Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Funding Opportunity Available for FY2024

AID Demonstration Program is active again! The Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration provides incentive funds to eligible entities to accelerate the implementation and adoption of innovation in highway transportation. FHWA has awarded 127 AID Demonstration grants at more than $95.7 million dollars since its launch in 2014. These funds can be used in any phase of a highway transportation project between project planning and project delivery, including planning, finance, operation, structures, materials, pavements, environment, and construction.

The 2023-2026 AID Demonstration Program will make available up to $10 million in grants in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and $12.5 million in FYs 2024 through 2026. One change in the new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO 693JJ324NF-AIDDP) for AID Demo is the requirement for potential applications to submit Notices of Intent. While the deadline has passed for the FY 2023 solicitation period, the FY 2024 solicitation period will open on www.grants.gov on February 27, 2024, with the NOI deadline of April 16, 2024, and closing date of May 28, 2024.

The FHWA EDC-7 Team has put together this list of suggested project ideas that can help deploy the EDC innovations either via STIC Incentive Fund Grant projects or AID Demonstration applications.

Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Funding Opportunity Available

The FHWA has published to Grants.gov a multiyear Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the AID Demonstration for Fiscal Years (FY) 2023 – 2026 grants. The grants will result in the distribution of up to $10 million in FY 2023 and up to $12.5 million in each year FY 2024 to FY 2026. Funds made available for the AID Demonstration are awarded on a competitive basis to fund activities eligible for assistance under Title 23, United States Code in any phase of a highway transportation between project planning and project delivery including planning, financing, operation, structures, materials, pavements, environment, and construction.

The AID Demonstration NOFO is available on Grants.gov and the Call for Applications for the 2023 cycle is open! Look for AID Demonstration NOFO 693JJ324NF-AIDDP.

More information on the Accelerated Innovation Deployment program, including key submission dates in the 2023 application cycle and a link to register for an upcoming virtual information session, can be accessed through this link: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/grants/

WEBINAR: 2023 Build a Better Mousetrap Competition National Winners

The Federal Highway Administration’s Local Aid Support team in the Office of Transportation Innovation and Workforce Solutions will be holding a national webinar on October 19, 2023 for those interested in learning more about this year’s winning entries in the 2023 Build a Better Mousetrap National Recognition Program for Transportation Innovation.

Winners were announced at the National Local and Tribal Technical Assistance Program Association’s Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio this summer. New Jersey’s “Route 71 Over Shark River Road Diet” was this year’s Bold Steps Award Winner in the national competition.

Build a Better Mousetrap celebrates innovative solutions for challenges that local and tribal transportation workers encounter. These innovations can range from the development of tools and equipment modifications to the implementation of new processes that increase safety, reduce cost, and improve efficiency of our transportation system.

Gerald Oliveto, P.E., from the New Jersey Department of Transportation will give a presentation about the Route 71 bridge rehabilitation and road diet project. More information about this award-winning project, recipient of this year’s “Bold Steps” Award, can be found here and here.

Mr. Oliveto will be among the presenters during the national webinar. Below is a full list of the 2023 BABM Award recipients during the webinar.

Innovative Project Award“The Mobile Unit Sensing Traffic (MUST) Device” – a device specifically designed to monitor traffic, detect dangerous events, and provide real-time warning messages to users along rural roads. Presenter: HollyAnna Littlebull, formerly Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Associate Director of the Northwest Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Center, University of Washington.

Bold Steps Award – “Route 71 Over Shark River Road Diet” – a road diet project that preserves an old historic bridge while improving safety and saving money. Presenter: Gerald Oliveto, New Jersey Department of Transportation

Smart Transformation Award – “Solar-powered Remote Cameras” – providing more accurate and immediate information on road conditions that assists with emergency response while requiring less maintenance. Presenter: Matthew Beyer, St. Louis County, Minnesota, Public Works Department

Pioneer Award – “Safe Sightings of Signs and Signals (SSOSS) Software” – an automated process for identifying and addressing obstructed traffic signals saving time and money while increasing data accuracy. Presenter: Matthew Redmond, City of Walnut Creek, California

Registration – The national webinar is scheduled for Thursday, October 19, 2023, 2.00 PM and 4.00 PM Eastern. The FHWA has provided this link to learn more about the BABM Award winners event and receive a Zoom Government Meeting link to access the event.

Did You Know? Recent NJ Transportation Research Publications

The NJDOT Research Library maintains a “Did You Know” page to share basic facts about the research library, transportation research resources, and newly issued publications available through AASHTO and the ASTM COMPASS Portal.

Hot Topic Searches are available on the TRID Searches page

The Research Library maintains a "TRID Searches" page that contains a list of recent publications indexed in the TRID database organized by 37 subject areas. NJDOT’s Library also maintains "Hot Topic" searches that contain the projects and publications issued in the last five years on several topics, including: Transformational Technologies; Planning & Safety; Resilience; Sustainability; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Workforce Recruitment and Retention.

