| EDC-5 | Assessment | UAS can benefit nearly all aspects of highway transportation, from inspection to construction and operations, by collecting high-quality data automatically or remotely. These relatively low-cost devices allow agencies to expedite the data collection needed for better-informed decisions while reducing the adverse impacts of temporary work zones on work crews and the traveling public. |
| EDC-5 | Assessment | Crowdsourcing turns transportation system users into real-time sensors on system performance, providing low-cost, high-quality data on traffic operations, roadway conditions, travel patterns, and more. When combined with traditional data, crowdsourcing helps agencies implement proactive strategies that improve incident detection, traffic signal retiming, road weather management, traveler information, and other operational programs. Agencies can make roadways safer and more reliable, improve operational efficiency, and support cost-effective monitoring through crowdsourcing for operations. |
| EDC-5 | Demonstration | Pedestrians accounted for 16 percent of all roadway fatalities, and crashes are predominantly at midblock and intersection crossing locations. As pedestrian safety continues to be a concern for transportation agencies across the country, cost-effective countermeasures are available to assist practitioners in providing safer crossings for all pedestrians. |
| EDC-5 | Demonstration | Advances in hydraulic modeling tools are providing a more comprehensive understanding of complex flow patterns at river crossings versus traditional modeling techniques. These 2D hydraulic modeling and 3D computer visualization technologies also facilitate more effective communication and collaboration, improving agencies’ ability to design safer and more cost-effective and resilient structures on waterways. |
| EDC-5 | Development | When public agencies invest in transportation assets that improve access and increase opportunity in the community, adjacent property owners benefit through greater land value and other economic impacts. Many techniques are available to the public sector to share in a portion of this increased land value to build, maintain, or reinvest in the transportation system. |
| EDC-5 | Institutionalized | Robust public engagement during transportation planning and project development can accelerate project delivery by identifying issues and concerns early in the process. Virtual public involvement techniques, such as telephone town halls and online meetings, offer convenient, efficient, and low-cost methods for informing the public, encouraging their participation, and receiving their input |
| EDC-5 | Institutionalized | Conventional subsurface exploration methods provide limited data for project design, which can result in constructability issues and increased cost. Advanced geotechnical exploration methods offer solutions for generating more accurate geotechnical characterizations that improve design and construction, leading to shorter project delivery times and reducing the risks associated with limited data on subsurface site conditions. |
| EDC-5 | Institutionalized | Many States continue to see an increase in the number of highways and bridges needing attention, and those that are posted for reduced loads adversely affect travel, freight movement, and emergency response times. Project bundling helps address this national issue. By awarding a single contract for several similar preservation, rehabilitation, or replacement projects, agencies can streamline design and construction, reduce costs, and effectively decrease transportation project backlogs. |
