Butler County Engineer
Greg Wilkens reports that BCEO road crews and construction inspection
employees will take part in a national anti-terror program called
Highway Watch. Sponsored by the American Trucking Association
in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Highway Watch is a national safety and security program
that uses the skills, experiences, and "road smarts"
of America's highway transportation workers to help protect the
nation's critical infrastructure and the movement of goods, services,
and people.
In addition to promoting
safety, this program helps transportation professionals learn
to be aware of their equipment and workplace to avoid becoming
a target for terrorist activity and avoid having their equipment
become weapons of terror. Highway Watch relies on the
expertise and relationships of the nation's leading highway transportation
organizations to mobilize a sector and make our country's roadways
safer and more secure.
Wilkens said that his
staff will undergo training on Monday. "It seems like a
small effort for something with potentially huge ramifications,"
he noted. "They're anxious to do their part for the safety
and security of our local communities and our nation."
BCEO road crews and
construction inspection staff will take part in the training
since they spend the majority of their work time in the field
-- on the roads, at construction sites, and close to our roadway
infrastructure. When training is complete, they will be officially
certified as part of the Highway Watch Operations team.
Highway
Watch Objectives
The national Highway
Watch program lists five objectives:
- 1) Prevent commercial
vehicles or cargo from being used as weapons against Americans;
- 2) Protect the nation's
critical infrastructure of bridges, tunnels, and other potential
terrorist targets;
- 3) Provide critical
security data from the highway environment for information sharing
and analysis;
- 4) Promote important
safe driving skills and habits;
- 5) Improve coordination
with federal, State, and Local emergency management, public safety,
and law enforcement officials.
How The
Program Works
Highway Watch participants -- transportation
infrastructure workers, commercial and public truck and bus drivers,
and other highway sector professionals -- are specially trained
to recognize potential security threats and safety hazards on
the road. These participants partner with law enforcement to
provide additional "eyes and ears" within the highway
transportation industry.
After completing the
Highway Watch safety and security training, participants
are equipped to contact a Call Center to report a highway incident
or suspicious activity. These reports are forwarded to the Information
Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) where specially trained industry
analysts work closely with Federal counterparts to closely review
all information and determine what further action may be necessary.
To learn more about
Highway Watch, please visit the program's web site at
www.highwaywatch.org.
# # #
For more information
contact:
Chris
Petrocy, BCEO Public Information Supervisor
Greg Wilkens, P.E., P.S.,
Butler County Engineer
Phone 513.867.5744 • Fax 513.867.5849
