1/31/2012 / Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON — Huntington and Cabell County students got a lesson in community Monday using a basic childhood toy.

The first- and second-grade students from the area’s Talented and Gifted classes worked together to create miniature communities with LEGOs at the Nick J. Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute.

Nearly 40 students took part in the hands-on activity, constructing places such as a zoo, airport, post office, community park and bank. The community also included modes of transportation such as cars, buses and horseback trails. After the entire community was completed, students worked together to build a railroad circling the community.

Prior to building, teachers work with students to brainstorm and research ideas about what is included in a community.

As part of the institute’s Technology Transfer initiatives, an outreach program was designed to introduce pre-K through 12th-grade students to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, safety and communication concepts through hands-on outreach activities.

1/31/2012 / Parthenon

Huntington motorists will soon see a decrease in the amount of time they spend sitting at traffic lights.
The City of Huntington began installing the light system in Fall 2011. David Hagley, public works directors, said the new light system would be installed at 55 intersections by the end of 2012.

The light system has been commonly referred to as a “smart system.” There are no bulbs — the traffic lights and displays are all energy efficient LED lighting.

“All new lights will be LED, all communication will be controlled wirelessly from the Rahall Transportation Institute,” Hagley said.

The new system will alleviate problems experienced with the old traffic system. Each new light will communicate wirelessly. In the past, wires have not adapted to years of wear and tear.

“Over time, wires were severed and broke down,” Hagley said. “The old lights had sensor wires in the pavement that were easily torn up.”

Aside from communicating wirelessly, the new light system would have a camera system that will sense traffic patterns. Hagley said the system will make for a safer commute, drivers will be less aggravated, as sitting at a pointless red light will be a thing of the past.

“It should alleviate frustrations,” Hagley said. “There are camera sensors that will get people moving through red lights. There will be less idle time ‘cause the lights are going to work as a system instead of individually.”

Hagley said aside from cutting down road rage, less idle time in traffic means the new system will cut down harmful emissions.

Kim Wolfe, Huntington mayor said the new lights are going to save the city quite a bit of money.

“There will be approximately a $200,000 savings in energy costs, ‘cause these are the modern LED lighting,” Wolfe said. “Fewer repairs on the smart system would also save the city in labor costs.”

Wolfe said the new system is being funded by an air quality grant. The wireless communication allows the city to direct traffic flow for disasters or special events from one location.

The lights have been installed at major intersections downtown. Hagley said the system will improve the overall commuting experience for Huntington.

“It’s going to make things better,” Wolfe said. “I’m glad to see the improvement coming.”

1/25/2012

HUNTINGTON — Walking to and from Harris Riverfront Park will be easier come spring.

A traffic signal has been installed at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Boulevard and 10th Street to help pedestrians get across the four-lane road. The signal is part of a $3.67 million project to revamp Huntington’s outdated traffic signal system, Public Works Director David Hagley said.

The project covers 57 intersections on 3rd and 5th avenues between 5th and 29th streets and 4th, 6th and 7th avenues in the central business district.

The project will synchronize stop lights through wireless communications to a central location at the Nick J. Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute at Marshall University.

Hagley said the light will probably become operational in about a month, but it largely depends on the contractor’s progress with the rest of the traffic-synchronization project.

The light will have sensors that can detect when traffic is heavy and call buttons for pedestrians, he said.

1/18/2012

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Through a competitive grant solicitation, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $3.5 million to launch the Multimodal Transportation and Infrastructure Consortium (MTIC), headed by Marshall University’s Rahall Transportation Institute (RTI). MTIC is one of ten Tier I University Transportation Centers and includes RTI in Huntington, W.Va.; Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.; Center for Transportation Innovation and Logistics and Distribution Institute at the University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky.; and Eastern Seaboard Intermodal Transportation Application Center at Hampton University, Hampton, Va.

MTIC will focus on innovations in multimodal freight and passenger transportation systems and infrastructure to foster sustainable economic development. The new consortium calls for a range of collaborative studies, training andpractical applications that meet the USDOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s strategic national goals.

“This federal funding opens a new chapter in RTI’s growth and its contribution to jobs and transportation,” said U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D–W.Va.), during the award announcement Dec. 12, 2012. “The consortium RTI has put together meets the demands of a tighter national budget and of a multi-state region’s transportation needs.

“From its research capabilities landing patents for Marshall and in our state, to meeting the needs of our state transportation department, to job development efforts like the Prichard Intermodal Facility, RTI has served southern West Virginia and our nation well. With our new partners in Kentucky and Virginia, this tri-statealliance will provide increased dividends.”

Robert H. Plymale, RTI Director and CEO, said, “I am looking forward to working with the Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Hampton University. These schools and transportation institutes create a dynamic partnership in creating solutions to solve regional and national transportation challenges.”

Joe Crabtree, Director of the University of Kentucky Transportation Center, said, “Through this partnership, with the best minds of our respective institutions working together on the problems that challenge us all, we canhave a tremendous impact on the future health and economic vitality of our region and our country.”

