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21-3 Initiating Seed Production for Effective Establishment of Native Plants on Roadsides in New England

Project Objectives

The New England Transportation Consortium funded research to move the capacity of native plant establishment along roadsides from 2013-2016. This work trialed seed mixes and methods for establishment and developed a manual with 39 key species for the region identified. Various protocols for site preparation, seeding, and post establishment monitoring and maintenance were also provided. Following this work, a series of next steps were identified as critical for effective implementation. The most important step was the development of local seed sources, which are currently absent in the region. The shift towards planting native plants along roadsides has multiple benefits including: natural defense for invasive plants, habitat for common and rare pollinator species, and the potential to reduce maintenance needs over time. Pollinators play an important role in this country’s agricultural system as well as in maintaining healthy natural ecosystems.

The problem at hand in the New England is the lack of a native seed mix to use in the roadside habitat that includes important species for pollinators. Also, we do not have a consolidated library of best management practices for roadside management to promote pollinators that apply directly to the climate and conditions in the New England.

This project will include two main efforts. First, it will investigate and develop a list of currently available resources for native seed and plant stock throughout the New England region to understand what is currently available. The study will focus on the list of plant species identified in the 2016 New England Transportation Consortium (NETC) study by the University of Connecticut, “Effective Establishment of Native Grasses on Roadsides in New England” (NETC, 2016), as they are known to suitable to the region and are valuable to pollinators throughout the entire growing season of New England. Once an understanding of what is/is not available, the study will look at ways to increase availability of seeds throughout New England. The study will use gathered information on seed stock to draft a plan for developing a native seed source or sources appropriate for use along New England roadsides. The project would also include proof of concept for developing capacity for local seed source and production for the region.

Technical Committee Members

TC Chair: Arin Mills, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Adam Boone, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Tara Mitchell, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Rebecca Martin, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Susan Votta, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Heather Voisin, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Ann Scholz, New Hampshire Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator: Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

21-1 Quality Review and Assessment of Pavement Condition Survey Vehicle Data Across New England

Project Objectives

Recent changes to the way states collect and report their network condition data to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has created a need for higher-quality calibration of state-owned or consultant-utilized data-collection equipment. Through Data Quality Management Plans (DQMPs) that have been developed by each state (mandated through 23 CFR 490) and approved by FHWA state Division Offices, there is a recurring need for quality measurements and subsequent high-level analysis of survey equipment. The survey equipment (such as profilometers, Laser Crack Measurement Systems, Pavement Friction Testers, Distance Measuring devices, and the like) must be calibrated and checked to ensure the quality of the data being produced meets minimum criteria. In addition, standard protocols for data collection, validation, verification, and other quality management processes must be administered, and strictly followed.

For the states in the New England that own and operate their own survey vehicles, it is critical to ensure that their data collection equipment and operations fulfill the requirements of their DQMP while not creating excessive work for agency officials. For the states outsourcing data-collection surveys, it is critical to ensure any quality management protocols used by the consultant align with both long-term agency needs and FHWA-approved state DQMPs.

Specific goals of this project:

Review northeast state Data Quality Management Plans for pavement condition data.
Summarize verification sites used in the northeast with potential for inter-agency sharing.
Develop recommendations for regional efficiencies in collection and analysis of QC/QA data for each of the participating transportation agencies.
Develop or adapt forms and macros as “Best Practices” recommendations to assist states with data reporting requirements for compliance with FHWA approved DQMPs.

Technical Committee Members

TC Chair: John Henault, Connecticut Department of Transportation
James Havu, Maine Department of Transportation
Jonathan Smith, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Eric Thibodeau, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Deidre Nash, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Paul Petsching, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Reid Kiniry, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Andrew Mroczkowski, Connecticut Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator: Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

20-4 New England Connected and Automated Vehicle Legal, Regulatory and Policy Assessment

Project Objectives

The objectives of this project are to:

Conduct a scan of similar efforts by national organizations such as AAMVA, AASHTO, TRB and industry groups to avoid duplication and to ensure other multi-state legal and regulatory issues are considered.
Delve deeper into the details of related areas (see list below) to identify specific laws and regulations that may currently impede testing and deployment or would support successful testing and deployment if they were consistent across the region.
Identify specific recommendations (such as definitions, statutory language recommendations, registration protocols, or liability standards) for consideration by the states for the highest priority legal and regulatory areas.

