International Technology Transfer
Bark Mulch May Revolutionize Roadside Landscaping
in Russia
Infrastructure
Course Demos New Technologies in Asphalt Pavement
Recycling
Flume Shows Riprap as Countermeasure Alternative
for Milwaukee's Bridge Project
Operations
See How Some States Weather Adverse Roadway Conditions
Safety
Europe Shares Highway Safety Solutions
with U.S.
Policy
Coming Soon: 2002 Status Report
on U.S. Highways, Bridges, and Transit
Training
Pontis Training Makes Bridge Management Easier
International Technology Transfer
Bark Mulch May Revolutionize Roadside Landscaping
in Russia
Maine's extensive use of bark mulch for landscaping and roadside
erosion control was just one of the many low-tech practices that caught
the attention of Russia's Peter Orlov, the vice governor of the Arkhangelsk
Oblast (the Russian equivalent to a U.S. State) and Evgeniy Lobanov,
the director of the Arkhangelsk Road Administration's Construction
Group during a visit to the United States last summer.
Why bark mulch? Maine and Arkhangelsk both have large forestry industries.
Russian standard practice was to truck wood by-products and non-composted
materials off to nearby dumps where they took up valuable landfill
space. Maine's much more economical and environmentally friendly alternative,
using this recycled by-product for slope stabilization, erosion control,
and roadside beautification, led to what might be called a "Eureka"
moment for the Russians.
Lobanov explored every aspect of bark mulch and composting from manufacturing
to application equipment and their multiple uses. He was particularly
impressed with a "biomat" made from bark mulch and compost,
because slope stabilization has been a challenge for the Arkhangelsk
Road Administration.
Bark mulch and compost were among several findings Lobanov documented
in a 31-page report he drafted after returning from a 6-week internship
with his counterparts in the Maine Department of Transportation. In
his report, Lobanov wrote, "Bark mulch can be used for temporary
or permanent erosion control, even when the ground is frozen."
|
Evgeniy Lobanov holds a handful of freshly ground
mulch while visiting a mulch manufacturing site in Maine. |
The next step in the partnership between Maine and Arkhangelsk for
technology transfer included a month-long U.S. visit for two Arkhangelsk
engineers, Angelina Ignateva and Natalia Stoika. The technology exchange
was mutually beneficial, as Ignateva and Stoika shared information
about Russian environmental practices and concerns with their U.S.
counterparts. Among the topics for discussion were Russia's strict
standards prohibiting river and stream dumping of snow cleared from
bridges and requirements for building roads farther from water bodies
to protect them from nonpoint source pollution.
FHWA officials in the Office of International Programs are translating
Lobanov's report into English. Once completed, the translated report
will be available at http://international.fhwa.dot.gov.
For more information, contact:
Tracy Busch
Infrastructure
Course Demos New Technologies in Asphalt Pavement
Recycling
For years, State and local highway engineers have recognized the
value of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement recycling on low-volume roads
and local streets. By recycling old pavements in place, agencies can
stretch their project dollars by reducing raw material and shipping
costs. Another benefit of pavement recycling is that it often helps
construction projects move along more efficiently, getting people
back on the roads faster. Increasingly, new recycling agents and equipment
tailored for in-place pavement rehabilitation are making HMA recycling
a viable option for high-volume roads and larger highway projects.
To bring State and local highway engineers up to speed on these new
technologies, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Asphalt
Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) recently sponsored an
updated pilot for the National Highway Institute's (NHI) course on
HMA recycling technology.
More than 25 New Mexico State and county highway engineers and FHWA
representatives from the Western Resource Center and Division Offices
attended the pilot in Albuquerque, NM, in early May 2002. The course's
target audience is decisionmakers, chief engineers, designers, and
construction engineers. It represents an updated and modernized version
using ARRA's Basic Asphalt Recycling Manual as a student reference
guide follow-up of NHI's Course #131050, Pavement Recycling for State
and Local Governments.
In the revised course, FHWA encourages highway engineers to consider
HMA recycling for larger projects, such as those on State highways
and other high-volume roads. HMA recycling enables engineers to rehabilitate
pavements in-place, using hot in-place methods for pavement surface
distress in the first 50 millimeters (2 inches), cold in-place methods
for repairing deeper structural distress in a range of 50 to 150 millimeters
(2 to 6 inches), or using full depth methods to reconstruct the pavement's
structural base.
