New Discussion Forum for Maintenance Professionals

One of the best ways to improve practices is by learning from your peers. To encourage active discussion and information exchange among roadway maintenance professionals, No Boundaries created an online forum using Google Groups. This new discussion group is intended to help maintenance professionals explore a wide range of non-winter-related issues with peers and partners. It will serve as a complement to the Snow and Ice Listserv that has been used for years by winter maintenance professionals to discuss snow and ice topics.

To join this new discussion group, use the link https://groups.google.com/d/forum/no-boundaries-roadway-maintenance.

At the link above you'll see an option to "Apply to join group." By joining the group you'll be able to post new questions and respond to those posted by others. The forum functions much like a Listserv in that you can send a question to the group via email (no-boundaries-roadway-maintenance@googlegroups.com), but you can also post a question or response directly on the website.

Find out how other agencies are tackling similar challenges and the policies and practices that are working for them. We encourage anyone involved with non-winter maintenance activities to consider joining and using this group.

New York State DOT Joins No Boundaries

The No Boundaries pooled fund welcomed New York State Department of Transportation as a new member in March 2016. Greg Grimshaw, Director of the Maintenance Program Management Bureau, will serve as the agency's representative at No Boundaries meetings and events. He joins the following other member agency representatives:

• Florida Department of Transportation - Kristin McCrary
• Illinois Department of Transportation - Stephanie Dobbs
• Michigan Department of Transportation - Todd Rowley
• Missouri Department of Transportation - Mike Shea
• North Dakota Department of Transportation - Les Noehre
• Ohio Department of Transportation (Lead Agency) - John Stains
• Pennsylvania Department of Transportation - Jon Fleming
• South Carolina Department of Transportation - Jim Feda
• Washington State Department of Transportation - Jay Wells

No Boundaries is Transportation Pooled Fund project #TPF-5(330). State DOT commitments to the project can be made using 100% federal funds. Contact Kim Linsenmayer, CTC & Associates, at 608-628-3806 for more information.

Meetings and Events

AASHTO 2016 Bridges and Structures Annual Meeting

AASHTO will host the Bridges and Structures Annual Meeting June 26-30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Twenty technical committees will meet for two days to discuss the latest industry issues and finalize needed changes to AASHTO Bridges and Structures publications. The second two days of the meeting will feature networking opportunities, a chairman’s lecture, and a general session.

PWX Public Works Expo

AASHTO’s Equipment Management Technical Services Program and the Transportation Research Board will host the Equipment Fleet Management 2016 National Conference and Trade Show June 27-30 in Columbus, Ohio. The conference will feature technical presentations, panel discussions on fleet management issues, break-out sessions and business meetings for each of the four EMTSP Regional Partnerships, and a forum for sharing fleet management strategies and best practices.

11th National Transportation Asset Management Conference

TRB will host the 11th National Transportation Asset Management Conference July 10-12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Themes will include implementation of transportation asset management within and across organizations, monitoring asset management plans, performance measures, decision-making tools and technology, and adapting to climate change and extreme weather events. The event will be preceded by a peer exchange for public sector agencies on July 9 and 10 organized by FHWA and AASHTO (separate invitation required; contact Matt Hardy at mhardy@aashto.org).

National Pavement Preservation Conference

The National Center for Pavement Preservation will host the National Pavement Preservation Conference October 11-14 in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference will include technical sessions in four tracks: pavement preservation best practices and technology; sustainability; research, training and certification; and pavement and asset management. The program will also feature demonstrations of several pavement preservation techniques, networking opportunities, plenary sessions, and an exhibit hall.

Training Opportunities

Using Asset Valuation as a Basis for Bridge Maintenance and Replacement Decisions

TRB conducted a webinar on April 11 to show how measurements of asset value can improve inventory management and selection of interventions for bridge owners. The webinar described how bridge owners can optimize spending on individual bridges, and how they can use the Modified Health Index to measure the performance of an entire inventory of bridges. The presentation slides are available on the TRB website.

Use of 3D Data for Asset Management

FHWA will host a webinar April 26 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on efficiently using mobile LiDAR and related tools to effectively locate and inventory surface features. The webinar will describe economies of scale and other benefits to a programmatic approach, as well as the benefits of having a centralized 3D data inventory and the challenges of collecting and storing datasets.

Using Pavement Management System Data to Meet Agency Needs

TRB will host a webinar May 16 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time to provide examples of how agencies are effectively using pavement management system data to address current and upcoming needs. Applications that will be discussed include measuring the performance of a particular pavement type or system; performance management; and developing new and useful performance measures.

Transportation Asset Management Organizational Frameworks

FHWA and AASHTO will sponsor the 21st webinar in its series on transportation asset management on June 8 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. Webinar 21 will address how different organizational frameworks support the alignment of organizational units, systems, and data for transportation asset management. In particular, the webinar will address the importance of leadership, recruiting, retention, and staff development.

