Spring Meeting Preview

No Boundaries' spring meeting will be held April 10-12 in Seattle, Washington. The event allows for some of the key functions of the pooled fund: one-on-one technology transfer activities and peer information sharing on a range of topics relevant to non-winter transportation maintenance.

Highlights of planned discussion for the upcoming meeting include:

• Recent innovations in maintenance by No Boundaries members
• Roundtables on silica dust exposure and roadway maintenance surface treatments
• Updates on asset management programs, state and national pollinator efforts, and the National Highway Institute's maintenance leadership academy

In addition, planned field visits include technical tours of the I-90 and SR 520 floating bridges and the new SR 99 Alaskan Way Tunnel Project.

Watch Washington State DOT's preview video above. Presentation and event highlights will appear in a future issue of this newsletter.

Compendium of TRB Maintenance Papers

The No Boundaries pooled fund has published its 2018 Compendium of Maintenance-Related Papers from the Transportation Research Board annual meeting.

The selection of nearly 70 papers covers the range of maintenance topics central to No Boundaries:

• Asset Management
• Bridge Repair and Rehabilitation
• Culvert and Stream Maintenance
• Gravel Road Maintenance
• Maintenance Worker Safety
• Pavement Repair and Rehabilitation
• Roadside Maintenance

Please note that TRB requires a login to access full papers. If you have trouble accessing the papers, check with your DOT or other transportation library.

Welcome Texas DOT

Texas Department of Transportation recently became a member of No Boundaries, bringing the total number of member agencies to 18.

Texas joins No Boundaries members Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington State, and Wisconsin.

As a reminder, as No Boundaries continues with activities in 2018 and beyond, the program remains open to new members.

No Boundaries is Transportation Pooled Fund project #TPF-5(330). State DOT commitments to the project can be made using 100% federal funds. Contact Brian Hirt, CTC & Associates, at 402-770-9067 for more information.

Meetings and Events

Training Opportunities

NAPA Webinar: Performance Under Pressure: Heavy Duty Pavements - Design Features

This webinar, to be held on April 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, will focus on how accurate assessment of the project site conditions, loading and environmental parameters, and uses of the facility can provide optimal design solutions for the project's pavement needs. Details.

FHWA Webinar: Pavement Performance Modeling

FHWA will conduct a webinar on April 19 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time that will cover pavement performance modeling from the AASHTO Pavement Management Guide and feature illustrations from Maryland, Texas and Alaska DOTs. Details.

Upcoming TRB Webinars

• Pavement Marking Maintenance: Practices and Proposed Standards
  TRB will conduct a webinar on March 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time that will explore promising pavement marking maintenance practices. This webinar will focus on assessing pavement marking retroreflectivity to ensure roadways are safe for nighttime travel. Details.
   
• Quality Assurance and Quality Control for Pavement Preservation
  TRB will conduct a webinar on April 3 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time that identifies the needs of quality assurance/quality control for pavement preservation in construction operations. Details.
   

Recordings of Past TRB Webinars Available

Missed a recent TRB webinar? Recordings of most webinars are available by request from TRB (some organizations may pay a fee), and presentation slides are often posted online after the webinar concludes. Find maintenance-related webinars on TRB's website, and contact TRB's Reggie Gillum to request a recording.

Asset Management Research

Return on Investment in Transportation Asset Management Systems and Practices
NCHRP Research Report 866

Researchers examined how transportation agencies manage their transportation assets. The findings were used to develop a methodology and tool to evaluate the return on investment for adopting or expanding transportation agency asset management systems. Report.

Development of Transportation Asset Management Decision Support Tools
Ohio DOT

Researchers developed a web-based prototype decision support platform to demonstrate the benefits of transportation asset management in monitoring asset performance, supporting asset funding decisions, planning budget tradeoffs, and optimizing resource allocations. Report.

Bridge Repair and Rehabilitation Research

Fatigue Crack Detection Using Unmanned Aerial Systems in Under-Bridge Inspection
Idaho DOT

Researchers investigated the potential benefits and challenges of using unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for bridge inspections, with an emphasis on under-bridge inspection and fatigue crack detection. They also developed image processing algorithms to improve the detection rate of cracks from UAS images. Report.

Repair & Strengthening of Distressed/Damaged Ends of Prestressed Beams with FRP Composites
Illinois DOT

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are a lightweight and efficient material used for the repair and retrofit of concrete infrastructure. Based on this study, researchers proposed FRP laminates for repairing damaged ends of prestressed concrete girders. Report.

Culvert Maintenance Research

CIPP and Spray-On Liner Culvert Rehabilitation: A Review of Water Quality Impacts and Current Construction Specifications
TRB Annual Meeting Paper 18-01125

The use of cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) and spray-on liners to rehabilitate damaged culverts can be less expensive than other pipe repair technologies. Researchers compiled known CIPP and spray-on lining surface contamination incidents and studied their impact on water quality to develop a list of recommended construction specifications to minimize risks to water quality. Abstract.

