smart design & construction 2
TRANSCRIPT
MAXIMIZING TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT VIA INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY | JULY-AUGUST 2021
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Smart Design & Construction 2.0
260-6
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INSIGHTS
Chairman's Corner, p. 6
Dave Bauer: The Arena, p. 8
Eye on Economics, p. 36
Regulatory Roundup, p. 39
AEM Corner, p. 41
JULY-AUGUST 2021 / VOLUME 33, ISSUE 4
By using aspects of our organization that distinguish us, namely the breadth and depth of our members, we achieve consistent engagement for transportation construction professionals across the country.
ARTBA President & CEO Dave Bauer, p. 8
These firms and agencies contributed articles:
• AASHTO • AIT Bridges • BrandSafway • FHWA • HaulHub • HDR• Hillsboro, Virginia (Volkert and
Archer Western) • HNTB • Infrastructure Ventures • North Carolina Turnpike Authority • Resensys • Skanska • Trimble • WSP USA
“
” ON THE COVER
10-35 Smart Design & Construction 2.0
Cover photo: Grist Mill Bridge replacement project.Photo by: Christian Wilfong
July-August 2021 transportationbuilder.org | 3
STAFF
PUBLISHER Dave Bauer
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mark [email protected]
SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING MANAGERCarrie [email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Alison Premo BlackARTBA Chief Economist
Nick GoldsteinARTBA Vice President of Regulatory & Legal Issues
Josh HurwitzARTBA Senior Economist
Smart Design & Construction 2.0 Contributors See page 3
“Transportation Builder”(TB) is the official publication of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). We bring together all facets of the transportation construction industry to responsibly advocate for infrastructure investment and policy that meet the nation’s need for safe and efficient travel. ARTBA also offers value-added programs and services providing its members with a competitive edge. TB is the primary source of business, legislative, regulatory, safety and economic news that matters most to transportation development professionals.
Transportation Builder® (ISSN 1043-4054) is published bi-monthly by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). Postmaster: Send change of address to Transportation Builder®, c/o ARTBA, 250 E. Street, S.W., Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20024. Phone: 202.289.4434, Fax: 202.289.4435, artba.org; [email protected]. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions are $105/year for ARTBA members, which is included in the dues; $120/year for non-members; and $200/year non-U.S. mailing addresses. Copyright ©2021 ARTBA. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
Visit us: transportationbuilder.org
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chairman: Steve McGoughHCSS, Sugar Land, TexasSenior Vice Chairman: Ward NyeMartin Marietta, Raleigh, N.C.First Vice Chairman: Tim DuitDuit Construction Co., Inc., Edmond, Okla.Northeastern Region Vice Chair: David HarwoodTerracon, Olathe, Kan.Central Region Vice Chair: Jim FehsenfeldHeritage Construction & Materials, Indianapolis, Ind.Southern Region Vice Chair: Jeff NelsonDavid Nelson Construction Co., Palm Harbor, Fla.Western Region Vice Chair: Lisa RobertRS&H, Inc., Denver, Colo.Vice Chair At-Large: Kevin CornishAECOM, Orlando, Fla.Vice Chair At-Large: Tony FassinoCaterpillar Inc., Deerfield, Ill.Vice Chair At-Large: Paula HammondWSP USA, Seattle, Wash.Vice Chair At-Large: Randy LakeCRH Americas Materials, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.Vice Chair At-Large: Tom O'GradyHNTB, Kansas City, Mo.Vice Chair At-Large: Michael VecellioVecellio Group, Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla.Vice Chair At-Large: Dave ZanetellKraemer North America, Castle Rock, Colo.Treasurer: Tom HillSummit Materials, LLC, Denver, Colo.Secretary: David BauerARTBA, Washington, D.C.ARTBA Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman: Paul YarossiHNTB Corporation, New York, N.Y.ARTBA Foundation Board of Trustees Vice Chairman: David ZachryZachry Corporation & Zachry Construction Corporation, San Antonio, TexasJoint Committee Co-Chair: Tim CresonCoraopolis, Pa.Contractors Division President: Joe CutilloSterling Construction Company, The Woodlands, TexasContractors Division First Vice President: Michael GlezerWagman Heavy Civil, Inc., York, Pa.AEM Representative: Stephen RoyVolvo Construction Equipment, Greensboro, N.C.Research & Education Division President: Dr. Karen PhilbrickSan Jose State University, Mineta Transportation Institute, San Jose, Calif.M&S Division President: Ben RobuckCEMEX USA, Newnan, Ga.P&D Division President: Jihane FazioAECOM, Piscataway, N.J.P3 Division President: David SpectorKPMG LLP, Denver, Colo.TSID President: Laura HuizingaLindsay Transportation Solutions, Omaha, Neb.TOD President: Brian NessIdaho Transportation Department, Boise, IdahoCouncil of State Executives Chairman: Tom LayfieldAlabama Road Builders Association, Montgomery, Ala.Immediate Past Chairman: Robert AlgerSNC-Lavalin, Avon, Conn.Past Chairman's Council Chairman: James R. MadaraGannett Fleming, Inc., Allentown, Pa.Industry Leader Development Council: Sofia BergerWSP USA, New York, N.Y.
Promote your company’s products and services in “Transportation Builder!” Contact Dave Weidner at 202.683.1026 or [email protected]. See our 2021 Media Kit under the “News” tab at artba.org.
“ARTBA reserves the right, at its discretion and without liability of any nature whatsoever, to reject, cancel or suspend any advertising in whole or in part, in which case any fees paid in advance shall be refunded to the advertiser on a pro-rata basis.”
ADVERTISER INDEX
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CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, PRODUCTS & SERVICES
AIT Bridges, p. 34
GOMACO Corp., p. 21
Heritage Construction & Materials, p. 33
MAX USA Corp., p. 25
Reef Industries Inc., p. 5
Wirtgen America Inc., p. 7
Zekelman Industries, p. 14, p. 28
HIGHWAY SAFETY PRODUCTS & RESOURCES
Excavating & Trenching Safety Training, p. 40
Federal Highway Administration Safety Training, p. 38
Hill & Smith, p. 22
Impact Absorption, p. 2
National Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse, p. 17
PSS, p. 27
TrafFix Devices Inc., p. 43
Trinity Highway Products, p. 29
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Northwestern Mutual, p. 24
SOFTWARE
HCSS Construction Software, p. 44
ARTBA
Foundation Website, p. 30
Interactive Dashboards, p. 36
National Convention, p. 9
Regional Meetings, p. 42
July-August 20214 | transportationbuilder.org
June 29 marked the 65th anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the law that created the Interstate Highway System and the Highway Trust Fund that helps pay for the work.
We remain cautiously optimistic President Joe Biden will sign historic legislation this year that expands much-needed investment in America’s roads, bridges, and public transit networks to help ensure they meet the mobility and economic needs of this century. This, in turn, will mean new market development opportunities for ARTBA members.
Within two months of Ike’s signature on the ’56 Highway Act, state agencies in Missouri and Kansas awarded three contracts for work that became the first segments of the Interstate highways:
• U.S. 66—now Interstate 44—in Laclede County, about 60 miles northeast of Springfield, Missouri;
• U.S. 40—now Interstate 70—the Mark Twain Expressway, in St. Charles County, just west of St. Louis; and
• U.S. 40—Interstate 70—a few miles west of Topeka, Kansas.
Missouri proudly claimed the “first” contracts signed, and construction started, under provisions of the new law. In November 1956, Kansas Gov. Fred Hall snipped a ribbon to open a newly paved eight-mile stretch of road, identified by a sign as the first project completed on the Interstate system.
The new national program was “the biggest construction job in history,” the Wichita Eagle reported.
The story doesn’t mention the number of jobs created or the economic benefits to Topeka and the rest of the state. But we know those benefits were there. The Interstates’ “positive impacts on national and state economies, our quality of life and personal mobility have greatly surpassed expectations,” ARTBA CEO Dave Bauer said in a June statement about the 65th anniversary.
Let’s hope the work repairing and renewing America’s transportation network gets underway soon.
EDITOR’S NOTEMARK HOLAN | Editorial Director
Sign Laws, Then Get to Work Rebuilding America
Mark HolanEditorial [email protected]
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July-August 2021 transportationbuilder.org | 5
transportation design and construction industry, ARTBA supports the adoption of open data standards, the model as the legal document (MALD), and modern, commercially proven, and competitively acquired digital construction technologies and processes for infrastructure projects.
