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ALONG THE ROAD
"Along the Road" is the place to look for information about current and upcoming activities, developments, trends, and items of general interest to the highway community. This information comes from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sources unless otherwise indicated. Your suggestions and input are welcome. Let's meet along the road.
Policy and Legislation
FHWA and NHTSA Partner for
Driver History Initiative The states, which include California, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, will use the money to design, evaluate, and upgrade automated systems for recording traffic convictions and exchanging driver safety information among courts, police, and licensing agencies. These changes include eliminating inconsistencies and delays in their electronic reporting systems and modifying their conviction deferral programs, which now allow drivers to avoid sanctions for breaking traffic laws. These states met both agencies' selection criteria and were awarded grants ranging from $28,000 to $300,000. This funding was authorized for FY 1998 and for subsequent years through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). This driver history initiative is designed to make America's roadways safer. DOT and NAFEO Sign MOU to
Support Black Colleges The MOU, which was signed at the first National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week conference, will expand the role of those HBCUs participating in initiatives such as the Garrett A. Morgan Technology Futures Program and will support transportation internships and other programs, including safety programs set up to increase seat belt use and reduce the incidences of drunk driving among students. The MOU also includes $2.1 million in new funding for FHWA's Summer Transportation Institutes, which introduces promising high school students to careers in transportation. The increased funding was one of several actions announced by an FHWA task force on HBCUs and other minority institutions of higher education (MIHE). The task force, which was established in 1996, was designed to increase participation of HBCUs and MIHEs in FHWA programs, particularly research and technology programs. Other task force initiatives that will be implemented include establishing partnership agreements in each state or territory where HBCUs and MIHEs are located; setting goals for the participation of HBCUs and MIHEs in research and technology; and increasing the number of transportation institutes and internships. Plain Language Required
on Jan. 1 Management and Administration The $4 million in emergency relief funding for Alabama and Florida can be used to repair damage to federal-aid roads and bridges in those states. Repair work will include: reconstructing damaged bridges and pavement surfaces; establishing roads; removing slides and debris; and replacing signs, lighting, and guardrails. In Ohio, the funding will permit emergency relief funds to be used for work necessary to repair damage to roads in 19 counties. FHWA money is awarded after the President or Governor of a state issues a formal emergency proclamation. The state must then file a preliminary damage assessment for its highways and bridges on the federal-aid system. The state gets reimbursed for emergency work that is already completed and receives funding for other necessary repairs to correct severe or unusual damage. DOT Encourages States to
Apply for Funds The National Corridor Planning and Development Program gives DOT the authority to allocate money to states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) for coordinated planning, design, and construction of highway corridors. The Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program is designed to improve border infrastructure and transportation telecommunications. This will facilitate the safe and efficient movement of people and goods at or across the U.S.-Canada and the U.S.-Mexico borders. The full criteria of the application process will be published in the Federal Register. Applications must be submitted within 60 days after publication of the criteria. FHWA Recognizes Roadway
Safety Projects
FHWA Announces $495 Million
for States in Highway Discretionary Funds
For a table listing the states that received allocation of funds and the amount of funding allocated, visit the Web site at: http://www.dot.gov/briefing.htm.
Technical News
HITEC Releases Reports on
Seismic Isolation Devices The California DOT (Caltrans) and FHWA requested that HITEC evaluate the devices to validate the performance data for these technologies. The outcome of the studies determines whether engineers could use the devices on new bridges or even on existing bridges. All seismic isolation and energy dissipation device manufacturers worldwide were invited to participate in the evaluation program. Seven vendors submitted eight isolators for testing. Each device was tested to evaluate stability, response to earthquake simulations, and fatigue and weathering effects. The isolation systems that completed the evaluation program were:
Copies of the reports for each
of the technologies may be purchased by calling (800) 548-2723 or (703)
295-6300, or by sending an e-mail message to pubs@asce.org. FHWA's OTA Uses Ground-Penetrating
Radar in Alaska The GPR system, which was evaluated and enhanced by the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), is made up of radar antennas mounted on the bumper of a specially equipped van. The radar antennas emit short, timed pulses of radio-frequency energy into the bridge deck. When the pulses move from one material to another - such as from an asphalt overlay to a concrete bridge deck - part of the energy echoes back to the surface. A computer inside the van records how "loud" the echo is and how long it took to return to the antenna. The raw data are then analyzed by a software program and a report is generated. This method is much less time-consuming than other methods, and engineers using the GPR technology on the Alaska bridge decks completed the survey in a matter of minutes - a fraction of the time required using other methods. Oregon DOT Completes Highway
Application The project was completed in three weeks and the cost was less than $35,000 for 52 linear meters of beam strengthening for shear and flexure and for the installation of fiber-optic strain gauges in all six of the girders. The new design procedures, which involve gluing fiber-reinforced polymer composites to concrete beams to strengthen them, were developed and adopted by Oregon DOT.
