No Boundaries

Transportation Maintenance Innovation

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No Boundaries’ First Virtual Peer Exchange Begins This Month

Share ideas and learn from other agency members at No Boundaries’ first virtual peer exchange of 2021!

Offering two-hour sessions over two days, the event provides opportunities for discussion and discovery on a variety of timely issues in the field of transportation maintenance.

Thursday, February 18 – Join us for a look at Front Range Community College’s Highway Maintenance Degree Program, a first-of-its-kind, two-year degree program in Colorado. This will include a Q&A session with a few of the program’s graduates. The first day will continue with an interactive roundtable discussion of innovations that No Boundaries members are using to deliver maintenance services during COVID-19.

Tuesday, March 2 – We will reconvene for our always-popular Innovation Show-and-Tell session, followed by a quick-fire discussion on automated mowing. Finally, we’ll learn the results of a few recent informal surveys conducted by No Boundaries members that others can apply to their work in their home states.

Members can participate in all or part of the event, and are encouraged to invite their agency colleagues to attend as well!

Click here to view the full agenda, and please contact Brian Hirt at brian.hirt@ctcandassociates.com if you require a meeting invitation.

Image source: Colorado Department of Transportation.

Compost Blankets Help Reduce Erosion on Slopes in Massachusetts

Compost blankets promote effective slope stabilization when they’re applied correctly on well-prepared roadside sites.

Massachusetts DOT has developed a series of recommendations that crews can follow to increase the likelihood that compost blankets will help establish vegetation for erosion control.

Read the report: Compost Blankets for Erosion Control and Vegetation Establishment, April 2020.

Image source: Massachusetts DOT

Missouri Compiles 20-Year Database of Concrete Overlay Projects

To improve its concrete overlay process, Missouri DOT documented and evaluated more than 40 bonded and unbonded overlay projects completed throughout the state over the last 20 years.

The result is a comprehensive database of important design, construction, and performance data from 1999 to 2019, which will be used to identify the trends and factors that have contributed to successful projects.

Read the report: Evaluating Performance of Concrete Overlays for Pavement Rehabilitation, November 2020.

Image source: Missouri DOT

Colorado Develops Decision Support Tool for Managing Low-Volume Roads

A new study provides Colorado DOT with guidelines and recommendations for optimizing pavement maintenance decisions on low-volume roads.

With improved decision-making abilities, stakeholders will be better equipped to identify future budget needs, funding allocations, and treatment policies and maximize limited pavement management resources.

Read the report: Supporting Pavement Maintenance Decisions of Low-Volume Roads In Colorado Using Optimization Analysis and Artificial-Intelligence Techniques, February 2020.

Image source: Colorado DOT

Maintenance Sessions and Papers for 2021 TRB Meeting

No Boundaries has prepared a listing of technical sessions and papers related to maintenance for the virtual 2021 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. The compendium includes each presentation’s title, authors, identification number, and a link to find the work on TRB’s Online Program portal. Note: TRB requires a login to access full papers. If you are having trouble accessing the papers, check with your DOT or other transportation library.

Download the compendium: 2021 TRB Annual Meeting: Technical Sessions and Papers Related to Maintenance.

Spring Certification Program Aims to Improve Pavement Preservation Treatments

Beginning this spring, the California Pavement Preservation Center will offer a certification program designed to help state and local agencies improve the design and construction of pavement preservation treatments.

The 2021 Pavement Preservation Academy will consist of four 3-hour modules on a variety of topics such as chip seals, slurry seals, micro surfacing and more. The modules are currently scheduled for the following dates in March (all times are Pacific):

  • 1:30 PM – 4:30PM, Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
  • 1:30 PM – 4:30PM, Thursday, March 18, 2021.
  • 1:30 PM – 4:30PM, Tuesday, March 23, 2021.
  • 1:30 PM – 4:30PM, Thursday, March 25, 2021.

At the conclusion of the program students must take an online exam to complete their certification requirements. Registration is limited to 40 participants, and the cost is $200 per person before February 28, 2021. Register.

Image source: FHWA