TRID (Transport Research International Documentation) is the world's largest and most comprehensive bibliographic resource on transportation research information. It combines the records from the Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) database of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) database of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

TRID helps researchers locate solutions to problems, avoid duplication of work, and save resources. It includes records of AASHTO publications, federal and state DOT reports, University Transportation Center (UTC) reports, and commercial journal literature, among other sources. It also satisfies the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requirements to consult TRB's TRIS databases to identify ongoing or previously completed research on a given topic.


Recent NJ Publications in TRID

Recent publications with New Jersey identifiers and/or prepared by NJ research institutions can be identified through TRID.  A quick search in TRID uncovered these recently added records in the TRID database of recently completed research publications:

Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure
Final Report, 2023, 107p
Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Materials

Exploring the Impact of Truck Traffic on Road Segment-Based Severe Crash Proportion Using Extensive Weigh-In-Motion Data
Safety Science, Volume 166, 106261
Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment

Severity Modeling of Work Zone Crashes in New Jersey Using Machine Learning Models
Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, Volume: 15, Issue Number: 6
Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Safety and Human Factors

Variation in Drivers’ Seat Belt Use by Indicators of Community-Level Vulnerability
Journal of Safety Research, Volume: 85
Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Updating 2019 Safe Corridors Reports
Final Report, 2023, 93p
Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Safety and Human Factors

What Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSMO) Means to My Local Transportation Agency
ITE Journal, Volume 93, Issue Number: 4
Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management

Implementing Artificial Neural Network-Based Gap Acceptance Models in the Simulation Model of a Traffic Circle in SUMO
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Online First
Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting

Pedestrian- and Bicyclist-Involved Crashes: Associations with Spatial Factors, Pedestrian Infrastructure, and Equity Impacts
Journal of Safety Research, Available Online
Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors

Investigation of Young Pedestrian Crashes in School Districts of New Jersey Using Machine Learning Models
International Conference on Transportation and Development 2023: Transportation Planning, Operations, and Transit
Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors

Application of Machine Learning Models and SHAP to Examine Crashes Involving Young Drivers in New Jersey
International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology, Available Online
Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors

Artificial Intelligence-Aided Grade Crossing Safety Violation Detection Methodology and a Case Study in New Jersey
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Online First
Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors

Evaluation of Coefficient Related to Runoff from Roadway Projects
Final Report, 2023, 125p
Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Pavements

Statewide Prioritization of Vernal Pools for Pond-Breeding Amphibians in New Jersey
Journal of Environmental Management, Volume: 339
Subject Areas: Environment; Highways

Identifying Colonial Roads in Southern New Jersey: An Application of Remote Sensing, Field, and Archival Methods to Document the Locations, Condition, and Routes of Critical American Revolutionary War Supply Chains
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Online First
Subject Areas: Highways; History; Maintenance and Preservation

Microtransit Deployment Portfolio Management Using Simulation-Based Scenario Data Upscaling
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume: 169, Issue Number: 0
Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation

Please contact the NJDOT research librarian, Eric Schwarz, MSLIS, at (609) 963-1898, or email at library@dot.nj.gov for assistance on how to expand your search to projects, or retrieve these or other publications.

NJDOT Traffic Incident Management Training Course – Now Available Online as Self-Guided Course

The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Traffic Incident Management (NJTIM) training is now available as an online, self-guided course. Bringing first responder training program to an online training platform should make it easier for even more emergency and incident response personnel to access a life-saving training. The new online course can be accessed through the NJTIM website.

The TIM training program focuses on a response effort that protects motorists and first responders during a roadside emergency, while minimizing impact on traffic flow. Since its inception in 2009, NJDOT and its partner agencies have trained more than 24,000 emergency and incident response personnel, including police, firefighters, EMS personnel, DOT crews, towing/recovery companies and other responders.

Training efforts, like these, are crucial in coordinating response efforts that keep all first responders and transportation professionals safe.

The new online training course can be found at NJ TIM Website: njtim.org

Providing easier access to TIM training for busy first responders and transportation professionals should prove more cost effective than traditional, in-person meetings for organizations with limited budgets. The online training program is asynchronous, offering greater flexibility in taking the training for personnel whose work schedules may not align with in-person training dates.

Online programs can also be easily updated and revised, ensuring that participants receive the most current and relevant information.

The online training is designed to engage training participants with videos, simulations, knowledge checks, and interactive scenarios that mimic real-world situations. The online TIM training utilizes assessments and certifications to evaluate the trainees’ understanding of the material and practice decision-making in high-stress scenarios without real world consequences.

The online TIM training program seeks to improve safely and coordination in responding to incidents on New Jersey’s roadways. The target audience for this training is county and municipal law enforcement and emergency personnel, including volunteer firefighters and EMTs.


FHWA’s Every Day Counts Program has recognized the importance of TIM as model safety and mobility innovation. In Round 6, Next-Generation TIM: Integrating Technology, Data, and Training, the importance of training of local agencies was encouraged.

The FHWA’s 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.

More information on the rationale and benefits of the new course can be found in the video and the NJDOT press release.

25th Annual NJDOT Research Showcase – Call for Abstracts!

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Bureau of Research is seeking presentations for the 25th Annual NJDOT Research Showcase to be held in-person at The Conference Center at Mercer Community College! Presentations related to transportation research will be considered for in-person presentation during the 25th Annual Research Showcase, to be held October 25, 2023. The theme for this year’s event is “Commitment to Safety."

