January 23, 2015
Innovation Implementation: Incentive Opportunities
As the third round of the Every Day Counts initiative moves into high gear, the Federal Highway Administration is offering incentives and technical assistance to help the highway community mainstream innovations.
Fiscal year 2015 assistance is now available from the State Transportation Innovation Council Incentive program. The program provides resources—technical assistance and funds—to help STICs make innovations standard practice. States can get up to $100,000 a year for activities such as implementing system process changes, organizing peer exchanges and developing guidance and specifications. Contact the state FHWA Division Office or Mary Huie at (202) 366-3039 for information.
The Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration program continues to accept applications through Grants.gov. Incentive funding of up to $1 million may be awarded for projects using innovation on any aspect of highway transportation, including planning, financing, environment, design, construction, materials, pavements, structures and operations.
See the AID Demonstration Web page or contact Ewa Flom at (202) 366-2169 for details.
Section 1304 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act allows an increase in the
federal funding share of up to 5 percent on eligible projects that use innovations.
Every Day Counts as well as Strategic Highway Research Program 2 innovations (see article below).
FHWA technical teams are available to help highway agencies implement Every Day Counts as well as Strategic Highway Research Program 2 innovations (see article below).
SHRP 2 Implementation Assistance Available
New products in the areas of highway renewal and capacity are available in round five of the Implementation Assistance Program, which helps organizations deploy SHRP 2 products. They include Railroad-DOT Mitigation Strategies (R-16), resources to streamline permitting processes and support rapid decision making on highway projects near railways. Improving DOT and railroad coordination is part of FHWA's EDC-3 initiative. The application process is open until February 13.
Arizona Council Highlights Innovation Campaign
The Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation highlighted the success of its 2014 Innovative Exchange Campaign during a panel discussion at the January 8 Arizona Rural Transportation Summit. Designed to build a culture of innovation in the state, the campaign included a series of events on topics such as accelerated bridge construction techniques and the design-build project delivery method. During the panel discussion, speakers asked summit participants for suggestions on innovation exchange topics for the 2015 campaign.
Maine and New Hampshire Start Bridge Construction
A January 5 event in Kittery, Maine, kicked off construction of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge replacement project, being built using the construction manager/general contractor delivery method. The $158.5 million project, which received $25 million in U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER VI funds and a $1 million AID Demonstration grant, is a joint venture between the Maine and New Hampshire Departments of Transportation, with the Maine DOT serving as the lead. It will replace a 70-year-old truss with a movable lift span that carries vehicular and rail traffic between Kittery and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Colorado to Use CM/GC for U.S. 34 Project
The Colorado Department of Transportation is using the CM/GC delivery method on its project to reconstruct U.S. 34 from Loveland to Estes Park. The agency temporarily rebuilt the road to accommodate essential traffic after it suffered extensive damage during 2013 floods, knowing that additional work to reconstruct the road to a more resilient standard would be required. The Colorado DOT chose the CM/GC delivery method to enable it to retain design control on the project. A January 15 meeting began the CM/GC procurement process for the project.
New Jersey Holds Regional Collaboration Meeting
The first New Jersey Department of Transportation/Metropolitan Planning Organization Collaboration meeting of the year took place January 8. The quarterly meetings, an example of the EDC-3 regional models of cooperation effort, focus on metropolitan planning matters throughout the state. Their purpose is to ensure collaboration on program and project issues and support investments that address transportation system issues. Regular attendees include representatives of the New Jersey DOT, the state's three metropolitan planning organizations, NJ Transit, the Federal Transit Administration and FHWA.
See the Latest Innovator
Read the new issue of Innovator to find out how New Mexico and other states used State Transportation Innovation Council incentive funds on activities to standardize innovations. Also, read about the latest round of Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration awards highway agencies will use to deploy proven technologies and practices to save time, money and lives.
