NJDOT Project Earns Recognition as Finalist for America’s Transportation Award

Posted on September 22, 2025September 22, 2025

For 18 years, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has hosted the America’s Transportation Awards, celebrating the essential role state DOTs play in strengthening the nation’s transportation system. The program recognizes projects in four categories: Quality of Life/Community Development, Operations Excellence, Best Use of Technology & Innovation, and Safety.

AASHTO recently announced that NJDOT is one of twelve finalists selected from a pool of 113 projects in the 2025 competition. NJDOT’s Wildwood Maintenance Dredging and Channel Improvement Project earned recognition in the Best Use of Technology & Innovation category for its creative dredging and dewatering methods. The project will now compete for the National Grand Prize of $10,000.

Project Synopsis

The project focused on dredging Wildwood channels, which had been heavily impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Storm-induced sediment buildup made the channels hazardous for both commercial and recreational boaters. Residents noted that at low tide, boats could run aground due to shallow depths.

To restore safe navigation, NJDOT faced tight seasonal constraints. Work could only occur in the fall and winter months to ensure that the channels were open for the summer boating season. With seven channels spanning multiple municipalities, the team needed an efficient and innovative solution for dredging and sediment management.

The NJDOT team deployed a system of dredging barges, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) dredge pipes, hydrocyclones, and geobags to complete the work.

Collection and Transportation

Dredging Boat and HDPE Dredge Pipe. Source: Wildwood Video Archives

The team employed dredging barges to remove sediment from the channel floor and transport it to inland staging areas via HDPE dredge pipes. The pipes carried large amounts of water alongside the reusable sand and other minerals contained in the sediments.

Water Separation

At the shore, the team utilized hydrocyclones to apply centrifugal force to remove most of the water from the sediments. This step reduced the overall volume of material requiring dewatering and transport.

Dewatering

Finally, the NJDOT team transferred the sediment solids into geobags—large, permeable fabric containers and used a separate pump to add a polymer solution, which acted as a flocking agent. The polymer caused fine particles to bind together into clumps, which then sank to the bottom of the geobags. Tiny porous holes in the fabric allowed water to drain out while retaining the sediments solids.

Geobags. Source Wildwood Video Archives.

Results

This innovative system allowed NJDOT to complete the project on schedule, enabling commercial boaters to resume operations in summer 2024 without interruption. By combining efficient transport and dewatering methods, the team not only met a challenging seasonal window but also maximized the value of recovered materials. The collected sand and minerals were transported to other sites for use in future shore protection projects—demonstrating NJDOT’s commitment to both timely delivery and long-term coastal resilience.

Vote Now!

The winners of America’s Transportation Awards will be announced at the AASHTO Annual Meeting this November. In addition to the National Grand Prize, the public can help decide the People’s Choice Award.

You can vote for NJDOT’s
Wildwood Maintenance Dredging
and Channel Improvement Project.

CLICK TO VOTE!

Voting closes on November 17, 2025.

Resources

New Jersey Department of Transportation. (2025). Two NJDOT projects win 2025 Regional America’s Transportation Awards. https://dot.nj.gov/transportation/uploads/comm/news/details/comm_np_20250715_132841_TwoNJDOTprojectswinregional2025AmericaTransportationAwards.pdf

Wildwood Video Archives. (2025). Dredging the Wildwoods Back Bays 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hRvfzm-dZ8

Lowe, C. (2022). What is a hydrocyclone used for and how does it work? Weir Group. https://www.global.weir/newsroom/global-news/what-is-a-hydrocyclone-used-for-and-how-does-it-work/

Omar, N. (2024). How to optimize dewatering processes with GEOTUBE technology: A comprehensive guide. Solmax. https://www.solmax.com/global/en/blog/how-to-optimize-dewatering-processes-with-geotube-technology-a-comprehensive

Dr. Giri Venkiteela, Research Scientist, BRIIT, accepted two awards on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

NJDOT Research Projects Receive High Value Research and Supplemental Awards by the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee

Posted on August 13, 2024October 31, 2024

The Bureau of Research, Innovation and Information Transfer (BRIIT) is active in many national transportation efforts, including the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Dr. Giri Venkiteela, Research Scientist, BRIIT, is the Vice Chair of Region 1 of AASHTO’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC) that serves the Special Committee on Research & Innovation (R&I).

