No Boundaries
Transportation Maintenance Innovation
The Transportation Research Board will host the webinar, “Chip Seals, Microsurfacing, and Fog Seals Specifications” on Tuesday, September 14 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
The program will present the findings from a recent study and guide, and discussions will include how the guide can provide complete construction specifications or supplement existing pavement preservation practices.
Image source: Indiana Department of Transportation
Weather, temperature fluctuations and other climate factors can have a significant impact on the service life of a roadway’s markings, sometimes reducing the paint’s performance by years and increasing maintenance needs beyond what a transportation agency had originally budgeted.
To find ways to improve the markings’ performance, Arizona DOT investigated the successful practices of other agencies facing similar challenges in comparably diverse conditions. The research led to a variety of recommendations to help pavement markings last longer.
Read the report: Evaluation of Hardened Paint Pavement Markings, May 2020.
Image source: Arizona DOT
While automated truck-mounted attenuators, or ATMAs, can help keep human drivers out of high-risk road maintenance situations, little was known about how maintenance crews feel about the technology or whether workers trust this driverless vehicle to keep them safe in the field.
Surveying more than a dozen workers with varying levels of experience working alongside ATMAs, researchers for Colorado DOT found that as workers’ training and experience with the vehicles increase, so do their confidence and trust in the technology’s capabilities.
Read the report: Evaluating the Human-Automated Maintenance Vehicle Interaction for Improved Safety and Facilitating Long-Term Trust, May 2021.
Image source: Colorado DOT
The Transportation Research Board will host the webinar, “Evaluating and Rating Unsurfaced Roads” on Wednesday, August 25 from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
The session aims to help agencies establish realistic budgets and cost-effective systems for maintaining unsurfaced roads, which comprise approximately a third of all roads in the U.S.
Image source: FHWA
Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can make it easier and safer to inspect bridges, but managing the massive amounts of data collected during the process can pose a challenge.
To provide guidance and help those agencies weighing the benefits of incorporating UAS technology into their bridge inspection practices, the Federal Highway Administration has highlighted the successful strategies of some early-adopting states.
Read the technical brief: Effective Practices for Managing Bridge Inspection Data Captured by UAS, March 2021.
Image source: Michigan DOT
While the pavement quality index can effectively identify issues at the surface, it is not always a good indicator of a pavement’s underlying structural condition.
Analyzing nearly 1,000 miles of pavement condition data gathered with a Traffic Speed Deflectometer, South Carolina DOT used a new classification methodology to identify those roads in need of treatment.
Read the report: Utilization of Traffic Speed Deflectometer for Pavement Management, May 2021.
Image source: South Carolina DOT