Course instructors use lectures, practical exercises, and case histories
to demonstrate the viability of HMA recycling. During the 2-day course,
participants learn about various pavement recycling methods, materials,
and equipment and how to determine if HMA recycling is the most appropriate
pavement rehabilitation technique for select projects.
Based on input received during the pilot, FHWA further revised the
course at the end of June and will start conducting additional courses
later this year. For more information, visit the NHI Web site at www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov.
Jason Harrington
202-366-1576
k.jason.harrington@fhwa.dot.gov
Flume Shows Riprap as Countermeasure Alternative
for Milwaukee's Bridge Project
Reviewing bridge proposals sometimes poses unusual challenges for
designers as they analyze plans to modify or change existing bridges-especially
when there are other structures that might affect the final project
design. In downtown Milwaukee, WI, engineers wanted to remove the
1.1-kilometer (0.7-mile) elevated freeway stretch just north of the
city and construct a new at-grade roadway and bridge. A major challenge
to getting the project off the ground lay in assessing the potential
danger to an existing 29-meter (96-foot) sanitary sewer line running
beneath the Milwaukee River that might be caused by local pier scour
for the proposed bridge alignment.
The city of Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
(WisDOT) were planning a $9.7 million Park East Freeway reconfiguration
project and wanted to ensure that their plans would not affect the
sewer line adversely. To make the evaluations, Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) Wisconsin Division Bridge Engineer Tom Strock worked with researchers
in the FHWA Hydraulics Laboratory to resolve some of the issues dealing
with potential threats to the sewer line.
Researchers completed flume tests in the Hydraulics Lab to determine
if the sewer line would be in danger of exposure or failure under
the anticipated scour from the bridge piers. Preliminary tests indicated
that the sewer pipe probably was not in danger unless the angle of
incline on the piers was severe at more than 15 degrees; however,
the sewer line position was a little different in the actual scenario.
Follow-up site investigations revealed that the sewer pipe was 1.8
meters (6 feet) higher than originally assumed but was protected by
sheet piles that extended well below the anticipated scour depth.
Now, the issue became the structural integrity of the sheet piles,
since tests showed that a deep scour hole could develop on one side
of the sheet piles.
|
A scour test shows a deep scour hole occurring
in front of the sheet pile (simulated by the vertical sheets of
plywood in the center of the photograph). The concern was that
the sheet pile in the foreground might buckle into the scour hole.
|
The lab conducted a total of 13 model tests in the flume. The flume
tests showed that a rock riprap armor layer along the sewer pipe alignment
would arrest the scour in front of the sheet piles. Consultants for
WisDOT suggested an extra safety measure by tying the upstream sheet
pile to the downstream sheet pile along the top edge to strengthen
the system against a cantilever failure.
The improved at-grade roadway and vertical lift bridge will replace
the existing current freeway spur, which carries nearly 48,000 vehicles
every day. It was just as important to protect the sewer line running
beneath the bridge as it was to guarantee driver safety on the bridge.
The Park East Freeway Reconfiguration Project began this summer,
and WisDOT officials expect to open the freeway in 2004. The new roadway
will not only enhance the safety and efficiency of the Park East Freeway,
but it also will open high-value land currently occupied by the freeway
for private business development, offering an additional economic
benefit to the city of Milwaukee.
For more information about this research study, keep an eye out for
the FHWA report, Laboratory Scour Investigation McKinley/Knapp
Street Bridge over the Milwaukee River, which will be published
later this year.
Sterling Jones
Operations
See How Some States Weather Adverse Roadway
Conditions
From fog and rain to hurricanes and blizzards, weather threatens
transportation mobility, safety, and productivity. The weather not
only affects driver performance, but also traffic and emergency routes
suddenly with little or no warning. The best-case scenario would be
to control the weather; since that is unrealistic, traffic, maintenance,
and emergency managers must find other methods to mitigate weather
effects.
Mitigation strategies provide information on prevailing or predicted
road weather conditions, permit or restrict traffic flow, and supply
resources for treating roadways. When timely and accurate road weather
information is available, managers can proactively minimize the effects
of adverse weather on roadways.
