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Center for Accelerating Innovation

FHWA Home / OIPD / Accelerating Innovation / Every Day Counts / EDC-5 Innovations

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EDC-5 Innovations (2019-2020)

Providing better site characterization through well considered geotechnical site characterization planning and selection of exploration methods minimize and prevent constructability issues and increased project costs. Advanced geotechnical exploration methods offer solutions for generating more accurate geotechnical characterizations that improve design and construction decisions, leading to shorter project delivery times and reducing the risks associated with limited data on subsurface site conditions.

For more information: Geotech - Bridges & Structures - Federal Highway Administration (dot.gov)

Advances in hydraulic modeling tools are providing a more comprehensive understanding of complex flow patterns at river crossings versus traditional modeling techniques. These 2D hydraulic modeling and 3D computer visualization technologies also facilitate more effective communication and collaboration, improving agencies’ ability to design safer and more cost-effective and resilient structures on waterways.

For more information: Hydraulics - Bridges & Structures - Federal Highway Administration (dot.gov)

Many States continue to see an increase in the number of highways and bridges needing attention, and those that are posted for reduced loads adversely affect travel, freight movement, and emergency response times. Project bundling helps address this national issue. By awarding a single contract for several similar preservation, rehabilitation, or replacement projects, agencies can streamline design and construction, reduce costs, and effectively decrease transportation project backlogs.

For more information: FHWA - Center for Innovative Finance Support - Alternative Project Delivery (dot.gov)

Reducing fatalities on rural roads remains a major challenge on all public roads in the United States. Roadway departures on the rural road network account for one-third of traffic fatalities. Systemic application of roadway departure countermeasures, such as rumble strips, friction treatments, and clear zones are proven to reduce these crashes.  Statewide, Regional or Local Road Safety Plans can document strategies to keep vehicles in their travel lanes, reduce the potential for crashes, and reduce the severity of those crashes that do occur.

For more information: Roadway Departure Safety | FHWA (dot.gov)

Pedestrians accounted for 16 percent of all roadway fatalities, and crashes are predominantly at midblock and intersection crossing locations. As pedestrian safety continues to be a concern for transportation agencies across the country, cost-effective countermeasures are available to assist practitioners in providing safer crossings for all pedestrians.

For more information: Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) | FHWA (dot.gov)

UAS can benefit nearly all aspects of highway transportation, from inspection to construction and operations, by collecting high-quality data automatically or remotely. These relatively low-cost devices allow agencies to expedite the data collection needed for better-informed decisions while reducing the adverse impacts of temporary work zones on work crews and the traveling public.

For more information: Unmanned Aerial Systems - Federal Highway Administration (dot.gov)

Crowdsourcing turns transportation system users into real-time sensors on system performance, providing low-cost, high-quality data on traffic operations, roadway conditions, travel patterns, and more. When combined with traditional data, crowdsourcing helps agencies implement proactive strategies that improve incident detection, traffic signal retiming, road weather management, traveler information, and other operational programs. Agencies can make roadways safer and more reliable, improve operational efficiency, and support cost-effective monitoring through crowdsourcing for operations.

For more information: EDC-6: Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations | Federal Highway Administration (dot.gov)

When public agencies invest in transportation assets that improve access and increase opportunity in the community, adjacent property owners benefit through greater land value and other economic impacts. Many techniques are available to the public sector to share in a portion of this increased land value to build, maintain, or reinvest in the transportation system.

For more information: FHWA - Center for Innovative Finance Support - Value Capture (dot.gov)

Robust early public engagement during transportation planning and project development can bring diverse viewpoints, values, and concerns into the decision-making process. Virtual public involvement techniques, such as telephone town halls and online meetings, offer convenient, efficient, and low-cost methods for informing the public, encouraging their participation, and receiving their input.

For more information: Virtual Public Involvement - Public Involvement - Planning - FHWA (dot.gov)

More than 20 percent of crashes are weather-related and contribute to over 3,000 fatalities on our transportation system each year. Weather-associated traffic delays can also result in significant losses in productivity and efficiency. Weather-responsive traffic and maintenance management strategies support State and local transportation agencies in deploying improved traffic modeling, maintenance support systems, and traveler information that can significantly reduce highway crashes and delays resulting from adverse weather. These strategies also focus on proactive, environmental responses to road weather events, such as pre-storm anti-icing and integrated mobile observations, to help reduce chloride use.

For more information: Road Weather Management - FHWA Office of Operations (dot.gov)

Page last modified on May 31, 2023
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000