Dr. Stephen J. Kopp, president of Marshall, said, “We’re very proud that Marshall University’s Rahall Transportation Institute has become recognized as one of the top university transportation centers in the country, and we look forward to advancing the vast promise possessed by this multistate, regional consortium in addressing the varied and unique transportation issues facing Appalachia. Thank you to the U.S. Department of Transportation for this opportunity and to Congressman Rahall for his ongoing support. Congratulations to the executive director of RTI, Bob Plymale, and his staff for their exemplary work to help secure this funding.”

RTI was established through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century passed by Congress in 1998 and funded through a grant from the USDOT. In recognition of his demonstrated leadership to enhance economic development through safer, more efficient transportation infrastructure throughout West Virginia and the Appalachian Region, the Center bears the name of U.S. Representative Nick Joe Rahall, II.

1/12/2012 / State Journal

The Rahall Transportation Institute at Marshall University will receive a $3.5 million grant from the U. S. Department of Transportation to launch a higher education consortium focused on research, training and jobs development throughout a multi-state region.

The grant was announced Jan. 12 by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

The consortium at Marshall includes the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Hampton University in Hampton, Va.

At the heart of the consortium is the training of a transportation work force and the education of transportation professionals, Rahall’s announcement said. The partnership will provide a range of work force and training opportunities, especially through partnership with a historically black college, and the expertise of its member institutions. Members of the consortium will play a leading role in developing the next generation of highly trained transportation professionals.

“This federal funding opens a new chapter in RTI’s growth and its contribution to jobs and transportation,” said Rahall, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “The consortium RTI has put together meets the demands of a tighter national budget and of a multi-state region’s transportation needs. From its research capabilities landing patents for Marshall and in our state to meeting the needs of our state transportation department, to job development efforts like the Prichard intermodal facility, RTI has served southern West Virginia and our nation well. With our new partners in Kentucky and Virginia, this tri-state alliance will provide increased dividends.”

1/12/2012 / WOWK

The federal Department of Transportation has awarded a $3.5 million grant to launch a national University Transportation Center at Marshall University.

The consortium will focus on research, training and jobs development, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said in a news release. It will operate through Marshall’s Rahall Transportation Institute.

“This federal funding opens a new chapter in RTI’s growth and its contribution to jobs and transportation,” he said in the news release. “The consortium RTI has put together meets the demands of a tighter national budget and of a multi-state region’s transportation needs.

“From its research capabilities landing patents for Marshall and in our State, to meeting the needs of our State Transportation Department, to job development efforts like the Prichard Intermodal Facility, RTI has served southern West Virginia and our Nation well. With our new partners in Kentucky and Virginia, this tri-state alliance will provide increased dividends.”

Marshall’s UTC will include the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Hampton University, in Hampton, Va., the news release states.

The award is proof that Marshall is a leader in transportation research, President Stephen J. Kopp said in the news release.

“We’re very proud that Marshall University’s Rahall Transportation Institute has become recognized as one of the top university transportation centers in the country, and we look forward to advancing the vast promise possessed by this multistate, regional consortium in addressing the varied and unique transportation issues facing Appalachia,” he said. “Thank you to the U.S. Department of Transportation for this opportunity and to Congressman Rahall for his ongoing support. Congratulations to the Executive Director of RTI, Bob Plymale, and his staff at RTI for their exemplary work to help secure this funding.”

The consortium’s main focus will be on training the transportation workforce and educating transportation professionals, the news release states.

1/6/2012

The St. Mary’s Medical Center Path to the Cure team is donating $7,000 to the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health project.

Representatives from St. Mary’s will present a check to the PATH project at 11:30 a.m. Friday, according to a news release from St. Marys.

The money will go toward construction of additional sections of the PATH, the news release states. They will be similar to the Spring Hill Cemetery and St. Cloud Commons sections, which were built in 2011.

The St. Mary’s donation is 20 percent of the funds raised at the Oct. 1, 2011 Path to the Cure 5K run/Walk, the news release states. The other 80 percent raised during the event will go toward the Pink Ribbon Fund, which pays for mammograms for those who cannot afford them.

12/20/2011

Representatives of CSX Corp. on Dec. 20 presented a gift of $25,000 to Marshall University for rail research conducted by the Rahall Transportation Institute (RTI), based at Marshall.

The presentation took place at the Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories on Marshall’s Huntington campus. RTI Director and CEO Robert H. “Bob” Plymale and Marshall University Foundation Vice President for Development Lance West accepted the check from CSX Executive Vice President and COO David Brown and CSX Regional Vice President of Public Affairs J. Randolph Cheetham.

“This is CSX’s third donation for rail research at RTI and MU,” Plymale said. “This contribution demonstrates CSX’s commitment to helping RTI advance the rail industry through research initiatives that include technology testing, research and development for asset mapping and inspections; train, car and mobile worker tracking, and intelligent grade crossings.”

12/16/2011

HUNTINGTON, WV – On Tuesday, December 20, 2011, representatives from CSX Corporation will present a gift of $25,000 to Marshall University (MU) for rail research conducted by the Rahall Transportation Institute (RTI), a National University Transportation Center based at MU. The presentation will take place at 11 a.m. at the Weisberg Engineering Building Lobby, 1623 3rd Avenue, Marshall University Huntington Campus.

