Portable rumble strips provide a temporary solution to increase driver awareness. the RAPTOR vehicle attachment allows these temporary rumble strips to be placed, repositioned and removed quickly and safely.
Litter is the number one complaint that the Utah Department of Transportation receives. This campaign, which was launched in February 2024, replaces the agency's Adopt a Highway program. There are…
New York State DOT worked closely with a vendor to develop this guide rail equipment, which costs less than a truck-mounted pounder.. In most cases, this equipment will do everything…
Virginia DOT's brine equipment was rusting out, so the agency decided to rent water trucks to apply the brine and developed its own spray attachment in-house.
Equipment; Maintenance operations; Pavements; Roadway/roadside; Other
Controlled Modulus Columns (mucky soil stabilization with no settling period)
Minnesota DOT
Controlled Modulus Columns or concrete inclusions are installed in areas of mucky or unstable soils to prevent a roadbed from settling. A drilling rig bores a hole on the down…
Each year, Colorado DOT's Pavement Management Services group publishes a list of roadways recommended for treatment, from chip sealing to full reconstruction. To better understand where patching is most frequently…
MaineDOT developed a Power App to track and catalog innovations. The app allows users to sort and view innovations and includes photos and details to explain the need for the…
Connecticut DOT uses rechargeable lighted vests for workers in work zones. Vests are USB rechargeable, and a charge lasts an entire shift.
Black (non-visible) light enhances reflectivity in work zones but doesn't interfere with drivers.
North Dakota DOT offers two training sessions per year for District personnel to obtain technical training for summer and winter highway maintenance activities. The training is necessary as part of…
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is piloting a push camera to inspect culverts. The agency started its culvert asset management program (CAMP) about five years ago to manage its system…
The Mississippi Department of Transportation developed its own pavement management system using Microsoft Power BI. This system is optimized for the agency's needs and will be integrated with a vendor-built…
The Mississippi Department of Transportation recently implemented a tractor lease program in the northwest and southeast regions. The program involves approximately 35-40 new tractors for the agency to use, which…
The South Carolina Department of Transportation is changing from an optional uniform to a mandatory DOT-issued tactical uniform. These new uniforms have more stretch and more pockets, making them less…
South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has recently reclassified its staff to improve the structure. Pay changes associated with this modification, as well as calculated increases based on the length…
When clearing snow from four-lane highways, the North Dakota Department of Transportation experienced issues with snow building up on vehicle tires. Soucy Tracks can be installed on tractors the agency…
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers the opportunity to make tedious and repetitive tasks more efficient. One example where AI could be used is in compiling state government policies and manuals in…
Snow that accumulates on traffic signals can obscure the red-green-yellow light cycle and create hazardous conditions for road users. This innovation, adapted from New York State DOT, consists of adding…
ITD maintenance crews work in all types of weather, including low-visibility conditions. During winter, it can be challenging to keep ice from accumulating on snowplow windshields. ITD tested heated windshield…
Crews work in noisy environments without hearing protection can lose the ability to hear each other. Because disposable one-size-fits-all options can lack comfort and effectiveness, crews may not wear them.…
New pavements can leave manholes lower than the rest of the roadway. An innovative process developed by the Idaho Transportation Department allows the height of the manhole covers to be…
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is in the process of replacing its tractor-mounted over-the-fence-mowers with excavators with brush heads. As the existing fleet ages, the agency is shifting from one-sized-fits-all…
The Maryland Department of Transportation is exploring this innovation that allows a maintenance workers to place traffic cones safely and efficiently while buckled to the bed of the truck.
In Indiana, the majority of cable barrier repairs along state-managed roads are performed by contractors, which is expensive and poses liability questions. To provide its own maintenance crews with the…
Maintenance crews at the Indiana Department of Transportation that use a trailered air compressor in their work found that the air hose would drag on the ground and wear out…
High tension cable barriers can be dangerous to repair by hand. This hydraulic spreader is one of two types of mechanical options MDOT has recently purchased to repair its Brifen…
This cordless tool can be used to repair high tension cable barriers. It is one of two types of mechanical options MDOT has recently purchased to repair its Brifen High…
Like other agencies, the Ohio Department of Transportation has a shortage of workers, especially during the summer months. The automated flaggers can be attached to a standard maintenance vehicle and…
The In-Cab Notification System provides urgent information to drivers of commercial vehicles as they travel along the roadway. The Illinois Department of Transportation is also exploring options to expand the…
This heavy vehicle acts as a temporary barrier wall to shield maintenance crews working within the roadway.
Commercial vehicles operated by a safe carrier could be allowed to bypass the weigh station.
