New England Transportation Consortium

New England Transportation Consortium

Completed

18-4 Quick Response Project: 2019 ICNet Workshop

Project Objectives

  1. Organize and run an ICNet workshop in spring 2019.
  2. Identify research needs and develop a problem statement that NETC can address.
  3. Develop a plan for sustaining the annual ICNet workshop in future years.

Technical Committee Members

  • Charles Hebson, Maine Department of Transportation
  • Elise Greenberg, Connecticut Department of Transportation
  • Katherine McArthur, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Steven Miller, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Ann Scholz, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
  • Julia Gold, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
  • Joe Segale, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison, Ann Scholz, New Hampshire Department of Transportation

18-3 Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into Operations Conducted by State Departments of Transportation

Project Objectives

  • Provide guidance to New England DOTs regarding best practices when incorporating UAS into daily operations.
  • The research will focus on the following: (1) exploring UAS applications in order to support state DOT missions and identify those most suitable for specific (or categorical) DOT operational missions; (2) identification of up-to-date technologies and support systems that are necessary in order to accomplish the selected use-cases; (3) addressing challenges associated with the implementation and integration of UAS technologies and FAA rules and regulations; (4) developing processes to carry out selected UAS applications.

Technical Committee Members

  • Jeffrey DeCarlo (TC Chair), Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Pamela Cotter, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
  • Carol L. Niewola, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
  • Matt Philbrick, Maine Department of Transportation
  • Amy E. Stula, Connecticut Department of Transportation
  • David Tillberg, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Emily Parkany, Vermont Agency of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Maina Tran, CTC & Associates

18-2 Framework of Asphalt Balanced Mix Design (BMD) for New England Transportation Agencies

Project Objectives

  • Synthesize existing data and develop recommendations for a rational balanced mix design (BMD) approach for use by the New England transportation agencies.
  • Gaps in testing and performance data will be identified through this project and an experimental plan for required future work will be developed.

Technical Committee Members

  • Joe Blair (TC Chair), New Hampshire Department of Transportation
  • Michael Byrne, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
  • David Howley, Connecticut Department of Transportation
  • Matthew Courser, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
  • Ed Naras, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Casey Nash, Maine Department of Transportation
  • Aaron Schwartz, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison, Ann Scholz, New Hampshire Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Maina Tran, CTC & Associates

18-1 Development of MASH Computer Simulated Steel Bridge Rail and Transition Details

Project Objectives

The objective of this project was to develop details for MASH compliance using computer simulations of the New England steel bridge rail configurations including transitions. The researchers uses LRFD strength calculations and finite element analysis (FEA) computer simulation to evaluate the crash performance of three NETC bridge rail and approach guardrail transition (AGT) designs. The impact conditions and assessment procedures conformed to the specifications in MASH for TL-3 or TL-4 (as appropriate) and included evaluations of structural capacity of the railing, risk of occupant injury, and vehicle stability during impact and redirection.

Project Results

The results of this project provide evidence of the crashworthiness of the NETC designs, which will aid the engineers of the New England State transportation agencies in making informed decisions on the continued use of these systems.

Technical Committee Members

  • Jeff Folsom (TC Chair), Maine Department of Transportation
  • David Kilpatrick, Connecticut Department of Transportation
  • Alex Bardow, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Robert Landry, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
  • Michael Savella, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
  • Jim Lacroix, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison, Dale Peabody, Maine Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator, Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

17-2 Quick Response: Quantification of Research Benefits

Project Objectives

  • Implement or adapt the MnDOT research project Benefit Estimation Tool for 2-3 NETC projects.
  • Develop detailed guidelines to identify and gather the inputs required for the benefit categories of these projects.

Technical Committee Members

  • Emily Parkany (Chairperson), Vermont Agency of Transportation
  • Flavia Pereira (Chairperson), Connecticut Department of Transportation
  • Lily Oliver, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Dale Peabody, Maine Department of Transportation
  • Ann Scholz, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
  • Michael Sock, Rhode Island Department of Transportation

15-4 Quick Response: Optimizing Quality Assurance (QA) Processes for Asphalt Pavement Construction in the Northeast

Project Objectives

  • Develop a detailed document listing Quality Assurance processes, including Agency Acceptance and Contractor Quality Control, of member states through interviews of Agency and Contractor staffs and literature review.
  • Develop a regional white paper describing Quality Assurance practices for NETC constituents regarding HMA Acceptance and Quality Control testing.

Technical Committee Members

  • John Grieco (Chairperson), Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Vice-Chairperson Mark Brum, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Aaron Schwartz, Vermont Agency of Transportation
  • Kevin Cummings, Maine Department of Transportation
  • Bob Lauzon: Connecticut Department of Transportation
  • Michael Byrne, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
  • Denis Boisvert, New Hampshire Department of Transportation

Implementation Activities

VTrans is rewriting their main HMA specifications (Sections 406 and 407) to accommodate a tiered approach and is incorporating some of the recommendations from this research. ConnDOT already has some of the project recommendations in place and will be implementing others based on a number of factors. Four other states will either not be implementing or didn’t provide information on their implementation activities.

Tech Transfer Activities