AASHTO Journal, 12 August 2016
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards joined U.S. DOT Deputy Secretary Victor Mendez, Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau and FHWA Division Administrator Renee Sigel at an Aug. 4 event in Harrisburg to showcase PennDOT’s State Transportation Innovation Council, or STIC.
A USDOT announcement said federal officials chose Pennsylvania to host that showcase because it “recognized the Keystone State as a model for the nation in using state-of-the-art technologies on its highway projects.”
The Pennsylvania STIC brings together representatives from PennDOT, FHWA and the contracting industry for regular exchanges of ideas and to foster innovative approaches within PennDOT to infrastructure issues.
Mendez said: “For many years, Pennsylvania has inspired other states with their transportation innovations. The PennDOT team is saving lives, saving time and saving money on roads throughout the state, and motivating other states to do the same.”
The USDOT said many of the innovations were pioneered and promoted by the FHWA’s “Every Day Counts” initiative, a national effort it created in 2009 to spur the use of market-ready innovations. When Congress passed the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act” last year, it included language to make EDC a permanent part of the federal-aid highway program to ensure that the FHWA and state DOTs continue to deploy new practices and construction technologies.
Nadeau praised PennDOT for using the “Safety Edge” paving technique, which bevels the edge of roads and highways so that vehicles are less likely to suffer road-departure crashes when their tires reach the edge of pavement. PennDOT has used it on more than 500 miles of roads.
He also highlighted the state’s use of high-friction surface treatments – a low-cost method of using an innovative asphalt mix to improve safety on curves and intersections – at more than 200 high-risk crash locations.
“One of the most effective ways to reduce crashes is to ensure that safety features are built in to the roads,” said Nadeau. “PennDOT is proving to the nation just how effective these low-cost elements can be in protecting drivers.” These and other safety innovations have helped reduce fatal roadway departure crashes in Pennsylvania by 12 percent since 2010, the announcement said.
Mendez and Nadeau also praised Pennsylvania’s use of “warm mix asphalt,” a specially treated material that can be used in colder weather to extend the construction season and allow more surface repair work to take place each year. PennDOT used warm mix asphalt on 37 percent of its paving projects in 2014 and nearly half of all paving projects last year.
“We are proud to be playing a leading role nationally in championing better ways to deliver transportation services,” Richards said. “We welcome today’s opportunity to meet with our federal counterparts to review our progress.”
PennDOT said the innovations STIC has helped foster in that state also include:
–PennDOT has installed adaptive traffic signals at 190 intersections and plans installations at 246 more. These devices rely on traffic sensors to adjust timing to enhance traffic flow, instead of fixed timer systems.
–Through accelerated bridge construction methods, the agency has been able to reduce the time to build new bridges, helping curb traffic disruptions while bridges are being replaced. The innovative construction techniques include geosynthetic reinforced, soil-integrated bridge systems and prefabricated elements.
In recent years, the FHWA said, the state’s use of accelerated bridge construction techniques is taking years off traditional bridge planning and construction times, which leads to fewer traffic delays and less cost to the taxpayer.