2004 Accomplishment Report and 2005 Business Plan Summary

During FY 2004, the Ohio Division assured that the Federal-aid Program was delivered consistent with the laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. A systematic process is being utilized to ensure that the Division Performance Plan is aligned with the National Performance Plan and individual performance objectives. This resulted in numerous significant accomplishments completed in FY 2004 that clearly demonstrates the linkage to the National Performance Plan, and they are summarized below:

Safety:

• The Division's Safety Integration Team completed its report on the series of external customer focus group meetings held with representatives of the ODOT districts, metropolitan planning organization's (MPO's) counties & cities to determine how FHWA can better serve them in improving safety in the areas of planning, environment, right-of-way, design, construction and maintenance. The report identified best practices to be shared and recommendations for activities for the Division staff.
• Division staff continued to support the ODOT and Ohio Department of Public Safety in their quest to improve the quality of crash data through their on-going pilot project with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and three local police and sheriff's departments. This pilot is currently set to be completed in the first quarter of FY 2005.
• Began working with ODOT and Resource Center staff in the development of an intersection safety plan. Hosted two presentations of the FHWA one day Intersection Safety Workshop. Workshop participants included ODOT, municipal and consultant staff.
• The Ohio Division staff participated in the three rounds of the ODOT Work Zone Organizational Performance Index reviews. Review of last year's crash data indicated a need to look at the length of entrance ramp merge areas to ensure that they met standards or were maximized based on the conditions. District personnel were notified of any deficient entrance ramp merge areas observed. The overall condition of the work zones reviewed resulted in ratings in the 5-6 range, with 6 being excellent.

Mobility and Productivity:

• The division staff conducted and completed the Work Zone Self Assessment with the Ohio DOT. The opportunities for improvement that were identified in this review will be used along with information from other reviews such as the Work Zone Quality Assurance Reviews to improve the efficiency and safety of traffic flow in work zones.
• Regional ITS Architectures - Division staff worked closely with the corresponding MPO of three of Ohio's major metropolitan areas (Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown) in the development of their respective regional ITS architecture, and a fourth one (Columbus) in the update of its existing regional ITS architecture.
• Systems Engineering Process - The Division Staff worked closely with the MPOs and coordinated with FHWA staff in HQ and the Resource Center to provide training in the fundamentals of the Systems Engineering Process to state and local transportation professionals from the metropolitan areas of Dayton, Springfield, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, and Youngstown.
• Development of Congestion Partnerships (VFG) - The Division staff conducted and completed the baseline Regional Transportation Operations Collaboration and Coordination (RTOCC) Assessment for six of Ohio's major metropolitan areas: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown.
• The Ohio Division continued to support ODOT's strategic Initiative 9 (Build Bridges Faster, Smarter, Better) through technical comments and input on several projects. This initiative will result in a tool box of techniques that can be applied to projects early in the design process to reduce the time to construct a bridge, thereby shortening the overall impacts due to construction.
• The division staff conducted and completed the Traffic Incident Management Self Assessment in three major metropolitan areas (Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo). Each of the areas identified key issues that will improve their traffic incident management programs.
• The Division provided technical assistance to Maine DOT by participating in a Value Engineering Study of the Waldo-Hancock Bridge. The Division representative shared lessons learned from Ohio's cable-stayed construction projects. The representative joined a multi-state team that resulted in a fast-track method to accelerate construction of an important river crossing.
• The Division staff, jointly with ODOT, performed Quality Assurance Reviews on the design of new, reconstructed and rehabilitated pavement structures. The reviews verified that approved design procedures were being consistently used and implemented on a statewide basis.
• Division staff assisted ODOT with the development and implementation of improved pavement smoothness specifications to improve the quality of pavement construction and improve user satisfaction on the state highway system.
• The Division staff, jointly with ODOT, performed Construction Quality Assurance Reviews for new and rehabilitated pavements on the NHS. Findings from the reviews were tabulated, analyzed and evaluated to develop improved procedures, guidelines and specifications for flexible and rigid pavement construction.
• Division staff, with the assistance of ODOT and FHWA's Pennsylvania Division staff, organized and conducted a workshop to share Ohio's experiences with highway construction warranties with top managers in PennDOT. The group shared experiences with the benefits and limitations of warranties, specification development, construction experiences, field review, and evaluation and monitoring, and dispute resolution with highway contractors.

