EDC-4: Introducing a New Round of Innovations

What do hydraulic modeling tools, ultra-high performance concrete, and data-driven safety analysis have in common? Each is among the innovations selected for deployment under the Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative.

EDC is the innovation partnership between the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, launched in 2009 to take on the challenges presented by limited budgets and to speed up the delivery of needed highway projects.

Taking Tunnel Inspections to a New Level

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that there are more than 470 highway tunnels in the United States. Many of these tunnels are more than 50 years old and are quickly reaching the end of their designed service lives. But, until recently, tunnel owners and operators lacked Federal guidance for conducting mandatory tunnel inspections.

Taking the BIRM Mobile

When engineers inspect bridges, they rely on a 2,000-page manual for guidance. The Bridge Inspector’s Reference Manual (FHWA NHI 12-049) (BIRM) typically is contained in two three-ring binders and explains just about everything a bridge inspector needs to know about implementation of the national bridge inspection standards, the duties of a bridge inspection team, basic bridge terminology, and how to perform inspections.

NHI Instructors Go Back to School

In transportation training, one of the most critical links in learning is the instructor. A good instructor should simplify the learning process and adapt the curriculum to the various needs of the participants. Transportation professionals need their instructors to make new material relevant and applicable, which translates to strengthened job performance when participants return to work.

Communication Product Updates

Below are brief descriptions of communications products recently developed by the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Research, Development, and Technology. All of the reports are or will soon be available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies of the communications products are available from FHWA’s Research and Technology (R&T) Product Distribution Center (PDC).

Targeting the Crosshairs

States across the country are using tailored, systemic approaches to make intersections safer.

Building a Culture of Innovation

The fourth round of Every Day Counts will help to drive additional proven practices and technologies into mainstream use.

Harnessing Technology to Ease The Way

FHWA’s EAR Program is mapping a path forward for the development of assistive navigation tools for visually impaired pedestrians.

How to Make Better Decisions on Addressing Pavement Needs

New research argues that focusing on the remaining service interval is a more effective management strategy than fixing the worst first or threshold-driven approaches.

Big Data

Collecting, storing, and processing transportation information is presenting new challenges but also new opportunities to track travel.