Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations

November 2012

INSIDE FShowcasingOC an US advanced motorist Colorado Rockfall Simulation 2 warning system in Texas Program: Modeling Rockfall in 3D Assessing infrastructure health valuate rockfall hazards surround- tions of motion to more accurately model 4 nationwide ing roadways more effectively with movement of rockfall on a slope surface, the new 3D version of the Federal including impact, rolling, launching, and slid- A guide to Highway Administration’s (FHWA) ing. Different possible rockfall paths on a sec- performance EColorado Rockfall Simulation Program tion of slope can be modeled, as well as the 6 contracting for (CRSP-3D). rotational movement of nonspherical rocks. construction As development and have increased Users can build rocks of several shapes, includ- in mountainous areas, the need to protect ing spherical, cylindrical, and prismatic. The Highway technology people, roadways, and building structures ➣ calendar continued on page 3 7 from falling rocks has become more important. Created in the mid 1980s Infrastructure for the Colorado Department of innovation webinars 7 Transportation, the original CRSP program was a 2D model used to pre- dict the behavior of rockfall; deter- mine the need for rockfall mitigation measures such as constructing ditch- es, berms, fences, and walls; and aid in the design of these measures. Modeling has helped engineers estimate how rockfall parameters such as bounce height, velocity, kinetic energy, and rollout distance change along the slope length. How- ever, 2D modeling may not be as effective when simulating the rota- tion and slope interaction of nons- www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ pherical rocks, as different rock focus/index.cfm shapes have different modes of rota- tion depending on velocity. This may result in inaccurate estimates of rock- fall properties, particularly rock roll- out, dispersion along and below the slope, and bounce height. The highly weathered limestone escarpment above the Glenwood Canyon Viaduct in Colorado produces rockfall over an area too CRSP-3D uses the Discrete Ele- large to be assessed by conventional 2D methods. FHWA’s new ment Method, a numerical modeling CRSP-3D software offers a more effective solution for evaluating approach that incorporates the equa- rockfall hazards. ©TxDOT FOCUS • November 2012 The Collapse Warning System worksCollapse Warning The On April 26, 2012, FHWA held a show- The Collapse Warning System on the Queen Isabella in Texas includes flashing red traffic signals. by detecting the loss of a signal that isby detecting the loss of a signal that - transmitted over fiber optic cable. A con troller monitors the signal and activates Alost. is signal the if warnings motorist telephone auto-dial system then notifies Pri- TxDOT and emergency personnel. mary motorist warning is accomplished sig- through a series of flashing red traffic - nals, which are configured to notify motor theists who have not reached the site of collapse to stop and to allow those thewho have already passed the site to exit includealso mechanisms bridge. Warning signs alerting motorists when they approach the bridge, traffic gates, dynamic message signs, and preemption of nearby traffic signals. TxDOT conducts a full quarter to checkalarm test each emergency thatensure and system the of operation the the auto-dial function is working. Potential system enhancements being considered include adding video surveillance cameras and additional communication lines for system. the of monitoring remote case meeting in South Padre Island, Texas, to learn more about the system, as well as other available commercial solutions. Par- from representatives included ticipants TxDOT, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Florida Department of Transportation, NTSB, and FHWA. Both Louisiana and Florida

sig-

signs, for signal. cable message the system. optic monitor dynamic fiber auto-dial to gates, continuous controller telephone nal transmission. nal After the QIC disaster, the Texas the Texas QIC disaster, After the and warning signs. warning and • A bridge, causing a 153-m (503-ft) section ofsection (503-ft) 153-m causing a bridge, and fall into the riverthe bridge to collapse below. By the time traf- and onto the barges eight cars and threefic could be stopped, combinations hadtruck-tractor semitrailer collapsedthe onto or river the into fallen resulting in 14 fatali- portion of the bridge, ties and 5 injuries. Following the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board of(NTSB) recommended the development toan “effective motorist warning system of astop motor vehicle traffic in the event collapse.” bridge total or partial Department of Transportation (TxDOT) - designed and launched a Collapse Warn - ing System for the bridge in 2004. Main tained and monitored by TxDOT’s Pharr District Office, the system was upgraded includes: It 2007. in • A • Traffic • A

