Contact: Larry Krantz
Phone: (903) 510-9267
 

October 2, 2009

 

TxDOT’s Tyler District Wins National Award

SAN ANTONIO - The Tyler District Vegetation Management team, headed by district maintenance administrator Mike Reagan, received a national award on Sept. 24 for its innovations in vegetation management from the National Roadside Vegetation Management Association.

Reagan accepted the award on behalf of the team at the annual NRVMA conference, held this year in San Antonio.

"Vegetation management isn’t just about spraying chemicals and killing plants," Reagan said. "It’s about targeting specific plant species, especially tall-growing species, that limit sight distance and need constant mowing.

"A successful vegetation management plan not only improves roadway safety and reduces mowing costs, but especially in East Texas, releases oceans of wildflowers along the rights of way each spring."

Reagan oversaw the centralization of TYL’s herbicide efforts last year and created an aggressive plan that allows the five-operator team to cover the district’s 3,800 centerline miles at least five times each year.

"The best vegetation management programs work year-round and in concert with aggressive mowing practices," Reagan said. “We’ve reduced the required number of annual mowing cycles on Interstate 20 because we’re keeping the johnsongrass in check. That’s a huge cost-savings to the taxpayers."

A graduate of Stephen F. Austin University with a degree in Wildlife Biology, Reagan began working on his vegetation management plans nearly 10 years ago, but started seeing dramatic results once the district’s herbicide operations were centralized.

“It started with field study and the realization that we weren’t reducing the amount of johnsongrass as much as we’d hoped,” Reagan said of his plan. “We pooled our district resources, reduced the amount of spraying time per section, and worked with our partners in the chemical industry to use the best herbicides available to meet our goals."