Completed

15-1 Use of Forested Habitat Adjacent to Highways by Northern Long Ear Bats (and Other Bats)

Project Objectives

The project objectives would be to develop a matrix of disturbance features (sound frequencies and volumes, canopy width, etc.) and an assessment of a barrier effect that would affect foraging and roosting behavior of Northern Long-Eared Bat colonies and other potential listed species. There would be a screening tool and GIS model that would show zones of influence around highways that have noise and disturbance levels that would result in unlikely bat utilization in adjacent habitats. The screening tool could be GIS-linked. It would like with other geocoded information, and databases, and satellite imagery, that would be updated by future researchers if need be as more information is collected.

Technical Committee Members

Chairperson Richard Bostwick, Maine Department of Transportation
Amanda Saul, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Glenn Gingras, Vermont Agency of Transportation
Rebecca Martin, New Hampshire Bureau of Environment
Timothy Dexter, Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Implementation Activities

MassDOT will use the project’s results to continue coordination with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, FHWA, and MassWildlife on developing appropriate methods to protect rare bats through our transportation activities. Two states feel further data collection and research would be helpful in using the models developed in this project.

15-3 Moisture Susceptibility Testing for Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements in New England

Project Objectives

This project will investigate the extent of HMA pavement damage due to moisture in New England and develop recommendations for test procedures that correlate well with actual field performance.

Tasks could include:

Identify several pavements or mixes from each state that appear to be prone to moisture damage as well as mixes that perform well.
Document the moisture testing already being conducted by New England state DOT’s and relevant studies that support this testing.
Obtain samples and compare the effectiveness of T 283 (the most widely used test) with T 324 (Hamburg) and the method developed using MIST-conditioned specimens in the AMPT. See which method correlates best with observed field performance.
Recommend best practices for moisture testing of HMA pavements for New England mixes.
Conduct testing on mixes with lime additive and liquid anti-strip to compare performance.

Technical Committee Members

Derek Nener-Plante (Chairperson), Maine Department of Transportation
Andy Willette, Vermont Agency of Transportation
Beran Black, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Eliana Carlson, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Mark Brum, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Michael Byrne, Rhode Island Department of Transportation

Implementation Activities

This research reinforced MassDOT’s decision to decision to remove the TSR moisture test from its requirements and to move towards the Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test. VTrans is also moving towards using the Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test to determine moisture susceptibility. MaineDOT has partially implemented the results of this study. One state says the project confirms what they are already doing and two states may consider implementation in the future.

Tech Transfer Activities

14-1 Measuring the Effectiveness of Competency Models for Job-Specific Professional Development of Engineers & Engineering Technicians

Project Objectives

To identify and review existing Competency Models (CM) and matrices that can help in the development of a DOT specific competency model
To perform a gap analysis on the existing CM’s and matrices to create a DOT specific employee competency matrix
To create a CM framework for each of the NETC member states
To run a pilot program in one of the NETC member states
To determine the financial benefits (return on investment) of having a CM in place
To create an implementation plan and technology transfer strategy for the research results
To deliver a final report (as required in Task 5)

Technical Committee Members

Rhonda Fletcher (Chairperson), Maine Department of Transportation
Alternate Chairperson Janice Arsenault, Maine Department of Transportation
Paula Nash, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Christine Hetzel, VTrans Training Center
Robert Lauzon, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Kathleen Sisson, Rhode Island Department of Transportation

Implementation Activities

ConnDOT feels this project will serve as an excellent foundation for future regional efforts.

14-4 Optimizing Future Work Zones in New England for Safety and Mobility

Project Objectives

Given the aging infrastructure and the anticipated growing number of work zones in New England, it is of utmost importance to optimize their layouts to improve safety and to mitigate their impact on mobility. In this study, we propose to use the Transportation Research Board’s SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study (SNDS) data for investigating driver behavior in work zones under different traffic, lighting, and weather conditions. In addition, we propose to use data from the smart work zones (SWZs) in Massachusetts (and other New England states if available) to validate the findings obtained from the analysis of the SNDS data. Based on the analysis of the SNDS and SWZs data, improved work zone TTCPs will be developed.These TTCPs will be evaluated using an advanced driving simulator and a microscopic traffic simulation tool.

Technical Committee Members

Kevin Chiang (Chairperson), Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Dana Hanks, Maine Department of Transportation
Nickie Hunter, P.E., New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Brett Stoeffler, Connecticut Department of Transportation

14-2 Investigation of Northern Long-Eared Bat Roosting Sites on Bridges

Project Objectives

The main objective of the proposed research project is to develop a screening tool and to demonstrate its accuracy in determining the presence of NLEB roosting in New England bridges. Additional information will be collected and disseminated related to preferred structural types for bat roosting, New England bat population distributions and evaluation of existing public data already collected by State Fish and Wildlife Departments and Transportation Agencies throughout New England.

Technical Committee Members

Richard Bostwick (Chairperson), Maine Department of Transportation
Timothy Dexter, Massachusetts Highway Department
Melilotus Dube, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Glenn Gingras, Vermont Agency of Transportation
Emilie Holland, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Amanda M. Saul, Connecticut Department of Transportation

13-3 Improved Regionalization of Quality Assurance (QA) Functions

Project Objectives

Review of current QA process used by New England DOTs for precast and prestressed concrete elements (PCE/PSE).
Review of QA specifications for PCE/PSE.
On the basis of the review and through working with the technical review committee of the project, develop common acceptance standards for PCE/PSE to be used by NETC constituents.
Develop a cost-sharing mechanism to accompany the common acceptance standards.
Identify agencies and contractors to conduct pilot implementation of the common acceptance standards.
Develop a list of additional materials and services for which common acceptance standards might be beneficial and feasible.

Technical Committee Members

Jan Bak (Chairperson), Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Denis M. Boisvert, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Kevin R. Cummings, Maine Department of Transportation
John Grieco, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Robert Lauzon, Connecticut Department of Transportation
Richard Mulcahy, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Tim Wilsmer, Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Implementation Activities

ConnDOT feels this project will serve as an excellent foundation for future regional efforts.