July 26, 2018
Innovation of the Month:
Ultra-High Performance Concrete Connections
State transportation departments are participating in efforts to expand knowledge about and use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) on bridge projects.
The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is the lead State on a pooled fund research project to develop a structural design guide for UHPC. The Iowa DOT published new standards for adjacent box girders, including material and construction specifications for UHPC.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) is monitoring the performance of a UHPC girder bridge and is designing another four projects that will use UHPC for connecting prefabricated bridge elements. NMDOT is also conducting research on UHPC bridge deck overlays and applying State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) Incentive funds to develop an overlay mix design using local materials for UHPC to integrate into specifications.
Read about research that transportation departments in Michigan, Missouri, Montana, and South Carolina have performed on UHPC mix designs.
Visit FHWA’s UHPC web page for information on projects and research, including the following reports:
- “Adjacent Box Beam Connections: Performance and Optimization”
- “Field Testing of an Ultra-High Performance Concrete Overlay”
- “Properties and Behavior of UHPC-Class Materials”
Contact Ben Graybeal of the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center or Mark Leonard of the FHWA Resource Center for information, technical assistance, and workshops.
GPS Units Increase Construction Inspection Verification Task Efficiency
STIC Incentive funds are enabling the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to incorporate Global Positioning System (GPS) units in its construction inspection practices. After attending training sessions, ODOT inspectors are using the units on projects with automated machine guidance specifications to independently verify geospatial positions used by contractors. A key benefit of using GPS units for inspection is that ODOT is able to perform verification tasks with one person instead of the two people required for conventional methods. ODOT also reports that the increased accuracy and mobility of the GPS units are beneficial for verifying earthwork construction. For information, contact John Leonard of ODOT.
Public Roads Features Innovation Risk Management and Smarter Work Zones
See the summer issue of FHWA’s Public Roads magazine for “A Risk Worth Taking,” an Innovation Corner article in which transportation agency leaders in Delaware, Iowa, and New York share insights on the challenge of mitigating risk in innovation and how they found success. “Improving Work Zones Every Day, in Every Way” discusses FHWA’s comprehensive set of programs and tools to manage work zones, including the project coordination strategies and technology applications deployed in the Every Day Counts initiative on smarter work zones. Sign up for the electronic version of Public Roads.
About EDC
Every Day Counts, a State-based program of the Federal Highway Administration’s Center for Accelerating Innovation, works with State, local, and private sector partners to encourage the adoption of proven technologies and innovations to shorten and enhance project delivery.
