The January/February 2025 issue of Innovator, the bimonthly newsletter of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), kicks off the new year by recognizing the efforts of several No Boundaries member states.
The Colorado Department of Transportation was commended for its commitment to using and requiring environmental product declarations, which describe the environmental impacts of construction materials like a nutrition label does for food.
Virginia DOT was lauded for its use of a multi-faceted variable speed limit system that monitors road conditions and automatically adjusts a road’s posted speed limits, reducing crashes in foggy conditions by more than 75 percent.
Indiana and Michigan DOTs were each awarded federal Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration grants during the program’s 2023 cycle. Indiana will use the funds to pilot a work zone safety initiative that automatically detects and photographs speeding vehicles in active construction work zones. Michigan, which received grants for two projects, will incorporate innovative materials and cost-effective and structurally efficient methods to replace two aging bridges in the state.
Finally, New York State and North Dakota DOTs were both noted for their innovative projects. New York is working to reconnect communities that were severed by a viaduct in the 1950s, and to provide jobs to local workers interested in the project. North Dakota recently published a study showing the safety benefits of roundabouts and other lower-conflict intersection designs.
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Image source: FHWA