Every Day Counts (EDC-3)

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Table of ContentsEDC-3 Selections.............................................................................................................................11. Smart Work Zones.......................................................................................................................22. Data-Driven Safety Analysis.......................................................................................................43. Roadway Reconfiguration...........................................................................................................64. Ultra High Performance Concrete Connections for PBES..........................................................85. e-NEPA and Implementing Quality Environmental Documentation..........................................96. 3D Engineered Models: Cost, Schedule, and Post-Construction..............................................117. e-Construction: Electronic Project Document Management Systems.......................................138. Regional Models of Cooperation...............................................................................................159. Improving DOT and Railroad Coordination (SHRP2 R16)......................................................1710. Locally Administered Federal-Aid Projects – Stakeholder Partnering...................................1911. Accelerated Bridge Construction: Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) – Integrated Bridge System (IBS)..................................................................................................................................20

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EDC-3 Selections1. Smart Work Zones

2. Data-Driven Safety Analysis

3. Roadway Reconfiguration

4. Ultra High Performance Concrete Connections for PBES

5. e-NEPA and Implementing Quality Environmental Documentation

6. 3D Engineered Models: Cost, Schedule, and Post-construction

7. e-Construction: Electronic Project Document Management Systems

8. Regional Models of Cooperation

9. Improving DOT and Railroad Coordination (SHRP2 R16)

10. Locally Administered Federal-Aid Projects – Stakeholder Partnering

11. Accelerated Bridge Construction – Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil – Integrated Bridge

System

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Mobility

1. Smart Work ZonesDescriptionManaging traffic during construction is necessary to minimize travel delays, ensure motorist and worker safety, maintain access to local businesses and residences, and complete road work on time. While several options are available to ensure efficient work zones, this initiative focuses on two strategies: road project coordination and technology application, especially queue management and speed management (e.g., variable speed limits (VSL).

Project coordination involves “smarter planning” of roadway construction in a manner that minimizes work zone impacts and produces time and cost savings. Cities and regions around the country are realizing benefits from synchronizing projects at various levels, including combining multiple projects in a corridor or network, correlating right-of-way acquisition and utility work, and coordinating work between different transportation agencies.

Technology applications such as queue management and speed management involve “smart traffic control” applied in the work zone environment. Queue management systems, especially when coupled with traffic information strategies, can help alert drivers when there is a line of vehicles ahead caused by a work zone, and then they can prepare to slow down safely. Speed management solutions, especially VSL, dynamically manage work zone traffic based on real-time conditions (e.g., congestion, weather). Combining VSL with automated enforcement can increase driver compliance with the displayed speed limits. Both queue and speed management utilize a range of technologies for detection, including Bluetooth sensors, probe vehicles, and other methods.

Transformative AspectsThis initiative will greatly improve work zone management by emphasizing smart roadway project planning and by deploying queue or speed management solutions in work zones. The benefits of project planning and coordination, both inter-agency and intra-agency, include reduced numbers of street cuts, earlier identification of project impacts, greater ability to reduce and manage traffic disruptions from road work, cost savings, better quality road surfaces, and more satisfied customers. These technology applications can improve safety to motorists and workers and mitigate work zone-related congestion.

ReadinessProject coordination has been used successfully in both metropolitan areas and along interstate corridors. Some examples include interagency coordination along a 1,000-mile corridor in the Great Lakes region between Minnesota and Ontario; work zone coordination in Washington State; use of a software-based system to coordinate right-of-way activities and reduce impacts in

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Baltimore, MD; the Oregon DOT’s corridor-level Transportation Management Plans; Ohio’s use of a permitted lane closure spreadsheet; and the Pennsylvania DOT’s coordination with Pittsburgh municipalities and utility companies. In addition, new tools to advance project coordination, such as Strategic Approaches at the Corridor and Network Levels to Minimize Disruption from the Renewal Process (SHRP2 R11), AASHTO Transportation Systems Management and Operations Guidance, and NCHRP Synthesis 413: Techniques for Effective Highway Construction Projects in Congested Urban Areas, are being pilot-tested and made available.

According to FHWA’s Work Zone Management EDC-3Program web-based compendium of resources, VSLs or advisories have been used on at least 30 interstate corridors in 14 states. In addition, states such as Minnesota, Washington, Wyoming, and Oregon use VSL on certain corridors continuously as a standard practice, such that the motoring public is increasingly being exposed to this concept. Queue management systems have been successfully deployed in at least 10 States, including Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington and have matured to the point that they can generate accurate and dependable results.

