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High Friction Surface treatments include a two-part application of an epoxy binder followed with placement of rough, hard, and durable aggregates on an existing roadway surface. These treatments reduce roadway departure accidents by increasing surface friction. Promoted by PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, Allegheny County has used this treatment for the past few years and found it is a cost-effective safety treatment for strategic locations on roadways where friction needs to be maximized (such as steep grades or sharp horizontal curves). It provides texture to existing concrete or asphalt surfaces without sacrificing uniformity or rideability. Other public works agencies may find this treatment has value for their own assets.
Read MoreDo your suppliers or contractors fall short of expectations? Do you feel trapped in relationships with poor-performing suppliers due to low-bid requirements? Are your operations affected by reoccurring supplier/contactor issues? The key to having a Ready and Resilient public works operation is knowing you will have what you need to get the job done when you need it. This can often be a unique challenge in the public sector as low-bid procurement requirements can result in relationships with vendors who oversell and underperform. The Maintenance Support Team at the North Texas Tollway Authority has tried various ways to address these issues and improve supplier relationships to ensure they are always ready to respond. This session will cover the development and use of a basic vendor scorecard that aids in expectation communications, supplier accountability, and documentation to support issue escalation when necessary to improve the supplier relationship.
Read MoreDigital maps have changed the way we drive, locate a store, or even choose a restaurant. Multi-layer GIS (geographic information system) maps are also transforming how government agencies plan and manage their infrastructure assets, report information to stakeholders, and communicate with the public. With real-world examples from city, county, and state transportation agencies, this session demonstrates how to use GIS maps to improve decision-making, performance, and operational efficiency to deliver safer longer-lasting infrastructure.
Read MoreSince 2014 the City of Olathe has built an accurate inventory, complete with condition assessment and tracking of maintenance tasks. They’ve developed methods using Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program (PACP) pipe inspections captured using WinCan VX to develop an Overall Condition Index (OCI). We also developed Consequence of Failure (CoF) criteria and minimum acceptable conditions for gravity pipes as a part of a sewer master plan. Together, OCI and CoF have allowed the city to model the business risk exposure (BRE) associated with the gravity sewer mains. Over the past seven years, the city has benefited through the synergy of diverse workgroups, which has allowed active ownership of the data and products it produces. Engineering staff is tasked with making strategic decisions on infrastructure replacement. For 2022, Engineering justified a 17% increase in capital sewer rehabilitation funding based on the results of their BRE process. Asset management has been an integral part of the city’s wastewater modus operandi.
Read MoreFor decades now, local governments have relied on service requests initiated by the public and internal staff to identify urgent deficiencies. There has been an ongoing transition in the public sector from emails and paper-based service requests to digital service desks and asset management systems. With the advent of connected vehicles and artificial intelligence, a whole new world has opened in governmental operations. In this session, Visual Defence and the City of Surrey will present a new and exciting area of automated road-based incident detection using artificial intelligence for local governments. It uses an artificial intelligence app loaded onto powerful smartphone cameras, which are installed in local government vehicles, to inspect roads and report incidents automatically by making those available to local governments on a cloud. The technology does not require modification to municipal vehicles or costly sensors.
Read MoreProactive stormwater management for construction projects focuses on preventing discharges by incorporating stormwater compliance into design considerations. Each year small project builders violate stormwater regulations, inadvertently and sometimes purposefully, because of a lack of knowledge, flawed guidance, and inadequate project design. This case study takes a critical look at the construction of a single-family home in the City of Carlsbad, California. At the time of approval, inspectors noted potential conflicts with stormwater regulations. The developer created a compliance “gridlock” that resulted in state regulatory intervention and a critical re-evaluation of the City’s development planning and construction processes. By exploring engineer design versus stormwater compliance, our goal is to show how intentions hidden in the margins of grading and erosion plans resulted in a change to the City’s engineering review and inspection processes.
Read MoreDuring the 2020 severe windstorm (derecho) in Iowa, Des Moines lost many trees in different areas. The Public Works Department was soon picking up debris from 200,000 residents (over 10,000 truckloads in all), and with extensive damage in parks and recreation areas, it was decided to bid out the storm cleanup. With over 70 park areas in Des Moines, hundreds of trees damaged and wanting to abide by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines for reimbursement, this was quite an undertaking. Using the city’s tree inventory system, cell phones, and three parks staff, a system was devised to locate and photograph every damaged tree over three days. This information was then used to bid out a contract, where any contractor with a cell phone could easily access the location of the 300-plus trees. If available, the winning contractor may attend 5-10 minutes of the presentation.
Read MoreThe Kenneth Road Bridge has faced political, financial, environmental, technical, and construction challenges which have impeded the reconstruction of a federally-funded bridge that spans a state line and lies within multiple jurisdictions. This presentation will describe how the McClure team worked with Kansas City, Missouri, and three other funding entities to finally construct this bridge in Spring 2021. This project had five attempts at design and construction. This presentation will highlight many of the “opportunities” that the team had to solve to deliver a bridge that finally serves the public. Those challenges include (but were not limited to) SIX approving jurisdictions, F-I-I-I-V-E separate design start-ups, FOUR funding partners, THREE consultant selection processes, TWO state permitting policies, and ONE FEMA flood-plain controversy. Our apologies to the Partridge in the Pear Tree!
Read MoreWith the continued reduction of support staff and management positions in all state and municipal government areas, many public works managers are accountable for numerous areas of responsibility in their agencies. This workshop will focus on identifying for a fleet manager managing multiple areas of responsibility the key activities that they need to focus on to keep their fleet operation from going off the rails. With only a limited amount of time in a day, this workshop will help multi-discipline managers know where to best focus their efforts. Seasoned professional fleet managers, fleet managers that have successfully learned to juggle multiple responsibilities, along with experienced advisors on data analytics and information management systems, will lead this interactive discussion.
Read MoreCalibration is an important tool for winter maintenance best practices. Evaluating different materials, solids, or liquids for calibration is a standard for testing or running a pilot program. Properly calibrated…
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