When country music artist Kevin Fowler was growing up in West Texas, he listened to the likes of George Strait, Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn. And while those names have become synonymous with greatness, Fowler recently joined their ranks with his selection as one of three artists promoting this year's Don't Mess With Texas campaign. I spoke with Kevin recently about his involvement with the iconic Texas program. For more information, visit http://dontmesswithtexas.org/.

Driving across the country takes planning and preparation, not the least of which involves figuring out where to get gas in some desolate places along the route. But for the University of Michigan's Solar Car Team, which recently rolled through Texas on a practice run, fuel is the least of their concerns. For more, I spoke with Allison Hogikyan, a freshman engineering student and team spokesperson. For more information about this unique project, visit www.umsolar.com.

Nearly everyone has an opinion about teen drivers. And while teen drivers are pretty much the same everywhere, in New Jersey, they're dying at a much lower rate than in Texas and much of the United States. For more on how New Jersey does it, I spoke with Pam Fischer, founder of the New Jersey Teen Safe Driving Coalition.

As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, also known as D-Day, what is often overlooked is not only the logistics of preparing for such an operation, but the logistics required after the invasion as the allies pushed east toward Paris, and then to Germany. The unsung heroes of the march to Berlin were a group of dedicated truck drivers, many of them African-American, who drove supplies from the French coast to the front lines in an unending...

Summer is the best time of year to travel Texas' highways. School is out and vacations beckon, as do the lazy afternoons spent pool side or at the beach. But summer is also the best time for TxDOT crews to work on the more than 80,000 centerline miles of roads across the state, meaning that our best time to work is when the most cars are on the road. It's no surprise then that accident rates between TxDOT and the traveling public go up between the beginning of May and the end of August, which...

We've all heard the heartbreaking narrative of a family on vacation or out to dinner getting hit by a drunk driver. The crash kills at least one of the family's children though the drunk driver isn't injured. We all shake our heads and talk about how the drunk driver should meet some kind of special fate. And while children are killed that way in DWI crashes, a recent study directed by Dr. Kyran Quinlan shows the most common scenario hits a lot closer to home. To read more of Dr. Quinlan's...

While Oil and Gas exploration gets the headlines, another industry in Texas is quietly booming to the tune of $67 billion annually - Tourism. As Texas Travel and Tourism Week comes to a close, I spoke with Brad Smyth, Tourism Director for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism about the impact Texas tourism has on transportation, the economy and the nation. For more information on tourism in Texas, visit www.traveltex.com.

As the weather warms and April turns to May, more and more Texans are hitting the road on their bicycles. Cyclists, motorcycles and motor vehicles are all subject to the same traffic laws, but cyclists are the most vulnerable to driver inattention and aggression. To raise awareness of bicycles on the road in Texas and across the country, AAA Texas is supporting National Bike Month. For more I spoke with Doug Shupe with AAA Texas.

Over the years, the Texas Department of Transportation has purchased thousands of parcels of land to build highways. But sometimes those plans change, or technology improves, causing the original design of a project to change after the right of way has been purchased. Traditionally, TxDOT has largely held onto that property in the thought that once purchased, it might be used for a future need. But the department's recently formed Real Estate Management and Development Division is changing...

Spring cleaning is happening everywhere, including on Texas roadsides as TxDOT and Keep Texas Beautiful launch the Don't mess with Texas Trash-Off on Saturday, April 5. This month-long event means that thousands of volunteers will be picking up litter on roadsides all across the state. For more, I spoke with KTB's Christine Chute Canul.

Last September, Erik Steavens became TxDOT's second director of its Rail Division, which immediately placed him at the forefront of the ongoing high-speed rail discussion both in Texas and across the United States. Before coming to TxDOT, Steavens worked as the Director of Intermodal Programs for the Georgia Department of Transportation, and before that worked for the Federal Highway Administration. Now six months into his second job directing rail projects at the state level, I spoke with...

Spring Break is upon us and, while for most of us that means time off with family, for those who operate TxDOT's Port Aransas ferry boats it can mean some long days. For more, I spoke with Howard Gillespie, Director of TxDOT's Ferry Boat Operations in Corpus Christi.