This product can be used at a weigh station to generate a 3D view of a truck. It measures the truck's length, width, and height, and because it's linked to…
MoDOT lacked a comprehensive system to collect and share important safety data while at the same time improving our data collection process for claims and injuries. We needed a way…
The Invasive Species Strike Team is a first of its kind project being piloted in the Southeast District to show the effectiveness of a dedicated spray crew equipped with specialized…
This innovation is an online store that allows you to purchase items from previous innovations tool and equipment showcases. This store was set up as an easier, more user friendly…
This innovation is recruiting efforts geared towards high schools, including email campaigns and attending high school lunches, as well as college career fair events. Students are informed about how MoDOT…
The guardrail on call contract has been through several administrators and procedures over the years. Previously we had a contact in each of the construction offices. That person was responsible…
This innovation replaces the Type I hard hats with a better option to better protect our employees.
As we mow our right of ways we are often in brush and tree limbs. This guard wraps around the tractor and cabs to protect the paint, plastic, fiberglass and…
This innovation consists of outfitting XHD trucks with 14’ mid mount wing as an alternative to tow plows. To be able to operate now only requires Class B CDL versus…
The Safety Observer Team is to aid our field teams by providing high quality observations of all maintenance activities to ensure team members go home safe each day. This team…
The Pallet Pal 360 is a simple, automatic load leveler that uses a system of springs and shock absorbers to lower and raise loads as boxes are added or removed…
The Limb Beaver is a limb saw that attaches to a skid steer or tractor that can be used to cut limbs as well as brush along the right of…
The Lane Shark is designed to trim trees, brush, and hedges and mow around box culverts. This will also allow to mow at certain slopes that are over three to…
This innovation keeps snow and ice from building up on the wipers so they can continue working.
This innovation uses 72” fiberglass marker stakes that are bright orange with a 9” highly reflective strip for 360- degree visibility. These are popular for driveway markers, but we found…
This innovation fixes the safety issue with trying to attach the wing plow to the truck, before you have to lay down on the ground and try to push the…
The track frame on a skids steer can often come off the rollers. This innovation makes it easier to put the track back on skid steer or mini hoe by…
For this innovation we installed strobe lights on a Scorpion TMA so they would light up when the arrow board is raised. The purpose for the extra lighting is because…
During winter operations, we have had trouble in the past with snow packing in between the windshield and the hood. On freightliner trucks, the spot where the snow packs is…
This innovation installed mirrors to a stationary location that does not move with bucket arms. The arms move freely up and down without hitting the mirrors. It is easily mounted…
Overnight signs are required for various duties including patching and seal coating. This is a hydraulic operated puller designed to pull overnight sign stobs or delineator post. It mounts to…
This innovation consists of mounting a holder for our spraying gun on our ranger door. By doing this we are able to avoid spilling chemicals inside the ranger and on…
When working in a noisy environment near an open lane of traffic it is important to always conduct work as safe as possible. This innovation is a device that hooks…
When mowing the right of way sometimes foreign objects can hit the back glass causing it to break. The glass then ends up in the cab with the operator. This…
At our shed we wanted to take initiative to avoid sprayers falling off the back of rangers. If a sprayer would fall off it could cause damage to the sprayer…
This innovation is designed to remove the linear drain grates and scoop debris from the drains at most MoDOT sheds.
The line cleaner is used to blow air, cleaning the line off before painting. This removes all debris such as dirt, rocks, sticks, etc. By blowing away debris, the line…
After years of trying to bind down V-Beds by battling the tarp arm on the driver’s side we decided to find a way to move the ratcheting device on the…
A problem our shed kept running into was the freightliners we were using were not allowing the defrost or heat to work correctly, leading to a build up of ice…
Our shed currently has a 4-door dump truck with a short-sided dump bed that has the capabilities of lowering the sides down to gain better access to the bed of…
This innovation is an upgraded version of our previous concrete trailer. This upgraded setup includes the rock and sand mix in the dump bed as well as the ability to…
This innovation is designed to clean the dirt from signposts to reuse them.
This innovation is a light that goes on cinder beds. These spreader lights originally come on the truck and are mounted underneath the chute on the bed. The problem with…
This innovation is a permanent attachment for a motor grader wing used for winging back snow to prevent scalping of the ground and also helps prevent the wing from digging…
In Ohio, there was a lack of consistency with the type and amount of equipment in each county and district. Justifications for equipment through hour meters or fueling records were…
Maintenance operations; Roadway/roadside
Temporary Base Plate for Fallen “Schedule 40/Schedule 80” Road Signs
Colorado DOT
Fallen Schedule 40/80 posts are often too heavy and dangerous for one person to put back up alone. This innovation is a base plate, which can be installed by one…
Stainless tanks and truck beds are subject to rusting. Using a muriatic acid wash to clean them saves time and money, and makes them like new.
Forklift tines pose a safety hazard to people as they can easily be tripped over if they go unnoticed. CDOT painted the tips of forklift tines with brightly colored yellow…
Workers had to enter travel lanes to retrieve heavy rumble strips and manually load them onto the truck. This innovation created a device that pulls the rumble strip onto the…
In Michigan, field staff have had a difficult time getting to invasive weeds along the roads. A Michigan DOT District constructed a boom sprayer that attaches to a tractor used…
The California Department of Transportation has added high visibility gaiters for highway workers to wear to improve safety at night or when there is low visibility. The gaiters, available from…
The California Department of Transportation had pilot tested the HALO Light by Illumagear. Information can be found here: https://illumagear.com/ We distributed several devices out to the field to try while…
Maintenance operations
Maintenance Zone Enhanced Enforcement Program (MAZEEP)
California Department of Transportation
By using an Inter Agency Agreement, Caltrans coordinates with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to utilize officers on site at highway maintenance projects. MAZEEP is used to reduce the potential…
Tack is an asphalt mixture that promotes bonding between old, weathered roadway surfaces and new pavement; it also can be useful in filling potholes. However, mixing, transporting, and applying tack…
In Wisconsin, county highway departments maintain county and State road systems, including interstates. Highway staff often must set up and remove temporary traffic controls on high-speed, multi-lane roads where the…
Raising and lowering heavy truck tailgates are essential daily duties for many employees in the Town of Ghent Highway Department. Crews there created a lift system to help workers regardless…
The Town of Hamburg has a population of approximately 60,000 people, as well as 320 lane-miles of roadways. The Hamburg Highway Department regularly receives a high volume of calls and…
To correctly position temporary road markings for chip seals, Otter Tail Minnesota County highway crew members had to bend over repeatedly and get on and off of a pickup truck’s…
In past winters, Freeborn County Highway Department drivers struggled with scraping and clearing ice from their truck’s windows. Often, drivers need to climb on their tires to clean the windows,…
For years, Kenton County relied on an old, overused fire truck from its Emergency Management department to clean surfaces and structures in a local park located on a flood plain.…
The Hopper is used to apply stone along roadway shoulders. It is designed with sloped sides, a Teflon liner, and a vibrator to ensure material flows down the chute and…
The remote-controlled Knuckle Boom Crane was developed by the Ohio Department of Transportation DOT to help maintenance crews safely and efficiently remove the debris that accumulates around bridge piers in…
This tool allows a single maintenance crew member to quickly and easily level a tilted sign within seconds. With one end of the tool on the ground and the other…
Clearing roadway debris can be dangerous for maintenance workers. This innovative truck attachment was designed to keep workers safe while saving time and money by quickly clearing roadway hazards without…
This rack is designed to fit into the bed of a single-axel dump truck. It can quickly be installed or removed as needed, giving road maintenance workers the flexibility to…
Truck-Weight Education Program. Established in 2001, institutionalized in 2007, program enhancements continue in 2021. Includes educational opportunities toward truck manufacturers, haulers, road authorities & enforcement.
ODOT's safety program reviewed corridors to find locations with higher rates of wrong-way crashes and is piloting the TraffiCalm system on IR-71 to determine the effectiveness of the system in…
The Solar Gore Point Warning Flasher provides a strong visual indication to motorists of an approaching gore point. By utilizing the flashing beacons motorists are alerted of an upcoming hazard…
Removing or raising T-posts can be a time consuming and sometimes labor intensive project. Generally a chain and a loader can be used to do this but can also be…
The purpose of the magnet is to remove nails and other metal objects from the roadway and shoulders. Magneto is designed to remain on the vehicle for easy use. Simply…
Development of the Service form using ODOT's Service Now application. The District 08 Garage has been working with our Columbus IT folks to create a new electronic service request form…
In order to simplify scheduling and maximize use, a system was put in place for reserving both pool cars and heavy equipment, utilizing a calendar system. Built on our existing…
Equipment; Roadway/roadside
Automated Flagger Assistance Devices
California Department of Transportation
Automated flagger assistance devices (AFADs) are mechanically operated temporary traffic control devices that function under the same operational principles as traditional flagging. Maintenance staff follow Caltrans Standard Plan T13 for…
Modified mowing ahead sign on follow vehicle to make it more visible. The idea came from a monthly talk with the employees called Value my Ideas. The need was to…