We welcome your submission of an abstract on completed or nearly completed transportation-related research studies. While priority may be given to projects that align with the Showcase theme of "Commitment to Safety," all submissions will be considered. If selected, you will present your work in-person on the afternoon of October 25. Presentations will be in 20-minute increments and will be selected by NJDOT Research Bureau personnel.

To be considered, please email your proposed presentation topic(s) with accompanying abstract(s) to Janet Leli (jleli@soe.rutgers.edu), Director of the New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program, no later than September 18, 2023.

Be sure to include:

■  Title and abstract of the presentation
■  Name and email address of the person who will be presenting
■  Which category your project most closely aligns with:

Infrastructure • Safety • Equity / Mobility

■  Any additional information you feel necessary

All submitters will receive a confirmation regarding the selection committee’s final decisions.

Further information is available on the Research Showcase event website, including a call for abstracts, a call for posters, and nomination forms for awards for research implementation and outstanding university student.  The day's agenda and details about the respective deadlines for each of these submissions can be found on the event website.

Thank you for your interest and participation in the NJDOT Transportation Research Program.

The NJDOT Research Showcase is an event of the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Research and organized by the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT).

25th Annual Research Showcase

Wednesday, October 25, 2023
8:30 AM–2:45 PM

Proceedings begin at 9:00 AM

 

LOCATION

The Conference Center at Mercer
1200 Old Trenton Road
West Windsor, NJ 08550

 

REGISTRATION

Registration is complimentary, but required.
Registration will open soon.

WEBINAR: Traveler Information and Traffic Incident Management: Crowdsourcing Course

Since 2019, the FHWA Every Day Counts (EDC) Innovation, Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations, has been supporting the adoption of crowdsourced data and tools to advance transportation operations across 35+ States and their local agencies to improve traffic incident, road weather, work zone, traffic signal, traveler information, and emergency management, along with a host of other ITS and TSMO practices.

The Crowdsourcing Innovation Team in collaboration with the ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program delivered this introductory Crowdsourcing course, one in series of webinars, featuring State and local practitioner perspectives.

On July 18, 2023, Sal Cowan, NJDOT’s Senior Director of Mobility served as one of the course instructors for Traveler Information and Traffic Incident Management, the third session in a webinar series targeted to transportation professionals with an interest in or responsibility for the management and operations of roadway systems. Mr. Cowan delivered instruction on how crowdsourcing can be used to enhance traveler information. He shared examples of how some leading state transportation agencies (e.g., Virginia, Arizona, Kentucky, Pennsylvania) are using various crowdsourcing platforms for communicating traveler information. Mr. Cowan then spoke at greater length about New Jersey’s Travel Information Systems, highlighting the state’s initiatives for Commercial Vehicle Notifications, 511 Platforms and Voice Assistant Systems, and Crowdsourced Data, among other topics.

Mr. Cowan was joined by two other featured speakers and the event’s host, Ralph Volpe, EDC-6 Crowdsourcing Program Co-Lead, who moderated the capacity-building webinar.

Vaishali Shah, AEM Corporation, Support Lead for the FHWA EDC-5/6 Crowdsourcing Innovation, gave an introduction to the Traffic Incident Management topic and described the components and challenges of State and local TIM systems. She shared several examples of how crowdsourced data is being used to enhance Traffic Incident Management (TIM) around the U.S..

Mr. Cowan explained the rationale for crowdsourcing to improve traveler information and shared examples of how its being used in select states, including New Jersey.
Ms. Shah explained how crowdsourcing applications were being used to enhance TIM and shared some examples of innovative state and local deployments nationally.

John Parker, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC), Senior Traffic Operations Project Manager, then described the PTC’s Traffic Incident Management and Traveler Information initiatives. In his talk, he described various examples of data-sharing providers and partnerships, touching upon technology platforms, dashboard features, operating challenges, and new partnering opportunities being considered by the PTC and the state of Pennsylvania to enhance crowdsourcing for TIM and Traveler Information.

More information on this webinar training event can be found here, including a recording of the webinar, the presentation, transcript, and the question and answers that closed out the training event.

AASHTO Innovation Management Wants to Accelerate Adoption of Your Innovation Nationwide!

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 subm​itters 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 mu​st 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.

ITS Training and Resource Hub

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

Most of these resources are free

Schedule and Recent Recordings

Click the ITS Training and Resource Hub link to access resources for the following topics. From the site, click an icon to access the resources for that topic or access all resources.

An archive of past webinars can be accessed to elevate knowledge on many topics.

ITS Training And Resource Hub maintains training resources on these topics.

Image of an intersection at night, a long exposure has made the cars driving by appear as lines of light

Adventures in Crowdsourcing Webinar Series 

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)

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.

FHWA contacts for Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations are James Colyar (james.colyar@dot.gov), Ralph Volpe (Ralph.Volpe@dot.gov), and Greg Jones (GregM.Jones@dot.gov), the FHWA EDC-6 crowdsourcing coleads .