Environment:

• The Environmental Process Manual has been completed. This manual provides detailed instructions to NEPA practitioners for completing EAs and EISs under ODOT's Project Development Process which will ultimately help streamline the process.
• The Division is continuing to work with ODOT, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to implement a programmatic agreement on collaborating to satisfy requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
• In furthering the spirit of the FHWA/ODOT Environmental Teamwork Initiative, we have worked jointly to establish electronic tools for tracking the priority and status of current and future actions/approvals on project specific environmental documents. An internal website has been established to provide project specific information to the engineering staff regarding pending and future actions for environmental documents.
• FHWA teamed with ODOT to complete and implement new Project Development Processes. These comprehensive manuals are tailored to project complexity (major, minor, and minimal). All necessary steps from conception through construction are defined, and associated products are tracked. The primary goals of this initiative were to streamline the delivery of projects and improve the quality of construction plans.
• Environmental Streamlining funds were used to conduct a partnering session between the FHWA, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and ODOT. The main purpose of the partnering sessions was to develop new processes for endangered species coordination involving the Indiana Bat.
• The Division led a process review for Transportation Enhancement projects. The intent was to gain further information and knowledge of the State's and 17 MPO's relationship and responsibilities as stewards of the TE program. As a result of this review, the Division will be taking a more active role in working with ODOT's Central and District offices, and the MPOs to further accomplish a higher standard for program delivery and project selection.

National Homeland Security:

• The division staff conducted a thorough review of the 16-foot vertical clearance routes in Ohio and recommended modifications to more accurately reflect the current conditions.
• The Division initiated a vulnerability assessment for the cable-stayed Maumee Bridge. The assessment showed strengths and weakness of the design and allowed ODOT to use the information for mitigation efforts. The Division also assisted Headquarters and the U.S. Coast Guard in performing structural vulnerability studies of bridges in the Cleveland and Toledo metropolitan areas.

Organizational Excellence:

• The Division created and deployed the Ohio Division's website. This site contains valuable information that can be easily obtained by our customers and partners. Visit our website at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohdiv.
• The Division has developed an improvement plan in response to the Agency-wide partner survey. Process Owners have been identified in each improvement area and action plans have been developed to serve as a contract to achieve desired outcomes. The Division empowered teams to partner with ODOT and MPOs to understand their concerns and identify ways for improvement.
• The Ohio Division placed increased emphasis on Technology Transfer (T²) activities. Examples of T² activities include arranging for the FHWA Technology and Innovation exhibit at the Ohio Transportation Engineering Conference; significant involvement by FHWA Division Office, Resource Center, and Headquarters personnel at the Ohio Asphalt Paving Conference; producing a video of an NHI course for distribution to ODOT Districts and LTAP; and identifying strategies to deploy new technologies.
• The Ohio Division co-hosted the Fifth Biennial Interstate Technical Group on Abandoned Underground Mines Workshop. The program focused on the effects of mine development on highway planning, design, construction, maintenance, and infrastructure development. The Ohio Division also co-hosted an International Geotechnical Management System Workshop.
• The Division and FTA Region V, in conjunction with the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Divisions, implemented a Memorandum of Agreement to streamline metropolitan and statewide transportation planning oversight. The agreement promotes effective communication, establishes roles and responsibilities, and provides a reasonable timeframe for Division/Region actions.
• A programmatic agreement was finalized and implemented between the ODOT Central Office Utilities Section and the Division which will streamline procedures aimed at reducing the paperwork and processing time for certain Federal actions involving utility relocation plans and estimates, reimbursement eligibility, contractor/consultant use and utility relocation billing.
• Provided critical Emergency Relief support to ODOT and local agencies for three separate flood events in southeast Ohio.
• Developed and presented DBE fraud awareness training to alert and raise consciousness of prohibited behavior in federally funded projects. The presentations were made to ODOT construction staff and contractors during the annual ODOT statewide conferences.
• Conducted the DBE Program Peer Review with the focus on the certification process. Assistance was provided by Civil Rights counter parts in the Michigan Division, State DOTs of Ohio & Michigan, and technical assistance provided by the Resource Center Civil Rights Specialist.