Now the forum will work on outreach to applicable industry groups, Congress, and the administration to disseminate and invite more discussion about this topic.
The two other forums are also making progress.
The Safety Forum developed a Positive Protection policy to guide ARTBA’s legislative and regulatory efforts related to using barriers in roadway work zones. It will be presented to the board for review at its meeting during the national convention in late September.
The Construction Forum, through a multi-divisional work group, is reviewing and getting feedback on potential recommendations related to Risk & Alternative Delivery.
In short, the forum structure is working. We are empowering policymaking through task-oriented groups, focused on specific missions and issues within a defined time frame. The work product from these forums will enable ARTBA to be an even stronger advocate for the membership and the industry.
To learn more about how you can get engaged in the ARTBA forums, contact:
• Innovation & Technology: Allison Klein, [email protected] • Construction: Rich Juliano, [email protected] • Safety: Brad Sant, [email protected]
CHAIRMAN'S CORNERSTEVE MCGOUGH | President & CFO, HCSS
New ARTBA Forums Successfully Building Policy Consensus
When ARTBA’s Strategic Planning Committee put the final touches on the plan’s five objectives in spring 2020, #4 envisioned the development of “cross-divisional discussion forums” for members to craft focused policy initiatives. Fast forward a little more than a year and that is exactly what has been happening.
The Innovation & Technology Forum, chaired by Trimble Executive Chairman Steve Berglund and including representatives from across ARTBA's membership divisions, completed a digital construction policy statement that reflects the various perspectives.
This statement defines digital construction and establishes ARTBA’s support for this technology. It seems only appropriate to highlight it given this issue’s focus on “smart design and construction.”
All membership divisions were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the concept of digital construction. Lead authors included Cyndee Hoagland (Trimble), Matt Blake (Lane Construction) and Will Sharp (HDR).
Approved unanimously by ARTBA’s Board in May, the statement reads:
Digital construction is defined as commercially proven digital technologies and processes for management of construction and engineering activities, including systems for infrastructure project procurement, planning and coordination, construction, digital as-builts, e-Ticketing, operations and maintenance, modernization and management, asset management systems for machines, site equipment, and personnel.
Digital construction technologies will provide mechanisms and processes to decrease and more properly allocate project risk, reduce schedule uncertainty, increase productivity and efficiency, lower cost, and deliver safer, higher quality, and environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects. In order to accelerate innovation in the U.S.
July-August 20216 | transportationbuilder.org
THE ARENADAVE BAUER | President & CEO, ARTBA
ARTBA Punches Above Its Weight
Welcome Back
Famed boxer Jack Dempsey leveraged his exceptional power to defeat much heavier and stronger ring opponents. The prowess of his techniques distinguished him from other boxers and led to several heavyweight titles.
In the same vein, ARTBA has long embraced the need to punch above its weight to secure the transportation network all Americans need.
By using aspects of our organization that distinguish us, namely the breadth and depth of our members, we achieve consistent engagement for transportation construction professionals across the country. In recent months, the association and its activists have been highly effective in helping advance the infrastructure policy discussions in Washington, educating lawmakers and pressing for action. These partnerships allow ARTBA’s footprint on Capitol Hill to expand beyond what our staff could accomplish on its own.
ARTBA’s state chapter affiliates and D.C. staff together hosted 22 briefings for state congressional delegations to discuss our shared priorities for a surface transportation reauthorization bill. These sessions were well-attended and provided an opportunity to explain the role long-term federal transportation investment plays in a state’s economic development.
Our state chapter executives and members of the Transportation Investment Advocates Council teamed up with ARTBA staff to deliver 50 letters to each U.S. senator urging action on infrastructure. By reaching out to their allied networks, they were able to help generate participation from nearly 400 state and local groups across the country. From traditional transportation supporters to agriculture groups and chambers of commerce, ARTBA’s team of advocates demonstrated the extensive support for major transportation infrastructure investment during a critical time.
Individual ARTBA members haven’t missed the opportunity to step up and assist advocacy efforts, either. Over the course of 24 hours in June, nearly 400 communications were sent to the U.S. House of Representatives urging passage of the INVEST in America Act. Similarly, 600 activists—in less than one week in July—urged their senators to support the bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization/infrastructure measure advancing through that chamber.
ARTBA’s initiatives would not be possible without generous support from Transportation Makes America Work (TMAW) program contributors. The program allows us to lead coalitions, support legal efforts and expand our grassroots network—all within the singular mission to grow the transportation construction market. TMAW support helped facilitate a new Transportation Construction Coalition digital and social media ad campaign targeting Congress throughout July.
Sustaining and building on these levels of engagement will be essential as we work to ensure Congress and the Biden administration finalize robust federal infrastructure investment legislation. When we gather in late September at ARTBA’s national convention in Pinehurst, North Carolina, I look forward to thanking many of you personally for helping us punch above our weight.
July-August 20218 | transportationbuilder.org
ARTBA’s National Convention
Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina
Welcome Back
artbanationalconvention.org
September 26-29, 2021
Virtual meeting access will also be offered.
Smart Design & Construction 2.0Maximizing Transportation Investment
Via Innovation & Technology
July-August 202110 | transportationbuilder.org
Two broad themes emerge in pages 10-35 of our second annual “Smart Design & Construction” feature—an initiative championed by ARTBA Chairman Steve McGough. The first is the need to integrate technology and innovation into project delivery and workforce recruitment and retention. The second is how such modernization bolsters construction site safety, improves private sector return on investment, and enhances taxpayer value.
These are not just abstract concepts. Our stories show how smart design and construction is being applied across America: from a multi-faceted road and infrastructure project in tiny Hillsboro, Virginia, to the renovation of an historic bridge in Minneapolis; from toll roads in North Carolina to busy Interstate 15 near Los Angeles.
But we also offer a few thought pieces to peek at ideas that still are only on the drawing board.
We hope you enjoy the content on the following pages from our 14 guest editorial contributors.
transportationbuilder.org | 11July-August 2021
Automated vehicles and connected infrastructure promise smarter, safer transportation networks. Resolving the challenges of designing vehicles that safely and independently operate in varying conditions is taking longer than optimistic estimates projected just a few years ago. But the need for transportation professionals to design, build, and support a safer transportation network remains as urgent as ever. Last year, for example, U.S. roadway deaths increased even as traffic volumes decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Available technology or systems under development can help improve safety, whether roads are navigated by human drivers, computers, or a combination of both. These include systems that intervene in emergency situations faster than humans can react, sensors to alert drivers of collision risks outside their line of sight, or devices that communicate vital information in real time.
Technologies being adopted include:
• Collision avoidance systems: Transit agencies nationwide have piloted and deployed these systems to help their drivers avoid road users in the blind spots of transit vehicles.
• Active pedestrian detection: Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, often less visible and less protected than other roadway users, account for about one-third of all traffic deaths. New infrastructure- or vehicle-based systems can help reduce injury and fatality collisions.
• Connected vehicle deployments: Applications leverage real-time communications to enhance work zone safety, support signal priority and preemption, and disseminate traveler information.
Stakeholder communication and coordination between automakers and technology developers, infrastructure owners and operators, safety authorities, and community representatives is essential to successfully rolling out these systems. Many stakeholders are already engaged in advocating for transportation technology to enhance roadway safety. This was demonstrated by the hundreds of comments to the Federal Communications Commission opposed to the agency’s proposal to limit transportation industry bandwidth that supports such systems.
Collaboration and communication between roadway users and their representatives must continue. This includes while crafting public policies, designing and building infrastructure, and real-time roadway operations in safety-critical situations.
In the past, infrastructure construction and vehicle technology development evolved with limited cooperation, and any coordination was primarily reactive. For instance, governments built limited-access highways in response to faster automobiles. Then, automakers deployed cruise control for these freer-flowing roads and to address driver fatigue and motorists’ desire for more fuel-efficient, steady-speed travel. Now, infrastructure and vehicle technology development must align to ensure compatibility and standardization of vehicle-to-infrastructure communications systems. Collaborative decisions need to be made on which applications and systems to prioritize and what tradeoffs are necessary.