©TxDOT n September 15, 2001, a town September 15, 2001, struckboat pushing four barges Causewaythe Queen Isabella (2.4- (QIC) in Texas, a 3.9-km

A traffic gate with a warning sign on the Queen Isabella Causeway in Texas. The structure consists of 147 Motorists driving from Port Isabel could A similar accident occurred on May 26,

mi) bridge crossing the Gulf Coast Intra- mi) bridge crossing South connects that coastal Waterway Isabel.Port to Island Padre (780- 238-m a with each, (80-ft) 24-m spans, ft) steel section over the navigation channel. Two spans were knocked out by the barge, roadway.the in gap (160-ft) 48-m a leaving ofsee the missing spans just before the peak the bridge and were able to stop in time. However, drivers coming from South Padre Island could not see the missing spans until bridgeof the the peak crested had they after edge the from ft) (200 m 61 about were and - of the gap. In the 15 minutes before emer andgency personnel received notification theclosed the bridge, 10 cars drove off fatalities.8 in resulting bridge, A2002, near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. towboat pushing two empty asphalt tank the Arkansas River veered offon barges I-40the of pier a rammed and course 2 O Warning System in Texas in System Warning Showcasing an Advanced Motorist Advanced an Showcasing Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program, continued from page 1

have expressed interest in installing a slope profile can be displayed in either 2D lations designed to familiarize users with similar system on their . or 3D. the software. The tutorial example high- “The system installed on QIC is an “The CRSP software is recognized by lights how to create a new project and exemplary one that is operational and users around the world,” said Matt enter the necessary data. A second exam- effective,” said Raj Ailaney of FHWA. DeMarco of FHWA’s Federal Lands ple features a 3D simulation of rockfall “The technology is readily available, Highway Division. “While the previous using LIDAR (Light Detection and and a unified advanced motorist warn- version used a semi-empirical approach, Ranging) data. LIDAR is a 3D mapping ing system can easily be designed for a this new 3D version uses an improved technology that uses a laser to rapidly particular bridge location per individual numerical modeling method.” scan and produce high-resolution images State specifications.” Among other updates, the program’s of areas such as rock slopes and outcrops. In addition to showcasing TxDOT’s definition of surface roughness has Also included in the User’s Manual is a system, the workshop provided an changed so that only one value is needed 2D simulation of rockfall using manually overview of existing commercial options to model the surface roughness for all entered slope geometry data. for an advanced motorist warning sys- rock sizes. CRSP-3D also uses just one To download CRSP-3D at no tem. In general, such systems contain a input value, the hardness coefficient, to cost, visit www.cflhd.gov/programs/ sensor mechanism and an integrated model slope material properties. The techDevelopment/geotech/CRSP-3D. central control architecture. A sensor hardness coefficient measures the elastic- The software is compatible with Windows®- mechanism could be a continuity-type ity of the collision between a falling rock based operating systems. For more sensor such as the fiber optic cable used and the slope, as well as how much tan- information on CRSP-3D, contact Roger in TxDOT’s system, a rotational or gential resistance the rock is subjected to Surdahl at FHWA’s Central Federal displacement sensor, or a combination when sliding on the slope. Lands Highway Division, 720-963-3768 of both to detect a tilt or shift in a struc- The software is accompanied by the (email: [email protected]). For user ture that could be caused by an event CRSP-3D User’s Manual (Pub. No. support, contact Rick Andrew at Yeh and such as a collision, seismic occurrence, FHWA-CFL/TD-12-007). The manual Associates, 303-781-9590 (email: randrew storm, scour, or structure component walks users through installing and operat- @yeh-eng.com). ✽ failure. While sensing technologies to ing the program. Included are three simu- detect a failed bridge exist, as well as central control architecture that includes signal and barricade systems, a commercial unified system does not yet exist. However, separate sensing, sig- nal, and barricade systems can be inte- grated to achieve a complete Advanced Motorist Warning System at an esti- mated cost of $200,000 to $250,000 for a 152-m (500-ft) long bridge. For more information on the Col- lapse Detection and Warning System Showcase, contact Jesus Leal, Director of Transportation Operations for TxDOT’s Pharr District Office, 956-702-6127 (email: jesus.leal@txdot. gov). To obtain a copy of the showcase report, contact Raj Ailaney at FHWA, 202-366-6749 (email: raj.ailaney@dot. A typical CRSP-3D graphical representation when performing a slope analysis. gov). ✽