National SignificanceThis initiative provides operational and safety benefits in work zone traffic management. The benefits can be significant, especially in high-impact areas such as metropolitan regions and corridors and during special events. Overall, smart work zone strategies create a win-win situation for agencies, contractors, and road users.

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Safety

2. Data-Driven Safety AnalysisDescriptionRecent advances in highway safety analysis can provide more reliable information for effective investment decisions on the nation’s highway system. The objective of this EDC-3 initiative is broader implementation of two of these advances—predictive approaches and systemic approaches—into safety management processes and project development decision making.

Predictive approaches combine crash, roadway inventory, and traffic volume data to provide more reliable estimates of an existing or proposed roadway’s expected safety performance. The results inform roadway safety management and project development decision making as well as safety countermeasure selection and evaluation. Examples of tools State and local highway agencies can use to apply predictive approaches include AASHTO’s Highway Safety Manual, AASHTOWare’s Safety Analyst software, FHWA’s Interactive Highway Safety Design Model and Crash Modification Factors Clearinghouse, and several commercial products in the marketplace.

Systemic approaches target high-risk roadway features associated with particular severe crash types. A comprehensive safety management program incorporates a systemic approach to complement traditional high crash location-oriented (i.e., “hot spot”) approaches. The Missouri and Minnesota DOTs have been leaders in implementing the systemic approach to safety. FHWA’s Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool and AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s usRAP software are examples of tools available to implement a systemic approach to safety management.

Transformative AspectsQuantitatively estimating location-specific safety performance on an agency’s roadway network is a challenging task. The first (2010) edition of the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual provides a collection of predictive methods for quantitatively estimating crash frequency or severity at a variety of locations. By advocating for a broader deployment of predictive and systemic analysis approaches to highway safety investment decision making, this initiative seeks to improve upon traditional approaches that rely on recent crash history data at a given site and prioritizing “hot spot” fixes. The net result of this initiative is a more scientifically sound, data-driven approach to allocating resources—resulting in fewer and less severe crashes on the nation’s roadways.

ReadinessThis initiative builds upon collaborative work done by AASHTO, FHWA, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the industry during the past two decades. Many agencies have made good progress in implementing these safety analysis approaches into their existing safety

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management processes. The success of these agencies can be leveraged to expand the use of these tools to more States, to local agencies, and throughout agencies’ project development processes.

National SignificanceSafety is one of the goals identified in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The safety performance management aspect of MAP-21 makes broader use of the best available safety analysis techniques, tools, and management approaches to reduce the number and frequency of crashes particularly important. The Data-Driven Safety Analysis initiative builds upon the decades of work and momentum of ongoing collaborative efforts to advance the science of safety in the transportation community. The ultimate goal is to save lives on our nation’s roadways—an important national priority.

Note: FHWA cites specific tools as examples of ways to implement predictive and systemic safety analysis approaches, not as an endorsement of these tools over others.

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Safety

3. Roadway ReconfigurationDescriptionFour-lane undivided highways have a history of relatively high crash rates as traffic volumes increase and as the inside lane is shared by higher-speed through traffic and left-turning vehicles. Additionally, as more communities desire complete streets and more livable spaces, they are looking for ways to improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities and transit options. One solution that addresses safety concerns and benefits all modes is a “road diet.” A classic road diet typically involves converting an existing four-lane, undivided roadway segment to a three-lane segment consisting of two through lanes and a center, two-way, left-turn lane. The resulting benefits include a crash reduction of approximately 19 to 47 percent, reduced vehicle speeds, improved mobility and access, and improved quality of life. A road diet allows the additional space that is freed up by removing a vehicular travel lane to be used for bike lanes, pedestrian refuge islands, transit stops, and/or parking.

Transformative AspectsWhen planned in conjunction with reconstruction or simple overlay projects and appropriately applied, road diets can provide a host of safety and operational benefits without affecting roadway capacity—all for essentially the cost of restriping pavement lanes. Improved speed limit compliance helps to decrease the number and severity of crashes, increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety and accessibility, and increase parking capacity. Transforming vehicle-friendly highways to more mixed use roadway facilities positively impacts the livability and quality of life of the communities where this innovation is deployed. This innovation is strongly supported by the retail business community due to the obvious commercial benefits it provides.

