June 23, 2016
FHWA Announces New Every Day Counts Innovations
Eleven technologies and practices are on the fourth-round roster of Every Day Counts, the Federal Highway Administration’s state-based initiative to deploy proven innovations to shorten and enhance project delivery.
The EDC-4 innovations include advanced hydraulic modeling tools, targeted pavement preservation treatments, cost-effective pedestrian safety strategies, weather-savvy roads and more. FHWA will offer technical assistance, training and resources to help transportation agencies and stakeholders adopt the innovations in 2017 and 2018.
Every two years, FHWA works with the transportation community to identify a new set of innovations that merit widespread deployment through EDC. FHWA’s call for suggestions for EDC-4 innovations drew a strong response from stakeholders, who offered more than 80 new ideas.
The Virginia Department of Transportation's stakeholder partnering effort spans more than a decade and includes several groups associated with local programs. The agency uses the partnering groups as a proving ground for developing innovative approaches and testing streamlining measures.
Transportation leaders will gather at regional summits this fall to learn about the EDC-4 innovations. EDC's third round continues until the end of December.
EDC-3 Working Groups Gather for Arizona Workshop
Members of Arizona's 10 EDC-3 innovation working groups met June 14 in Phoenix for an Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation workshop. After the working groups met separately to discuss their innovation deployment efforts, they provided status overviews to the entire workshop group and answered questions. The semiannual workshops provide an opportunity for Arizona Council for Transportation Innovation members to get updates and provide input on all of the state’s innovation deployment efforts in one sitting.
North Dakota Signs Programmatic Agreement
The North Dakota Department of Transportation and FHWA executed a programmatic agreement for categorical exclusions on June 17 to help streamline the environmental review process on Federal-Aid Highway Program projects. The agreement enables the North Dakota DOT to determine whether a project qualifies for categorical exclusions, actions that don’t involve significant environmental impacts. The agreement will expedite project delivery while maintaining accuracy in the environmental documentation and approval process.