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To ensure current and future projects benefit the public to their fullest, public works departments need to reevaluate the changed needs of the community and adapt projects to address these new demands. Town of Greenwich Department of Public Works reimagined the Greenwich Avenue and Elm Street Intersection Improvement Project by incorporating innovative concepts into all project phases. The project features the implementation of safe streets design; a strategic communications campaign; an interactive website to educate and solicit public feedback, using drones to improve construction and engineering efforts; and collaborating with the disability advocacy community to improve accessibility and safety. Hear from Greenwich Public Works Deputy Commissioner, Jim Michel, P.E., and Senior Civil Engineer Jason Kaufman, P.E., as they discuss their project, along with leading-edge strategies and methods that can be applied to future projects post-pandemic.
Read MoreStormwater (SW) utilities face competition for limited funds, especially those communities faced with renewing aging sewer and water assets to address overflow problems and sewage basement backups. There continues to be the political stigma with raising SW rates to upgrade aging infrastructure to increase the level of SW service. Utilities are confronting the reality their underground storm sewer assets are deteriorating, and many have reached the end of their useful lives. Utility managers struggle to get their heads around how to efficiently and cost-effectively manage and renew their assets versus staff “fighting fires” from the next emergency collapse or flooding event. Utility managers are also typically facing combined sewer overflow (CSO), sanitary sewer overflow (SSO), municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) regulatory compliance, and surface flooding costs. The audience will hear lessons learned from other utilities and learn how to develop and implement a straightforward stormwater asset management program and increase the level of service to their customers.
Read MorePandemic-related population shifts in many parts of the U.S. have led some analysts to identify this trend as the “Great American Migration” of 2020. Whether fleeing a high cost of living, a volatile climate, or local lockdowns, Americans moved in droves from large urban centers to smaller cities and rural or suburban counties. The result is an increased need for local government and public works agencies to manage their transportation infrastructure for accelerated growth, even as public funding remains modest. This panel discussion provides insight into how the City of Frederick, Maryland, and Polk County, Florida, are successfully modernizing their transportation asset management strategies and practices to save money while delivering reliable, sustainable, and resilient roadways, bridges, and other assets for current and future populations.
Read MoreGiven the complexity of field conditions, some aspects of liquid performance may seem to be a “black box,” and at times it can be difficult to know how to best use them based upon field experience alone. This challenge is increased by the fact that we use liquids in a variety of ways, from anti-icing to pre-wetting to direct liquid application (DLA) deicing, and liquids perform differently depending on the application. This presentation will show how we can apply the basic science of liquid deicers to complement our field-based knowledge to better select the right liquid and rate for different conditions and application types. Topics will include how liquids perform differently in anti-icing, pre-wetting, and DLA; the important liquid properties for these different types of application; how we can utilize freezing point curves as powerful tools to predict liquid performance; and how we can apply the basic science to guide the use and expectations of brine additives and blends.
Read MoreUsing a drone is the fastest available way to examine a project area or construction site and provides real-time data gathering and image generation. Using drones through each stage of…
Read MoreManagers of public spaces need to share best practices and network to stay current with trends and technological updates for continuous improvement in operational efficiencies and sustainability efforts. Designed to…
Read MoreThis session will inform participants regarding options and opportunities available to initiate a liquids operation into their current winter maintenance plan. Starting from the ground up is somewhat difficult without some tips and understanding of where one might go or end up when looking at implementing liquids into an operation. Class subject matter will consist of brine production, application equipment, calibration, record keeping, and outside information or sources utilized to assist in implementing a liquids program. Further information will be provided on the growth of the City of Waconia’s agency liquids operation to blending and on-demand liquid production and blending.
Read MoreThroughout our careers most of us change positions and roles numerous times. Adapting to new challenges, responsibilities, and authority are keys to successfully navigating one’s career. Progressing from technical positions into leadership roles can be the most challenging change of all. As Rick Rigsby states, leadership is about combining technical knowledge and wisdom to grow your impact. During our careers, we must learn from those who came before us and then be prepared to pass on our wisdom to the next generation. This presentation will focus on two long-time public works professionals who have greatly impacted one another’s careers. Learn how a now retired Baby Boomer and a Generation X Leader supported, collaborated, mentored and then reverse-mentored each other to help grow their influence in the public works field.
Read MoreTypical planning approaches for municipal stormwater projects often include gathering significant field data, developing complex models, and extensive documentation regarding existing conditions and potential solutions. This presentation will explore a recent pilot project executed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services that employed available geographic information system (GIS) data and abridged the modeling and reporting process. The results of the effort were provided in a decision dashboard to assist stakeholders in identifying and prioritizing projects. It will also outline the advantages and pitfalls of this approach and highlight a few of the design projects developed from this study.
Read MoreThe City of Raleigh in North Carolina has recently undertaken an innovative implementation of a Pavement Management System using automated data collection (ADC) to identify crack deterioration for input to the pavement management system (PMS). Unlike the traditional methods, the City is adopting a new methodology to measure crack density calculated as crack length in linear feet per square yard for use in the pavement management system. More specifically, these crack densities are measured for short data collection segments (approximately six feet) per transverse zone (as defined in AASHTO R-85). This project helped in the development of the new ASTM Standard Practice for Generating Pavement Surface Cracking Indices from Digital Images (E3303-21), which will aid others in future ADC initiatives. The presentation will describe this new and forward-thinking data collection and subsequent pavement management methodology so that other interested agencies can look into adopting ADC to obtain more accurate and repeatable data in the future.
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