With an endless flow of trucks ferrying cargo across the 30-plus miles of roadway at the Port of Long Beach, Traffic Engineering Associate Ursula Goings is never without something to do. The nearly 10-year employee of the port specializes in the flow and management of traffic, a position key to keeping cargo moving in a safe and efficient manner. “We have to keep the goods moving. The trucks have to have a place to go,” Goings said. A common issue Goings and the staff of the engineering bureau’s traffic group are asked to address is the queuing of trucks outside of terminal gates onto port roadways. The traffic backup can cause truckers to engage in some risky behavior. “We have trucks doing U-turns in the street, and they’re not supposed to be doing U-turns. We’ve had a lot of near misses with that. So, do we put up more signs [or] some k-rail down the middle of the road? Those are some of the challenges that we face, and we just try to come up with solutions,” she explained. Goings and the traffic group are also responsible for handling tenant service requests for traffic-related items like new road striping or configuration and replacement of signage. “I have a great team, so it makes coming to work enjoyable. Nothing is quite the same,” Goings said. “There is nothing mundane about what we do. The port is a great place to be.”