Pavement Repair and Rehabilitation Research

Evaluate and Develop Innovative Pavement Repair and Patching: Taconite-Based Repair Options
Minnesota DOT Report 2016-03

This research evaluated two pavement repair approaches that rely on mixes or techniques that contain or are enhanced by taconite mining byproducts and co-products. The first, Rapid Patch, is a fast-setting taconite-based rigid pavement pothole repair compound that is water activated and contains no petroleum or Portland cement. The second uses a high-power microwave system to repair pavement, enhanced by taconite rock that contains magnetite. Field performance of both options suggest they have long-term potential for more widespread use. Report.

Alternatives to Seal Coats
Minnesota DOT Technical Research Synthesis 1602

Seal coats are a commonly used asphalt pavement preservation method. Chip seals are the most commonly used method in Minnesota, but there are some applications where chip seals are not the best option. This project summarized current seal coat practices and identified alternatives to protect pavements, extend pavement life, and avoid issues that seal coats can cause. Alternatives discussed include coal tar, fog seal, slurry seal, microsurfacing, and micromilling. Report.

Machine-Vision-Based Roadway Health Monitoring and Assessment: Development of a Shape-Based Pavement-Crack-Detection Approach
Midwest Transportation Center Report

Highway agencies routinely use automated or semi-automated image-based methods to collect pavement-cracking data. This proof-of-concept research developed a shape-based algorithm to reliably detect and classify cracks in concrete and asphalt pavements. The algorithm successfully detected cracks at different severities and computed crack widths for classification and reporting. Report.

Laboratory Evaluation of Thin Asphalt Concrete Overlays for Pavement Preservation
Western Regional Superpave Center Report TAO-201602

A large percentage of roadways in the United States are rural roads. Cost-effective pavement surface treatments are critical to reduce maintenance and preservation costs on low-volume roads. This project assessed the use of materials locally available in Nevada to develop durable, fine-graded thin hot-mix asphalt overlays for pavement preservation. The two mixtures developed performed well, with good stability, resistance to abrasion and surface raveling, and resistance to reflective cracking, and both are considered ready for field testing. Report.

Effectiveness of Cape Seal Pavement Preservation Technique in Northern Nevada
Western Regional Superpave Center Report UTC-CAPE-1

This project investigated the long-term performance of cape seals with micro-surfacing and slurry seal in northern Nevada. Among the six factors evaluated, only the pavement condition index prior to application of cape seal had a significant impact on long-term performance. Micro-surfacing cape seals had a longer effective performance life and a higher benefit-cost ratio than slurry seal cape seals. Report.

Bridge Repair and Rehabilitation Research

Bridge Trough Maintenance Evaluation on Finger Joint Bridges
Ohio DOT Report 2015/35

It can be difficult to maintain drainage troughs under finger expansion joints due to limited access from below due to height and from above due to the joints and traffic. This research synthesizes best practices for design and maintenance of finger joint drainage troughs in Ohio. Effective cleaning methods include pressurized water, compressed air, vacuum or a combination of these. Design modifications in use include the installation of foam beneath finger joints, installation of a side-flap to improve access, and the use of concrete troughs cast into bridge abutments or piers. Report.

Determination of Bridge Deterioration Models and Bridge User Costs for the NCDOT Bridge Management System
North Carolina DOT Report 2014-07

As funding for maintaining infrastructure becomes more difficult to obtain, it becomes more critical to maximize the service life of existing bridges. North Carolina DOT’s bridge management system stores inventory data and uses deterioration and economic models to support decision-making. This project updated deterioration models and user cost tables for use in the bridge management system software and improves prediction accuracy. Report.

Extending Bridge Service Life through Field Welded Repair and Retrofits
NCHRP Synthesis 489

This report documents current practices associated with field-welded repairs on steel bridges. The synthesis includes a literature review, survey of voting members of the AASHTO Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures, and telephone interviews with representatives of six DOTs. Field welding was found to present special challenges when compared to original shop fabrication, including the overhead positioning of field welding repairs, the weldability of steel that may be of unknown composition, out-of-date ASTM specifications, and adverse fabrications in the field that make quality control difficult. Report.

Asset Management Research

Beyond the Risk Register—Incorporating Risk into Asset Management Decisions
TRB 95th Annual Meeting Paper 16-3145

MAP-21 requires state departments of transportation to consider risk in their asset management decisions. In this paper, Colorado DOT shares its method for effectively identifying and prioritizing risk-based opportunities across its highway network. This process includes developing a risk register and tying risks to specific locations in the highway network to make comprehensive investment decisions. This allows CDOT to make investment decisions that consider both performance and risk. Report.

Guardrail Maintenance Research

Quantifying the Likelihood of Barrier Strike Maintenance
New Zealand Transport Agency Report 580

This research investigated the rate of vehicle strikes on W-beam and wire rope barriers and the corresponding maintenance costs. Variables affecting the rate of strikes included speed limits, vehicle types, curvature, barrier placement, road type, road width, number of lanes, and seasonal or regional characteristics. The research developed a model for predicting the rate of all barrier strikes and the rate of nuisance strikes, where a driver hits a barrier but continues driving and avoids liability for repair costs. This model can help practitioners decide whether to install a barrier, what type of barrier to install, and whether widening the carriageway or median could reduce future maintenance costs. Report.

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