Lessons from research, early deployments, and strategic planning exercises can help stakeholders establish consistent, data-driven and proactive policies and standards. Then, as automated vehicle and connected infrastructure technologies continue to advance, these frameworks can help maximize the benefits and create safer roadways.
Katie McLaughlin, P.E., is a consultant at WSP USA.
What We Can Do Today to Promote Better Connected & Automated Technologies Tomorrow By Katie McLaughlin [email protected]
July-August 202112 | transportationbuilder.org
Using Innovative Equipment to Improve Safety and Efficiency By Brandon [email protected]
Riverside County, southeast of downtown Los Angeles, has a reputation for some of the worst traffic in the nation. But global construction and development firm Skanska improved the commute on Interstate 15 (I-15) in a safe, efficient, and innovative way using gantry cranes.
This $275 million design-build project for the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) also includes Ames, in association with AZTEC Engineering. Opened in January, it adds two express lanes to I-15 in each direction, from Cajalco Road to State Route 60. The overall project consisted of 15 miles of paving, six retaining walls, nine sound walls, and 11 bridge widenings.
It also widened the 1,829-foot Santa Ana River Bridge, the longest span on the project. The bridge consists of 115 cast-in-steel-shell (CISS) piles, supporting 10 pier walls, that in turn support 65 of some of the longest precast girders ever erected on a Caltrans structure, and the heaviest set in California.
The largest of the girders are 176-feet-long, 7.5-feet-tall, and weigh 265,000 pounds. Girders of this magnitude presented significant safety challenges. The particulars of this structure increased the concerns, which included flooding, exposure to traffic, and difficulty accessing the site with the necessary equipment.
Skanska found an innovative solution to the challenge: using two 85-ton gantry cranes. The gantry cranes are 40-feet-tall and 60-feet-wide. Each was fitted with two independent hooks capable of lifting 170,000 pounds. The cranes traveled on 8-foot-tall rubber tires, from the existing parallel bridges and were isolated from the live traffic with temporary rail. Additionally, the gantry cranes were used in the construction of the bridge’s 10 pier walls to install steel reinforcing and form work.
Electing to use the gantry cranes significantly enhanced safety, environmental, and public impacts by achieving the following during the project:
• Eliminating exposure: By eliminating worker exposure to live traffic on the Santa Ana River Bridge, all work was performed behind the K-rail and away from traffic, in lieu of under-lane closures.
• Fewer freeway closures: According to the RCTC, using gantry cranes reduced full freeway closures for the entire project by 80 percent and the number of lane closures by 50 percent. Subsequently, this also allowed work during the day rather than at night.
• Preventing falls: Removing falsework from the bridge structure, using gantry cranes and precast girders reduced the exposure to falls, and the use of fall protection significantly.
• Less environmental exposure to the river: The approach eliminated the exposure of large conventional cranes in the freeway and riverbed. Work in the congested, difficult-to-access river bottom was also significantly reduced.
• Increased production: The gantry cranes were exceptionally efficient setting each girder in less than one hour with a higher factor of safety than conventional cranes.
By opting to use gantry cranes, the I-15 project prioritized the safety of employees, took advantage of day and nighttime schedules, and reduced the impact on commuters and the environment. This is the sort of smart planning and innovation that is crucial to the future of the construction industry to ensure that progress never stalls.
Brandon Liesemeyer, P.E., is a project executive at Skanska.
Photo courtesy of Skanska
transportationbuilder.org | 13July-August 2021
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Faster, stronger, safer Why digital twins are transforming how we deliver and maintain assets
By Jeff Siegel [email protected]
Emerging 3D modeling and related technologies could soon help engineers detect interdisciplinary design clashes earlier in project development, or allow bridge elements to notify roadway managers of component failure to avert a tragedy. The model, referred to as a “digital twin” of a physical or future asset, is a dynamic, evolving 3D virtual replica of a roadway system, bridge, tunnel, or other infrastructure. It’s helping the U.S. transportation industry build stronger, higher quality, more resilient assets faster with far less risk.
A Single Source of Truth A digital twin pulls data from multiple fact-based sources, including CAD models, building information models, geospatial data, parametric models, schedule and cost models, and sensors and monitoring systems. It is a common data reference created during a project-planning stage and evolves through every phase of an asset’s lifecycle, from design to construction to operation and maintenance. The result is a comprehensive model that becomes the single source of truth for any question an owner may have during project delivery and beyond:
• What’s the optimal way to sequence construction? • What are the most cost-effective start dates for specific
elements to be constructed? • How is overall project cost impacted by including
additional materials to a roadway design?
Integrating e-Ticketing & As-Built Models The emergence of digital twins dovetails with two new initiatives from the Federal Highway Administration’s Center for Accelerating Innovation. The center has identified e-Ticketing—converting to digital all material ticketing information—and digital as-built models as key initiatives for improving design and construction and providing owners with better information for asset management.
When information from as-built models and e-Ticketing is integrated into the digital twin, it can inform important operations and maintenance decisions. Consulting the digital twin can help answer such questions as:
• How is the asset performing? • When is the optimal time to schedule preventative
maintenance?
See Twins, 16
State AGENCIES Helping Develop a ‘Smarter’ Transportation System By Sean Kilcarr [email protected]
Today’s state departments of transportation (DOTs) are deploying a variety of innovations—from new infrastructure designs to technology systems—to ensure the nation’s multimodal transportation systems serve local communities and regional economies by moving people and goods as safely and efficiently as possible.
These include reconstructing intersections to allow for the safer and smoother flow of motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists alike. It also means deploying a combined digital sign/camera/radar system to create a “smart corridor” to reduce traffic congestion.
Following are some examples from state DOTs around the country:
See DOTs, 16
transportationbuilder.org | 15July-August 2021
• What is the estimated service life if we replace only a certain component of the structure?
Digital twins also can be useful budgeting tools for project planning. Referencing a digital twin from a similar project or asset, owners can quickly identify the sources of materials, their quantities, locations—even the amount of labor required.
Real-World Examples Multiply Transportation agencies across the country are enlisting the digital twin approach into their most significant projects. The Chicago Department of Aviation has embarked on the O’Hare 21 Program, the largest expansion and first major capital improvements to the airport’s passenger terminals in more than 25 years. The initial digital twin approach interfaces the preliminary tunnel system design with new terminal design models for visualization as well as subsurface utilities for clash detection, which already is providing benefits during early stages of the project.
The Florida Department of Transportation is revamping its design standards and preparing to replace traditional plan sets with 3D model deliverables. The Florida Turnpike Enterprise has developed an augmented reality application to mesh the proposed roadway design with reality and improve land acquisition activities.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is performing proof-of-concept and validation tasks for seamless data exchange from design to construction to as-built asset management. And, rather than force designers and contractors to use specific software vendors, the agency is relying upon open-source technologies for 3D design and construction data exchange.
Solution for the Backlog The timing of the transportation industry’s adoption of digital twins couldn’t be better. Digital innovation in design and construction is crucial to respond to the growing backlog of infrastructure needs, now estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. The digital twin approach can help support the U.S. transportation system achieve a state of good repair and is a critical part of the strategy for long-term sustainability.
Jeff Siegel is director of HNTB’s Technology Solutions Center.
Twins, from 15
The Montana Department of Transportation built a $13.5 million interchange in downtown Missoula (pictured above) that not only addressed congestion and safety concerns, but also improved multimodal access and the environment. It features a series of interlocking roundabouts and more than 50 new trees and landscaping.
The Ohio Department of Transportation developed the $12 million “SmartLane” solution to reduce traffic congestion on I-670 via a linked network of full-color digital signs, cameras, and radar detectors that collect data on traffic speed and density. Since it opened in October 2019, ODOT says average travel speeds have increased to 54 mph, halving most commute times.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation used self-propelled modular transporters, or SPMTs, to complete the $14.55 million Shaler Street Bridge replacement in Pittsburgh in just three days with minimum impact to traffic. SPMTs speed construction by removing and replacing old bridge panels.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation built a 65-foot-high replacement for the Top Sail Bridge in Surf City to eliminate the need for a drawbridge for boat passage while also improving motor vehicle traffic flow and access for pedestrians and bicyclists. The $58 million replacement bridge also has more structural capacity—improving access between the mainland and island during emergencies and other needs.