State Representative Richard Peña Raymond represents District 42, which is entirely within the city of Laredo. It also puts him in a unique position to observe up close the nation's largest inland port, and its third largest overall. That much trade requires an enormous amount of infrastructure that has only come relatively lately to the Laredo area. I spoke with Representative Raymond about how Laredo is managing that explosive growth, and what the future holds.

Most often when TxDOT officials work with elected officials, it's at the state or local level. But there's another political body with which TxDOT works regularly - Congress. Representing the interests of Texas residents and motorists where 49 other states are competing for the same funding can be a tricky exercise, but few have managed it better than Coby Chase, TxDOT's Director of Federal Affairs, who is set to retire at the end of Feb. I spoke with Coby about how TxDOT represents itself at...

Not all that long ago, Wes Smith's concepts of charging transit vehicles wirelessly from stations under the roadway sounded like something from Star Trek, one of the entrepreneur's favorite television shows. But for Smith, and his Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification - or WAVE - technology, the future is now. For more, I spoke with Wes at the recent Texas Transportation Forum in San Antonio. For more, I spoke with Smith during the 9th Annual Texas Transportation Forum.

Two years ago, Phil Wilson took over as TxDOT’s Executive Director. As 2013 comes to a close, Phil is headed for the Lower Colorado River Authority. As he prepares to depart TxDOT, I asked him to look back on his time at the agency and what he’s accomplished.

As a reminder to keep the holidays happy and safe, the Texas Department of Transportation is urging Texans to give themselves and others the gift of a sober ride as they make the rounds to their seasonal celebrations. For more, I spoke with Terry Pence, Director of TxDOT's Traffic Safety Section. To enter for a chance to win a New Year's Eve trip to New York City, or for a New Year's Eve limousine ride in any Texas town, pledge to have a sober ride by texting "SoberRide" to 42330, tweeting "I...

How many times have you heard the rhetorical statement, "we can put a man on the moon, but we can't..." do something that seems simple? When it comes to technology and transportation, that question - and the urgency it represents - is becoming more and more common. Enter Brian Heath, the President and CEO of Drivewyze, a Canadian firm that may not have put a man on the moon, but may be on the path to solving some of today's most pressing - and perplexing - transportation issues. For more...

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, particularly on the nation's highways. TxDOT and AAA-Texas want you and yours to be safe this holiday season, and that safety starts before you ever get into the car. For more, I spoke with Doug Shupe of AAA-Texas. For more travel safety tips, log onto the AAA-Texas website, www.texas.aaa.com.

November 7, 2000 was Election Day. It was also the last day that no one died on the highways in Texas. In the thirteen years since that day, more than 45,000 people have lost their lives in crashes and incredibly, the rate at which those deaths are occurring is accelerating. For more, I spoke with TxDOT's Deputy Executive Director, John Barton.

For most of us, looking into the future is a murky proposition at best. For others, though, like Glen Hiemstra, the owner and founder of futurist.com, the future is a familiar - and hopeful - place where, as he told me, transportation needs and methods look very different from today. Read more from Mr. Hiemstra on his blog, www.futurist.com. This episode originally posted in February 2013.

Interstate 35 between Dallas and San Antonio through Central Texas is one of the most heavily traveled sections of roadway anywhere in the United States. Just south of the DFW Metroplex, the Interstate splits in to I-35E, which serves Dallas, and I-35W, which serves Fort Worth. North of the Metroplex, the two come back together near Denton before heading into Oklahoma. Starting next week, the 27-mile segment of I-35E between I-635 in Dallas and US 380 in Denton is getting a major facelift....

The state of Colorado has been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the past few years, including epic battles with widespread wildfires and subsequent torrential rains and mudslides that have wiped out roads and bridges in 17 counties. And as Colorado Department of Transportation spokesperson Amy Ford told me, while it may take Colorado and its department of transportation years to recover, as recovery begins, so will improvements that may not have been possible without the recent...

With the economy slowly shifting into recovery and consumer spending on the rise, Texas' ports and commercial border crossings are getting busier by the day. As South Texas grows, so will the traffic at the border, which could affect prices and delivery times for the things Americans buy. With three ports of entry in his Hidalgo County district, State Representative Sergio Munoz Jr. has been at the forefront of the movement to improve Texas' ports of entry, as well as channeling that traffic...