FOCUS • November 2012 3 Assessing Highway Infrastructure Health Nationwide

ow healthy is your highway Building off of previous work conduct- Data (Tier 2). A Tier 3 measure of Struc- infrastructure? ed by the American Association of State tural Condition based on Tier 2 data and A new report from the Highway and Transportation Officials, pavement deflection data was also included. Federal Highway Admin- three separate tiers of performance mea- The performance measures were evalu- Histration (FHWA) examines candidate sures were evaluated. Tier 1 measures are ated on I-90 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and methods to consistently and reliably assess considered ready for use at the national South Dakota. This corridor runs for infrastructure health, focusing on bridges level, while Tier 2 measures require fur- 1,406 km (874 mi), with average annual and pavements on the Interstate Highway ther work before being ready for deploy- daily traffic ranging from approximately System. Also examined are potential tools ment. Tier 3 measures are generally still in 5,000 vehicles to 90,000 vehicles. While FHWA and State departments of trans- the proposal stage. about 85 percent of the corridor is rural, it portation can use to obtain key data that Performance measures for bridges links such urban areas as Madison, Wis- will provide a more complete picture of included Structural Deficiency (SD) consin; Rochester, Minnesota; and Rapid infrastructure health nationally. (Tier 1) and Structural Adequacy Based City, South Dakota. HPMS and NBI data Improving FHWA’s Ability to Assess on National Bridge Inventory (NBI) for this corridor were used for the study. Highway Infrastructure Health (Pub. No. Ratings (Tier 2). A Tier 3 measure The participating State highway agencies FHWA-HIF-12-049) looks at the process was not included for bridges. For pave- also provided data, including documenta- for categorizing bridges and pavements ments, performance measures included tion of their systems, processes, and corri- in good, fair, or poor the International Rough- dor inventory and pavement management condition. This begins ness Index (IRI) (Tier 1) system data. with developing qualita- and Functional Adequa- The good, fair, and poor analysis for tive definitions for each A new report from cy Based on Highway bridges proved to be a viable approach, category. For this study, the Federal High- Performance Monitoring with NBI data sufficient for the perfor- the definitions relate way Administration System (HPMS) Distress mance management assessment. However,

solely to the condition of ©www.iStockphoto.com/Daniel Deitschel a bridge or pavement and (FHWA) examines do not consider other candidate methods factors such as safety or to consistently and capacity. For example, the definition of “good” reliably assess used for the study was infrastructure health, bridge and pavement focusing on bridges infrastructure that is free of significant defects and and pavements has a condition that does on the Interstate not adversely affect its Highway System. performance. Condition metrics and thresholds that can be used to sys- tematically categorize assets based on these definitions should then be defined.

Improving FHWA’s Ability to Assess Highway Infrastructure Health looks at methods for consistently and reliably evaluating the health of bridges and pavements.