More examples can be found in “The Benefits of Transportation” report published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Visit benefits.transportation.org.
Sean Kilcarr is senior editor at AASHTO.
DOTs, from 15
July-August 202116 | transportationbuilder.org
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Road builders and owners have usually avoided monitoring traffic outside of construction zones because it required installing expensive sensors or redirecting scarce personnel. Now they can quickly and inexpensively obtain road usage details due to the growth of big data.
Crowdsourced data from third-party vendors such as Waze, Inrix, Streetlight, HERE, and others offer robust sample sizes that allow engineers, construction companies, and transportation agencies to obtain a near real-time picture of traffic patterns. This improved data not only leads to more efficient roadway operations under normal conditions, it also can mean much more efficient construction, with numerous benefits for road builders. These include:
Reduced complaints: Crowdsourced data can help track which roadways have higher volumes and when the volume occurs so construction activities can be planned accordingly. The data can also offer more warning of unexpected traffic problems coming from elsewhere, such as a major accident on a parallel road that causes drivers to detour. A field-ready dashboard on a smartphone or tablet can provide alerts about incidents that may cause a construction zone traffic surge.
Proven performance: Do not rely solely on complaints as a traffic management metric. A dashboard built from crowdsourced data can track and demonstrate a contractor’s ability to manage traffic, providing impartial traffic flow and speed information that is not influenced by motorists’ mood.
Protect workers: Data helps predict when traffic is likely to increase and provides alerts about unplanned events that may route more vehicles toward a construction site. This data allows better planning of required lane closures and similar activities.
Predict traffic: Data combined with modeling can develop better maintenance of traffic plans based on actual, recent traffic flows instead of in-person counts completed months or years ago. More accurate models ensure fewer driver delays and maximize time for construction. This data can also be used to explore the possibilities and benefits of providing alternative access for construction vehicles such as a temporary road during construction.
Manage traffic: With a better understanding of traffic volume highs and lows, it is easier to work with local transportation agencies to adjust signal timing outside the immediate construction zone. Using real-time data, upstream traffic can
be managed at relatively low cost to reduce flow through a construction zone. With a dashboard that can adjust signal timings daily, traffic can also be optimized for unique or unusual events.
Operational decisions: Getting access to this data—which may be available for free from vendors such as Waze through their partnership program—can build a 24/7, year-round traffic profile for roads. For infrastructure owners, this means an opportunity to better target construction projects, focusing on the streets and intersections that show the highest need or where their budget can have the most impact. It also allows owners to work much more proactively, adjusting traffic signal timing daily if needed.
The constant stream of data gives engineers the information that is needed for an ever-changing roadway network. For example, when COVID-19 forced most commuters to quarantine at home, previously collected datasets were suddenly no longer representative of roadway conditions. In the New York City region, an HDR-built traffic signal timing dashboard allowed staff to monitor conditions in real time and direct traffic changes to minimize impacts to the public.
In the future, this dashboard can help identify when fewer drivers are on the roadways and extend construction roadway permits. As needs change, this performance monitoring will allow agencies to react in near real-time to take reroute traffic more efficiently to benefit everyone.
Big data represents a great opportunity for real-time operational decision making, proactive identification of issues, more accurate traffic monitoring traffic and ultimately fewer complaints.
Luigi Casinelli is a senior professional associate at HDR.
How Big Data Can Reduce Construction-Related Traffic Complaints By Luigi [email protected]
Tracking traffic data during construction can develop better traffic plan maintenance and monitor ongoing construction impacts.
July-August 202118 | transportationbuilder.org
Digital Project Delivery and The Next Generation of TalentBy Matthew Valle [email protected]
Congress and the Biden administration are negotiating one of the most transformative infrastructure packages in U.S. history to ensure America remains competitive in the quickly changing global economy. One thing that is not up for debate is the urgent need for a talented workforce to plan, design, and build the roads and bridges of the future.
The next generation of laborers, equipment operators, architects, and engineers have been surrounded by technology since birth. Their daily lives are infused with digital experiences that offer new ways of communicating and managing workflows. It behooves us to transform the industry’s deep institutional knowledge to digital experiences that will excite, engage, and support this next generation of leaders.
About 41 percent of the U.S. construction workforce is set to retire over the next 10 years, according to research by McKinsey. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor says construction hiring declined by 107,000 even while job openings increased by 23,000.
These statistics point to the urgent need to bring all workforce development ideas to the table. Several initiatives are underway, including part of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Every Day Counts (EDC-6) program. Its Strategic Workforce Development initiative provides states with "new resources and innovative strategies for identifying, training, and placing individuals in the contractors' workforce filling the construction jobs that support the Nation's highway system."
ARTBA has also taken a leadership role in creating a workforce development initiative that brings together leaders from across the private sector to share ideas and develop an action plan for recruiting talent. One of the strategies used to enhance the discussion about recruiting new talent showcases how innovative digital tools are helping to improve safety and performance on the job site.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us new ways of working together and demonstrated how digital tools can help coordinate, communicate, and manage supply chains. These digital tools also will help bridge the talent gap and allow our industry to manage operations from the plant to the job site more efficiently. Innovative tools such as machine guidance,
digital blueprints, building information modeling (BIM), and electronic materials tracking, are setting the foundation for digital project delivery.
Another critical component of FHWA's EDC-6 focuses on deploying innovations in e-Construction tools such as e-Ticketing and digital as-builts. These initiatives are being embraced by state transportation departments with e-Ticketing, which FHWA says is the most widely adopted EDC initiative.
This level of engagement, excitement, and momentum highlights the appetite for change and helps lay the foundation for full digital project delivery in the future. It also provides our industry with an opportunity to promote these innovations and forward-thinking to incoming talent.
As you engage with industry leadership peers and participate in workforce development initiatives and strategies within your organizations, take time to think about the digital tools you are using to improve efficiency. Highlighting the use of these tools in your HR team's recruiting efforts, along with industry association and classroom discussions, can help showcase innovation and provide a mechanism to help attract talent into your company and the industry.
Matthew Valle is the industry relations executive at HaulHub Technologies.
transportationbuilder.org | 19July-August 2021
The Key to Infrastructure Success: Technology
By Cyndee Hoagland [email protected]
The time is now to take the next steps in digitizing U.S. infrastructure
As we emerge from the fog of the pandemic, and the United States looks for ways to stimulate the economy, investment in our aging infrastructure offers great potential for social, economic, and environmental benefits.
To achieve success, however, requires more than fixing what is broken. We need to engage innovative solutions that connect the right information with the right people, enabling intelligent decision-making throughout project life cycles. It starts with understanding the value and context of available data, then using that information to rethink the future of project delivery.
This is the prevailing theme across the three video episodes in the Trimble Dimensions Spotlight Series on “Reviving the U.S. Infrastructure.” Watch them at dimensions.trimble.com.
Technology to the Rescue One big change brought on by the pandemic is the accelerated growth of global digitization, which opens new opportunities for infrastructure projects to thrive.
Project delays, budget issues, and the large carbon footprint left by the building and construction industry could all be reduced with technology designed to optimize the collection, processing, and analysis of data—digital as-builts, for example.
Using digital as-builts, owners can provide in-depth descriptions of the data that they want to see, engineers receive a better understanding of expectations earlier in the process and contractors can reduce rework.
Aaron McClellan, construction technology manager for Granite Construction, relates digital as-builts to wargaming. “The use of rehearsals and that wargaming concept,” explains McClellan, “allow us to use digital as-builts in conjunction with VR [virtual reality] and AR [augmented reality] tools to help visualize exactly what’s going to come from [our strategy].”
This saves time and resources. When preparing the team for physical construction, contractors have a complete set of data to work from, allowing the teams to work together in finding the optimal constructible solution to manage cost, time, resources, and waste. Technology enables all stakeholders to improve the productivity, safety, and transparency on a project and deliver more sustainable, resilient infrastructure.
Leadership to Drive Efficiency Another benefit of digitization is an increase in efficiency. Digital models allow construction teams to complete projects with less rework, meaning fewer resources, less machine time, and reduced overall impact. Collaboration between stakeholders is proving invaluable to both the short- and long-term success of projects like transportation infrastructure development. Forward-thinking project owners are actively engaged in better understanding the implications of gaps in dataflow to better balance the outcomes and better predict the results.