In late July 2024, he attended the RAC’s National Meeting in Columbus, Ohio and accepted two awards on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Every year, the High Value Research Task Force of AASHTO RAC holds a national competition to find four “high value” research projects from each of the four AASHTO regions in the country. In 2024, two research projects sponsored and managed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation were recognized nationally with awards.

Several experimental and numerical research activities were carried out to assess the mechanical properties and long-term durability of Advanced Reinforced Concrete materials

The first project, Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure, was recognized as one of top 16 projects in the country and was managed by Dr. Venkiteela. The Principal Investigator for the study was Dr. Matthew Bandelt from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and championed by NJDOT’s Bureau of Materials.

Transportation infrastructure systems must resist conditioning from the natural environment and physical demands from service loading to meet the needs of users across the state. Reinforced concrete, which is widely used in bridge decks, pavements, super- and substructures, and other systems, deteriorates under environmental conditioning due to electro-chemical processes that cause expansive mechanics stresses at various length scales (e.g., reinforcement corrosion, freeze-thaw, etc.), leading to costly and timely durability and maintenance challenges.

The project report, which provides a background on the state-of-the-art of advanced reinforced concrete materials that are being investigated to improve reinforced concrete transportation infrastructure. A series of experimental and numerical research activities were then carried out to assess the mechanical properties and long-term durability of these systems. Results show benefits across a range of metrics and have the potential to substantially improve the in-service behavior of reinforced concrete transportation infrastructure.

Methods to preheat an excavated pothole prior to repair were described to improve the interface bonding between existing pavements and hot filling material.

The second project, Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques, was recognized in the Maintenance, Management, and Prevention supplemental categories and was also managed by Dr. Venkiteela. Separate research reports were prepared for asphalt (Volume I) and concrete structures (Volume II). The Principal Investigator for the study was Dr. Hao Wang from Rutgers-Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation.

Pothole repair is one of the most important and frequent maintenance activities for highway agencies. Significant amounts of costs and resources are spent in pothole repair for material, labor, equipment, and traffic control. Cost-effective pothole repair methods can reduce or eliminate the possibility of re-patching and save future repair costs. The good condition of pothole repair with less cracking will also prevent reflective cracking when asphalt overlay is placed. Preheating the excavated pothole prior to repair has been found to improve the interface bonding between existing pavements and hot filling material, which can help enhance the overall performance of asphalt patches.

The long lifespan of a durable patch will reduce travel delay due to work zone and safety risk of highway users and workers. They will better preserve the condition of highway infrastructure and provide better service to the traveling public. The feasible usage of recycled materials can reduce the production of new material, which can contribute towards a more sustainable approach of roadway repair with economic and environmental benefits.

Additional information about the research teams for each research project and links to Final Reports, Technical Briefs, and select presentations given at the NJDOT Research Showcase or at Lunchtime Tech Talk can be found in the resources section below.

Resources

Bandelt, Matthew J., Matthew P. Adams, Hao Wang, Husam Najm, Andrew Bechtel, Seyed Masoud Shirkorshidi, and Jin Fan. Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure. No. FHWA NJ-2023-003. New Jersey. Department of Transportation. Bureau of Research, 2023. Final Report. Retrieved here.

Lunchtime Tech Talk! Webinar: Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure. Webinar. Presentations by Matthew Bandelt and Matthew Adams. Retrieved here.

Wang, Hao, and Xiao Chen. “Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume I: Asphalt Pavement.” (2024). Final Report. Retrieved here.

Wang, Hao, and Xiao Chen. Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume I: Asphalt Pavement. (2024). Technical Brief. Retrieved here.