4 FOCUS • November 2012 a bridge’s SD status was not as easily incorporated into the analysis. The report notes that a measure of structural adequa- cy based on NBI ratings would be a viable supplement to SD status as a national measure of bridge condition, although “implementation would require develop- ing a general consensus on its definition.” The pilot study also demonstrated that the good, fair, and poor approach is feasi- ble for pavements and implementable today using IRI as a Tier 1 measure. How- ever, IRI does not fully represent the con- dition of a pavement, as it indicates little about the ability of the pavement structure To learn more about the new report on to withstand traffic loadings. Implementa- Improving FHWA’s tion of the Tiers 2 and 3 pavement mea- Ability to Assess sures also proved to be feasible, although Highway Infrastruc- the study recommends data collection and ture Health or other processing improvements to advance the asset management resources, visit www. measures and achieve a more accurate pic- fhwa.dot.gov/asset. ture of pavement health. For example, collection of cracking data needs to be better defined, along with rec- 1. Should the measure be based on can help determine the health of a pave- ommended quality control and quality the minimum condition rating or a ment network in terms of the pavement’s assurance standards. Inconsistencies in col- weighted average? remaining service life. lection and analysis of faulting data should The report recommends that FHWA 2. What is the relative importance of the also be resolved. The study suggests using consider developing a tool to automate bridge deck as compared to the super- FHWA’s ProVAL software tool to analyze creation of an infrastructure health report. structure and substructure? faulting may be a suitable first step in This tool would enable users to select a addressing these inconsistencies and stan- For pavements, the next steps include corridor or network and view its condi- dardizing the analysis of faulting data. completing and implementing the good, tion. The tool should also allow users to ProVAL assists users in analyzing longitu- fair, and poor indicator based on IRI data. incorporate the required HPMS and NBI dinal pavement profiles. Incorporation of additional selected dis- data directly into the report. A prototype The recommended next step in bridge tresses into the indicator should also be is discussed. assessment is for FHWA to develop a new studied. These could include cracking To download Improving FHWA’s Abil- measure of structural adequacy based on and rutting in asphalt pavements and ity to Assess Highway Infrastructure Health, NBI ratings. This new measure could cracking and faulting in concrete pave- visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/pubs/ serve as an eventual supplement to SD as ments. FHWA’s Pavement Health Track hif12049/hif12049.pdf. For more infor- a national measure of bridge condition. In Analysis Tool should also be improved so mation on the report, contact Nastaran developing the new measure, two ques- that it can provide a more comprehensive Saadatmand at FHWA, 202-366-1337 tions should be discussed: measure of pavement condition. This tool (email: [email protected]). ✽

FOCUS • November 2012 5 A Guide to Performance ©MDOT Contracting for Construction

very day transportation agencies tor shares the risks and rewards across the country face the chal- through incentives and disin- lenge of carrying out high quality centives,” said Jerry Yakowenko construction projects on time of the Federal Highway Admin- Eand within budget, all while meeting the istration (FHWA). expectations of the traveling public. FHWA’s newly updated Per- As agencies contend with aging high- formance Contracting for Construc- way infrastructure, increased congestion, tion: A Guide to Using Perfor- and shrinking budgets, they continue to mance Goals and Measures to look for new methods to meet these chal- Improve Project Delivery offers The mid-section of the precast superstructure for a bridge lenges and complete projects better, fast- State and local transportation on M-115 is placed as part of the Michigan Department of er, safer, and more cost effectively. departments a valuable reference, Transportation’s performance contracting project. Performance contracting offers agencies walking them through the process an alternative to standard low-bid contracts for using performance contracting on a typi- • Project selection. with detailed specifications, allowing for cal reconstruction or rehabilitation project. • Performance goals. increased innovation and problem solving. Originally developed in 2006, the 2012 Under a performance contract, agencies update includes lessons learned and sam- • Measurement methodology, including specify performance goals and contractors ple materials from a successful perfor- associated incentive and disincentive have flexibility in how they carry out the mance contracting pilot project conducted fee structures. work to meet those goals. by the Michigan Department of Transpor- • Sample enhanced low-bid and best- “The agency can clearly communicate tation (MDOT). value awards. to the contractor what they are trying to The guide includes recommended pro- achieve with the project, and the contrac- cesses and sample materials for: • Applications for FHWA’s SEP-14 pro- gram (special experimental projects using ©MDOT alternative contracting techniques). Per- formance contracts that are awarded on a best-value basis (considering both price and non-price factors) must be approved under the SEP-14 program. This does not apply to performance based design-build contracts. For exam- ples of SEP-14 best-value work plans, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/ contracts/sep14list.cfm. Each section in the guide describes a suggested process to follow, presents les- sons learned from real-world contracts, and provides sample materials for project solic- itations. When selecting performance con- tracting projects, for example, consider- ations include whether an agency can legal- ly use an award process other than low-bid, continued on page 8 ➣ Using performance contracting, the Michigan Department of Transportation rehabilitated an 8.9-km (5.56-mi) stretch of M-115 in Clare County.