Norm Anderson, chairman and CEO of CGLA Infrastructure, believes that bringing about the change we need requires leadership that is disruptive, adaptive, and heroic. The combination of these characteristics fosters the ability to take “mini moonshots”—smaller, yet influential steps toward sparking the beginning of the movement to a more efficient, technology-driven U.S. infrastructure.
Lasting Jobs for a Skilled Workforce A strong, digital workflow structure is only as good as the workforce behind it. Jose Luis Blanco, leader of McKinsey’s engineering and construction work in North America, notes the challenges presented by the fact that 40 percent of the construction industry will retire over the next few years. He emphasizes the need to prepare the future workforce with the skills needed to succeed in a digital world.
See Success, 23
July-August 202120 | transportationbuilder.org
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We are seeing some of the largest graduating classes of STEM students entering the job market with skills and goals positioned to help reshape the industry. “These tech natives,” says Blanco, “will be looking for purpose-driven careers where they can make an impact.” Articulating how a career in infrastructure offers exciting opportunities to learn and use new technologies while also contributing to a larger cause in local communities will be extremely beneficial to organizations in attracting new talent.
Reviving U.S. infrastructure has been dubbed a “generational investment” and is a hallmark of the current administration’s legacy toward building a strong future. With the right technologies, resources, and skills available, together we can deliver with confidence. The first step is taking action and the time is now.
Cyndee Hoagland is a senior vice president at Trimble Inc.
Concrete embeds date back to the 1920s. But installing them to assist in bridge construction, inspection, maintenance, and repair is a more recent innovation.
Embedded anchors are low cost, compact weldments with a ferrule tapped to accept a threaded fastener. The “insert” is installed within the road deck rebar, flush with the bottom of the deck. It acts as the “nut” portion of the assembly and an anchor bolt gets connected to it.
The ongoing rehabilitation of the Tenth Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis demonstrates the utility and savings of using concrete embeds. Built in the late 1920s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the bridge features seven reinforced concrete arches, spanning the Mississippi River. About 10,000 vehicles and hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists cross daily between downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.
The bridge was last restored in 1976. Due to significant freeze-thaw damage, leaking deck expansion joints, and drainage problems, the structure is once again in need of extensive repairs. The restoration that began in spring 2020 includes replacing the road deck and concrete railing; patching piers and arches; replacing and patching deteriorated beams and spandrel columns; corrosion prevention treatment of the arch ribs; and a new surface finish of the entire bridge.
How Concrete Embeds Save Time & Money on Suspended Access SolutionsTenth Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis
By Doug Knapp [email protected]
Success, from 20
Contractor PCiRoads, St. Michaels, Minnesota, asked our company, BrandSafway, to engineer the access on spans four and five over the river. Our QuikDeck® Suspended Access System was selected to provide access on the project.
Work began on span five with drilling holes to suspend chains for the access platforms. Once the chains were dropped through, a crane was used to lift and lower the platform over the edge, where workers in mobile snooper trucks would pivot the platform, so each section was positioned under the arch and could be connected to the suspension chains.
See Embeds, 24
transportationbuilder.org | 23July-August 2021
After securing the starter platform, and completing the center section, we installed 18 tiers of QuikDeck, creating “steps” under the entire arch, which allowed crews to work on every surface inch of the bridge on span five.
However, when the scope of work expanded to include spans three, six and seven, the time required to drill holes to suspend the needed work platforms would have significantly delayed the project. So instead of drilling holes, 320 embedded anchors were installed to provide connection points. A rotating or pivoting suspension point assembly (RSP) is then bolted into the embed. After the project is completed, the RSP is removed, but the embedded portion remains in the underside of the road deck for future use when access is needed on the bridge.
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The advantage of concrete embeds add up quickly. Drilling a hole to insert an anchor into concrete takes approximately one hour per hole. Inserting an anchor into a concrete embed takes about five minutes, which means over 300 hours were saved on the 320 embeds. On a job like this, where access could cost as much as $3.5 million, using concrete embeds saved approximately $250,000. The embeds also will save time and money when suspended access is needed for future inspections or repairs.
The Tenth Avenue Bridge rehabilitation is expected to be completed later this year. Due to the advantages of the concrete embeds on this project, a similar solution is being implemented on another nearby bridge restoration on Third Avenue in Minneapolis.
Doug Knapp is a product manager (Midwest) at BrandSafway.
Embeds, from 23
July-August 202124 | transportationbuilder.org
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“Sustainability” has become an overused buzzword to describe everything from eco-friendly tuna fish to tourism. But sustainability has come to the construction and infrastructure sectors, and for good reason. We are going to need to repair and replace aging infrastructure in new ways.
This is not some visionary pipedream. Sustainability in infrastructure is becoming a policy prescription for a growing number of transportation infrastructure agencies, and something that all the stewards of our public infrastructure along with the contractors and manufacturers of the materials that are used in building it, are going to have to address in the coming years. Sustainability is no longer a green option. It will increasingly become a standard requirement.
There is a common misperception that the use of new materials such as composites in bridge building will result in having to pay a “premium price.” That is no longer valid. Having spent the last eight years working with some talented engineers and researchers in the industry and within our own company, the composites manufacturing infrastructure sector has evolved and optimized the manufacturing process through innovation. The result is several companies producing successful, proven, and tested vehicle and pedestrian bridge systems using fiber-reinforced polymer components. Importantly, this has enhanced our sector’s ability to compete on price, and win on sustainability, durability, and resiliency.
The headline of ARTBA’s 2021 Bridge Report says it all: “1 in 3 U.S. Bridges Needs Repair or Replacement.” That’s an astonishing 45,000 bridges.
For the small and medium bridge market in particular, the use of composites makes sense, from both an economic and environmental standpoint. It will add life to bridges for states, local communities, and taxpayers.
Advanced Infrastructure Technologies and its AIT Bridges Division, based in Brewer, Maine, was formed to license and commercialize the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers that are blended to create lighter, durable bridge materials. The AIT Bridges arch and beam systems were invented and developed at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) in the mid-2000’s.
For the Construction and Infrastructure Sectors, Sustainability is the FutureBy Ken [email protected]
Over the last four years, ASCC collaborated with AIT to develop a composite beam that is now being applied to bridge building in Maine, Florida, Rhode Island, California, and Illinois. The manufacturing process has been optimized to the point where non-corrosive composites are now commercially competitive with other more conventional bridge building materials.
For example, AIT Bridges recently completed the Grist Mill Bridge replacement project for the Maine Department of Transportation. It was the first to use the GBeam technology, which allowed installment of two beams at once with all utilities connected. The contractor needed only two days because of how easily the lightweight materials can be handled. The $9 million project also included a few miles of road work.
States, counties, and local governments all own bridges and are always in need of adequate funds for highway and bridge repair or replacement. For the construction and infrastructure industries, sustainability is more than a buzzword. It’s the future.
Ken Sweeney, P.E., ENV-SP, is group president and chief engineer of AIT Bridges, a division of Advanced Infrastructure Technologies.
Grist Mill Bridge replacement project. Photo credit: Christian Wilfong
July-August 202126 | transportationbuilder.org
Streamlining Project Delivery Throughout the Federal-Aid Highway Program By Gregory G. [email protected]
As Congress and the administration develop bipartisan legislation to provide significant new investment in our nation’s infrastructure, there is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for federal and state leadership to accelerate the transformation of public infrastructure agencies responsible for delivering projects in an integrated digital world.
While the commercial and industrial world has embraced a wide array of new digital technologies, the construction and infrastructure sectors have historically been slow to adapt. The result, according to a KPMG Global Construction Survey, is that productivity in construction has been flat for decades while it has increased
dramatically in other industries, and in the case of public infrastructure, the cost of this flat productivity is being borne by the U.S. taxpayer.
The good news is this is changing rapidly because it had to.
Spurred in part by private sector innovation and a program called Every Day Counts—a partnership between state departments of transportation and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which since 2010 has worked to identify and deploy proven innovations—digital construction technology has slowly worked its way into today’s highway and bridge construction projects. This includes 3D modeling, AI
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and robotics, building information modeling (BIM) and cloud computing, drone monitoring and more. These technologies are now in the field, revolutionizing not just how roads and bridges are modeled and configured but how they are built.
