The next Transportation Engineering Seminar on Friday, October 2, 2026 is titled "Prioritizing Projects and Finding Funding: A New Approach for the Omaha Metro Region," and will be presented by Jim Boerner, Transportation Planner with the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA).
MAPA serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Douglas and Sarpy Counties in Nebraska and the westernmost portion of Pottawattamie County in Iowa. The region has historically faced transportation needs that exceed available funding. MAPA and the Nebraska Department of Transportation have received several competitive discretionary grants to support development of a regional decision-making model for project prioritization and funding. The presentation will highlight ongoing and recently completed supporting studies and provide an overview of the Transformative Regional Investment Prioritization System (TRIPS).
Jim Boerner manages transportation studies that benefit organizations throughout the MAPA region. His work involves collaboration with staff from the Nebraska and Iowa Departments of Transportation, city and county planning and public works agencies, and other transportation stakeholders. His stated goal is to help communities build, operate, and maintain efficient and accessible transportation systems while reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries to zero by 2040.
The seminar will be held from 10:50 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. Central Time on Friday, October 2, 2026. Attendees may participate in person at Kiewit Hall Room A510 in Lincoln or from Peter Kiewit Institute Room 160 in Omaha. External participants may attend via Zoom. Participants can earn one Professional Development Hour (PDH). Seminar attendees will receive both the seminar flyer and presentation slides as documentation for continuing education recordkeeping requirements.