ReadinessRoad diets have been implemented for more than two decades. One of the first known installations of a road diet occurred in 1979 in Billings, Montana. Road diets increased in popularity in the 1990s, with installations occurring in Iowa, Minnesota, and Montana, among many other States. More recently, FHWA deemed road diets and other roadway reconfigurations a “proven safety countermeasure” and promoted them as a safety-focused alternative cross section to a four-lane, undivided roadway. Cities including Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Seattle, and many others have incorporated road diets to positively impact their communities.

A few agencies have undertaken extensive evaluations to quantify and inform roadway planners and engineers of the situation-specific benefits of this type of roadway reconfiguration technique. Situation-specific crash modification factor recommendations are available for use in safety countermeasure benefit-cost analysis. Guidance is also available on when road diets are most

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effective without reducing highway capacity. In the near future, FHWA will release a road diet informational guide to help communities understand the safety and operational benefits of road diets and determine if road diets may be helpful to them.

National SignificanceImproved safety and congestion relief on public roadways are high-priority national goals. Road diets help achieve these goals for motorists and non-motorists using mixed-used roadways. By forcing a reduction in vehicle speeds and freeing up space for alternate uses, road diets can improve mobility and access, reduce collisions and injuries, and improve livability and quality of life.

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Quality

4. Ultra High Performance Concrete Connections for PBESDescriptionThe proliferation of prefabricated bridge elements and systems (PBES) over the past four years has led to a recognition among owners and specifiers that robust connection systems are a key part of any successful bridge construction project. Ultra high performance concrete (UHPC), a steel fiber reinforced cementitious composite possessing exceptionally high mechanical strength and durability properties, can facilitate simplified, effective use of PBES. Field casting of UHPC connections between prefabricated components results in a strong connection, and it frees the owner from concerns regarding the short- and long-term performance of the connection. The mechanical properties of UHPC allow for redesign of common connection details in ways that promote both ease and speed of construction.

Transformative AspectsUse of UHPC between prefabricated concrete components creates a simple, strong, and durable connection which will accelerate the routine use of PBES. This allows bridge construction to be performed in an accelerated manner, saving time and money.

ReadinessUHPC has been used on PBES projects throughout the U.S. New York State is leading the way, with more than two dozen bridges constructed using PBES with UHPC connections. Other States with bridges either open or under construction include Iowa, Oregon, Montana, and New Jersey. The domestic production of steel fiber reinforcement commonly used in UHPC began in 2014 and is expected to open the door to many more owners that are interested in deploying PBES with UHPC connections but were previously hindered by Buy America provisions.

National SignificanceTechnical advancements and policy developments related to UHPC will enable the routine implementation of accelerated bridge construction and PBES on a national basis. Accelerated project delivery is a major issue of national importance and has been specifically identified as an important emphasis area in the current Federal transportation funding and policy bill—Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century.

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Environment

5. e-NEPA and Implementing Quality Environmental DocumentationDescriptionThe Implementing Quality Environmental Documentation (IQED) effort, started under FHWA’s EDC-2 initiative, promotes existing recommendations and current best practices to simplify and expedite the development of environmental documents. The initiative emphasizes ensuring that the good efforts for project purpose and need, consideration of alternatives, and impacts are appropriately documented and effectively included in National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) documents.

Experience has shown that concurrent agency reviews and quality documentation significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the decision-making process. This initiative expands the efforts started under EDC2 by incorporating e-NEPA, an online workspace and collaboration forum for major projects requiring an environmental impact statement (EIS) or an environmental assessment (EA). e-NEPA will reduce agency workloads required to collaborate, maintain records, and create an administrative record. In addition, e-NEPA will allow State DOTs to share documents, track comments, schedule tasks with participating agencies, and perform concurrent reviews for their EIS and EA projects.

Transformative AspectsThis initiative seeks to transform how agencies across the country deliver environmental documents and communicate shared solutions. The net effect of this initiative is a dramatic reduction of the time required for environmental reviews and approval of surface transportation projects. When combined with the e-NEPA tool, this initiative helps agencies transition to an electronic review process that can be done concurrently with more effective interagency dialog in real-time. Taken as a whole, this initiative ensures that the product and outcome of NEPA review processes is improved and delivered in a shorter time period, with attendant cost and time savings.

ReadinessSeveral State DOTs have expressed interest in embracing the IQED principles, with Ohio and Washington emerging as the lead agencies. Six other State DOTs are on the cusp of changing their EIS and EA documentation practices. In the next few months, AASHTO will issue a practitioner’s handbook that relates the recommended best practices to actual EIS and EA document examples from around the country.

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e-NEPA is also ready to implement. Five States have used e-NEPA as part of a pilot program to improve project delivery and enhance the environmental review process. Other DOT modes, the Federal Transit Authority, and Federal Rail Authority are also participating in e-NEPA.

National SignificanceShortening the time for NEPA project approval is a core need for the surface transportation community. This initiative emphasizes producing quality environmental documentation and “right sizing” the NEPA document and provides tools to enable collaborative, concurrent, timely, and transparent interagency reviews of this document. Reducing the amount of work and resources required to produce documentation will save considerable time and money while improving the quality of NEPA documents.

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Shortening Project Delivery

6. 3D Engineered Models: Cost, Schedule, and Post-ConstructionDescriptionThree-dimensional (3D) models are a basic building block for the modern-day digital highway project. Under EDC-2, significant emphasis was laid on the use of 3D engineered models to more effectively connect design to construction. Various current good practices and challenges pertinent to modeling, data, data transfer, data control, and data use that form a part of design-construction workflow were a subject of EDC-2 webinars, workshops, technical support sessions and technical resource documents. With a growing reception to 3D technology, the transfer and use of 3D model data in construction has been successfully demonstrated and used in numerous states nationwide. The technology proves to be a cost-effective method for accelerating highway construction.

Recognizing that 3D models and the raw, digital geospatial data that supports them have a utility upstream and downstream of design and construction phases in a project’s lifecycle, this EDC-3 initiative, while maintaining its current focus, seeks to further advance the application areas of 3D models and the supporting data. The specific emphasis areas of the initiative are to promote (1) the use of the raw data from which the model is created (e.g., LiDAR based data) for roadway inventory and asset management purposes, (2) the incorporation of schedule (4D) and cost (5D) information into model, and (3) the use of post-construction survey data to correct the design model to create an accurate as-built record drawing (including subsurface utilities).

Transformative AspectsBy propagating the raw data used to build 3D models into non-traditional functions such as roadway inventory, asset management, survey and records, this EDC-3 initiative aims to realize the ultimate potential of today’s technology in creating a complete, high quality, digital footprint of our roadways. It allows agencies to optimize their data collection resources and deliver projects faster and more effectively. The 4D and 5D modeling efforts facilitate communication between multiple stakeholders and allow contractors to streamline construction schedules, both of which have shown to result in major cost and schedule advantages.

ReadinessThe use of 3D engineered models for highway construction has taken a firm foothold around the country. More than two dozen State DOTs are currently exploring the use of 3D engineered models in construction, with Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Wisconsin having established more mature practices. Consequently, the tools and techniques used to collect and process data to build 3D models along the various stages of the project—planning,

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surveying, design, construction, and asset management—are rapidly maturing. Some major projects, typically procured through alternate contracting methods, have used 4D modeling. Examples include the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span, I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing, I-880/SR-92 in Oakland, California and Presidio Parkway (Doyle Drive) in San Francisco, California. Slightly more than half the State DOTs are using some type of LiDAR technology (aerial, static, or mobile) for field data collection, from which models are extracted for various uses. Multiple technologies, tools, and vendors exist in the private sector to facilitate this effort. Many agencies have begun using the services of these professionals to advance the digital project data paradigm. Tennessee and New York State DOTs use LiDAR for collecting geospatial data and creating base maps for ground features and infrastructure assets. Utah DOT engaged eight of its departments including Planning, Maintenance, Information Technology, Geographic Information Systems, and Pavements in their bid to harness and utilize LiDAR data well beyond construction.

National SignificanceThe 3D technology has the potential to benefit phases other than design and construction in the project delivery cycle and positively impact safety, project costs, contracting, maintenance, and asset management.

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Shortening Project Delivery

7. e-Construction: Electronic Project Document Management SystemsDescriptionContract and construction management for highway projects requires significant communications and documentation of decisions and events. This has traditionally been accomplished through extensive paper-based documentation systems involving conventional postal delivery, project journals, note taking, design and construction submittals, and physical signatures. A paper-based system requires significant time and monetary resources for preparation, communication, storage, and retrieval, thus contributing to inefficiencies and delays in the project management process. In an era of instant communication, on-the-fly information access, and a tech-savvy workforce, this state of affairs is fast becoming obsolete and untenable. This initiative aims to employ the ubiquitous technology tools available to the transportation community, such as digital data, instant electronic communication, secure file sharing and version control, portable devices, and web-hosted data archival and retrieval systems to improve documentation management. Dubbed e-Construction, this initiative specifically intends to bring electronic document management systems to all phases of construction, from pre-bid documentation (e.g., design plans and specifications) to post-construction project artifacts (as-built records) including financial transactions. This technology initiative covers all forms of project delivery methods.