For the last 2 years, researchers in the Road Weather Management
program at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), with support
from Mitretek Systems, have been compiling, documenting, and sharing
effective road weather management practices from across the country.
Most were documented by monitoring publications and presentations
at conferences, and then following up with phone calls. The team identified
best practices in 28 States, 18 of which are described in detail and
included on a new CD-ROM.
The Best Practices for Road Weather Management CD-ROM contains
resources to help traffic, emergency, and maintenance managers improve
roadway operations under inclement weather conditions. The CD contains
case studies of systems employed in response to various weather threats
including fog, high winds, rain, snow, ice, flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes,
and avalanches. The CD also includes a listing of road weather publications,
an acronym list, and online resources. Below are some of the best
practices included on the CD-ROM.
Traffic Signal Control
Sudden afternoon thunderstorms caused congestion as motorists exited
a beach in Clearwater, FL, along the Memorial Causeway (Route 60).
In response, the city's traffic managers incorporated a rain preemption
feature into the computerized system for traffic signal control. When
a rain gauge installed at a traffic signal near the beach detects
a predetermined amount of rainfall, the system issues a command to
downtown traffic signals to implement timing plans with longer green
times for inbound approaches. Vehicle detectors on the causeway measure
the density of traffic queues, and when traffic volumes return to
normal, the computer restores original signal timing plans.
|
This map shows the Memorial Causeway connecting
Clearwater Beach, a barrier island, and Clearwater on the mainland.
During rain events, traffic signals on Route 60 automatically
adjust to allow longer green times. |
Access Restriction
Access restrictions during inclement weather can include road and
bridge closures; access limitations for specially-equipped vehicles,
such as those with tire chains; or access restrictions for certain
vehicle types, such as tractor trailers. For example, severe wind
tunnel conditions frequently occur on a 13-kilometer (8-mile) section
of Interstate 90 in Bozeman/ Livingston, MT. The Montana Department
of Transportation manages vehicle access to the interstate with the
help of four dynamic message signs (DMS) that warn motorists of high-wind
conditions and restrict access to high-profile vehicles during severe
winds. When an environmental sensor station detects severe crosswinds
over 63 kilometers per hour (39 miles per hour), the DMS posts a restriction
message such as, "Severe Crosswinds: High-Profile Units Exit."
Traveler Information
The Advanced Transportation Weather Infrastructure System (ATWIS)
uses interactive voice response technology to provide drivers with
traffic and weather information for 59,500 highway kilometers (37,000
miles) in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Cellular
telephone users dial #-7-2-3-3 (or #-S-A-F-E) to access weather
and pavement forecasts extending roughly 1 hour or 97 kilometers (60
miles) in their direction of travel. ATWIS also is the basis for road
weather data in the regional 5-1-1 traveler information service, which
is a part of the national 5-1-1 traveler information program.
Evacuation Traffic Management
During the evacuation before the arrival of Hurricane Floyd in 1999,
traffic was severely congested on highways in Florida, Georgia, North
Carolina, and South Carolina. By reversing traffic flow (contraflow)
on Interstate 26 during reentry operations after the hurricane, traffic
and emergency managers in South Carolina expanded roadway capacity
and increased the maximum volume of 1,400 vehicles per hour per lane
by 49 percent. To alert drivers of contraflow operations, South Carolina
positioned portable DMS and highway advisory radio (HAR) transmitters
along the interstate.
|
Highway managers in South Carolina used contraflow,
or opened both directions of the highway to coastal-bound traffic,
to move motorists quickly and efficiently back home after a hurricane.
|
Low-Visibility Warning System
A 99-vehicle collision on Interstate 75 in southeastern Tennessee
in December 1990 prompted the design and deployment of a fog detection
and warning system. The Tennessee DOT installed a motorist warning
system covering a 4.8-kilometer (3-mile), fog-prone section above
the Hiwassee River and 12.9-kilometer (8-mile) road sections on both
sides of the river. A central computer system predicts and detects
conditions conducive to fog formation by continually monitoring data
from 2 environmental sensor stations, 8 fog detectors, and 44 vehicular
speed detectors. The computer system alerts traffic and emergency
managers when established threshold criteria are met, correlates field
sensor data with predetermined response scenarios, and recommends
responses based on prevailing field conditions.