RTI Director and CEO Robert H. “Bob” Plymale and Marshall University Foundation Vice President for Development Lance West will accept the check from CSX Executive Vice President and COO David Brown and CSX Regional Vice President of Public Affairs J. Randolph Cheetham.

“This is CSX’s third donation for rail research at RTI and MU,” Plymale said. “This contribution demonstrates CSX’s commitment to helping RTI advance the rail industry through research initiatives that include technology testing, research and development for asset mapping and inspections; train, car and mobile worker tracking; and intelligent grade crossings.”

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation’s leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company’s transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports.

RTI is a leader in multimodal transportation and economic development. RTI is a National University Transportation Center recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation for transportation excellence focused on applied technology, research, education, outreach and training.

12/16/2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In an unprecedented experiment to turn around disadvantaged schools in rural West Virginia, more than 40 public- and private-sector groups plan to work together on a big-picture education plan to transform McDowell County. 

"We are hoping to help McDowell County find the dignity and respect and hope and faith to which it is so entitled," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told the West Virginia Board of Education on Thursday. "This will be a monumental undertaking based on unprecedented collaboration."

The AFT union will organize a five-year project it calls "Reconnecting McDowell," Weingarten said. More than 40 businesses, nonprofit organizations and national and state level groups and leaders have marshaled resources to tackle poverty, technology and transportation problems in McDowell County that contribute to the region's education crisis.

If the program is successful, the AFT hopes the McDowell County initiative can be a model for rural districts across the nation.

"I'm tired of people saying that all you have to do is work hard and play by the rules and you will succeed," said Weingarten. "People in McDowell County have worked hard and have played by the rules. It hasn't worked. There are other factors."

Schools in McDowell County, the southernmost county in the state, have been devastated by flooding, a shortage of qualified teachers, high student dropout rates and some of the worst math and reading test scores in West Virginia. 

The state took over McDowell's school system in 2001 to fix the county's "deplorable, filthy, unsafe and disgusting" schools, according to a 2001 accrediting agency report.

The state Department of Education consolidated schools, hired a new superintendent, and built new facilities.

But after nearly a decade of work, the state admits it has made only meager progress in improving education at the county's 11 schools.

"There is only so much the state can do," said state Board of Education member Gayle Manchin, who helped spearhead Reconnecting McDowell.

"There are issues in McDowell that go beyond the school system and get to ingrained cultural feelings about education and a number of economic problems. If we're going to fix McDowell, it's going to take an army," said Manchin, wife of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

The AFT says Reconnecting McDowell is bringing in the cavalry.

Business giants like Cisco Systems Inc., Alpha Natural Resources and Frontier Communications have pledged to improve the county's technology, Internet access and broadband services, and revitalize the county's downtrodden job market.

Nonprofits like First Book have agreed to provide schools with a steady book supply and groups like the Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute are working to fix the transportation infrastructure.

Weingarten said $250,000 has been raised so far for the planning phase of the revitalization project, and partners will contribute more resources down the road. They hope to start implementing the project by early September.

Friday, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and the AFT will publicly sign a covenant with McDowell County for the education turnaround initiative.

Jim Brown, superintendent of schools in McDowell County, said community members have voiced some reservations at the scope of the project at several community meetings. But he said residents are game to try a novel approach to help the county's 3,600 students to get a better education.

"People in McDowell County are not looking for a handout," said Brown. "But they will take a hand up."

McDowell County was at the epicenter of Appalachia's coal boom in the early and middle years of the 20th century, with a rural infrastructure that centered on high-paying mining jobs and an economy based on natural resources. The county had more than 120,000 residents in the 1960s.

Over the past 30 years, as the coal industry has pulled out of McDowell County, the population has plummeted. The community and local infrastructure have atrophied. Problems have intensified.

In McDowell County today: 

• almost 70 percent of public school students live in households where no parent is employed.
• nearly half of the 22,000 residents are on some form of public assistance.
• the childhood obesity rate is the highest in West Virginia.
• the county is first in the nation for the number of accidental deaths from painkiller overdoses and antidepressant drugs.

Weingarten says addressing these issues is a gargantuan challenge, but "at the end of the day, our mission is to provide all children with an excellent education."

"This initiative is about us walking the walk," she said.

By Amy Julia Harris

11/18/2011

HUNTINGTON, WV – RTI Director and CEO Robert H. “Bob” Plymale, Director, was selected to serve on the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Board of Directors, during the ARTBA Annual Meeting in Monterey, California.

Plymale previously completed a one-year term as the President of the Research and Education division for ARTBA. Upon his new appointment to the Board of Directors, Plymale said, “ARTBA has long represented the transportation and infrastructure industry and has made a major contribution to building America’s infrastructure. I look forward to serving on ARTBA’s board of directors for the next three years during one of the most pivotal times for needed investments in the United States’ infrastructure.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., ARTBA’s mission is to grow and protect transportation infrastructure investment to meet the public and business demand for safe and efficient travel. In support of this mission, ARTBA also provides programs and services designed to give its more than 5,000 public and private sector members a global competitive edge.