The cost savings resulting from the use of digital construction technology in project delivery—to infrastructure owners, to contractors, to state governments, and the public—are well documented, lowering the cost of major construction projects by as much as 25 percent, according to one review by the Florida Department of Transportation.
transportationbuilder.org | 27July-August 2021
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Federal-Aid, from 27
But there is much the industry and Congress can do to speed the adoption of this time and money-saving technology. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.” As we prepare to administer trillions in urgently needed infrastructure investment over the next decade, let’s spend some time sharpening our axes.
In the current “Round 6” of the FHWA Every Day Counts partnership with the states, one of the seven initiatives is “e-Ticketing and Digital As-Builts.” According to the May EDC-6 Summary and Baseline Report:
• Forty-three states plan to be at the demonstration, assessment, or institutionalized stages of e-Ticketing at the end of EDC-6, compared to 18 at the beginning. (An all-time record of participation for an EDC initiative.)
• The number of states attaining the demonstration, assessment, or institutionalized stages of digital as-builts is expected to grow from 10 to 27. (A significant number, but we can do better.)
Widespread adoption of these initiatives across the state DOTs over the next two years will pay significant long-term dividends to the taxpayers. They also provide critical leadership that influences county and local infrastructure agencies.
There are many champions of change working to advance digital delivery transportation infrastructure across the spectrum in the public and private sectors. Data-driven decision making is at the core of the Federal-Aid Highway Program. There is incentive language supporting digital construction technology advancement in the states in both the Senate Environment and Public Works and the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee versions of the five-year reauthorization of the surface transportation programs. All that is needed is for policy leadership of our infrastructure agencies to engage and support their champions of change and simply make this a priority.
A whitepaper on Digital Construction Technology we developed illustrates opportunities for streamlining project delivery in the Federal-Aid Highway Program. Digital delivery is the road to get there. I attempt to make the policy case for this moon-shot moment for how we deliver the nation’s public infrastructure. The whitepaper is available for download infrastructureventures.com.
Gregory G. Nadeau is chairman of Infrastructure Ventures and former administrator of the Federal Highway Administration in the Obama administration.
July-August 202128 | transportationbuilder.org
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How Partnerships Delivered a Big Job for a Small TownBy Roger [email protected]
Hillsboro, Virginia, is a tiny town of fewer than 200 souls. But our community 50 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., offers an important lesson for big cities when it comes to transportation and other infrastructure construction: leveraging partnerships.
In June, we completed a $30-million multi-faceted road and infrastructure project on Route 9 (Charles Town Pike), called ReThink9. The work included two traffic-calming roundabouts, raised crosswalks, sidewalks, a new drinking water system, wastewater and stormwater collection systems, underground power and communications, and state-of-the-art, dark-sky compliant streetlamps.
The project relieves congestion by improving traffic flow and enhances safety for motorists and pedestrians alike by reducing speeds along the narrow corridor through the historic town. Its success can be attributed to the work of two ARTBA member firms: Volkert, hired in 2016 to design and manage construction, and Archer Western, which was awarded the construction contract in 2019. Our team also collaborated closely with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and Loudoun County funding partners, and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
Originally projected to take three years, the project team used a data-driven process to analyze the productivity, including cost and time savings that could accrue from periods of complete road closures, rather than working next to traffic. Using traffic analyses that confirmed minimal impact to commuters, a joint Town and VDOT decision reduced the construction schedule to 14 months and cut costs by more than $5 million.
Project partners further minimized commuter impacts and increased productivity by adjusting the sequence of construction and timeline of planned road closures during decreased traffic resulting from COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.
By coordinating funding and bundling the road construction with the drinking water, sanitary sewer, and utility infrastructure, combined with the Town leaders’ dedication of time and
resources and ability to react to changed circumstance, Hillsboro saved an estimated $11 million from the project’s original cost and avoided what would have been years of traffic disruption on Route 9.
“Together, we were able to collaboratively confront issues as they arose, quickly make decisions, and together find innovative solutions to safely deliver what is without question a one-of-a-kind project,” said Archer Western project manager Matt Phillips.
“By tackling the construction of all infrastructure components at once and forging collaborative partnerships, we significantly reduced costs and impacts to community residents and businesses and delivered a truly transformative project,” added Volkert Vice President Bobby Hester.
The trust and true partnership Hillsboro developed with Volkert and Archer Western was the key to making this possible.
Roger Vance is mayor of Hillsboro and project manager for ReThink9.
transportationbuilder.org | 31July-August 2021
Wireless Sensor Technology for Condition Based Asset Management
By Mehdi [email protected]
Bridge inspection techniques and technologies are continuously evolving. Monitoring technologies have experienced tremendous enhancements in the past two decades. Sensors have advanced to where incorporating critical information is an easy and seamless process. Cost-effective, scalable solutions allow long-term remote monitoring of bridges and other structures.
Here is a case study:
On Dec. 20, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) found cracks on two girder beams on the Weldon Road Bridge over Route 15, about 50 miles northwest of Manhattan. It was closed immediately as a safety precaution. The damaged portion of the bridge was removed, and all lanes on Route 15 were reopened by early March. NJDOT also strengthened three damaged beams and deployed a wireless monitoring system from Resensys to ensure the structure remains safe. In April, we worked with NJDOT and Michael Baker International to quickly install a wireless and cloud-based monitoring system in less than two days. The system is intended to monitor the bridge for at least three years. It monitors strain, displacement, acceleration, tilt, and temperature at 24 locations on the bridge.
Wireless connected sensors, called SenSpot, immediately begin providing condition awareness and uninterrupted monitoring. They can detect malfunction and send alert notifications if the conditions change, while monitoring strain with resolutions below 1 microstrain, and displacement with resolutions at sub-micron accuracy, the equivalent of 1/100 the thickness of paper.
Monitoring systems can also be used in large asset classes to proactively detect early-stage structural issues. Examples include bridges where fast-running water scours the substructure and foundation, potentially leading to substantial damage. Another example is monitoring bridges known as “fracture critical,” where lack of redundancy could mean that fracture of a single load-bearing member might cause a partial or full collapse. The Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory
database, used for ARTBA’s annual deficient bridges report, says there are more than 18,000 fracture critical bridges in the U.S. The ability to monitor these bridges is game-changing.
Such emerging monitoring technologies:
• Provide high quality data and information that can be automated and/ or integrated across platforms in budget-appropriate segments.
• Are cost-effective and easy to install and use so organizations can prove their value and return on investment.
• Deliver intuitive software interfaces achieving fast and user-friendly online performance, and efficient workflows based on specific actionable information to facilitate fast decision making.
"Instrumentation of bridges is a powerful tool to get insight about the behavior of bridges and to detect the most subtle structural problems that may be invisible to the naked eye during visual inspections,” said Chung C. Fu, director of the Bridge Engineering Software & Technology (BEST) Center of the University of Maryland at College Park. “Furthermore, wireless instrumentation technologies are even more advantageous than wired systems, because given bridge sizes and expensive access, installing wiring systems can be costly."
Monitoring technologies are increasingly being used to support the transportation network that is so critical to the American way of life. Their increased cost effectiveness, innovative capabilities (at the sensor, platform, data integration, and analytical levels), and scalability mean that such monitoring technologies will become a common, yet powerful tool for long term asset management.
Mehdi Kalantari, Ph.D., is president and CTO at Resensys, LLC. The company’s Art Korfin and Maria-Francesca Steyn also contributed.
July-August 202132 | transportationbuilder.org
its passengers. This constant flow of data can help vehicles better navigate, manage systems, and/or deliver important communications and services to passengers.
For example, Hyundai recently announced a new in-car payment system that will debut in their Ioniq 5 crossover vehicle. It allows drivers to locate electric vehicle charging stations and pay for food and parking. The company says it plans to add more payment categories in the future to enhance the connected vehicle experience.
The Future for Tolling is NowBy James “J.J.” [email protected]
The COVID-19 pandemic required the U.S. tolling industry to quickly pivot and adapt to new work situations focused on customer and employee safety, with increased touchless interactions due to social distancing. But this was simply the next step in an already accelerated and continued time of change.
