The 2023 AASHTO Innovation Management (AIM), formerly A.I.I., has issued a call for nominations for ready-to-share examples of innovation implementation or deployment of select proven technologies, products or processes that are likely to yield significant economic or qualitative benefits. Submissions are due by October 6th.
NJDOT’s Saw Cut Vertical Curb was recognized as AASHTO Innovation Initiative in 2022.
Last year, the AASHTO program recognized NJDOT’s Sawcut Vertical Curb as one of seven Focus Technologies.More information about this winning entry can be found here and here.
BACKGROUND
Many new and emerging technologies, offering improved performance or effectiveness, are continually becoming ready for operational implementation. Some of these technologies have been developed through rigorous research and may have been demonstrated in “real world” applications. Some may have been gleaned from international technology scanning tours. Others evolved within practice but are not shared.
The purpose of the AIM is to identify and champion the implementation or deployment of a select few proven technologies, products or processes that are likely to yield significant economic or qualitative benefits to the users.
AASHTO’s Innovation Management encourages the sharing innovation practices nationwide.
WHO: The AASHTO Innovation Initiative accepts innovations for consideration from State and local Departments of Transportation, and organizational units of AASHTO. (AASHTO members include member departments and associate members). Additionally, private industry representatives may work with eligible submitters who have successfully used these innovative practices to nominate technologies. Applications may be developed by DOT partners (academia, industry, other associations, etc.); however, actual submissions must be proposed by one of the agencies listed above.
HOW: Learn more and complete the NOMINATION form that can be found here. All nominations must be submitted electronically. If you have any difficulty with your submission, please contact Glenn Page, gpage@aashto.org or (202) 624-5265.
The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program and its partners offer trainings and resources to support workforce development and technical assistance for practitioners. These resources include:
Trainings: Classroom, web-based and blended courses
Webinars: Talking Transportation and Technology (T3) webinars and Talking Technology and Transportation in Education (T3e) webinars
Other Resources: Fact Sheets, videos, and other materials
The Crowdsourcing Innovation Team in collaboration with the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program is offering the crowdsourcing course through a series of five free webinars. Webinars feature State and local practitioner perspectives to complement course content. Webinars will take place the third Tuesday of each month at 1:00 p.m. EST.
The following highlights webinar dates and topics in 2023 (links to completed recordings of webinars and presentations may be pending)
September 19, 2023: Emergency and Work Zone Management, and Next Steps
The Crowdsourcing Course is intended for transportation operations managers, transportation analysts, consultants, and university students focusing on transportation. Because it is an introductory course, prior crowdsourcing experience is not required for participation. The course is intended to:
Broaden participants’ understanding of how crowdsourced data from free navigation apps, vehicle probes, connected vehicles, social media, and other sources can improve transportation operations and safety.
Help participants consider whether a specific application of crowdsourced data could meet their organization’s needs for improving transportation operations.
Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations was a Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts initiatives for the 2021-2022 round (EDC-6). The program looked for innovative solutions to integrating low-cost data, such as information from smartphones or connected vehicles, into transportation systems management and operations (TSMO). To support this effort, FHWA offers “Adventures in Crowdsourcing”, a series of virtual events with industry leaders sharing their knowledge and solutions. More information on this EDC-6 Initiative, including case studies is available here.
Visit the Adventures in Crowdsourcing webinar page to view past webinars, or click on one of the links below to view a specific webinar.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) Bureau of Research invites you to share your research and innovation ideas on the NJ Transportation Ideas Portal.
We seek to fund RESEARCH IDEAS that lead to implementation – to the testing and adoption of new materials and technologies, to better specifications and to greater efficiency. We strive to discover and advance feasible solutions for more durable infrastructure, greater environmental protection and resilience, and improved mobility and safety for residents, workers and visitors.
We encourage you to suggest INNOVATION IDEAS. We seek to find strategies to advance deployment of innovations and knowledge transfer in transportation. We work with the New Jersey State Transportation Innovation Council (NJ STIC) whose mission is to identify, evaluate, and where possible, rapidly deploy new technologies and process improvements that will accelerate project delivery and improve the quality of NJ’s transportation network. Innovation Ideas will be vetted for next steps which might include research or supporting an initiative to deploy a new technology or process improvement to accelerate innovation.
WHO CAN SUBMIT IDEAS? NJDOT’s research customers and other interested transportation practitioners are encouraged to submit a research or innovation idea. The portal should be of interest to NJDOT, MPOs, county and local governments, and other transportation subject matter experts from university, industry and trade organizations and other NGOs. The portal is also open to the public.
