Biweekly #127

• WZPERFOMAT: A User-Friendly Tool for Monitoring Work Zone Performance, Thursday, 12/18 at 12:00 PM – Work zones are essential for infrastructure development but can often compromise safety and mobility. WZPERFOMAT is a free, user-friendly tool that integrates crash and probe data to automatically generate standardized performance metrics. This tool provides charts and reports at both the project and system levels, helping agencies meet federal requirements and improve their decision-making processes. More information and registration can be found at the event page.
• Retaining Employees, Thursday, 1/22 at 12:00 PM – We are all working in a world where good employees are hard to come by. This webinar will look a little at the data of employee retention in public works and strategies to improve retention in your department. More information and registration can be found at the event page.
• Protected Species and Habitat Reviews: Dos and Don’ts, Thursday, 2/26 at 12:00 PM – This webinar covers the “Dos and Don’ts” of protected species reviews to help local public agencies submit accurate information quickly. Topics include filling out the bridge assessment form, using IPaC for federally listed species identification, and assessing habitat types within the project area. More information and registration can be found at the event page.
• Farmers Helping Bridge the Gap for Rural Bridges, Thursday, 3/12 at 12:00 PM – Given the challenges of ever achieving sufficient funding from federal, state, and local sources to fully maintain and improve our nation’s rural bridges, energy must increasingly be directed toward opportunities to explore more cost-effective solutions and innovations. This webinar will discuss how soybean farmers are partnering with rural counties on ways to promote innovative approaches for rural bridges to be repaired and replaced while maintaining safety and saving taxpayer dollars. More information and registration can be found at the event page.

Biweekly #127

Survey to Show Your Basic Flagger Training Interest, Deadline: 1/9/26 – Each spring, Iowa LTAP offers on-site basic flagger training to local public works and secondary road agencies in the state. If you are interested in this type of training please go to this webpage and let us know. The only information needed is your contact information and an approximation of how many people you would like trained. We will use this information to organize and plan our trips to particular areas of the state.

Please note that we do have some restrictions on the number of visits/sessions we can offer at a location during the peak spring months. We are working to alleviate, as we are able, through some hiring and will let everyone know if that happens by this spring.

Biweekly #127

Iowa Work Zone Safety Workshops, February and March dates to be announced – Work zone traffic control and safety training will be offered at several Iowa venues so that workers across the state can participate conveniently. The workshops consist of a general session for all participants, plus breakout sessions tailored to specific categories of work zone activities: city, county, utility, and Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) maintenance. Registration for these workshops is coming soon.

Biweekly #127

Biweekly #127

Iowa Build a Better Mousetrap Competition – Applications Being Accepted! Each year, Iowa LTAP sponsors a statewide Build a Better Mousetrap (BABM) Competition. It is the people on the front lines who often discover the latest and best practices, whether through new gadgets that improve the quality and safety of a project or innovative processes that reduce costs and improves efficiency. Iowa’s BABM Competition provides a great opportunity to share your new ideas with others! We are looking for submissions from Iowa’s local public agencies (e.g., cities and counties) that have created different solutions to problems or found better ways of doing things. The top three winners are recognized statewide and are offered free workshop registrations. The application deadline is 5/8/26. For more information and to apply online, please go to the BABM Competition page.