September 12, 2014
Innovation Implementation:
Design-Build
Highway agencies are using the design-build project method to harness innovation through early contractor involvement, accelerate delivery, lower costs and improve quality on projects. Design-build combines the design and construction phases of a highway project in one contract.
Design-build combined with accelerated bridge construction techniques helped Massachusetts shrink a four-year bridge replacement project on I-93 to one summer. Photo: MassDOT
Manuals and guidance documents are helping states mainstream the use of design-build:
- The District Department of Transportation developed a Design-Build Manual that describes the agency's procedures and recommended best practices to successfully procure and administer design-build projects.
- The Georgia Department of Transportation worked with various offices and industry stakeholders to update its Design-Build Manual.
- The Vermont Agency of Transportation is using an FHWA State Transportation Innovation Council Incentive grant to develop design-build guidance for projects.
Colorado Focuses on Traffic Incident Management
The Colorado Department of Transportation hosted an executive-level training and dialogue session on traffic incident management on September 2. The training focused on the I-25 corridor in the Denver metropolitan area. Training participants included managers from the Colorado State Patrol, local law enforcement agencies and fire departments. This fall, the Colorado DOT and Colorado State Patrol will launch a joint communication campaign to educate motorists involved in minor incidents to move vehicles from the travel lane of a divided highway under the Colorado Move-It law.
Michigan Forms Stakeholder Partnering Group
The Michigan Department of Transportation, local public agencies, County Road Association of Michigan and FHWA held an August 28 partnering workshop to kick off the state's new Stakeholder Partnering Committee. After a discussion on expectations, roles, responsibilities and issues, participants committed to formation of the partnering group to focus on locally administered Federal-Aid projects. They agreed on the framework of a draft committee charter and set a goal of having a formal charter written and signed by the end of 2014.
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.
