Each year, the FHWA Local Aid Support team recognizes and celebrates local government and tribal agencies who pioneer innovations that improve transportation performance through the Build a Better Mousetrap program. Congratulations to the four national winners of the competition:

• Innovative Project Award: South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania for the Sidewinder, which is a tool used to fill barriers or berms with compact materials such as gravel, soil, and rocks to control water flow along the roadways.
• Bold Steps Award: Walsh County Highway Department, North Dakota for the Guardrail Maintainer, which is an attachment to clean around guardrails to keep debris off the roadway.
• Smart Transformation Award: Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico for the Public Survey Tool for Emergency Events, which helps emergency response workers
• Pioneer Award: Washington County Department of Public Works, New York for the Culvert Cleaner, which is a tool to quickly and more easily clear out culverts to prevent flooding

Notice

This is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the information provided.

South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Like many small towns and rural communities, South Manheim Township in Pennsylvania is managing their road maintenance projects on limited budgets that do not allow for the rent or purchase of equipment for every job. But one job in particular needed improvements that would increase efficiency and save money. The Township typically fills areas along the roadways called berms with extra dirt and other materials as a method of flood control. However, the process involved the dumping of material on the roadway and then using a backhoe to spread material into areas that needed it. This process caused a loss in materials used, inconsistent application of the material, and road hazards as they had to continuously sweep wasted materials from the roadway. There was also another issue according to the Township's Roadmaster, Corby Lewis, "We owned a berming machine and it works well; however, you are limited to using one truck over and over, which results in a lot of down time while the truck gets loaded, then returns to the site. We needed something more efficient."

Their solution is the Sidewinder, which is a widening tool that attaches to the backhoe and pushes like a paver. Use of the innovative solution allowed workers to use multiple trucks and the design of the Sidewinder eliminated unnecessary loss of wasted material and ensured the roadway stayed on grade. "We were very happy with the design right off. We have to make some small modifications along the way. We added a mirror for the operator to see materials in front of the blade, so they know they needed more material."

The Sidewinder cost the South Manheim Township approximately $500 in materials. "This invention has been very beneficial to the township. It saves time because we can keep it running continuously. We have a three-man crew that allows one person to operate the sidewinder and the other two haul materials," says Corby.

The Sidewinder also saves the Township on costs of materials and above all they can make the roads safer for residents. Corby says, "I encourage all townships and other agencies to try something new. We are always making things to improve our everyday duties. It makes us better at what we do and become very involved in saving our residents and Township monies that can be used elsewhere."

Congratulations to the South Manheim Township in Pennsylvania for their innovative Sidewinder. They are the 2022 Build a Better Mousetrap Innovative Project Award winner.

The Innovative Project Award recognizes any solution that addresses any or all phase(s) of the 'project' life cycle - planning, Design/Engineering, Construction, Operations and Maintenance. This project shall introduce new ideas, is locally relevant, original, and creative in thinking.

Contact: Corby Lewis, South Manheim Township (PA) 570-754-7437 or southmanheimroads@gmail.com

Walsh County, North Dakota

Gravel, debris, and vegetation can be a recipe for unsafe conditions if they drift out onto the roadway. The Walsh County Highway Department in North Dakota routinely clears debris from around the guardrails especially before a snowfall. This task required a crew of four people, each with a shovel to remove excess debris, vegetation, or snow buildup alongside traffic. The workers felt they needed a safer, more efficient, and cost-effective way to maintain the guard rails. So, they held a brainstorming session, "We had a nice arrangement of scrap materials to pick from. In between the brainstorming and stuff like that, it was all just kind of throwing ideas off each other. The biggest challenge was looking for some stability. Something safe that lasts also,"said Stuart Swartz, Walsh County Highway Department.

At the end of the brainstorm session, the front-line workers came up with the Guardrail Maintainer, which is an attachment tool that easily cleans around guardrail. Instead of using four crew workers, the Department now only needed one to operate the Guardrail Maintainer. "We were surprised it worked so well. You just don't know how it's going to work. The operators are pretty skilled and make it look pretty easy."

Designing and building the innovation cost the highway department $65 in materials and 16 hours in labor for two people. "Using scrap metal was a big plus. Plus, the time of the year, they were doing a lot of shop work. Down time is mid to later winter when most of the maintenance is complete on the equipment," said Highway Superintendent Jason Johnston. "I encourage my guys that if they can find anything that can make their jobs more efficient, go for it."

Guard rails provide motorists protection from hazards such as fixed objects and drop offs. The innovative Guardrail maintainer has turned a 1-hour job into a 20-minute job with fewer people. The Highway Department said this solution was a great idea from the start with no challenges and from the beginning, the tool worked the way it was supposed to.

As far as advice on the importance of using innovative solutions, Stuart Swartz said, "Just go for it. Support your employees and let them express their ideas." Jason Johnston agrees, "The idea may seem simplistic but you many never know until go through the process. It's just one of those things. You have to take the change and try. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

Congratulations to the Walsh County Highway Department in North Dakota for their innovative Guardrail Maintainer. They are the 2022 Build a Better Mousetrap Bold Steps Award winner

The Bold Steps Award recognizes any locally relevant high-risk project or process showing a break-through solution with demonstrated high reward.

