U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Awards $16.3 Million to Support Innovative Highway Safety Projects

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Awards $16.3 Million to Support Innovative Highway Safety Projects

Topics: Ray LaHood

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Awards $16.3 Million to Support Innovative Highway Safety Projects

Federal Highway Administration
4 June 2013

FHWA 23-13
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Contact: Neil Gaffney
Tel: 202-366-0660

Grants for new technologies will help states improve safety and reduce congestion

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today awarded more than $16 million to 14 innovative highway and bridge projects in 13 states and the District of Columbia that will improve safety, create jobs and enhance the quality of the nation's transportation infrastructure.

"President Obama has called for a new era of American innovation and competition," said Secretary LaHood. "The money invested today benefits not only these projects, but adds to the pool of knowledge and new technologies available for safer, more efficient transportation projects around the country."

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Highways for LIFE (HfL) grants encourage the use of innovative technologies and practices on America's roads and bridges, such as accelerated bridge construction, cutting-edge building materials and advanced methods for construction project management. FHWA received 29 applications requesting more than $43 million.

"The sooner we can get innovations out of the lab and into use on America's roads, the sooner we can create jobs and improve the nation's transportation system," said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. "These grants will help us do that."

Descriptions of the FHWA Highways for LIFE FY2013 Discretionary Grants are below.

State	Amount	Project Description
Alabama	$2,000,000	Traffic operations and management at intersections along US-280 in the cities of Birmingham, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Hoover in Jefferson and Shelby Counties. By integrating newly installed adaptive signal control technology and traditional strategies into an overall system approach using the existing roadway, the Alabama Department of Transportation will reduce highway congestion in a critical corridor of the state.
Colorado	$2,000,000	Bridge replacement work in Aurora at I-70 over Smith Road and the Union Pacific railroad. The project, the nation's first to use a geosynthetic reinforced soil system for a multi-span bridge on an interstate, will reduce construction-related congestion with accelerated bridge construction.
District of Columbia	$104,000	Replacement of 27th Street, NW Bridge over Broad Branch Stream. The project will use accelerated bridge construction innovations to simplify construction and reduce future maintenance costs.
Hawaii	$3,000,000	Honolulu's Middle Street resurfacing. Hawaii's Department of Transportation will resurface the street with Portland Concrete Cement (PCC) pavement that uses post-tensioned, precast concrete and cast-in-place PCC pavements to minimize inconvenience to users, while providing a durable, long-lasting surface.
Illinois	$880,000	Knox County Highway 4 alignments in west central Illinois near Galesburg. The project will use three-dimensional modeling technology to complete construction faster. The technology is also expected to provide significant cost savings, reduce lane closures, and increase safety for construction workers.
Indiana	$2,000,000	I-465/I-65 South Interchange paving project in Indianapolis. The project will use cutting-edge concrete surface technology to create a quieter and more skid-resistant highway surface.
Iowa	$400,000	I-92 Cass County Bridge construction. The project, located in southwestern Iowa, will use prefabricated bridge elements, which will allow the new bridge to be built near the existing bridge and then moved into position by a lateral slide. These innovations are expected to significantly reduce the amount of time the highway is closed and will mark the first time a lateral bridge slide is used in the state.
Kentucky	$120,000	KY70 Bridge over Stoner Creek in Taylor County in Central Kentucky. The project will use hybrid composite beams for the replacement bridge to accelerate construction, decrease the impact to the traveling public and improve safety.
Louisiana	$376,572	Reconstruction of the Maree Michael and Creek Bridges in Vermilion Parish in southern Louisiana. Louisiana will use a number of accelerated bridge construction innovations to reduce construction time and project and maintenance costs.
Missouri	$150,000	High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) application on Highways 54 and 179 in Jefferson City and two sites on I-44 near Rolla. Use of HFST at the sites will enhance safety, while minimizing work zone delays and alleviating congestion.
Nevada	$1,200,000	I-80 Carlin Tunnels project east of Carlin in northeast Nevada. The project will use an innovative construction management program to install a new lighting system for the tunnels.
Oklahoma	$718,000	SH-51 over Cottonwood Creek Bridge replacement near the city of Mannford in northeast Oklahoma. Oklahoma will use state-of-the-art bridge-moving technology and other innovations to replace a structurally deficient bridge sooner than previously possible.
Tennessee	$1,445,600	Asphalt pavement resurfacing. The project will use intelligent compaction technology at four geographically diverse locations – State Route 331 in Knox County, State Route 58 in Hamilton County, US 64 (State Route 15) in Lincoln County, and US 412 (State Route 20) in Crockett County – to improve overall pavement density and reduce highway repair costs.
Vermont	$1,900,000	Route 107 reclamation in Stockbridge and Bethel. Vermont will use three-dimensional modeling, intelligent compaction technology, and Global Positioning System to reduce congestion and enhance safety, quality and road user satisfaction.

# # #