The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Board of Directors has elected ARDOT Director Scott Bennett as Secretary-Treasurer of the organization, according to Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) officials.
AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It represents all five transportation modes: air, highways, public transportation, rail and water. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system.
The organization works to educate the public and key decision makers about the critical role that transportation plays in securing a good quality of life and sound economy for our nation.
AASHTO serves as a liaison between state departments of transportation and the Federal government. It is an international leader in setting technical standards for all phases of highway system development. Standards are issued for design, construction of highways and bridges, materials and many other technical areas.
Bennett, who started his career at ARDOT as a summer employee, began working full time in the Planning and Research Division as a Civil Engineer I.
Over the next two decades Bennett held several top management positions including Section Head of Technical Services in 1995, Assistant Division Head of Planning and Research in 1996 and Assistant Chief Engineer for Planning in 2004. He became director of ARDOT in September of 2011. Bennett was inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineering in 2010. In 2016, AASHTO presented its top honor – the Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award – to Bennett for “continuous outstanding service and exceptional contribution to the art and science of highway engineering.”
