May/June 2020 | V13 | Issue 78

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) developed a design-build push-button (DBPB) contract to accelerate the construction of traffic safety improvements. The DBPB approach combines design-build contracting (in which design and construction teams collaborate and construction activities can start before design is final) with push-button contracting (in which preapproved contractors can start work quickly because contractual paperwork is in place). FDOT designed the DBPB contract, for which it received a National Roadway Safety Award, for safety improvements that are too large for in-house maintenance teams but not appropriate for major 5-year work plans, such as installation of pavement markings, turn lanes, and traffic signals. In the first year of the program, FDOT estimated that about 55 crashes were avoided by reducing safety improvement implementation time from 3 years to 310 days.

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Innovation & Efficiencies Report provides a snapshot of activities that align with its mission: “Innovating transportation solutions that strengthen Utah’s economy and enhance quality of life.” The report highlights UDOT’s use of State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) Incentive and Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration funding as a catalyst for innovation. Utah is using STIC Incentive funds to deploy e-ticketing for asphalt delivery ticket collection and quantity calculation, piloting seven projects with more projects planned for this year. UDOT used AID Demonstration funds to advance digital delivery of model-based design and construction. The agency created a repeatable process to use the same model from design to construction and has delivered 11 projects so far with the model as the legal document.