Contact: Stuart Swartz, Walsh County Highway Department (ND), 701-331-0088 or shop3@polarcomm.com

Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

A major rain event in early 2022, caused flooding, landslides, sinkholes, and damage to highways, roads, and bridges. Due to the wide scale and severity of the event, emergency crews found themselves dealing with a range of issues in their response such as data limitations, personnel shortages, and limited digital tools. The Municipality of Autonomous Toa Baja in Puerto Rico officials knew they needed an easier process for connecting with residents to assess the damage. "A lot of things were going on at the same time during the emergency. We just needed to find ways to get at least a little bit of information to properly respond," said Isabel Olivieri, Toa Baja Geographic Information System (GIS) Tech Specialist.

In the middle of the emergency event, Isabel quickly developed a virtual public survey tool using Survey 123 and GIS. The survey included questions around contact information, location of damage, type of damage and a tool to upload images that would assist emergency responders with damage assessments. She had the electronic survey tool published to the social media pages and the innovation took off from there. Residents immediately began to provide officials with information on heavily damaged areas and they included plenty of photos. From this information, emergency responders were able to not only get a good understanding of the damage, but they were also able to prioritize response.

Implementation of the public survey tool completely aligned with the mayor's goals for community engagement, so garnering support for the tool was not an issue and contributed to staff being able to quickly publish the tool. The greatest challenge in the middle of the rain event, according to Isabel was knowing what technology was available to do what they needed. Another obstacle was ensuring that the information did not get lost among other social media posts, "social media is very quick. You can post something and then you can't find it because people are posting so much. For future events, we will increase the amount of posting and we will expand to use more platforms," says Isabel.

She encourages everyone with ideas to share them, "there are a lot of awesome ideas however when you share that idea, that's when it becomes impressive. We have to communicate." Isabel is also grateful for her support system, "I see them every day. I work in their town and for them, the citizens of this town. They are my motivation mainly. I feel very humbled that we won."

Congratulations to the Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja in Puerto Rico for their innovative Public Survey Tool. They are the 2022 Build a Better Mousetrap Smart Transformation Award Winner.

The Smart Transformation Award recognizes a locally relevant significant change in any transportation activity or process that is SMART "Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound" in nature that results in improved efficiencies

Contact: Anilda Fernandez, Autonomous Municipality of Toa Baja (PR) (787) 261-0202 ext. 2209 or afernandez@toabaja.com

Washington County, New York

Beavers looking for a home inside culverts create big problems for drivers and the Department of Public Works in Washington County, New York. The dirt the critters pack inside the culverts not only causes roadway flooding but also a safety hazard for Public Works employees tasked with clearing out the culverts. "The safety concerns of the employees entering a culvert in the water was very high because of the potential of being bitten by beavers, snakes, turtles and even getting leeches. And of course, there's the possibility of getting Giardiasis/bever fever from potential ingestion of the contaminated water," says Michael Newell with the Washington County Department of Public Works.

The solution was to design and build a tool to clean culverts without employees having to risk their safety entering water. "We were looking for a tool that would not damage the plastic culverts and were to fit into a minimum 15" diameter culvert and could reach inside up to 20-24 feet especially since the obstruction tends to occur within 10 ft of the culvert," says Michael. The Culvert Cleaner accomplished just that. It was developed in-house by the department's engineering department using parts they already had and approximately 40 labor hours. The innovation saves money, time, and improves safety for the workers and the community. Michael says the idea for the Culvert Cleaner came to him overnight after watching a few YouTube videos and thinking about history. "I thought about how during the medieval time period, they would keep hitting the door and ramming the door until it opened. I knew the Culvert Cleaner needed to be heavy enough to stay in the culvert without damaging it and no sharp edges to it."

According to Michael, the first attempt at the Culvert Cleaner was not strong enough among other limitations including not having enough reach. So, they tried it again and successfully built a second one that was stronger with a reach of about 20 feet. The culverts are cleaned out within a couple of minutes using the innovation exceeding their expectations.

Michael's advice to other agencies is to "be brave and just take the challenge on. Just do it. Don't be afraid and accept the fact that you have options and that there are other tools that can be used." He also wants agencies to know that if you are interested in building your own Culvert Cleaner, keep safety in mind, "Safety is very important when it comes to using this tool. Use experienced workers to operate it (Culvert Cleaner) because it has to be moved just right."

Congratulations to the Washington County Department of Public Works in New York for their innovative Culvert Cleaner. They are the 2022 Build a Better Mousetrap Pioneer Award Winner.

The Pioneer Award recognizes a locally relevant product or tool that is among the first to solve a maintenance problem with a home-grown solution.

