Performance of Bridges That Received Funding Under the Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program
TRB Special Report 330: Performance of Bridges That Received Funding Under the Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program, examines the results of a federal program to promote innovation in highway bridge construction. The Innovative Bridge Research and Construction (IBRC) program, created by act of Congress, provided state departments of transportation with a total of $128.7 million in grants as incentives for use of innovative materials and technology to construct or repair approximat...
Building Extreme Weather Resilience into Transportation Asset Management Programs
Six states are wrapping up Federal Highway Administration-sponsored projects examining weather resilience strategies for their highway infrastructure, with the agency expecting reports on their research to be filed sometime in February; reports FHWA then plans to publish in a resilience “guidebook” later this year. [Above photo by Elissa Jun from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.] That insight from Stephen Gaj, asset management team leader within FHWA’s office of infrastructure, jum...
Innovative Median Barrier System Adds to Lifespan of Historic Pulaski Skyway
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - With the opening of bi-directional traffic on June 30, 2018, the Pulaski Skyway was finally ready for another 75+ years of busy use. The Skyway carries US Routes 1&9 between Newark and Jersey City, NJ, and is a connection for the Holland Tunnel to Lower Manhattan. The 3.5-mile corridor was virtually re-built from the inside-out using state-of-the-art engineering and materials, while striving to maintain its place on the National Register of Historic Places. One life-extending...
World First Integrated Driverless Technology Trial Launched in Australia
A smart transit hub nicknamed Matilda has been launched in South Australia to test the integration of autonomous vehicles into daily life. Developed by SAGE Automation, the mobile Matilda transport hub aims to work with any driverless vehicles while providing users with an interactive experience to aid in their commute. SAGE Chief Executive Officer Adrian Fahey said the hub was designed for first mile, last mile transport or special events and would open up transport options for people wi...
Repeal of Proprietary Products Rule Will Promote Innovation & Provide States More Flexibility, ARTBA Says
(WASHINGTON) - The repeal of a 103-year old federal procurement rule would remove a major regulatory roadblock and “spur investment in and deployment of new technologies that promise to help advance safety, alleviate traffic congestion and improve our nation’s highways,” the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Jan. 14 told the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). At issue is 23 CFR 635.411, a federal regulation that prohibits state and local governments from usi...
Acrow Supplies Permanent Bridge to Replace Structure Destroyed in Tubbs Fire in California
(Parsippany, New Jersey) – Acrow Bridge, a leading international bridge engineering and supply company, has announced one of its modular steel bridges was installed recently to restore passage on privately owned land in Santa Rosa, California after the destruction of a timber bridge during the Tubbs Fire. The second most destructive wildfire in California history, the Tubbs Fire was part of the “Northern California Firestorm,” a series of more than a dozen major fires that burned simultaneo...
Oregon Department of Transportation Expands Use of DT Research High Accuracy GNSS Rugged Tablets Statewide
Washington D.C., 2019 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting – DT Research, the leading designer and manufacturer of purpose-built computing solutions for vertical markets, today announced the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has expanded its use of DT Research GNSS rugged tablets to all 15 of its construction management offices across the state and also use the tablets for biology, geology, roadway and wetland projects. DT Research worked closely with ODOT to design purpose-buil...
Federal Shutdown Impacting Project Planning for State DOTs
As the partial shutdown of the federal government over border wall funding stretches past 20 days, some state departments of transportation are beginning to curtail planning for new projects while several mass transit systems are scrambling as many rely on federal grants for both operating revenues and capital funding. In his first media briefing as the new executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Jim Tymon (pictured above) explained that s...
Gannett Fleming Leads the Way with ODOT TSMO Plan
(Columbus, Ohio) - Gannett Fleming recently completed the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) plan, setting a new standard for the industry.“What makes this ODOT TSMO plan so important is that it is a foundational change in the way ODOT conducts business,” said Bryan Newell, AICP, Gannett Fleming project manager. “The comprehensive level of detail and internal ODOT collaboration that went into this plan is unlike any other and allowed...
State Transportation Officials Announce Projects for Next Decade
RALEIGH – The state has included more than 1,600 transportation projects in the draft 2020-2029 transportation plan, which was released at Thursday’s regular Board of Transportation meeting. The State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is the N.C. Department of Transportation’s proposed funding and construction schedule for projects to be completed during the next 10 years. The plan is updated every two years. Projects scheduled in the first five years of a plan are considered commi...