WHO ARE RESEARCH CUSTOMERS? Subject matter experts from NJDOT, NJ TRANSIT, or the NJ Motor Vehicles Commission are often our research customers. Research ideas typically must have a champion among our research customers. Ideally, a “champion” is a responsible individual within a division, bureau or unit who is prepared to sponsor or advance a research idea from its inception to study completion.
COLLECTING IDEAS NOW! Our research and innovation teams review submitted ideas for possible funding and other actions throughout the year. The last day to submit research ideas for the next round of funded transportation research is December 31, 2023.
Our research and innovation teams review submitted ideas for possible funding and other actions throughout the year.
REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE AND SUBMIT AN IDEA. Once you are registered, you may submit ideas at any time. If you registered previously, you should not need to register again. Click on the “+”button at the top of the page to register. Only registered participants may submit a new idea or vote on other ideas to show your support. Register at the NJ Transportation Ideas here: https://njdottechtransfer.ideascale.com/
The Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TC3)'s mission is to develop and maintain a quality training curriculum to enhance the competency of the nation's transportation Construction, Maintenance, and Materials technical workforce. TC3 is a state-based initiative adopted as a Technical Service Program within AASHTO.
The TC3 Online Video Library contains playlists of instructive videos on Construction, Maintenance, Materials and Traffic and Safety. TC3 has a library of more than 250 online training modules covering a variety of topics in the three primary disciplines.
TC3 helps states, local government, and industry save money at a critical time of infrastructure investment through course development, web-based trainings, information, and resource sharing that is available at substantially reduced cost. The TC3's website has additional resources available here about AASHTO's Techical Services Program.
The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Talking TIM webinar series provides best practices, new technological innovations, and successful implementations. The webinar series provides a forum where TIM champions with any level of experience can exchange information about current practices, programs, and technologies. Each month, the FHWA TIM Program Team seeks to feature content that highlights successful programs, identifies best practices, and showcases technology that advances the profession.
January 2021: The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Role in TIM, Digital Alert Pilots in St Louis and Kansas City, and FHWA Every Day Counts Round Six (EDC-6) NextGen TIM Overview
February 2021: Innovative Tools for Responder and Road Worker Safety
March 2021: AASHTO's Role in TIM, Nebraska Tow Temporary Traffic Control Program, Fire Truck Attenuators for Temporary Traffic Control, Massachusetts Legislation for Driver and Responder Safety
April 2021: Wisconsin's Traffic Incident Management Enhancement (TIME) Program, City of Seattle TIM and Response Team Program, and North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) TIM Innovations
May 2021: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Role in TIM, Incident Detours Involving Railroad Crossings, Washington State's TIM Program and Virtual Coordination, and Responder Vehicle to Traffic Management Center Video Sharing
June 2021: Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Traffic Incident Management
July 2021: Lubbock Fire and Rescue Helmet Innovation, RESQUE-1 Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Assistance, Geographically-Tagged Information from Travelers
August 2021: CDOT TIM for Localities, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement TIM Training Requirement, Schertz Fire and Rescue TIM Training Institutionalization, Institutionalizing TIM training for EMS Professionals in Georgia
September 2021: Rural Roadway Strategies for Incident Management
October 2021: Autonomous Truck Mounted Attenuator Testing and Implementation in Colorado, Autonomous and Driverless Pilots for Large Trucks in Arizona, Rural-Focused Towing Programs in Florida
November 2021: National Kickoff: Crash Responder Safety Week 2021
December 2021: In-Cab Incident Alerts for Commercial Vehicles
January 2022: Illinois TIM Program Overview and Training Video Use, Law Enforcement and First Responder Interactions Plans for Automated Driving Systems (ADS), Total Solar Eclipse Planning for 2023 and 2024
February 2022: Public Safety Announcements across Nine States for Motorist and Traffic Incident Responder Safety, TIM Video Sharing Use Cases: Findings from the Recent EDC-6 Next Generation TIM Workshop, TRACS and MACH: Software to Simplify Electronic Crash Reporting and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)
March 2022: Outreach for Responder Safety through Collaborations with the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Towing and Recovery Association of America, North Carolina Tethered Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program, and Advanced Responder Warning through Safety Vests Fueled by Video Analytics
April 2022: Smart Lighting Strategies for Responder Vehicles, Incident Response After Action Reviews Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Imagery, Incident Response After Action Reviews Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Imagery
May 2022: Data Use and Visualization, Promoting Roadway Safety Through Move Over Law and Responder Struck-By Awareness, The New Jersey TIM Program
June 2022: Ohio DOT Quick Clear Demonstration, Electric Vehicle Battery Fires and the TIM Timeline, Montana's TIM Program
July 2022: The National Unified Goal: What Is It and How Do We Make It Relevant?, Planning and Responding to Special Events in Minnesota, Iowa DOT TIM Program Overview and Strategies for Quicker Incident Detection
August 2022: Overview of the Florida Heartland TIM Committee and Florida's Expanded Deployment of Cameras on Road Ranger Vehicles, What's New for the 2022 TIM Capability Maturity Self-Assessment, The TIM National Unified Goal: Relevancy of the TIM NUG Strategies
September 2022: Move Over and Responder Safety Technologies, Houston Traffic Incident Management and Training
National Unified Goals Review and Feedback.
