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During 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 MoreThe Emergency Management Technical Committee has tackled the subject of dam safety for 2022. The committee has identified public safety risks associated with low head dams as worthy of further…
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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Building a truck can be a complicated process. Specifying the “right” truck can require hundreds of decisions and choices that can potentially impact each other. This session is designed to…
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 MoreSeth Mattison is an internationally recognized thought leader, author, advisor, and top-rated keynote speaker on change and innovation, sales and influence, leadership, and the future of work. His research, case…
Read MoreAdverse weather events can significantly affect vehicle and driver behavior. With the advent of automated vehicles (AVs), the Federal Highway Administration Road Weather Management Program has begun research and testing to identify how vehicles and drivers will detect and react to adverse weather and road weather conditions. AVs have sensors and perception systems to detect objects and events in their vicinity. Using this information, they control the steering or speed, or both, to move the vehicle along its selected path. Their ability to properly perceive the situation and execute a maneuver can be affected by atmospheric conditions and road weather. Several tests were developed and conducted with the intent to challenge perception systems across a variety of simulated adverse winter weather conditions in a controlled outdoor laboratory setting in traffic settings. The presentation will describe the tests and results that were obtained during the testing in Winter 2021 along with some videos.
Read MoreRegular reviews of the Winter Maintenance Policy can be time-consuming but very essential to keep it valid for the changing needs of the community. The City of Regina, Saskatchewan, adopted a consultative approach with the community and other stakeholders while completing a review of their Winter Maintenance Policy. The updated policy tries to satisfy the winter maintenance related demands and changing priorities of the community as well as aligns with their corporate vision and strategic goals to promote active, sustainable, and community-friendly transportation year-round.
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