September 20, 2013
Innovation Implementation: Locally Administered Federal-Aid Projects
Administering projects under the Federal-Aid Highway Program can be a challenge for local agencies, so Every Day Counts is highlighting three ways state agencies can help cities and counties do it successfully: stakeholder partnering, certification programs and use of consultant services flexibilities.
State agencies can use certification programs to confirm that local agencies have the ability to administer Federal-Aid projects and assure that projects follow federal regulations and guidelines. The programs enable state agencies to reduce oversight needs and allow certified local agencies to manage their own projects.
The Oregon Department of Transportation, for example, offers a tiered program through which local agencies can become certified in certain areas of Federal-Aid project delivery. Those areas include design, consultant selection and construction contract administration.
A Federal Highway Administration exhibit at the American Public WorksAssociation's 2013 conference and exposition focused on the EDC strategy on locally administered Federal-Aid projects. It also featured the informational videos on the Federal-Aid Essentials website, such as the one below on the six steps to successful project delivery. More than 6,000 public works professionals attended the conference in Chicago, Ill.
New Mexico Breaks Ground on Design-Build Project
Officials broke ground September 5 on the $93 million I-25/Paseo del Norte interchange project in New Mexico. This $93 million design-build project will help relieve congestion at one of the busiest interchanges in the state. Key features are a flyover ramp that will allow traffic to flow from northbound I-25 to westbound Paseo del Norte and a free-flow ramp from eastbound Paseo del Norte to southbound I-25.
Accelerated Bridge Construction Spurs New York Project
More than 100 transportation professionals are expected to attend a September 24 event to showcase the replacement of the I-84 overpass over Dingle Ridge Road in Putnam County, N.Y., using accelerated bridge construction techniques. The project is a Highways for LIFE demonstration project and a second Strategic Highway Research Program ABC Toolkit pilot. The interstate will be closed the weekend of September 21 and another weekend so that the New York State Department of Transportation can slide the west- and eastbound bridge structures into place. The project can be viewed online throughout construction.
Ohio Demonstrates Intelligent Compaction Technology
The Ohio Department of Transportation demonstrated the use of intelligent compaction on clay soils on a project in Lima. Compaction of subgrade was demonstrated using a Cat Machine Drive Power roller. Evaluation of the compaction was compared using a nuclear moisture density gauge, a lightweight deflectometer and a dynamic cone penetrometer. The agency is planning a similar project demonstration on granular material in Belmont County.
Oklahoma Officials Preview Responder Training
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and FHWA presented a SHRP 2 national traffic incident management responder training overview at the County Officers and Deputies Association of Oklahoma fall conference. About 25 county officials attended the workshops and learned how they can request the training in their areas of the state. A highway patrol presenter who is an emergency responder class instructor shared experiences and successes from his multidisciplinary training sessions.
Crews Slide Washington Bridge Into Place
Crews used slide-in bridge technology to move a permanent replacement span for the I-5 Skagit River Bridge into place on September 15. They moved temporary spans out of the way using hydraulic jacks that slide on Teflon pads and long steel rails. They used a similar system to slide the new 900-ton span into position, lower it and lock it into place. The Washington State Department of Transportation used accelerated bridge construction to speed replacement of the bridge, which collapsed in May when it was hit by an oversize load.
