U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $6.5 Million to Seven States and Pawnee Nation for Highway Innovations |
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Federal Highway Administration
22 October 2020
FHWA 25-20
Contact: Neil Gaffney
Tel.: (202) 366-0660
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced the latest recipients of federal funds to help enhance safety and rebuild infrastructure with cutting-edge innovations that can potentially be replicated nationwide. In this round of awards, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, and the Pawnee Nation in Oklahoma will receive a combined $6.5 million.
“These federal grants will advance innovative transportation solutions to improve safety and mobility on America’s roadways,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
Since 2014, the “Accelerated Innovation Deployment” (AID) Demonstration Program has provided 110 grants, valued at more than $80 million, to help federal land management agencies, local and tribal governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and state departments of transportation accelerate the use of innovations in transportation.
“These grants help state, local and tribal governments deliver projects sooner and more cost-effectively for the traveling public,” said Federal Highway Administrator Nicole R. Nason.
Previous recipients used their AID grants to fund more energy-efficient overhead highway lighting, installation of bridge-monitoring sensors, work zone safety technology and “intelligent compaction” technologies which can extend the useful life of pavement.
The AID Demonstration Program builds on the FHWA’s efforts to collaborate with states and localities, federal land management agencies, and tribal governments to accelerate the adoption of innovations and reduce project delivery times.
FY 2019 and FY 2020 Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration Program Grants
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Agency |
Amount |
Project Description |
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Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) |
$544,000 |
ALDOT will invest its AID Demonstration funds in fiberglass reinforced geotextile paving fabrics that withstand extreme temperatures and result in fewer cracks, thereby extending the life of pavements and reducing maintenance costs. |
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Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) |
$1,000,000 |
ITD will use its AID Demonstration funds to deploy two-dimensional hydraulic modeling and other next-generation hydraulic tools that can help the agency design safer, more cost-effective and resilient structures and streamline environmental, regulatory and engineering activities on 18 projects throughout the state. |
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Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) and Clinton County Secondary Road Department |
$440,000 |
The Clinton County Secondary Road Department will use its AID Demonstration grant in conjunction with Iowa DOT on a pavement preservation pilot project using Cape Seals that can reduce the severity of cracks and extend the life of a pavement up to eight years. |
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Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) |
$1,000,000 |
MaineDOT will invest AID Demonstration funds in the deployment of Advanced Geotechnical Methods in Exploration (A-GaME), an innovation supported by FHWA under its Every Day Counts (EDC) program that encourages the use of tools, technologies and approaches by state, tribal and local governments, and federal agencies to shorten project delivery, enhance roadway safety, reduce traffic congestion, and integrate automation. MaineDOT will employ A-GaME on the Brewer-Eddington I-395/Route 9 Connector Project in north central Maine to reduce construction delays and uncertainties in subsurface conditions and mitigate design and construction risks. |
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Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) |
$1,000,000 |
MassDOT will use its AID Demonstration grant on Unmanned Aerial Systems, an innovation supported by FHWA under EDC, that can improve the agency’s ability to survey terrain before and after emergencies, improve worker safety through remote mapping and accelerate construction. |
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Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)/City of Fulton |
$984,025
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MoDOT and the City of Fulton will invest AID Demonstration funds in Accelerated Bridge Construction and Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems, two innovations supported by FHWA under EDC, to accelerate project delivery time, improve work zone safety and reduce traffic impacts on the 2nd Street Bridge Replacement project over Stinson Creek and Stinson Creek Greenway. |
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North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) |
$1,000,000 |
NCDOT’s AID Demonstration grant will be used on a bridge replacement project in Carteret County featuring Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Pre-stressing Strand technology that can help create a corrosion-free structure needing less maintenance and rehabilitation. |
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Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma |
$500,000 |
The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma will invest AID Demonstration funds to employ the Construction Manager/General Contractor process, an EDC innovation that will help deliver several projects more cost-effectively. |
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TOTAL |
$6,468,025 |
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For more information about these grants, and FHWA’s AID demonstration program, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/accelerating/grants.