner associations: the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). Building on the work completed through the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), the new National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) has been designed to provide the tools, information, and hands-on technical assistance needed to support the transportation systems management and operations (TSM&O) community. Kudos to all involved and congratulations to all TSM&O practitioners.

In the coming months, NOCoE will be offering peer exchanges, webinars, on-call assistance, assessments, and other activities through our Operations Technical Services Program. Already we have a new web portal – www.transportationops.org – that is growing in content and information on a daily basis.

We plan to tackle a range of TSM&O-related topics through blogs with technical experts, discussion forums, training programs, case studies, and best practices. We want the Center to be a place where you can share information as well as receive it – we want you to post your latest work plan or request for a proposal; a specific challenge you are facing with a new technology; or techniques you’ve used to empower your staff.

This is YOUR transportation operations resource and we want your feedback to continually improve our services and the website. Please feel free to contact me with your suggestions, either through the website or at d.motiani@transportationops.org. I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead!

Dennis