Technical Committee Members

TC Chair, Daniel Sullivan, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Pete Calcaterra, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Kara Aguilar, Maine Department of Transportation
Kody McCarthy, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Susan Klasen, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Christos Xenophontos, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Joe Segale, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Co-Liaison: Nicholas Zavolas, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
AC Co-Liaison: Emily Parkany, Vermont Agency of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

20-3 Investigating Thermal Imaging Technologies and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Improve Bridge Inspections

Project Objectives

The overall research objective is to focus on developing UAV-based inspection and analysis protocols using infrared (IR) thermal imaging to determine the existence and extent of concrete delamination, with emphasis on the underside of bridge decks. This objective will be realized by answering the specific questions:

Can IR technology be used effectively to identify concrete delaminations, especially on the underside of bridge decks where the concrete surface thermal differences may be only subtle due to very little exposure to direct sunlight. What type of thermal resolution is required? Sensor images will need to be “ground-truthed” with actual measured delaminations from tried and true methods. Also is there sensor equipment that can be used in handheld operation and attached to drones for flight operations.
What type of drone hardware, Camera Specifications, Camera Mountings and Testing Attachments would provide the most cost-effective benefit for each type of data capture? This question will be answered through surveys and test trials of different UAVs. For optimal information gathering, it is envisioned that several technologies will be concurrently employed, and a significant outcome of the work will be an assessment of the relative value and optimum combination of technologies. (e.g. drone and infrared imaging systems).
What data storage and retrieval systems and hardware are required for managing and easily re-using the potentially enormous volume of digitized information captured? Data storage and data transfer technologies make this a relatively simple problem. However, universal data sharing formats will need to be established early on.
What software is available or will require development to efficiently process the captured data for human inspection and evaluation? Many generic systems of machine learning (including computer vision) are available and as such it is relatively easy to develop and train prototype systems. Once prototypes are tested, they can be turned into application-specific codes with an interface appropriate for field use.

Technical Committee Members

TC Chair, John “Sam” Maxim: Maine Department of Transportation
Vitalij Staroverov, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Bruce Sylvia, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Nicholas Goulas, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Colin Franco, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Evan Robinson, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Dale Peabody, Maine Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

20-2 Current Status of Transportation Data Analytics and A Pilot Case Study Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Project Objectives

The objectives of this research include: (1) reviewing the practices of all DOTs in the New England area and developing a comprehensive inventory of data, data needs, and data analysis practices related to traffic operations; (2) providing recommendations on how to better collect, reduce, achieve, and analyze the data to support DOT decision making and how DOTs should prepare for future transportation data collection and analytics considering emerging sensing and analytical technologies such as connected vehicles, loT, Machine Learning (ML) and AI; and (3) conducting a pilot case study of using AI techniques to automatically analyze specifically-identified operations data and perform a thorough evaluation of its capability to generate useful traffic operation and safety performance measures. This will demonstrate how advanced analytical techniques may extend the capability of traditional traffic sensors and produce additional useful information without expensive infrastructure investment.

Technical Committee Members

TC Chair, Susan Klasen: New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Ed Block, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Colby Fortier-Brown, Maine Department of Transportation
Chet Osborne, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Chris Falcos, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Sean Raymond, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Tom Bushell, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Ian Degutis, Vermont Agency of Transportation
Mandy White, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Ann Scholz, New Hampshire Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

20-1 In-Service Performance Evaluation of NETC Bridge Railings

Project Objectives

The research objective will be to determine the in-service performance of the NETC bridge railings and transition systems based on the percentage of fatal and serious injury crashes and barrier penetrations. The evaluation should examine all NETC bridge railing sites constructed in each cooperating state. Construction records and bridge inventories will be reviewed to develop an inventory of NETC bridge railings. Crash data for five years (and more if possible) will be collected for all NETC bridge railings identified in the inventory. Traffic data (e.g., posted speed limit, AADT and percent trucks) will also be collected, if available, for each inventoried NETC bridge rail. The crash, inventory and traffic data will be merged into a single database and the fatal and serious injury proportions will be calculated for each type of NETC railing by a variety of potentially confounding factors (e.g., posted speed limit, vehicle type, highway facility type, percent trucks, etc.). Similarly, the crash records will be examined for any indication of bridge railing penetration or rollover. This study should be conducted using the now available NCHRP 22-33 Guidance for the conduct of ISPEs. NCHRP 22-33 (Collaborative Approach to In-Service Performance Evaluations) has outlined an approach to the conduct of ISPEs which uses crash data to mimic the MASH evaluation criteria, thereby providing a direct comparison of actual field performance to the MASH evaluation criteria. Further, the NCHRP 22-33 Guidance was developed with the intent of collaborating across state lines to conduct more robust ISPEs just as is being proposed herein.

Technical Committee Members

TC Chair, Jeff Folsom: Maine Department of Transportation
David Kilpatrick, Connecticut Department of Transportation
TBD, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Chelsea Noyes, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Chris Gagnon, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Chris Mooney, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Dale Peabody, Maine Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates