AASHTO Journal - FHWA Issues State DOTs Accelerated Innovation Grants

The Federal Highway Administration recently awarded $7.6 million in grants to nine state department of transportation projects to promote the use of new standards and technologies to accelerate highway and bridge construction.

[Above photo by FHWA]

That funding – awarded via the FHWA’s Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration or AIDD program – seeks to help accelerate project delivery, saving time and resources, while improving construction safety.

The agency noted in a statement that since it launched in 2014, it has awarded more than $103.4 million for 136 grants through the AIDD program; an initiative also supported under FHWA’s Every Day Counts program, which helps states make the transportation systems under their purview become more adaptable, sustainable, equitable, and safer for all.

The state DOTs receiving grants from this round of disbursements from the AIDD program are:

The Arizona Department of Transportation received $1 million for the statewide implementation of a data portal to analyze transportation systems, integrated with new performance measures related to asset degradation, resiliency and sustainability, plus pedestrian and bicycle volume.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation received $1 million to purchase truck-mounted debris removal devices that improve the safety of maintenance crews and the traveling public when removing debris from highways and roads.
The Indiana Department of Transportation received $1 million to advance work zone safety and combat high speeds by deploying a worksite speed control system to monitor up to four concurrently active construction work zones. The FHWA stressed that revenues generated from this enforcement activity will be directed to Indiana’s General Fund and will be dedicated to improving safety outcomes in work zones.
The Aeronautics Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation received $1 million to further develop and expand the use of drones to translate data into “actionable information” to help MassDOT’s Highway Division better maintain and operate transportation infrastructure under its purview.
The Michigan Department of Transportation received two separate ADCMS grants. The first is for $815,000 to replace the Lafayette Bridge, using an “exodermic” bridge deck in the process; decking that increases structural efficiency while reducing project costs and environmental impacts. The second grant, shared with the St. Clair County Road Commission, is for $704,700 to reconstruct the bridge on Rattle Run Road over the Sheldon Drain in St. Clair Township with longer lasting concrete materials.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation received $760,000 to integrate “cleaned” Computer Aided Dispatch data feeds from partners, such as Pennsylvania State Police and 911 Centers, into PennDOT’s Traffic Management Center operations software; removing any personally identifiable information or anything related to potential criminal investigation while improving intra-agency coordination to reduce incident response time.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation received $985,000 to use Orthotropic Steel Deck technology to replace and restore the Purgitsville Bridge.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation received $378,000 to install a radar-based avalanche detection system for US 191/189, to improve avalanche warning accuracy, mitigation measures, and decision-making process to better protect the traveling public, as well as agency maintenance personnel.