Corrugated Steel Culvert Lining Systems: Innovative Analysis and Design Methods
Austroads Bridge Conference Paper, 2017

When deteriorated corrugated steel culverts require repair with reinforced concrete liners, the installation must be designed to ensure the integrity of the culvert structure. Researchers in West Australia sought to improve standard design techniques by using finite element analysis in the design process and addressing soil-structure interaction and arched or circular culvert structures. Abstract.

Funding and Budgeting Research

Budget Allocation Models for Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation: Comparative Case Study
Journal of Management in Engineering, March 2018

Researchers in Texas compared three methods used for maintenance and rehabilitation budget allocation: cost-benefit analysis, integer-linear programming, and a decision tree plus needs-based allocation. Findings highlighted the important dynamics of equity-effectiveness trade-offs inherent in different budget allocation methods and the need to develop hybrid approaches to improve the budget allocation models. Abstract.

Maintenance Worker Safety Research

Estimating the Safety Effects of Work Zone Characteristics and Countermeasures: A Guidebook
NCHRP Research Report 869

This guidebook provides practitioners guidance to evaluate the safety impacts of the temporary traffic control plans they develop for work zones. The guidebook also encourages the use of data-driven, comprehensive, collaborative planning approaches for the selection and implementation of effective countermeasures to improve work zone safety. Report.

Related resource:

Use of Additional Lighting for Traffic Control and Speed Reduction in Work Zones
Oregon DOT

This research on the impact of illumination in nighttime work zones found that additional temporary roadway lighting helped make workers more visible to drivers, but it also led to slightly higher vehicle speeds. Report.

Pavement Maintenance Research

Best Practices to Support and Improve Pavement Management Systems for Low-Volume Paved Roads - Phase I
Colorado DOT

Through surveys, researchers gathered information on the most common and effective practices in managing low-volume paved roads. Survey results were used to develop guidelines and best practices on how to effectively manage, improve and maintain low-volume roads. Report.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Pavement Maintenance Activities Applied to Colorado Low-Volume Paved Roads - Phase II
Colorado DOT

Researchers investigated the effectiveness of treatment types applied to low-volume roads in Colorado. Some surface maintenance strategies were effective long-term treatments for fatigue, longitudinal and transverse cracking, with effectiveness depending mainly on the initial pavement condition. Report.

Pavement Maintenance Patch Trials
New Zealand Transport Agency

To develop a framework for predicting the life of pavement maintenance patches, 12 samples, each with a different mix of cement and concrete aggregates, were evaluated for three years. Using basic pavement characteristics and performance evaluation data, researchers developed algorithms to predict the life of different patch treatments. Report.

Long-Term Aging of Asphalt Mixtures for Performance Testing and Prediction
NCHRP Research Report 871

This research proposed an improved long-term laboratory aging procedure for performance testing of asphalt mixtures. The proposed method would replace a more commonly used method that has been in practice for the past 25 years. The project also developed an asphalt pavement aging model for mechanistic-empirical pavement design and analysis. Report.

Continued Field Evaluation of Precutting for Maintaining Asphalt Concrete Pavements with Thermal Cracking
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

Researchers sought to understand important variables in the thermal cracking process through field monitoring of three precutting test sites in Alaska's interior. Preliminary results indicated that precutting is a cost-effective way to control natural thermal cracks in asphalt concrete pavements. Data from additional field evaluation would be needed to develop an effective design methodology and construction practices. Report.

Innovative Techniques for Maintenance, Repair and Reconstruction (MRR) of Asphalt Roadways
Region 2 University Transportation Research Center, Syracuse University

Researchers investigated various innovative maintenance, repair and reconstruction (MRR) practices for asphalt roadways to aid in the development of a decision support tool. Transportation agencies can use the tool to help identify the most appropriate MRR techniques to address economic, social and environmental factors associated with subpar aging of asphalt roadways in their communities. Report.

Performance Measurement Research

Pavement Performance Measures and Forecasting and the Effects of Maintenance and Rehabilitation Strategy on Treatment Effectiveness (Revised)
FHWA

New and innovative pavement performance measures and rating systems were developed and implemented using pavement condition and distress data obtained from the Long-Term Pavement Performance database and the databases of three state transportation departments—Colorado DOT, Louisiana DOTD and Washington State DOT. This report can be used to develop cost-effective pavement preservation strategies. Report.

Reclamation and Recycling Research

Characterization of Residuals Collected from Street Sweeping Operations
Virginia DOT

Virginia DOT evaluated the possibility of managing street sweeping residuals through reuse and recycling. Physical and chemical characterization of road-deposited sediments determined that the materials did not qualify for reuse according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's beneficial use determination process. Report.

Roadside and Vegetation Maintenance Research

Manual of Temporary Erosion Control Products for Roadside Ditches
Ohio DOT

This manual provides guidance for highway maintenance managers on how to select the appropriate type of temporary erosion control method for roadside ditches. Established, dense vegetation in ditches promotes water infiltration, reduces the amount of runoff, and prevents sediment pollution. Report.

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