Responses include warning motorists via 2 HAR transmitters; flashing
beacons atop 6 static signs and 10 dynamic message signs; reducing
speed limits with 10 variable speed limit signs; and restricting access
to the affected road segment using 8 ramp gates. Managers select preprogrammed
DMS messages, prerecorded HAR messages, and appropriate speed limits,
such as 65, 50, or 35 mph, based upon response scenarios proposed
by the system. Under the worst conditions (i.e., visibility less than
73 meters or 240 feet), the Highway Patrol activates automatic ramp
gates to close the freeway and detour traffic to U.S. Route 11.
Avalanche Warning System
On U.S. Highway 189 near Jackson, the Wyoming DOT uses an avalanche
warning system to detect avalanches, warn motorists approaching the
avalanche area, and alert maintenance personnel working in the area.
The computerized warning system continuously monitors tilt switch
sensors, strung across the avalanche path 300 meters (or 980 feet)
above the roadway. At the onset of an avalanche, the system automatically
activates flashing beacons atop static road signs to caution motorists
and triggers audible alarms in maintenance vehicles to notify maintenance
staff that may be in the avalanche path.
The avalanche warning system improves safety by minimizing risks
to the traveling public and maintenance personnel. After an avalanche,
the system also facilitates timely roadway inspections, snow and debris
removal activities, and road closure or rescue operations.
By integrating road weather data into decisionmaking processes, transportation
managers can counter weather-induced problems effectively and deliver
credible, customized traveler information that enables motorists to
avoid unsafe conditions and better cope with weather effects on roadways.
For further details about weather-related best management practices
or to request a copy of the CD-ROM, contact:
Paul Pisano
202-366-1301
paul.pisano@fhwa.dot.gov
Safety
Europe Shares Highway Safety Solutions with
U.S.
With more than 40,000 highway deaths and approximately 6 million
highway crashes in the United States each year, transportation professionals
seek out solutions from other countries to decrease these numbers
and increase roadway safety. European countries sometimes use different
approaches than ones typically used in the United States, resulting
in significant innovations that save people's lives. It was the job
of a U.S. delegation sent to Europe to discover and review supporting
mechanisms used in planning, developing, and implementing successful
highway safety programs.
The U.S. delegation was comprised of an array of professionals within
the highway safety community, including officials and representatives
from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association
of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), two universities,
and five State departments of transportation (DOTs). Sweden, Germany,
the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom were selected because of each
country's recent success in reducing highway fatalities, highway safety
records and experience, and international reputation for cooperation
and coordination within highway safety programs.
The U.S. team found some commonalities. Each country views highway
safety as a public health or quality of life issue and bases its safety
decisions and targets on a common philosophy. Their safety plans are
comprehensive and coordinated, with each country taking a proactive
approach to highway safety that includes a fully integrated and nationally
accepted plan. The national plan forms the basis of the regional and
local safety plans and targets. Three of the four countries had measurable
and deliverable fatality and/or injury reduction targets.
The delegation also found several common program elements in these
countries, including:
- Required (primary) seat belt use
- Low tolerance for driver blood alcohol content
- Public education campaigns (e.g., aggressive driving, alcohol-involved
driving, speeding)
- Substantial enforcement efforts, including use of automated enforcement
for red-light running and speed
- Speed management measures
- Vehicle crashworthiness strategies
- Vulnerable road user protection and separation measures
- Novice and young driver training and licensing programs
|
Variable speed limite signs, like these on a
highway in the Netherlands, dynamically adjust speed limits according
to the amount of traffic on the road. |
Based on the information gathered abroad during the scan tour, the
U.S. delegation offers the following recommendations for consideration
in the United States:
- Fully integrate local, State, and Federal stakeholders in developing
a nationally accepted highway safety plan
- Incorporate specific safety improvement targets or goals into
highway safety plans
- Develop performance-based safety incentive programs to encourage
State and local governments to take active steps toward improving
highway safety
- Launch a demonstration pilot project that implements corridor-
or area-wide safety improvements
- Continue pursuing research in the area of speed management with
automated enforcement
For more information about the highway safety scan tour or the team's
recommendations, contact:
Michael S. Griffith
Michael L. Halladay
202-366-9469
michael.halladay@fhwa.dot.gov
John Baxter
317-226-7476
john.baxter@fhwa.dot.gov
Policy
Coming Soon: 2002 Status Report on U.S. Highways,
Bridges, and Transit
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) plan to release the 2002 Status of the Nation's
Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions and Performance report
to the U.S. Congress by fall 2002. FHWA and FTA are putting the final
touches on this fifth report, which is a virtual report card on the
status of programs and infrastructure related to highways, bridges,
and transit systems in the United States.