Transformative AspectsThis initiative will employ technology to establish a new norm for construction-related communications and workflow and transform construction document management from a cumbersome paper-based approach to the electronic age. In addition to saving money by decreasing paper use, printing, and document storage costs, this initiative also saves time by decreasing communication delays and allows concurrent document review and electronic approvals, increases transparency, provides audit control and improves communications and partnering.

ReadinessThe proposed e-Construction system is supported by many tools and practices that currently exist to improve communication and make construction management practices more efficient. Examples include transfer of electronic plans (supported under EDC-2, 3D Engineered Models), electronic contract specifications and special provisions, mobile devices and software for field inspection and data collection, data hosting services (data clouds, share sites, virtual review rooms), electronic approval processes (signatures/reviews), communications tools (e-mail, text,

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social media, smart phones), radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for resource and inventory management, and electronic as-built records.

Highway agencies and industry are already practicing some forms of e-Construction. Many state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have piloted, or are in the process of mainstreaming, many of the aforementioned e-Construction system practices. Examples include the Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Utah, and North Carolina DOTs. The types of projects using this technology have ranged from large design-build projects in Wisconsin, Utah, Texas, and North Carolina to routine design-bid-build projects in Michigan. The Michigan DOT, a leader in e-Construction, estimates that the agency saves approximately $12 million in added efficiencies and 6,000,000 pieces of paper annually by using electronic document storage for its $1 billion construction program, while reducing its average contract modification processing time from 30 to three days. To date, e-Construction has been practiced at the project level by some agencies. However, all the indicators point to it being ready for national-level deployment at the construction program level.

National SignificanceThe e-Construction system has the potential to increase the quality, efficiency, and productivity of the construction industry at large, while at the same time saving money in the form of reduced printing costs, man hours and mailing services.

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Shortening Project Delivery

8. Regional Models of CooperationDescriptionIssues like air pollution and traffic congestion do not stop at State DOT or metropolitan planning organization (MPO) boundaries; however, planning often does. Planning in jurisdictional silos often interferes with essential coordination of regional transportation planning solutions, which can lead to project delays, process inconsistencies, and reduced freight reliability. Strengthening the world economy requires thinking beyond traditional borders and exploiting the competitive advantage that regional planning provides. Regional planning has the ability to spur economic development, improve freight movement, reduce traffic congestion, and support health and quality of life.

Multi-jurisdictional transportation planning within a regional context brings together many entities to support common goals related to planning, project delivery, congestion management, safety, freight, livability, and commerce. This innovation provides a framework and process for State DOTs and MPOs to develop agreements across agency boundaries that produce effective communication resulting in mutual benefits. Multi-jurisdictional planning improves collaboration, policy implementation, technology improvements, and performance management, and it provides a process for implementing an effective planning practice across wide geographic areas.

Transformative AspectsMulti-jurisdictional planning brings together many perspectives to foster improved coordination of planning activities. This helps State DOTs and MPOs reduce project delivery times, improve planning efficiency, increase public awareness of and involvement in selecting transportation projects, and establish new and combined and flexible funding options. The public benefits through improved infrastructure, improved system operations, reduced traffic congestion, improved safety, improved economic performance, and more livable communities.

ReadinessThere are several examples of multi-jurisdictional cooperation from across the nation that can be leveraged to advance this initiative. For example, under Florida Statutes Chapter 339.175, the Southeast Florida Transportation Council (SEFTC) was created to serve as a formal forum for policy coordination and communication to carry out regional initiatives agreed upon by the MPOs from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. An inter-local agreement between the three parties was completed in 2005. Several other Florida MPOs have been coordinating transportation demand modeling and long-range transportation planning. Arizona’s Sun Corridor is one of several nationally defined “mega regions” that has recognized the value in coordinating regional planning decisions. Other established multi-jurisdictional planning organizations

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include the multi-State Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments and even the multi-national Canada-U.S.-Ontario-Michigan Border Transportation Partnership.

AASHTO’s report Multi-State Metropolitan Planning Organizations: Approaches, Cases, and Institutional Arrangements documents the enabling authority for 40 multi-State MPOs along with the institutional arrangements, organizational structures, and board composition and voting requirements. The Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) program, which is jointly funded by the FHWA and Federal Transit Authority (FTA), seeks to advance the state of the practice in multi-jurisdictional and multimodal transportation planning nationwide and can serve as a ready-made platform to conduct peer exchanges related to this topic.