Public Information and Information Exchange
FHWA Releases Highway Statistics Since 1945, FHWA and its predecessor, the Bureau of Public Roads, have published this document, which contains statistical data on motor fuel, motor vehicles, driver licensing, highway-user taxation, state highway financing, highway mileage, federal aid for highways, highway financing data for municipalities and other units of local government, and even certain tables and charts from the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. To obtain a copy of the report, write to the Office of Highway Information Management, FHWA, Room 3306, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, or visit the Web site at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim. 1998 Excellence in Highway
Design Awards Announced More than 2,000 entries from federal agencies, state and local governments, design firms, and other designers that have completed extraordinary highway projects were submitted. The winners of the Excellence Awards were as follows:
PCI Announces 1998 Design Award Winners The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) announced their 1998 Design Award Winners in October. Two of the winning bridge projects involved FHWA: the Louetta Road Overpass in Houston, Texas, and the Carpenter Road Over Metro North Rail Road in East Fishkill, N.Y. The Louetta Road Overpass was a co-winner in the category of "Best Bridge With Spans Greater Than 135 Feet." The goal was to create a high-performance concrete (HPC) bridge using U-shaped simple-span pretensioned concrete beams. The design used precast prestressed HPC in the superstructure and substructure of the overpass, resulting in a stronger, more durable bridge that had the same cost as a typical concrete bridge. The bridge was engineered and is owned by Texas DOT. The Carpenter Road Over Metro North Rail Road was co-winner of the "Best Bridge With Spans of 65 to 135 Feet" category. The goal was to replace the deteriorated bridge over a two-track railroad right-of-way and increase underclearance of the bridge. This project was awarded the Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award, which is presented annually to honor the precast concrete project that "shows superior creativity and innovation, thereby advancing the technical expertise of the industry and providing new ideas with great potential for additional applications." The engineer on the project
was J. Muller International, New York, N.Y. The New York State DOT, Region
8, owns the bridge. See related article in Public Roads, September/October
1998. Wisconsin DOT Demonstrates
Effective Recycling Mann Bros. of Elkhorn, Wis., is the prime contractor on the $6 million project. Wilson Bridge Design Unveiled The Wilson bridge is 36 years old, is comprised of six lanes, and was built to handle 75,000 vehicles a day. The bridge is deteriorating under the weight of the 190,000 vehicles that cross it daily. The new design will have 12 lanes and will be able to accommodate around 275,000 vehicles a day. Some of the work on the new bridge is due to begin in late 2000 or early 2001. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2006 and is estimated to cost $1.8 billion. - Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project Personnel
Betsold Heads Innovative
Pavement Research Foundation Betsold earned a bachelor's and master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a master's degree in public administration from American University. Prior to his position as associate administrator of R&D, he served as Director of the Office of Implementation, Director of Safety and Traffic Operations R&D, Managing Director of the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, and Deputy Associate Administrator for R&D. Dennis C. Judycki, associate administrator for Safety and System Applications, was designated as acting associate administrator for research and development. Judycki will continue with his responsibilities as the associate administrator for safety and system applications.
Conferences
Free Course Offered: Using
the National ITS Architecture for Deployment The course is taught by Lockheed Martin and Odetic, the team that developed the National ITS Architecture for U.S. DOT. The free, hands-on class is conducted at DOT's computer facility at DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C. The course will be held on Feb. 9-11; Feb. 23-25; March 9-11; March 23-25; April 13-15; May 11-13; and June 8-10. To register, please contact Lee Simmons, Manager, National ITS Architecture Program, ITS Joint Program (202) 366-8048, or e-mail: lee.simmons@fhwa.dot.gov. Second International Symposium
on Highway Geometric Design Calls for Papers Abstracts are due by Feb. 28, 1999. Entries should include the paper's title; author's name; author's mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address; and a brief narrative description of the objectives, scope methods, results, and conclusions of the work to be reported. Abstract submissions should not exceed one typed page and must be submitted in English. Authors will be notified of acceptance of their abstract by May 15, 1999. Full papers must be sent by August 15, 1999. Send abstracts to Ingrid Anderson, Midwest Research Institute, 425 Volker Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64110-2299. For more information visit the Web site at: http://tti-trb.tamu.edu. Missouri DOT and FHWA Sponsor
Midwest E
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Innovations '98