January 2023: Mitigating Work Zone Traffic Incidents Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Every Day Counts Round 7 (EDC-7) Innovation, Next Generation TIM: Technology for Lifesaving Response, Traffic Incident Management National Unified Goal (NUG) Review and Feedback, Part 3
February 2023: Findings from Move Over Compliance and Responder Safety Technology Research, After Action Review of a Multi-Vehicle Fire, EDC-7 Summit Debrief: TIM Technologies for Saving Lives.
March 2023: Light-emitting diode (LED) Temporary Traffic Control Devices for Digital Motorist Alerts, Moveable Barriers and Debris Removal Systems, National Secondary Crash Research.
April 2023: Responder to Vehicle (R2V) Alerts in the District of Columbia, The Role of Medical Examiners in TIM, New Audience Listening Session
May 2023: Highway to the Danger Zone, North Carolina's Rural Safety Service Patrol and TIM Program
June 2023: Using Apparatus to Protect Responders and Communicate with Drivers, Retrofitting Aging Fire Apparatus into Traffic Management Units with Truck Mounted Attenuator
July 2023: Emergency Vehicle Preemption in the Phoenix, AZ Region, Traffic Incident Management for Managed Lanes in Florida
August 2023: Medical Helicopter Landing Zone Considerations for Roadway Crashes, Wearable 360 Lighting: Real Roadside Visibility and Safety in a Distracted World
September 2023: Managing the I-40 Mississippi Bridge Closure, I-95 Bridge Collapse Response and Coordination in Pennsylvania
October 2023: North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Incident Management Assistance Patrol (IMAP) Tools and Safety Service Patrol (SSP) Research Needs, SSP State of Practice: Findings from the SSP Pooled Fund Study
December 2023: City of Fresno Improves Emergency Response Vehicle Routing Using Their Safer Platform, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Virtual Coordination Center (VCC)
February 2024: Good Practices and Current Research in Vehicle Lighting for Roadway Incidents, Changes for TIM in the Newly Released MMUCC 6th Edition and the MUTCD 11th Edition
March 2024: Missouri Department of Transportation (DOT) and Highway Patrol Full Scale TIM Demonstration, Active 911 on South Carolina Interstates for Faster On-Scene Traffic Incident Response
October 2024: Tennessee TIM Strategic Plan and Its Implementation, Effective Tool for Removing Crash and Disabled Vehicles from the Roadway
December 2024: Electric Vehicle Task Force: An Overview of Development, Products, and Next Steps, Electric Vehicle Incident Scene Awareness
January 2025: Advancing Safe, Quick Clearance for Commercial Vehicles, A Cloud-based Traffic Signal Preemption System for Safer, Quicker Emergency Response
February 2025: Jason Dicembre - Maryland Department of Transportation, Dr. Darcy M. Bullock - Purdue University
March 2025: Texas' Statewide TIM Program, Minnesota's Freeway Incident Response Safety Team (FIRST) Program
NJDOT’s Route 71 Shark River Bridge Preservation and Road Diet project has been selected as a regional winner in the 2023 America’s Transportation Awards Competition. The competition is sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Route 71 Shark River Bridge Preservation and Road Diet project received honors in the Operations Excellence, Small category. This year’s regional winners were chosen from a selection of 19 projects nominated by nine states in the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO) region. The NASTO region’s winners will compete for the National Grand Prize, the People’s Choice Award, and $10,000 in cash awards that will be given by the winners to a transportation-related charity or scholarship program of their choosing.
After the Route 71 Drawbridge over Shark River between Belmar and Avon-by-the-Sea in Monmouth County suffered a mechanical failure in September 2021, engineers devised a cost-effective design and implementation solution that would preserve the drawbridge and keep it in safe operation.
NJDOT implemented a road diet across the bridge, which allowed the Department to address safety issues. Traffic over the bridge was reduced from one northbound lane and two southbound lanes to one lane in each direction.
