| Remembering former Oregon Transportation Commission Chair Gail Achterman |
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| ODOT News |
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Gail Achterman (center) visits with local project officials.
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The Oregon Department of Transportation was saddened to learn of the passing of former Commission Chair Gail Achterman. Gail died just five months after she reluctantly gave up serving on the commission. She’d been a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission since 2000, and the influence she had on transportation, land use, and environmental policy, and economic development will last far beyond her years of service.
Gail was passionate about thinking of transportation as a whole system that integrates all modes of transportation to improve quality of life in Oregon. As the principal author of the long-term Oregon Transportation Plan, she brought forward conversations about sustainability, community coordination and optimizing our transportation infrastructure, based on a future with limited funding. She presided over the state’s $3 billion Oregon Transportation Investment Acts, shoring up the state’s bridges and key highway corridors, as well as the multimodal investment program, ConnectOregon and the investments from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Her leadership was evident everywhere at ODOT, from offering a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to employees working difficult winter storms to cutting the ribbon at the nation’s first solar highway — Gail rarely declined an offer to brag about the department.
Gail’s vision for a safe, integrated, balanced transportation system permeates every ODOT activity. She truly made a difference.
Corvallis Memorial
A memorial will be held in Corvallis to honor Gail, who recently retired as the director of OSU's Institute for Natural Resources. It will be held at the LaSells Stewart Center Engineering and Construction Hall, located across from Reser Stadium, on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. OSU has posted a video from Gail's time at INR. The campus memorial is open to anyone wanting to join in the celebration of Gail's life and accomplishments.
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| Senate Concurrent Resolution 7 honors Gail Achterman |
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The Oregon Legislature passed SCR 7 on Feb. 15, 2012. The resolution honors the many contributions Gail Achterman made to Oregon. Read ODOT Director Matt Garrett's testimony on the resolution.
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| Rep. Earl Blumenauer's Remarks about Gail Achterman |
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Video of Representative Earl Blumenauer speaking on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 2, 2012 about Gail Achterman.
Video courtesy of C-SPAN. To play the video, download it to your desktop and use a media player to view it. It may take a few minutes to download depending on your internet connection speed.
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