Highway agencies in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Idaho combined the benefits of the Every Day Counts innovations on project bundling and reducing rural roadway departures to make their roads safer for drivers while using resources cost-effectively.

Read the Article HERE.

Rural roadway departures make up a third of U.S. traffic fatalities—about 30 people a day. The Every Day Counts round five (EDC-5) initiative, Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departures (FoRRRwD), features four pillars: Addressing All Public Roads, Systemic Approach, Safety Action Plans, and Proven Countermeasures. This webinar focuses on the second pillar, the Systemic Approach.

Title: FoRRRwD with the Systemic Approach: Prioritizing Locations and Projects

Target Audience: State, local, and tribal agencies – come discover how other agencies prioritize and evaluate the benefits of systemic projects that maximize reductions in roadway departure crashes.

Presenters:

• Robert Peterson, Caltrans, will provide a brief overview of Caltrans’ Systemic Safety Analysis Report Program (SSARP) and the transition to LRSPs, then discuss how Caltrans is prioritizing systemic roadway departure projects using benefit-cost analyses.
• Christina McDaniel-Wilson, Oregon DOT, will discuss ODOT’s systemic screening process for Roadway Departure using the safety priority index system and the use of benefit-cost ratios to prioritize systemic projects.
• Ed Hanscom, Maine DOT, will discuss the systemic approach to roadway departure crashes in Maine and how they utilized risk factors and exposure to determine countermeasure cost effectiveness and the most appropriate sites for treatment.

Registration: Participants must register in advance at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=2352    

Space is limited. Please register as soon as possible.

Please Note: Non-USDOT employees who have never participated in an FHWA webinar must create an account at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/FBA/MembershipRequest.aspx in order to register for this webinar.

**FHWA recommends using Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer for optimal registration experience.**

This webinar is free and open to anyone who is interested. Please share this email with all who might be interested.

Title: FoRRRwD on All Public Roads: Innovative Mechanisms to Deliver Safety Projects

Target Audience: State, local, and tribal agencies – come learn unique approaches and methods that you can use to efficiently deliver safety countermeasures and projects to reduce rural roadway departure crashes.

Presenters:

• Steve Landry, Maine DOT, will discuss Maine DOT’s use of safety supply (Curve Warning Signs, RRFBs, Speed Feedback Signs) procurement projects where state procurement procedures are used, and local public agencies or State forces perform installation at their cost.
• Mark Thomas, Mississippi DOT (MDOT), will discuss how agencies in Mississippi have used agency force account to deliver roadway departure countermeasures, and a program where MDOT provides warning and advisory signage to local governments to install.
• Patricia Burke, Montana DOT (MDT), will discuss MDT’s use of Job Order Contracting to streamline the delivery of safety projects.

Registration: Participants must register in advance at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=2260          

Space is limited. Please register as soon as possible.

Please Note: Non-USDOT employees who have never participated in an FHWA webinar must create an account at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/FBA/MembershipRequest.aspx in order to register for this webinar.

**FHWA recommends using Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer for optimal registration experience.**

The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) has completed over 500 flight missions including mapping, reconnaissance, and construction inspection. WVDOH currently is piloting the use of UAS on three large construction projects. On the first project—a four lane divided highway on a new alignment— WVDOH is using UAS on a regular flight schedule for material estimation. Often, access to large construction sites is limited and dangerous due to earth moving techniques and equipment.  The UAS data-gathering flights can be performed in a fraction of the time it would take a field survey crew. In most cases, the UAS are only in flight for 30 minutes or less and can be launched and viewed from a secure and safe location.

In another case, the West Virginia Department of Commerce wanted to spotlight a high-profile project featuring changing traffic patterns. WVDOT used UAS footage to produce videos showing project progress, which have proven to be very effective for public outreach.

In a third project—another four lane highway on new alignment that goes through a portion of a national forest —WVDOH has begun collecting data through UAS to share project impacts and progression with resource agencies while reducing the number of visitors inside the construction zone. The team is leveraging artificial intelligence to control the flight of the drone over a seven-mile path following the proposed new centerline of the road. Periodic flights will follow this path throughout the project’s life. The information provided by these flights will reassure stakeholders that the project’s impacts meet expectations while working in the national forest.

To learn how your agency can effectively use UAS, please contact James Gray or John Haynes with the EDC-5 UAS team.

For more on Unmanned Aerial Systems – https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_5/uas.cfm. 

About EDC

Every Day Counts, a state-based initiative of the Federal Highway Administration’s Center for Accelerating Innovation, works with state, local and private sector partners to encourage the adoption of proven technologies and innovations to shorten and enhance project delivery.

• Bryon Fuchs, North Dakota DOT, will discuss funding the local road safety plan (LRSP), sharing HSIP funds with local agencies, and moving forward with projects from the LRSP.
• Stephen McCall, Champaign County, Ohio, will discuss how Champaign County initiated partnerships with Ohio DOT and other stakeholders to review safety data on all public roads within the boundaries of their county, resulting in the development of activities and projects that fed into their LRSP.
• Greg Parker, Johnson County, Iowa, will discuss how Johnson County has been proactive in evaluating their safety data to identify projects and partnering with Iowa DOT to reduce rural roadway departure crashes on all public roads.