With the lane configuration reduced to one lane in each direction, NJDOT was able to extend bicycle lanes that previously terminated in Avon-By-The-Sea across the drawbridge into Belmar. Previously, bicyclists needed to dismount and walk their bicycle across the bridge. The extended bicycle lanes were accomplished using an innovative fiber-reinforced-polymer mat on the bascule span. The mat is the first of its kind in New Jersey and provides a safe crossing of a steel-grid deck for bicycles. The extended bicycle lanes provide connectivity between both downtown areas and area heavily utilized by bicycle traffic year-round.
Safety improvements to the Rt 71 over Shark River Drawbridge Included a bicycle safe grid on the draw span which allows bicyclists to cross without the need to dismount.
NJDOT was able to improve traffic flow at the Fifth Avenue intersection with the road diet project. Previously, two southbound lanes crossing the drawbridge on Route 71 were a source of traffic backups with left turning vehicles occupying the left lane, compounded by an abrupt merge south of Fifth Avenue. The merge that previously existed on Route 71 south of Fifth Avenue in downtown Belmar was eliminated with the road diet project. The road diet configuration retained one through lane southbound and installed a dedicated left turn lane at the Fifth Avenue intersection. Signal timings were changed, and a protected left turn phase added to further improve traffic flow. Careful monitoring of traffic throughout the year, and especially during bridge openings, have shown that the road diet lane configuration greatly improved traffic flow.
The Route 71 Drawbridge Project over Shark River, completed in May 2022, delivered several benefits, including improved traffic flow, reductions in traffic congestion, increased safety and an enhanced cycling experience for users navigating a busy shore community tourism area.
Road Diets are a safety-focused alternative to four-lane, undivided roadways that can help reduce vehicle speeds and free space for alternative transportation modes. Road Diets were a recognized model innovation during the 3rd Round of the Every Day Counts Program (EDC-3) Program.
Additional information about the rationale, design and benefits of advancing this innovative bridge safety and road diet project can be found in the video here and in this NJDOT press release.
FHWA recently released its EDC-7 Summit Summary and Baseline Report that can be found here.
EDC-7 Summit Summary and Baseline Report includes information on each states plan to advance the innovations being promoted in Round 7.
The Report highlights the Every Day Counts innovations that FHWA is promoting in the program’s seventh round (EDC-7) and includes the baseline deployment status of the innovations at the beginning of 2023 and the goals for adoption set by each of the states over the two year, 2023-2024 period.
The report also shares highlights from the EDC-7 Virtual Summit held in February 2023, including remarks from transportation leaders given during the summit’s opening sessions on the three focus areas of EDC-7—improving safety for all users, building sustainable infrastructure, and growing an inclusive workforce.
The NJ STIC’s baseline assessment of its deployment status for the innovations being advanced by its Core Innovation Area (CIA) Teams during Round 7 can be found in the FHWA report. Click the “EDC-7” button on our NJ STIC Innovative Initiatives page to learn more about the priority innovations, goals for deployment and planned activities for Round 7.
Every Day Counts (EDC) is the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) program to advance a culture of innovation in the transportation community in partnership with public and private stakeholders. Through this State-based effort, FHWA coordinates rapid deployment of proven strategies and technologies to shorten the project delivery process, enhance roadway safety, reduce traffic congestion, and integrate automation.
The FHWA presented an eight-part webinar series on the EDC-6 Implementation Initiative for Digital As-Builts (DABs). The all-encompassing webinar series is designed to increase overall understanding of DABs and how to advance their implementation, demonstrate practical benefits, address barriers to DABs implementation, showcase practical solutions, and establish DABs best practices.
Building blocks of DABs
Benefits and opportunities
Processes for implementing and institutionalizing DABs
NJDOT, like other State departments of transportation (DOTs), has become increasingly conscious of infrastructure’s environmental burdens and are seeking more environmentally sustainable materials in construction. Recently, we spoke with Kimberly Sharp, Manager, Structural Design, Geotechnical Engineering and Geology, and Mohab Hussein, Project Engineer, Deputy Chief Technical, Geotechnical Engineering about NJDOT’s adoption of Foamed Glass Aggregate which serves an example of the deployment of an innovative, sustainable material.
To make foamed glass aggregate, crushed container glass is collected from recycling companies, finely ground into powder and mixed with a foaming agent, and sent through a kiln and softened. Bubbles form within the softened glass. When it cools, the material cracks and forms lightweight, coarse, foam-like aggregate pieces that can be used in various transportation construction projects.