6 FOCUS • November 2012 Highway Technology Calendar Infrastructure Innovation

The following events provide opportunities to learn more about products and technolo- gies for accelerating infrastructure innovations. Webinars This free Webinar provides a quick 2012 Industrial Materials Contact: Jerry Yakowenko at FHWA, introduction to the latest infrastructure Conference 202-366-1562 (email: gerald.yakowenko innovations and technologies. November 28–29, 2012, Indianapolis, IN @dot.gov), or visit www.dbtranspo.com. The conference will feature best practices Federal Highway in the use of high-volume recycled mate- Seventh National Seismic Confer- Administration (FHWA) rials in sustainable pavement systems. ence on Bridges and Highways Load and Resistance Factor Conference sponsors include the Fed- May 20–22, 2013, Oakland, CA Rating (LRFR) Implementa- eral Highway Administration (FHWA), Conference sessions will focus on under- tion Webinar Series Industrial Resources Council, and Indi- standing and mitigating damage to the Application of Load Testing in ana Department of Transportation. Nation’s highway infrastructure from Bridge Load Rating Contact: Lee Gallivan at FHWA, and other natural hazards. Sponsors include FHWA; the Califor- December 6, 2012, 1–4 p.m. 317-226-7493 (email: victor. (eastern standard time) [email protected]), or visit nia Department of Transportation; TRB; www.industrialresourcescouncil.org. American Association of State Highway The Webinar will provide partici- and Transportation Officials; University pants with the latest information on Transportation Research Board at Buffalo, The State University of New using the load testing technique to (TRB) 92nd Annual Meeting York; and the Multidisciplinary Center evaluate live load carrying capacity January 13–17, 2013, Washington, DC for Engineering Research. of bridges. Among the highlights More than 11,000 transportation profes- Contact: Phillip Yen at FHWA, will be resources available and les- sionals from around the world will gather 202-366-5604 (email: wen-huei.yen@ sons learned. The session will focus to share perspectives on developments dot.gov), or visit http://7nsc.info. on experiences in North Carolina in transportation research, policy, and and Rhode Island, as well as load practice. The theme for 2013 is “Deploy- Second National Covered Bridge testing of bridges at Logan Airport ing Transportation Research—Doing Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. Things Smarter, Better, Faster.” June 5–8, 2013, Dayton, OH The target audience for the Webinar is bridge and structures Contact: For information, visit The FHWA National Historic Covered staff from local, regional, and State the TRB Web site at www.trb.org Bridge Preservation Program is sponsor- transportation agencies; FHWA (click on “Annual Meeting”). ing the conference in partnership with the staff; and consultants. Participants Questions about the meeting can be National Park Service and U.S. Forest will have the opportunity to down- emailed to [email protected]. Service. Themes include research and rehabilitation projects, best practices for load Webinar presentations. Registration for the Webinar is 2013 Design-Build in rehabilitation, and continuing threats and available at https://connectdot. Transportation Conference challenges to covered bridges, including connectsolutions.com/loadtest02/ March 18–20, 2013, Orlando, FL damage caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. Participants event/registration.html. For more Join transportation leaders in discuss- will have the opportunity to tour several information, contact Lubin Gao ing lessons learned in the use of the historic covered bridges. at FHWA, 202-366-4604 (email: design-build project delivery method for [email protected]). ✽ transportation projects. Discussions will Contact: Everett Matias at FHWA, cover choosing the right delivery meth- 202-366-6712 (email: everett.matias@ od, contracting approaches, innovative dot.gov), or visit www.woodcenter. financing solutions, risk allocation, and org/2013-national-covered-bridge- performance contracting. conference. ✽

