September 10, 2015
Innovation of the Month: Data-Driven Safety Analysis
Transportation agencies are challenged to maximize their return on investment in safety improvements, often with limited resources. The Federal Highway Administration is encouraging agencies to explore the use of data-driven safety analysis to generate the reliable information they need to make smart decisions.
Data-driven safety analysis offers several benefits:
- Informed decision making – Quantifying the safety impacts associated with roadway planning and design can lead to more informed decisions on projects and programs.
- Optimized investment – Current analytical methods provide agencies with powerful tools to optimize investments and the safety of all road users.
- Enhanced safety – Highway agencies can proactively apply safety countermeasures at locations with the highest potential for improvement, reducing fatalities and injuries.
The EDC Data-Driven Safety Analysis Innovation Deployment Team offers technical assistance and training, including workshops and peer exchanges. For information, contact team leaders Jerry Roche and John McFadden.
Learn more at these fall events:
- “EDC-3 Innovations: Data-Driven Safety Analysis and Road Diets” session, AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers Convention, October 11-14, 2015, New York, New York
- “Highway Safety Manual and Quantitative Safety, Concepts and Tools” workshop, Institute of Transportation Engineers Fall Conference, October 27, 2015, Tucson, Arizona
- “Incorporating Safety Performance Into All Highway Investment Decisions” session, International Forum on Traffic Records and Highway Information Systems, October 27, 2015, Costa Mesa, California
South Capitol Street Corridor Project Advances in D.C.
The Indiana Department of Transportation recently finished constructing its first J-turn intersection, located at U.S. 41 and State Route 114 near Morocco. The Indiana DOT chose the J-turn design–also known as a restricted-crossing U-turn or superstreet intersection–to improve safety and mobility in the area. The design eliminates straight and left-turn movements from the side street to reduce the risk of crashes.
Indiana Enhances Safety With J-Turn Intersection Design
August 21 marked the grand opening of the new Dennehotso Bridge over Laguna Creek in Apache County, Arizona. Crews on the Federal Lands Highway project used geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge system technology to replace the bridge, which is on a route that serves as a local access road for the Dennehotso Navajo Chapter. The new bridge will enable the narrow stream channel to be widened, resulting in fewer flooding events.
The Indiana DOT built its first J-turn intersection in Morocco.
Washington Landslide Rebuild Wins National Award
The Snohomish County Public Works Department and Washington State Department of Transportation won an American Public Works Association 2015 Project of the Year Award in the Disaster/Emergency category. The design-build project to rebuild a section of State Route 530, damaged in March 2014 in a massive mudslide, reopened ahead of schedule in September 2014. The agencies, along with contractors and consultants who collaborated on the project, were honored at APWA’s August 31 awards ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona.