Q. How did you learn of this material?
Foamed glass aggregate in use on the pilot project at Rt. 7 Wittpenn Bridge, Kearny
Aero Aggregates in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, reached out to the Department in 2018 to provide a technical presentation on foamed glass aggregate. An industry presentation is an established step in NJDOT’s process for exploring new technologies. If we are interested in the product, as we were in foamed glass aggregate, we start a pilot project.
Q. When did NJDOT begin using foam glass aggregate?
Our pilot project was the Rt. 7 Wittpenn Bridge in Kearny, NJ in 2019. Use of this material replaced 32,000 cu.yds. of regular fill and saved almost 28 million bottles from the landfill. We used the material for a crossover from one side of the road to the other. We built it and let the contractor use the area for six weeks with heavy equipment traveling over it. We maintained survey equipment at the site and looked for settlement and any lateral spreading and nothing moved.
Q. What have been the most common uses?
For us at NJDOT, the most common uses have been as fill underneath roadways to raise the profile, behind existing abutments where we were putting in a new backwall and new girders and we wanted to lighten the lateral forces on the backwall, as backfill to the approach to a bridge, to resolve sheeting issues on a project, and as backfill behind a temporary wire wall.
Foamed glass aggregate placed behind an abutment on I-80 over Rockaway River, Denville
We have very soft, compressible soils beneath some of our roadways, and in areas of high tide or frequent flooding, therefore we want to raise the elevation of the roadway. Using heavy, natural fill material beneath the pavement box can lead to pavement that ultimately would ride like a roller coaster due to uneven settling. A less costly approach is to over-excavate the existing soil and place with the foamed glass aggregate. At 22 lbs./cu.ft., the aggregate is buoyant, so regular weight soil is placed over it to weigh it down, and then the pavement box is built on top of the soil. Use of the aggregate lessens the amount of settlement and results in a nice smooth roadway.
Q. Who are suppliers of this material?
Aero Aggregates is the supplier that we work with. They recycle glass from Pennsylvania and from a southern New Jersey recycling center. We appreciate that they are using local materials.
Q. What are the environmental benefits of using this material? What is it replacing?
Foamed glass aggregate is saving millions of bottles from landfills. This material is made of 100 percent recycled material. In addition, the material replaces traditional backfill that would be quarried, and so minimizes depletion of natural resources. It also minimizes use of other material such as rebar, concrete and other foundation elements. In addition, it is lightweight, about half the weight of regular lightweight fill material, and so reduces transportation emissions. There are associated cost savings to its use.
Aggregate being applied behind wire wall on Fish House Road, Kearny
Q. Is there an ongoing assessment process for use of this material, or is it an established process?
We had questions in the beginning. The material was so light that we worried about its durability. The manufacturer provided results from testing and we tested the material in the field. Use of foamed glass aggregate is an established process at NJDOT. The material was first used in Germany in the 1980s, and in Norway in the 1990s to prevent rutting of pavements because it has good insulating qualities. It is useful in cold regions.
Q. Are there limits to the transportation construction applications where this material can be used?
Foamed glass aggregate has its own compaction requirements; it is lightly compacted or graded out with lightweight equipment to avoid crushing of the aggregate. As mentioned above, it requires capping to weigh it down. Pavement design engineers want several inches of regular weight soil between the lightweight aggregate and the pavement box.
Q. What is the state of industry knowledge and acceptance of the use of this material?
It is still early in the process of nationwide adoption. New Jersey is one of the first states to implement use of the material on our projects. We have received calls from many state DOTs asking how we began using it, and about our experience of using it in lieu of other lightweight material, so word is getting around. Aero Aggregates used it in Philadelphia around I-95. The industry is working on starting up new plants. Word is spreading through the contracting community. The first contractor that used it with us liked it so much they eliminated all other lightweight types of materials in the contract bid items. Through word of mouth, other design consultants and Contractors have picked up on use of the material.
Q. Do you have current projects where this is being used and do you anticipate continued use of the material in the future?
View video on YouTube or access it from the NJDOT Platform
Yes, and we have some in design, and we will include foamed glass aggregate in the contract for future projects for consideration.
For future projects, we have not used foamed glass aggregate behind structural walls as yet, although we know it has been used in Philadelphia, and we are considering that application.
The Department is also considering applications related to temporary water storage in flood areas. Our current and past projects are using closed cell foamed glass aggregate, but an open cell aggregate is available. Its porosity might be beneficial in flood mitigation and other resiliency projects.
We really like the product and look forward to expanding its use. We are always looking for new technologies and this is one that will continue to be of great benefit.
Q. What do you consider to be the keys to the successful adoption of the material?
Agency willingness has been the key to successful adoption of this innovative material.
