No Boundaries April 2023 Peer Exchange Highlights May 2, 2023 - No Boundaries members gathered in Missouri on April 25 and 26 for the first peer exchange of the year. Hosted by the Missouri DOT, a visit to the agency’s annual Innovations Showcase allowed No Boundaries members to see demonstrations of innovative tools, materials and processes, and learn best practices for implementing similar programs in their home states.
No Boundaries Spring Peer Exchange Planned for April 25-26 April 24, 2023 - This week, No Boundaries members will gather in Missouri for the first peer exchange of 2023. Hosted by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the two-day event offers an exciting variety of activities, presentations and round-table discussions.
FHWA Highlights Innovations From No Boundaries Members April 18, 2023 - The March/April 2023 issue of Innovator, the bimonthly newsletter of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), recognized the efforts of a number of No Boundaries member states.
To demonstrate the power of using data to improve safety, FHWA has developed case studies featuring 20 different states. Among these are South Carolina and Indiana DOTs, which have leveraged data to identify crash-prone roadways in need of improvement as well as appropriate solutions for making these areas safer. South Carolina DOT was also recognized for its innovative use of asphalt overlays to reduce hydroplaning on high-traffic roads.
Ohio Improves Highway Visibility While Reducing Long-Term Maintenance Costs April 7, 2023 - If you attended the Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts (EDC) Virtual Summit in February, you no doubt learned about Ohio DOT’s massive LED highway lighting conversion project.
New Videos and Webinars Feature State Innovations March 9, 2023 - To help Midwestern state departments of transportation (DOTs) understand how and where to share their research results for maximum effect, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) launched Project 20-44(28), which identified several high-impact research projects and innovative strategies to disseminate the research and findings.
Maintenance Sessions and Papers from the 2023 TRB Meeting February 28, 2023 - No Boundaries has published a listing of technical sessions and papers related to maintenance for the 2023 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. The compendium includes each poster and lectern session’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.
Missouri Identifies Tools and Methods to Monitor Active Landslides February 21, 2023 - Though moving slowly, an active landslide near Branson, Missouri presents an ongoing maintenance challenge to the four-lane highway nearby. To assess the land’s movement and predict future road maintenance needs, […]
Arizona Evaluates Pavement Surface Treatments February 14, 2023 - When it comes to preserving and extending the life of asphalt pavements, maintenance managers have a variety of surface treatment options to choose from. But as each treatment comes with different benefits and costs, choosing the most cost-effective option can be challenging.
Illinois Explores Feasibility of Self-Healing Materials for Pavement Repair February 8, 2023 - Asphalt roads are at risk of cracking and suffering other premature distresses because binders can become less effective with age. Concrete roads are also subject to cracks from shrinkage, fatigue and other issues.
As rejuvenators can help to restore the original properties of both types of pavements, the Illinois Department of Transportation initiated a research project to investigate whether capsules containing rejuvenating chemicals can be added to the pavement mixtures during construction, creating a self-healing process as the pavements crack and the capsules’ contents are released over time from within. The study also examined the possible benefits of embedding specific bacteria in concrete to promote mineral growth.
Webinar to Highlight Benefits of Safety Management Systems for Maintenance Worker Safety February 2, 2023 - Highway maintenance and field work requires a high level of management to ensure worker safety. Many state departments of transportation (DOTs) use an in-house-developed or vendor-provided safety management system to track and report incident data and identify effective mitigation strategies. To help DOTs across the country understand the various systems and tools in use, the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) published Synthesis 591: Use of Safety Management Systems in Managing Highway Maintenance Worker Safety.