Registration
Participants must register in advance at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=2259  Space is limited. Please register as soon as possible.
Non-USDOT employees who have never participated in an FHWA webinar must create an account at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/FBA/MembershipRequest.aspx  in order to register for this webinar.
 
This webinar is free and open to anyone who is interested. Please share this email with all who might be interested.
 
This email is being sent to participants of past FHWA Office of Safety webinars. If you would no longer like to be included on these types of emails please let me know.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or difficulty registering.
 
Jennifer
 
Jennifer Symoun, PMP | toXcel
Business Manager and Director, Communications and Outreach
Office: 703-754-0248 (x8208)
jennifer.symoun@toxcel.com | toxcel.com

Does danger threaten your rural road drivers with blind curves, slippery surfaces, shoulder drop offs, cross traffic turning conflicts, or other run off the road risks? Counteract danger with a systemic plan of proven safety countermeasures.

Every Day Counts’ Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departure (FoRRRwD) identifies four safety program pillars that promote proven products.  The emphasis on rural roads, proven countermeasures, a systemic approach, and safety action plans; improves safety, reduces crashes and injuries, saves lives, lowers costs, and saves time.
 
Want to know more?  Come hear several local agencies share examples that demonstrate the benefits and effectiveness of their safety plans to improve safety on their rural roadways by using proven safety countermeasures in a systemic approach.  The topics and presenters include:

• Implementing a Local Road Safety Plan
  Thomas Mattson, Humboldt County, California
• A Systemic Approach to Deliver the Road Safety Plan
  Victor Lund, St. Louis County, Minnesota
• Proven Countermeasures to Address Safety on Rural Roadways
  Walter G. Morgan, PE, Garfield County, Washington

 
To join the webinar, participants must register to participate in the meeting room. Wherever possible, we encourage you to attend from a conference room where everyone can get around as a group. 

Target Audience: Local Agencies, Tribes, and Federal Land Management Agencies 

Registration Link  

For additional information please contact Mack.frost@dot.gov

We look forward to your participation!

The 21^st century audience seeks and consumes information in a much different way than previous generations. Social media, blogs, and online news outlets are preferred over traditional forms of media such a print newspapers and radio. To capture the attention of a distracted audience, transportation practitioners must not only embrace changes in communications and technology, but become proficient users of these mediums. To help practitioners navigate this changing environment, FHWA developed a series of fact sheets and short videos highlighting innovative and proven, public involvement techniques for today’s transportation plans and projects. Highlighted VPI tools and strategies include:

• Building a Social Media Presence – Are you having trouble attracting an engaged following on your social media platforms? Learn how to develop a robust, social media community here.
• Targeted Online Advertisements – Hard copy newspaper subscriptions are down, and online media consumption is up. Strategic use of online advertisements is a cost-effective solution.
• Telephone Town Halls – Engaging individuals over large geographic areas can be an issue for effective public involvement. Telephone town halls could be your solution.

These techniques were discussed by practitioners during Webinar 2 of the Extending our Reach webinar series. To find out how virtual public involvement can help your agency expand its outreach, contact Scott Allen, FHWA Office of Planning, or Carolyn Nelson, FHWA Office of Project Development and Environmental Review.

VERG provides clear and effective communication of project development, design, and delivery issues through visual media made with a wide range of 3D modeling, animation, video, and other graphic software packages. From planning and communication to design and construction, VERG products are vital to project success.

VERG uses aerial video in many of their products, and WSDOT credits UAS with reducing lead-time and cost. Purchasing a UAS system can be a similar price as a few hours of helicopter rental, and the UAS provides years of service.  VERG uses the UAS to recreate cinematic shots and effects in their visual storytelling of a project.

To support public involvement for one of the most complex projects in WSDOT’s history, VERG used drones to capture footage of key stages of the Alaskan Way Viaduct’s construction process to provide public updates through web links, public meetings, and social media, including their YouTube channel.

In the City of Bingen, WA, VPI and UAS came together in another project, where a roundabout was being proposed. VERG combined aerial video with 3D modeling to create a combined view, visualizing what the project would look like once complete. This visualization was able to clearly explain the project to stakeholders including local government officials and businesses, which helped generate support for the project while avoiding potential delays.

To find out how VPI can help your agency expand its outreach, contact Scott Allen, FHWA Office of Planning, or Carolyn Nelson, FHWA Office of Project Development and Environmental Review. For more information on UAS, contact James Gray, FHWA Office of Infrastructure.

To view more information from EDC News click HERE.

The seven countermeasures include: crosswalk visibility enhancements, raised crosswalks, refuge islands, Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs), Road Diets, and Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs). READ MORE

• Missouri replaced or rehabilitated 802 bridges over 3.5 years using a single contract for 554 bridges and smaller bundles for the remainder.
• Georgia accelerated the replacement of 25 local bridges using 5 bundles with 4–6 bridges each, based on location.
• Pennsylvania is replacing 558 State bridges in under 3 years in a single public-private partnership procurement. The State also offers a local agency program that bundles bridges with similar designs into smaller contracts.

Learn about the criteria used to determine bundle size and select projects for these programs and others in FHWA’s Bridge Bundling Guidebook. For details, contact Romeo Garcia, FHWA Office of Infrastructure, or David Unkefer, FHWA Resource Center.