FOCUS • November 2012 7 Performance Contracting for Construction, FOCUS continued from page 6 Focus (ISSN 1060-6637), which is published monthly by the U.S. Department of Trans- if a contractor will be allowed flexibility in its Performance goals for the 2008 project portation’s Federal Highway Administra- approach to the project, if an agency has ade- focused on the measures MDOT and its tion (FHWA), covers the implementation quate resources to conduct performance mea- stakeholders wanted the project to achieve in of innovative technologies in all areas of surement, and whether the project risks are the following categories: date open to traffic, infrastructure. balanced by adequate rewards. As noted in the completion of construction and related clean- Its primary mission is twofold: (1) to serve guide, performance contracting can be applied up, pavement performance, worker safety the providers of highway infrastructure with to any size contract, not just large projects. during construction, work zone crashes, and innovations and support to improve the quality, safety, and service of our and The guide includes sample performance motorist delay. bridges; and (2) to help promote and market measures developed for use on highway con- MDOT awarded the project to the con- programs and projects of the various offices struction projects. Categories include safety, tractor whose proposal represented the best of FHWA’s Office of Infrastructure. construction congestion, quality, time, cost value considering price, goals, and proposed savings, customer satisfaction, environmental innovations. Contractor innovations used for FHWA Administrator: Victor M. Mendez sustainability, and innovation. Each perfor- the project included prefabrication of the new Managing Editor: Michael Thoryn mance measure has five levels of performance. bridge decks and installation of a 3.3-m (11-ft) Tel: 202-493-3172 (fax: 202-493-3475) “While agencies will need to develop a set of wide temporary traffic that provided two- [email protected] goals that suit their specific project, this sam- way traffic during major construction stages. Editor: Lisa Pope ple menu will provide a head start and help to A 24-hour roadside patrol also offered motor- Tel: 202-234-7157 (fax: 202-347-6938) accelerate the process,” said Yakowenko. ist assistance within the construction zone. [email protected] Also featured are details on the process used Project successes included reopening the Federal Highway Administration (HRTM) for MDOT’s $3.8-million pilot project on roadway to traffic 20 days early. 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA M-115 in Clare County. The pavement on this To download a copy of Performance Con- 22101-2296 rural 8.9-km (5.56-mi) stretch of a two-lane tracting for Construction: A Guide to Using Notice—The United States Government highway was in poor condition, and two bridges Performance Goals and Measures to Improve does not endorse products or manufactur- needed significant reconstruction. Michigan Project Delivery, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/ ers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear received $1 million in project funding from construction/contracts/pcfc_2012/pcfc00. herein solely because they are considered FHWA’s Highways for LIFE (HfL) program cfm. The HfL Performance Contracting essential to the object of the article. and used HfL’s Performance Contracting for for Construction Implementation Framework Publication No. FHWA-HRT-13-008 Construction Implementation Framework. is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/ This framework was developed with input framework. For more information on perfor- HIF-1/11-12(WEB)E from several State highway agencies, the Asso- mance contracting, contact Jerry Yakowenko ciated General Contractors of America, and the at FHWA, 202-366-1562 (email: gerald. American and Transportation Builders [email protected]). ✽ Association.