Innovation of the Month:
Ultra-High
Performance Concrete Connections
Transportation agencies across the
country are adding ultra-high performance concrete
connections (UHPC) to their toolboxes to accelerate bridge construction and
provide better long-term performance.
The Iowa Department of Transportation, which has
used UHPC connections on several bridge projects, is developing standards for
bridges with adjacent concrete box girders with UHPC connections between the
girders. The agency is also studying the constructability and performance of an
UHPC overlay applied on a deteriorated bridge deck in Buchanan County.
The Maine
Department of Transportation is using full-depth precast concrete deck
panels with UHPC connections on the Western Avenue Bridge project in Fairfield.
The agency will incorporate experience gained on the project as it develops
standard designs, details and specifications for precast deck panels with UHPC
connections.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation plans to use UHPC closure pours on two bridge projects: Route 85 over the Assabet River in Hudson and Rochester Road over the Weweantic River in Carver-Middleborough. The agency is developing UHPC standard details for inclusion in its Bridge Manual.
Read FHWA’s Ultra-High Performance Concrete: A State-of-the-Art Report for the Bridge Community to learn about research and deployment of UHPC in transportation infrastructure.
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FHWA Launches EDC-4 Summits
The Federal Highway Administration kicked off a series
of seven regional summits on the fourth round of Every Day Counts
innovations. Transportation professionals from Delaware, Kentucky,
Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia
and Federal Lands Highway attended the first summit on October 18 and 19 in
Baltimore, Maryland. The summit introduced the 11 EDC-4 innovations and set the
stage for State Transportation Innovation Councils
to review and choose innovations to implement over the next two years.
FHWA conducted a town hall meeting at the Baltimore EDC summit with transportation professionals from Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and Federal Lands Highway.
Innovation Topic of Indiana
County Bridge Conference
Every Day Counts innovations
and asset management were hot topics at Indiana’s County Bridge Conference,
held October 21 at Purdue University. The meeting enabled officials responsible
for Indiana’s local bridges to discuss ways to preserve bridges effectively.
Indiana lawmakers passed legislation last year making additional state funds
available to counties that develop asset management plans for their bridges. The
Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program and Indiana Association of County
Engineers and Supervisors sponsored the conference.
Iowa Celebrates Local Bridge
Opening
An October 26 ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the
opening of the Catt Bridge in Buchanan County, Iowa. The project replaced a
closed structure with a new bridge featuring a glued laminated timber—or glulam—superstructure
supported on a geosynthetic reinforced soil
abutment. The U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory and Iowa State
University Institute for Transportation developed the innovative design of the
superstructure and GRS abutment. Buchanan County work crews built the bridge.
FHWA provided technical assistance on design and construction.
National STIC Meeting Features Massachusetts Success Stories
The national network of State Transportation Innovation Councils “is the
single most important factor in creating a permanent culture of innovation in
the transportation sector,” Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau told
transportation leaders in an October 12 webcast. The webcast
featured public agency and private sector members of the Massachusetts STIC
talking about how the council is building a culture of innovation in their
state. Participants also viewed a new video on the benefits of STIC involvement.
Oklahoma Participates in Asphalt
Project
The FHWA Mobile Asphalt Testing Trailer
is collaborating with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation on an Increased In-Place Density Initiative
project in Wakita. The FHWA-sponsored initiative enables state highway agencies
to experiment with construction techniques and technologies to increase the in-place
density of asphalt, which can result in more durable pavements. The Oklahoma DOT
is investigating the use of additional asphalt binder, an oscillatory compactor
and warm-mix asphalt technology
to increase pavement durability.
FHWA’s Mobile Asphalt Testing Trailer conducts tests in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma
Hosts Road Diet Workshops
Three FHWA workshops helped participants in Oklahoma understand
the safety, low-cost and quality-of-life benefits of road diets and how to use roadway
reconfiguration in their communities. The workshops were hosted by the
Association of Central Oklahoma Governments on October 18, the Indian Nations
Council of Governments on October 19 and the Oklahoma Department of
Transportation on October 20. The 106 participants represented urban and rural
communities, planning organizations, tribal governments, private industry, the
Oklahoma DOT and FHWA.
Webinar Makes Business Case for
Traffic Incident Management Programs
An FHWA webinar enabled more than
120 participants to learn about a four-phase process for developing an
effective business case for traffic incident management programs.
Participants in the October 13 webinar also heard presentations on how the
Oregon and Maryland Departments of Transportation made the business case for
their respective programs, including the challenges the agencies faced in
establishing their programs and the benefits they experienced.
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