With Cloud- and Blockchain-oriented technologies bringing new car-based functionalities into the mainstream and automakers increasing efforts to manufacture vehicles that provide consumers the option of cashless transactions and enabled payment across multiple platforms, it is incumbent that transportation leaders not only catch up, but also get ahead of this trend.
In the past, trends such as these have caught our industry off guard, making us late to adjust to the needs of our systems, and most importantly, our customers. Modern cars and accompanying technologies provide us with the opportunity to lead and become an integral part of the change.
Using ITS Vehicles rolling off the assembly lines are computers on wheels, using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to continuously process and transmit data about itself, its surroundings, and See Tolling, 34
Photo: North Carolina Turnpike Authority
transportationbuilder.org | 33July-August 2021
Tolling, from 33
In Virginia, Cognizant and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are collaboratively implementing a Digital Tolling Solution for Elizabeth River Crossings (ERC), a P3 partner with the Virginia Department of Transportation. The end-to-end digital transformation will ultimately migrate and modernize ERC’s data center and back-office operations, as well as significantly enhance account, vehicle, payment and dispute management.
Enhanced vehicle technology and digital information systems present enormous benefits and opportunities for the toll industry, including global in-vehicle payments and improved interoperability between agencies and services. Since the ability to calculate fees based upon miles traveled already exists, more agencies are moving forward to leverage this capability. This includes the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which converted its entire system to electronic payments as a safety measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Path Forward Continued instability in the federal Highway Trust Fund and increased investment by auto companies in all-electric vehicles will further reduce fuel consumption and force federal and state governments and toll agencies to rethink how they obtain needed revenues to maintain, enhance, and keep safe roadway
operations. Alternatives such as Road User Charging (RUC) and congestion pricing are a part of that discussion.
It is vital that the technology is in place to capture user information along with systems that can manage large numbers of accounts and seamlessly process high volumes of data. At the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA), we are working with several companies on pilot projects that will allow us to leverage innovation to participate in the mobile and digital economy. This includes testing new mobile tolling technologies, outsourcing business processing functions, such as transponder fulfillment and increased automation. Piloting retail payment integrations enables us to leverage transponder technology to increase cross-platform payment options for our customers. Tolling industry leaders must find sustainable solutions to funding ongoing infrastructure needs, both at the federal and state levels. For that to happen, the industry must be open to change, expand its vision, and willing to partner with new industries and emerging technology leaders. Otherwise, there is no doubt, we will be left behind and looking in the rearview mirror.
James “J.J.” Eden is executive director of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.
July-August 202134 | transportationbuilder.org
Innovative Approaches to Filling Highway Construction JobsBy Karen Bobo [email protected]
Photo: Natalie Forbes/Corbis Documentary/via Getty Images
The highway system affects every American. It connects people from distant corners of the continent, empowers a robust economy, provides ease of travel, and creates unprecedented opportunity.
This system, which delivers such significant benefits, also requires many people to build, maintain, and operate. But multiple public and private sector studies and reports have found there is trouble finding enough qualified workers.
EDC-6 Takes on Workforce Development The sixth round of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts (EDC-6) program includes a strategic workforce development initiative to help companies and agencies overcome their workforce challenges.
This effort is a culmination of many years of work. In 2016, FHWA partnered with multiple national agencies and organizations, with ARTBA serving a key role in helping establish the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP). A two-year HCWP pilot explored how industry could collaborate with the public workforce system to recruit, train, and retain highway construction workers. It was conducted in 12 locations—six state departments of transportation and six local public agencies. Based on the pilot findings, FHWA developed a concise, practical playbook called “Identify, Train, Place” for others to conduct their own highway workforce development efforts.
FHWA also developed an outreach campaign called “Roads To Your Future” to help raise awareness of highway construction as a career opportunity. The campaign includes free, downloadable marketing materials for use by anyone to attract people to the industry. Most of the materials can be customized to add local contact information.
The pilot and playbook were a good start, but an effort as large as construction workforce development needs a bigger boost. FHWA cannot solve this problem alone, but we do have a crucial piece.
The agency has a national network to facilitate collaboration and learning between groups that might never have contact otherwise. There are answers to our workforce shortage out
there, but they are in little pockets across the country. We see our role in EDC-6 as facilitators—finding those with the answers and connecting them to people with similar challenges.
States Experiment with New Solutions Several states have developed innovative approaches to fill highway construction jobs. While none has completely solved the puzzle, each has discovered a piece that might help. The Idaho HCWP established a program that includes certifications in heavy equipment and hazardous waste operations; emergency response training; Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-hour (OSHA-10) and National Center for Construction Education & Research certification. Students demonstrate their skills to potential employers on eight types of heavy construction equipment. In Alabama, FHWA worked with firms and community colleges to create a modular highway construction curriculum of basic math, written and interpersonal skills, the OSHA-10 certification, and other more advanced skills. The course culminates by connecting graduates to construction firms for job interviews.
No Downside to Workforce Development Everyone wins when highway construction jobs are filled. Workers find a stable, satisfying career and the nation has the infrastructure it needs to thrive. This EDC-6 initiative is not only a technical exercise, but also a societal effort. A sustainable career can break cycles of poverty and set families on new paths to success. And these jobs build and maintain one of our national treasures, the highway system.
Karen Bobo is director of the FHWA Center for Transportation Workforce Development and co-leader of the EDC-6 strategic workforce development implementation team.
See all the EDC-6 initiatives at the Center for Accelerating Innovation, fhwa.dot.gov/innovation.
transportationbuilder.org | 35July-August 2021
The cost of materials, goods, and services used for highway, street, and bridge construction is up an average 21 percent since spring 2020, led by increases in diesel fuel and energy prices. About half the increase has occurred since January.
Consumers are also generally paying more for goods and services as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease and the U.S. economic activity picks up. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures general inflation, rose 5 percent between May 2020 and May 2021, the largest year-over-year increase since the 2008 Great Recession.
Limited Supply and Rising Demand Inflation occurs when the demand for goods and services outpaces supply. Supply has been constrained by several developments, including material shortages and supply chains snarled by severe weather, the Suez Canal backup, and other factors.
Contractors Facing Rising Prices in First Half of 2021 By Dr. Alison Premo Black Dr. Josh [email protected] [email protected]
EYE ON ECONOMICS
Simultaneously, demand for transportation construction materials has continued rising to support record construction work in 2020, despite the pandemic. As competing claims on resources grow faster than they can be supplied, input prices tend to rise.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measures average changes in commodity prices through the Producer Price Index. The latest data, through May, shows an upward trend in the price of materials used for transportation construction, including steel, asphalt, concrete, paint, construction equipment, and aggregates.
Diesel fuel and energy costs have increased nearly 134 percent year-over-year in May.
At the same time, transportation construction worker wages are growing. Despite the unemployment rate hovering nearly 70 percent higher than its pre-pandemic low of 3.5 percent,
artba.org/economics
July-August 202136 | transportationbuilder.org
many employers now find it necessary to raise wages to attract workers. The average hourly earnings for highway, street, and bridge construction workers were up 6.2 percent, to $34.20 per hour in May from $32.20 in May 2020. Recent experience shows that the market can adjust to accommodate increased demand, as highway and bridge contractors added nearly 56,000 jobs between 2013 and 2019.
Outlook for Inflation Most economists say these price increases are temporary until the economy adjusts and supply chains recover from pandemic-induced slowdowns. The median projection among Federal Open Market Committee members in June is that aggregate annual price increases, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, will return close to the targeted level of 2 percent by 2022. A group of 77 economists surveyed for the July 2021 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecasting Survey projected similar trends for the CPI. Bond market indicators also suggest that financial market participants are anticipating only a temporary surge in price levels.
There is also reason to believe that the surge in many transportation construction input prices will be temporary. For example, the increase in fuel prices was largely precipitated by deliberate oil supply cuts by OPEC+ and drilling reductions domestically in response to the abrupt decline in market activity brought by the pandemic. However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration anticipates falling oil prices in 2022, as supply accelerates faster than demand.
A moderation in prices would be welcome news as Congress continues to work on the passage of a multi-year surface transportation bill to replace the FAST Act, which expires Sept. 30. The legislation currently moving through the House and Senate would dramatically increase federal highway, bridge and public transportation investment—a welcome change after years of status quo investment.