Contact: Michael Newell, Washington County Dept. of Public Works (NY) 518-746-2440 or Mipanewell@gmail.com

By: David Unkefer, Construction and Management Engineer, FHWA

"To do new things, we need new ways." Mark Counts, Caltrans

Writer: Matt Johnson, PE, Western North Dakota Transportation Liaison, ND LTAP

North Dakota Local Technical Assistance Program (NDLTAP) has partnered with Vision Zero, North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund, American Traffic Safety Services Association, Newman Signs, 3D Specialties, and the North Dakota Game and Fish to launch the Sign Warrior Calendar contest. The Sign Warrior project was started in 2019 with the help of Williams County and their Highway Department Office Manager, Rhonda Woodhams.

The program features a "Sign Warrior" cartoon superhero. The Sign Warrior's motto, "SAVE OUR SIGNS!" encourages 4th grade elementary-age youth to be alert to the four major dangers to North Dakota road signs: shooting, stealing, graffiti, and other damage. The program features a drawing contest so that young artists can help us illustrate the dangers and the efforts of the Sign Warrior to protect the state's signs. This superhero also changes our outlook on the importance of signs and creates a culture of awareness that saves lives.

"Save Our Signs!" Missing or damages signs can lead to traffic accidents resulting in property damage, injury or death. Many local road agencies across the state fight an expensive and constant battle to keep signs in place and in good repair. That effort costs tax dollars and valuable time that could be better spent on other important road maintenance efforts.

The Sign Warrior Calendar contest invites all 4th graders to participate in the art contest. The 4th grade classrooms are contacted to enter the contest, given rules and guidelines to follow, and then NDLTAP provides a short video explaining the importance of signs, the meaning of different types of signs, and a short art lesson from Dennis Houle, a local artist in Bismarck. Last year, we received 187 entries for the calendar contest. 20 winners were chosen and special recognition was given to each student in their school. The special recognition for each student included a button to signify being chosen as a winner, copies of the calendar, and recognition in the school setting. Local law enforcement and local road department staff were also on hand to congratulate the winners and explain the role signs play in the safety of all travelers.

The calendars also have quotes for each month. One such quote is from former NDDOT Director, William Panos, "Road signs warn motorists of potential dangers and give important instructions that keep drivers, passengers, and other road users safe." Past calendars can be viewed online at www.ndltap.org/programs/signwarrior.

Remember to be safe and report any and all damaged signs to your local road department.

Reconnecting Communities Pilot discretionary grant program that will provide over $1 billion over the next five years to support planning, capital construction, and technical assistance to equitably and safely restore community connectivity through the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or replacement of eligible transportation infrastructure facilities that create barriers to mobility, access, or economic development. The USDOT website on this grant is https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SMART

Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grants program provides up to $100 million of funds annually over the next five years and will fund projects that use data and technology to solve real-world challenges facing communities today. The Program seeks proposals from public sector entities that will carry out demonstration projects in the following domains to address key transportation priorities: Vehicle technology (automation & connectivity); Systems innovation (delivery & logistics, traffic signals, smart grid, and data integration); And, new ways to monitor and manage infrastructure like sensors and UAS. The SMART Notice of Funding (NOFO) is open now and can be found at www.grants.gov Applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, November 18, 2022. Eligible entities are state, local, and tribal governments and agencies. For more information visit https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SMART

Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) grants program provides $60 million to promote advanced technologies to improve safety and reduce travel times for drivers and transit riders and that can serve as national examples. ATTAIN-eligible project will be evaluated on how they consider climate change and environmental justice impacts - including how they reduce transportation-related air pollution and address the disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged communities. The ATTAIN NOFO can also be found at www.grants.gov. State departments of transportation, local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations and other eligible entities are invited to apply. Applications must be submitted by Friday, November 18, 2022. For more information, visit the FHWA web site.

I've been a career federal employee since my graduation from Capital University Law School in 2006 as a working adult. I focused my juris doctorate studies on Government Affairs and Environmental Law and have used my experience and education to help develop and implement policies and programs at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Highway Administration. I'm proud of my reputation as an approachable, effective change agent who believes in empowering others and making the world a better place.

My husband and I live in a tiny cabin on fifty acres in Kentucky and are focused on maintaining a sustainable, self-reliant lifestyle. We have planted an orchard, a Christmas tree plot and a pumpkin patch and grow most of our own food. I'm also an indie fiction author in my spare time, and used the extra time not spent commuting during the pandemic to make that dream a reality.

As one of the newest program managers for On-the-Job Training and Supportive Services, I look forward to working on initiatives focused on creating social and economic equity

Build a Better Mousetrap 2022 Winners
October 20, 2022
2:00pm - 3:30pm ET
To access webinar

Unstable Slope Report & Geotech Mobile Application
November 17, 2022
2:00pm - 3:30pm ET

National League of Cities (NLC) City Summit
Kansas City, MO
November 17-19, 2022
https://citysummit.nlc.org/

Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting
Washington D.C.
January 8 - 13, 2023
https://events.jspargo.com/TRB23/Public/enter.aspx