U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
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| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-030 Date: October 2018 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-030 Date: October 2018 |
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Related Documents: Automation in Highway Construction Part II: Design Guidance and Guide Specification Manual, (FHWA-HRT-16-031)
Techbrief: Automation in Highway Construction, (FHWA-HRT-16-032)
The Federal Highway Administration conducted research to document gaps for implementing automation in highway construction and to develop guidance for State transportation departments to assist them in implementing and using automation to improve project delivery. There are two volumes of the final report. Part I (this volume) presents a description of the key automation technology areas and the associated benefits, challenges, and solutions. Part II presents an overview of enabling technologies and policies for automation in highway construction as well as implementation strategies, design procedures, and practical guidelines to properly generate three-dimensional (3D) models for uses in construction and other phases of highway project delivery.
This volume provides State transportation departments a focus on five key technology areas, taking into consideration that, to be able to fully implement automation during the construction phase of a highway project, technologies are implemented prior to construction during the planning, surveying, and design phases. The key technology areas are remote sensing, underground utilities locating technologies, 3D design, machine control and automation, and field technology and inspection. This volume documents success stories and best practices for automation in highway construction; best uses for individual technologies, including the types of costs and resources required by the industry and agencies for implementing these technologies; and their associated return on investment. Finally, it documents challenges of automation technology in the areas of surveying, utilities, real-time verification, and data management.
Cheryl Allen Richter, P.E., Ph.D.
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
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| 1. Report No. FHWA-HRT-16-030 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. | ||||
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| 4. Title and Subtitle Automation in Highway Construction Part I: Implementation Challenges at State Transportation Departments and Success Stories |
5. Report Date October 2018 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code | ||||||
| 7. Author(s) Helga N. Torres, J. Mauricio Ruiz, George K. Chang, Jennifer L. Anderson, and Sabrina Garber |
8. Performing Organization Report No. | |||||
| 9. Performing Organization Name and Address The Transtec Group, Inc. 6111 Balcones Drive Austin, TX 78731 |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) | |||||
| 11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-13-C-00026 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Office of Infrastructure Research and Development Federal Highway Administration 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296 |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report |
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| 14. Sponsoring Agency Code HRDI-20 |
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| 15. Supplementary Notes The Contracting Officer’s Representative was Richard Duval (HRDI-20). |
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| 16. Abstract Automation in highway construction includes a growing number of technologies that collect, store, analyze, and process information to make, support, or execute an appropriate action or decision that results in enhanced construction outcomes. The goals of automation in highway construction are to increase speed, efficiency, and/or safety during the construction process. Automation in highway construction is used in conjunction with components, processes, and software that assist in a more efficient system of construction. The primary objectives of this project were to address gaps identified for implementing automation in highway construction and to develop guidance for State transportation departments to assist them in implementing automation to improve accelerated project delivery. There are two volumes of the final report—one for each of the two objectives. Part I of the final report (this volume) presents a description of the key automation technologies that were part of this study and the associated benefits, challenges, and solutions. Part II of the final report, FHWA-HRT-16-031, presents an overview of enabling technologies and policies for automation in highway construction, along with implementation strategies.(1) Part II also includes design procedures and practical guidelines to properly generate three-dimensional models for downstream use in construction and other phases of highway project delivery. |
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| 17. Key Words Automation in highway construction, intelligent construction, systems, technologies, challenges, opportunities |
18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. https://www.ntis.gov |
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| 19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 100 |
22. Price N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed pages authorized. | |||||
