July 25, 2024
DelDOT’s EPD Journey: Paving the Way for Sustainable Infrastructure
When the Delaware legislature passed the Delaware Climate Change Solutions Act of 2023, it set goals of 50 percent GHG reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. The State also required its agencies to develop construction preferences by July 2025. This was a key milestone on the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)'s environmental product declarations (EPDs) implementation journey.
EPDs are a transparent, third party verified report used to communicate environmental impacts from resource use, energy, and emissions from construction materials. Concrete, asphalt and steel are some examples of construction materials that have environmental impacts during their life cycle. Industry is documenting these impacts through EPDs and some State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are using them to inform decisions about materials for pavements, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure.
DelDOT started by initiating a meeting with FHWA subject matter experts for a strategic planning session and shortly thereafter began engaging with industry and stakeholders. DelDOT selected asphalt as the first material for which they will be requesting EPDs., Concrete EPDs will be requested next and other materials, including steel, and aggregates, precast concrete will be requested in the future.
Next, DelDOT met with the Delaware Asphalt Pavement Association (DAPA) to lay out short- and long-term vision of program, and to gain insight and buy-in. In this plan, 2025 will consist primarily of collecting data for asphalt EPDs when suppliers submit job mix formulas. Then DelDOT will analyze the data for benchmarking and future reduction targets.
DelDOT has developed EPD specification language and is reviewing with industry partners. Starting in 2026, the State will use a specification with incentives and disincentives. No penalties will be implemented for the first year or so to help the DOT and industry get familiar with the new process. DelDOT will identify pilot projects to begin the rollout.
Building on the EDC-6 e-Ticketing initiative, DelDOT will use its existing e-Ticketing platform for EPD collection. Additionally, DelDOT plans to leverage an Advanced Digital Construction Management System grant that integrates construction equipment with GPS software to collect equipment data, such as fuel usage and run hours, to further support EPD implementation. Part of DelDOT’s long-term vision is to incentivize industry to use EPD data by adding an environmental component to its typical evaluation process during bidding.
To learn more about DelDOT’s EPD program, contact Stephanie Johnson, DelDOT. Stay up-to-date on EPDs For Sustainable Project Delivery by subscribing to EPD e-News. To learn more about EPDs, please contact LaToya Johnson, Migdalia Carrion, or Brian Dobling FHWA Office of Infrastructure.
Efficiency in Action: Michigan DOT’s Bridge Bundling Program
Nearly 500 bridges on the local transportation system in Michigan are rated in serious or critical condition and this number continues to grow. Historically, all 310 local agency bridge owners have only been able to pursue limited state or federal funding to address their bridge needs. There have also been insufficient resources to do long-term planning or to develop programs to improve bridge conditions efficiently and effectively. To address this, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and local agencies proposed to strategically address the problem as if the entire local bridge network were under unified ownership. MDOT and 14 local agencies agreed to a pilot bridge bundle project in 2020 that used design-build to deliver a bundle of 19 bridge superstructure replacements through final design and construction.
The bundled projects were able to recognize safety, emissions, vehicle operating cost, and travel time benefits two years earlier than they would have with more traditional project delivery methods. Additional benefits of the bridge bundling pilot program include maintenance cost savings, administrative cost savings, and quality of life benefits. MDOT’s bridge bundling has also proven to streamline administration, coordination, and increase economies of scale for more cost-effective project delivery.
In 2022-2023, four more bridge bundle projects, consisting of 13 local agency bridges, were advertised and let. Current progress is shown on the MDOT Local Agency Bridge Bundle program website.
MDOT and the local agencies worked together collaboratively to deliver these bridges on-time, and in some cases early and under budget. The projects received positive feedback from participating agencies and subsequent legislative support for future bridge bundling phases.
If you would like to learn more about MDOT/Local Agency use of bridge bundling, please contact Sue Datta, Senior Project Manager, MDOT, or Matthew Moulton, Big Bridge Management and Scoping Engineer, MDOT. If you would like to learn more about FHWA support with bridge or project bundling, please contact Bryan Dillon, FHWA Highway Engineer.
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Every Day Counts, a State-based initiative of the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Innovation and Workforce Solutions, works with State, local, and privatesector partners to encourage the adoption of proven and underutilized technologies to deliver transportation projects more efficiently, enhance safety forall users, support a sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and incorporate equity inproject planning and delivery.
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Disclaimer: The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this document only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. They are included for informational purposes only and are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or endorsement of any one product or entity.
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Recommended Citation:
U.S Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
EDC News; July 25, 2024
Washington, DC