Najm, Husam, Bala Balaguru, Hao Wang, Hardik Yagnik, and Alissa Persad. “Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume II: Concrete Structures.” (2024). Final Report. Retrieved here.

Najm, Husam, Bala Balaguru, Hao Wang, Hardik Yagnik, and Alissa Persad. “Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume II: Concrete Structures.” (2024). Technical Brief. Retrieved here.

Asphalt Pavement Pothole Repair with Recycled Material and Preheating. Presentation at NJDOT Research Showcase by Xiao Chen and Hao Wang, Retrieved here (Presentation) and here (Recording).

NJDOT’s Research Showcase Recognized as Best Virtual Event by AASHTO Communications Committee

Posted on November 30, 2023December 4, 2023

The AASHTO 2023 Best Virtual Event Award recognizes a special event that is held virtually or that includes a virtual component.

AASHTO’s Committee on Transportation Communications – known as TransComm – sponsors an annual skills awards competition to promote the sharing of best practices and to recognize outstanding communications efforts. In October 2023, NJDOT Bureau of Research representatives Amanda Gendek and Pragna Shah accepted the 2023 AASHTO TransComm Skills Award in the Virtual Events Category for NJDOT’s 24th Annual Research Showcase.

The NJDOT’s Bureau of Research Annual Research Showcase has been held since 1999 and provides an opportunity for the state’s transportation community to experience the broad scope of research initiatives and technology transfer activities conducted by their university and consultant partners. In addition to convening transportation professionals and researchers, the Showcase helps to emphasize NJDOT goals and objectives, share knowledge, and recognize the outstanding and inspiring research being done in the state.

The threat of COVID-19 transmission during the pandemic led to the Research Showcase being held fully online in 2020 and 2021. These fully virtual events resulted in a much larger audience, and even attracted attendees from other state Departments of Transportation. In 2022, as in-person events returned, the NJDOT Bureau of Research sought to find an approach that would maintain that larger audience base.

Amanda Gendek (left) and Pragna Shah (right) of the Bureau of Research with the award.

The 24th Annual Research Showcase, held October 26, 2022, was the first “hybrid” Research Showcase held by NJDOT and allowed individuals to attend the event online, while also allowing those able to gather, network and celebrate in person. Convening in a hybrid format required some additional coordination with the event planning team from Rutgers and Civic Eye Collaborative, a media consultant firm to live-stream the day’s proceedings. In total, 117 virtual participants and 190 in-person participants attended the day-long event.

Whether attending “in-person” or “virtually,” the audience heard from the keynote speaker and panelists on the major theme of the event “Advancing Equity in Transportation.”

The Showcase theme, “Advancing Equity in Transportation” served as the organizing framework for the keynote speaker and panelists during the morning plenary session. The keynote speaker, Keith Benjamin, Associate Administrator for Highway Policy and External Affairs at the FHWA, spoke about the USDOT’s efforts to advance equity, highlighting the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act and various funding and program initiatives to address equity in transportation planning, project development, and other activities, among other topics. A panel session then explored the perspectives of representatives from NJDOT, county government, and transportation management associations (TMAs) who shared examples of the equity initiatives underway in their organizations. Questions and discussion invited panels to further reflect on the challenges and opportunities for advancing equity in transportation in New Jersey.

The Showcase included afternoon breakout sessions featuring research presentations that continued to address the equity theme as well as other mobility, infrastructure, safety topics in transportation being performed by research faculty, staff, and students and NJ agencies. Several awards were also presented in recognition of research accomplishments and implemented innovations. For a full description of the 24th Annual Research Showcase event, see this recap here.

The 24th Annual Research showcase was recognized with the AASHTO Award for its efforts to enhance accessibility through the virtual platform. In addition to live-streaming the plenary and breakout sessions, the video recordings of the event were posted on NJDOT’s Tech Transfer Video Library and all those who registered were notified of its availability — whether attending in-person or online. Subsequent direct email communications and social media posts have further broadened the audience of potential viewers. To watch recordings from this, and other Research Showcase events, visit the NJDOT Tech Transfer Video Library.