Also known as the C&P report (Conditions and Performance), the
document consolidates data provided by States, local governments,
and mass transit operators into one national report appraising highway,
bridge, and transit physical conditions, operational performances,
financing mechanisms, and future investment requirements.
The C&P report contains five major sections. Parts I and II analyze
the current performance and future needs of the surface transportation
system. Part III describes the conditions, composition, and performance
of bridges and includes a discussion of the Highway Bridge Replacement
and Rehabilitation Program and the National Bridge Inspection Program.
This section replaces the report to Congress on The Status of the
Nation's Highway Bridges. Part IV details the analysis process used
for Parts I and II. Part V consists of three technical appendices
that describe the investment and performance methodology.
The earliest versions of the C&P report relied exclusively on
engineering-based estimates for future investment requirements, which
considered only the costs for transportation agencies, excluding costs
to transportation users. These newer methods use benefit-cost analyses
to help minimize capital investment and user costs to achieve improved
levels of highway performance. Analyses in the new report use an economic
overlay to project future investment requirements. The authors developed
the analyses of future investment requirements specifically for this
document, and they provide national projections.
At more than 450 pages long and featuring more than 400 tables and
charts, the C&P report is comprehensive and detailed. Officials
at all levels of government, national and international news media,
transportation associations, and industry groups will find the C&P
report to be an ideal tool for use in developing or evaluating legislative,
program, and budgeting alternatives.
Prior to 1993, FHWA and FTA issued separate reports on the conditions
and performance of the Nation's highway systems and transit systems.
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) combined the
existing reports to cover both highways and transit together in one
report. USDOT released the last C&P report in May 2000.
FHWA and FTA will publish the completed report and make it available
to the transportation community via the FHWA Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov.
In addition, the agencies will furnish a complete HTML Web version
of the report at a later date. For more information about the report,
contact:
Jon Schans
202-366-9214
jon.schans@fhwa.dot.gov
|
|
|
The C&P report updates Congress
on the status of the Nation's highways, bridges, and transit systems. |
Pontis Training Makes Bridge Management Easier
Pontis is a powerful bridge management software program that stores
data on bridge inventory, condition history, and project tracking
information in a large database. The software enables bridge managers
to analyze bridge data using a series of simulation, optimization,
and evaluation tools to predict future bridge conditions and needs,
develop optimal bridge policies, and recommend bridge projects and
schedules within policy and budget limitations.
At a 2001 Pontis users' group meeting, several representatives from
State transportation agencies expressed an interest in learning more
about how to use the program most effectively. The group's interest
in fine-tuning their Pontis usage led to the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) teaming up to develop a 3-day National Highway
Institute (NHI) training course.
The course is geared primarily toward bridge program managers, management
and maintenance engineers, inspectors, and project planning and programming
personnel. But the course also provides an overview session targeted
at Federal, State, and local executives and upper- and mid-level highway
agency professionals responsible for an agency's bridge or highway
program.
During the course, instructors demonstrate the applicability of each
of the Pontis bridge modules (inspection, preservation, programming,
project planning, configuration, gateway, and reports) so course participants
gain a clear understanding of the software and its uses. Workshop
instructors use practical exercises-entering and editing inspection
data, developing preservation policies, analyzing bridge needs, and
developing bridge projects-to demonstrate day-to-day uses for the
software.
More than 25 people attended a pilot course presented in early May
2002 in Santa Fe, NM. In addition to the pilot, NHI instructors also
conducted Pontis software training classes in New Jersey and Delaware
in July, and Utah in August. AASHTO reports that more than 40 State
departments of transportation and other agencies already are licensed
to use the software. For more information, visit the NHI Web site
at www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov.
George Romack
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