National Significance Coordinating projects across jurisdictional boundaries can help deliver projects faster and produce consistent system performance and reliability. These outcomes are consistent with the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which requires regions to develop highway safety plans, asset management plans, a congestion management process, transit agency asset management plans, transit agency safety plans, and metropolitan and statewide transportation improvement programs and long-range transportation plans.

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Shortening Project Delivery

9. Improving DOT and Railroad Coordination (SHRP2 R16)DescriptionEach year, public transportation agencies construct hundreds of highway projects that cross over, under, or parallel to railroad rights-of-way, requiring extensive coordination between the organizations responsible for these structures. Although most projects go smoothly, delays in development and construction do occur. Railroads must carefully evaluate public transportation agency projects in terms of safety, engineering, and operational impacts both during construction and for decades afterward. For the public agencies, delays incurred while waiting for railroad reviews and agreements can increase project costs and extend renewal needs for users.

This initiative promotes the enhanced use of a virtual document library, a document builder, and online training made available through the SHRP2 R16 project to allow public agencies and railroads to identify and circumvent sources of conflict and develop mutual Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for project and program needs. The collection of model agreements, sample contracts, training materials, and standardized best practices will reflect both railroad and public agency perspectives, processes, budgets and funding, and acknowledged good practices.

Transformative AspectsWith railroad volumes projected to continue to grow, the need for more project coordination will continue to increase. Cementing mutual understanding and streamlining processes will save money and time for both railroads and public agencies.

ReadinessA large number of State DOTs and local public agencies, the majority of the Class 1 railroads, several regional railroads, the Federal Railroad Administration, and two national railroad organizations—American Association of Railroads (AAR) and the American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance Association (AREMA)—have developed the document library, case studies, and training materials that are the focus of this initiative. All elements of the innovation are ready for mainstream technology deployment, acceptance, and implementation.

A recently executed MOU and master agreement between the Colorado DOT and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad used a number of model components. North Carolina has used Master Right of Entry Agreements with CSX for routine activities to streamline access to rights-of-way. Texas is developing a Reverse Master Agreement with Union Pacific to help expedite agreements when the railroad needs access for railroad expansion projects. Class 1 railroads that have partnered with their State DOT counterparts include Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.

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The Colorado, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania DOTs are lead adopters under the SHRP2 Implementation Assistance Program. Activities underway by these States include reviewing internal and external procedures, workflows, and policies and developing or revising Master Agreement templates and streamlining processes. The Idaho DOT, Caltrans, and Texas DOT have been awarded user incentive funding to revise master agreements, mitigate challenges that arise from a lack of standardized practices, and analyze internal processes.

National SignificanceThe increasing number of projects and interactions between railroads and DOTs is a critical national issue in highway transportation. The procedural advancements promoted through this initiative will have a lasting effect on practices and nurture continued collaboration between railroads and DOTs. Road users will see the positive results of faster, smarter highway renewal in facilities and budgets.

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Shortening Project Delivery

10. Locally Administered Federal-Aid Projects – Stakeholder PartneringDescriptionTo aid Local Public Agencies (LPAs) through the complexities of the Federal-aid project delivery, a three-pronged strategy was implemented under EDC-2. This included stakeholder partnering, certification program, and the use of consultant services flexibilities. Of the three, stakeholder partnering will continue into EDC-3. This initiative will focus on forming stakeholder committees including representatives from State Transportation Agencies, LPAs, and FHWA. The purpose of the committee is to improve communication to serve as a platform to launch training and process improvements in Federal-aid project delivery.

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Shortening Project Delivery

11. Accelerated Bridge Construction: Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) – Integrated Bridge System (IBS)DescriptionThis initiative is a continuation of EDC-2. Instead of conventional bridge support technology, Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) Integrated Bridge System (IBS) technology uses alternating layers of compacted granular fill material and fabric sheets of geotextile reinforcement to provide support for the bridge. GRS also provides a smooth transition from the bridge onto the roadway, and alleviates the "bump at the bridge" problem caused by uneven settlement between the bridge and approaching roadway. The technology offers unique advantages in the construction of small bridges, including:

Reduced construction time and cost, with costs reduced 25 to 60 percent from conventional construction methods.

Easy to build with common equipment and materials; easy to maintain because of fewer parts.

Flexible design that’s easily modified in the field for unforeseen site conditions, including unfavorable weather conditions.

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