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Innovation of the Month:
Data-Driven
Safety Analysis
In most States, more than half of
traffic fatalities occur on local roads. During Every Day Counts round four
(EDC-4), the Federal Highway Administration is helping local as well as State
agencies become proficient in using data-driven safety analysis
(DDSA) tools to reduce crashes.
Many local agencies
already benefit from DDSA.
In Thurston County, WA,
the public works department used systemic analysis tools to prioritize projects
and better target safety investments. Using FHWA’s Systemic
Safety Project Selection Tool allowed the agency to
pinpoint at-risk locations on its system and identify appropriate safety
countermeasures to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
used systemic DDSA to develop road safety plans for each of its 87 counties.
The analysis showed that half of traffic fatalities in the State were on local
roads, so MnDOT helped local agencies implement the safety plans by sharing
funding with them in proportion to the number of projects on their systems.
Arizona Innovation Council Advances Nine EDC Innovations
The
Arizona Council for Transportation
Innovation (ACTI), a State
Transportation Innovation Council, held the first of its 2017 EDC
workshops to discuss best practices to deploy 9 EDC-4 innovations.
The workshop provided a forum for ACTI’s 9 innovation deployment teams to
discuss strategies to advance all the innovations. Over 30 public and private
sector representatives on the innovation teams brainstormed deployment ideas
and exchanged lessons learned. ACTI holds semiannual workshops as a
catalyst to maintain the spirit of innovation in Arizona. To learn more
about ACTI’s innovation deployment strategies, contact Jennifer Brown,
Innovation Coordinator, FHWA Arizona Division at Jennifer.Brown@dot.gov.
Tennessee Bridge Replacement
Uses Accelerated Bridge Construction
The Tennessee Department of
Transportation (TDOT) is using accelerated bridge construction
(ABC) on its project to replace the I-24 bridges over Oldham and
Spring Streets in downtown Nashville. ABC will help TDOT minimize traffic
congestion and provide a safer commute for the 148,000 vehicles that travel the
interstate section each day. The work will require a road closure for four
weekends starting in October 2017, but this process will allow construction to
be finished in months instead of years. The project is scheduled for completion
in June 2018.
Traffic Incident Management Data
Workshops Available
FHWA conducted workshops in Iowa,
Maine, and Nebraska on June 13 to 15 to help transportation agencies advance
the EDC-4 effort on using data to improve traffic incident
management (TIM). The workshops enabled participants to identify
opportunities to increase the amount, consistency, and quality of data
collection to support TIM performance measures. Earlier, FHWA held workshops in
New Hampshire and Vermont. To schedule a workshop, contact Paul
Jodoin of the FHWA Office of Operations or the EDC coordinator in your
State FHWA division office. View
an Innovation Spotlight video on using data to
improve TIM.
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