Dr. Alison Premo Black is ARTBA’s chief economist. Dr. Josh Hurwitz is ARTBA’s senior economist.
July-August 2021 transportationbuilder.org | 37
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Member Engagement is the Key to ARTBA’s Regulatory Advocacy By Nick [email protected]
One of the primary objectives in ARTBA's strategic plan is rigorous advocacy in the regulatory arena. The direct engagement of ARTBA members in these efforts is key to our success.
In the federal rulemaking process, agencies frequently publish proposals and give the public an opportunity to comment. Often they are crafted with little to no input from the industries that will be most impacted, including transportation construction. This is where ARTBA members can be very effective, by sharing their knowledge of how such rules could directly affect their ability to plan and build transportation improvements.
Over the years, there are many examples of ARTBA members achieving a positive outcome for the industry. Here are two from earlier this year:
• ARTBA submitted extensive comments on revisions to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). We formed a work group of 17 members from across ARTBA’s eight divisions to get their insights on the matter. The final comments focused on the impacts of the MUTCD’s prohibition on patented products and drew upon specific examples provided by ARTBA members.
• ARTBA members were also leaders in efforts to convince the Biden administration that an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19 should not treat all industries alike. Three ARTBA members met directly with Office of Management and Budget personnel to explain how the transportation construction industry is different from other industries, such as assembly-line production or health care. As a result, the final ETS issued by OSHA in June did not contain unnecessary restrictions for our industry and was limited only to healthcare.
The regulatory environment is much different than a year ago. The last administration focused on cutting red tape and reducing delay. It is a new ballgame with increased emphasis on issues like climate change and equity.
In the weeks ahead, watch for digital communications from ARTBA asking about what regulatory issues most impact your business. The more direct input and participation we have from you, the better our results will be.
Nick Goldstein is ARTBA’s vice president of regulatory and legal issues.
CONTACT To become more involved in ARTBA’s regulatory efforts, contact Nick Goldstein at [email protected] or 202.683.1005.
July-August 2021 transportationbuilder.org | 39
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THE NEXT STEP IN GEORGIA’S SMART HIGHWAY: ROBO-MOWERS
Along an 18-mile stretch of Interstate Highway 85 between LaGrange, Ga., and the Alabama State Line stands the Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway.
Unlike most memorial highways, however, this highway, nicknamed “The Ray,” has a mission inspired by its namesake, Atlanta furnishings magnate and “greenest CEO in America” Ray Anderson. Dedicated in 2014, The Ray has been a testbed for everything innovators could think of when they thought of the words “smart highway.”
These technologies have included right-of-way solar power installations, right-of-way farming projects, pollution capturing bioswales and pollinator gardens.
One of The Ray’s biggest supporters recently, has been the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which recently re-partnered with The Ray, via the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and Georgia DOT, in support of the association’s efforts to develop and promote a cohesive equipment manufacturing industry strategy related to sustainability.
Through the work of its newly established Sustainability Council, AEM is committed to promoting the successes and positive global impacts of its members, including emissions reductions, productivity gains, safety improvements, and standards development.
“Through our continued partnership with The Ray, AEM will be able to further deliver on its mission to provide valuable resources and opportunities that spark ideas for establishing sustainability priorities for the equipment manufacturing industry and provide a framework that supports best practices for a more viable world,” said AEM Director of Construction Sara Feuling.
According to The Ray, highways are one of the most environmentally damaging and dangerous infrastructure systems in the world, and roadside departures play a significant role in endangering roadside workers, including mowers. From 2016 through 2019, more than half of all traffic fatalities resulted from roadway departures. In response, The Ray has started a movement to build net-zero highways – Zero Deaths. Zero Waste. Zero Carbon. Zero Impact.
Attendees of CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 may remember The Ray from the show’s Tech Experience, where they were immersed in a replica of The Ray’s sustainable highway, including a solar paved highway, Connected Roads® smart striping, and more.Future projects on The Ray continue to transform infrastructure, highlighting sustainability and, most importantly,
safety.One of them is the Robotic Mower Project, in which The Ray
will experience and analyze the performance, safety attributes, and reliability of robotic mowers on the grassed areas of an interstate rest area.
Through this project, The Ray will evaluate the equipment for possible deployment on the roadsides of state highways and interstates in Georgia, acting as a pilot project for other states nationwide, alongside Missouri DOT and Texas DOT.
Ultimately, the project serves to highlight the benefits of investing in and deploying roadside robotic equipment, including:
• Reducing fuel costs• Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions• Re-nutrienting soilAEM recently partnered with the Outdoor Power Equipment
Institute (OPEI) to bring together manufacturers meeting the mower specifications for the project. In May 2021, Allie Kelly, executive director of The Ray, discussed the project in greater detail with several manufacturers who had expressed interest in the project.
Removing the operator from the roadside removes the risk, not only for the operator but also for those traveling the roadway. In addition, removing the risk not only helps The Ray achieve their goal of ‘Zero Deaths,’ but also allows AEM to achieve its goal of promoting the successes of its members and the industries it serves.”
AEM and OPEI members have continued to collaborate with The Ray and discuss their participation in the project.
To learn more about The Ray and the innovations being tested there, visit theray.org.
CORNER
The Association
of Equipment Manufacturers is
the North America-based international trade
group advancing the off-road equipment manufacturing industry
in the global marketplace.
We Build Momentum
To learn more, visit aem.org
HOW CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES CAN BEGIN CAPITALIZING ON INNOVATION
As technological innovations continue to surface and present new opportunities, some construction companies might not know where they should focus first. Perhaps that is why, generally speaking, the construction industry lags behind many others on the technology adoption curve.
However, with the right focus and strategic plan, even the smallest of construction companies can leverage some combination of today’s technologies to make impactful gains in their businesses.
“Venture capital is already investing nearly $1 billion in technologies related to project and task management, robotics, design, building/project information, data and analytics, inventory and supply chain, financial management and equipment share,” says Gregg Schoppman, a principal with FMI Corporation. “You can’t just stick your head in the sand and wait to see which ones will still be there a few months from now. Construction leaders have to challenge conventions themselves.”
Innovation is the Antidote to Workforce ChallengesIf leveraged correctly, several innovations could actually attract
better talent to the industry and help drive workforce performance:• Autonomous equipment and vehicles• Drones• Building Information Modeling (BIM)• Use of tablets for augmented reality• Real-time data to provide true analytics and decision-
making capability• Telemetry on wearable devices to improve productivity,
efficiency and safety• QR codes on equipment and helmets to retrieve data like
engine hours, when oil change is due, whether an employee went through certain safety training, etc.
• RFID tags welded into sections of steel to track material from fabricator to jobsite
• Non-traditional talent development like online learning and virtual reality
Overcoming a Culture of ComplacencyAs industries evolve, companies must evolve with them. The
biggest obstacle to embracing innovation is complacency.As Schoppman points out, evolution and innovation really come
down to a single word: accountability. When both leadership and employees are accountable for finding new, innovative ways to
conduct business, evolution can occur. At the same time, there needs to be accountability with the implementation.
“It’s not good enough to think you’ll just try it and see what happens,” Schoppman cautions. “It’s important to challenge people to come up with new ideas and approaches. But people need the right training on how to make the right decisions. Then you can hold them accountable.”
Innovation Doesn’t Have to be Huge and DisruptiveIn the quest to continue moving a construction business
forward, Schoppman talks about four key strategies:1. Executing the same way in the same market (this is
complacency)2. Executing the same way in a new market (likely requires
innovation)3. Executing a new way in the same market (requires
innovation)4. Executing a new way in a new market (requires lots of
innovation)For many construction companies, the innovative pursuit of
new approaches and markets must be preceded by something Schoppman refers to as “company hygiene.”
For example, Schoppman tells of a tilt contractor he once consulted with. After digging into the numbers, concrete snot on doorframes was costing the company several thousand dollars a year. After challenging employees to come up with an innovative solution, ideas were all over the board. A very simple, yet “innovative” idea was brought to the table: use blue painter’s tape and Visqueen to cover up the doorframes. That became standard work and went right into the company playbook.
Innovation, and that kind of innovation, puts a construction company on a path toward evolution and continued prosperity.
July-August 2021 transportationbuilder.org | 41
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