New York State Department Of Transportation Research Articles

Design-build noise policy - what's fair?

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is implementing a design-build delivery process on projects involving noise barriers that requires design-builders to provide Final TNM design year with noise barrier noise levels that are equal to or less than the corresponding Preliminary TNM design year with noise barrier noise levels determined in the NEPA environmental document. The NYSDOTs first use of the design-build delivery method was the $3.9B New NY Bridge project implemented by the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA). That project included a significant investment in noise barriers on the Rockland Landing. The New NY Bridge (NNYB) project served as a test case at a time when a well-developed design-build noise policy did not exist. In the absence of a definitive design-build noise policy, the noise barriers originally offered by the design-builder, while providing significant noise reductions, failed to meet all the environmental commitments made to all benefitted receivers as documented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision (FEIS/ROD). Working with FHWA and NYSDOT, the NYSTA reached agreement with the design-builder to construct noise barriers that provided the same future design year with noise barrier noise levels that were provided in the noise study that supported the FEIS/ROD. Since construction of the New NY

Statewide Assessment of Balanced Mixture Design for New York State’s Asphalt Mixtures

As state agencies want greater assurance that their asphalt materials will last longer, the inclusion of performance testing during mixture design and production has gained popularity. In particular, the concept of determining the asphalt content that optimizes asphalt mixture rutting and fatigue cracking resistance, called balanced mixture design (BMD), is being explored in the U.S. In this study, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) orchestrated a statewide evaluation of their asphalt mixtures under the BMD concept. Eleven asphalt mixtures, representing a majority of what is utilized as surface courses on New York (NY) asphalt pavements, were first volumetrically verified and then evaluated using BMD to determine the range of asphalt content where rutting and fatigue cracking resistance optimization are achieved. Three laboratory rutting tests (asphalt pavement analyzer [APA], Hamburg wheel tracking [HWT], and high temperature indirect tensile strength [HT-IDT]), and three fatigue cracking tests (overlay tester, semi-circular bending [SCB] flexibility index, and indirect tensile asphalt cracking test [IDEAL-CT] index) were utilized during the performance testing. The results showed that 6 of the 11 volumetrically designed asphalt mixtures were under-asphalted with respect to achieving minimum fatigue cracking resistance based on the laboratory tests. None of the volumetrically designed asphalt mixtures were determined to have rutting issues. The addition of polymer modification in the asphalt binders was found to increase the range of asphalt contents achieving a balanced condition. The study also showed that, when appropriate performance criteria are selected, it is possible to utilize different test methods.

Integration of AASHTO Element Data Into the New York State Department of Transportation Bridge Management System: Treatments and Project Selection

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) started collecting AASHTO element-based inspection data as part of bridge inspections in 2016 after retiring its legacy condition inspection system that was in use for more than four decades. A research project was initiated to develop a methodology to integrate AASHTO element-based inspection data into NYSDOT bridge management decision-making processes, guidelines, and bridge performance measures. A logic was developed, based primarily on AASHTO element inspection data, for identifying the work needs for each bridge and predicting the change in element condition states should the resulting work recommendations be implemented. Based on a thorough evaluation of the developed logic, appropriate changes to NYSDOT’s bridge management system are recommended. This paper briefly describes the current study and findings.

Evaluation of the Consistency of Bridge Inspection Ratings in New York State

Previous studies by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have shown significant variability in the rating of bridge elements through visual inspection. In this study, a detailed evaluation of the consistency of inspection ratings of four representative bridges in New York State has been conducted, using inspection data reported by 21 inspection teams employed by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). The bridge condition rating scale of NYSDOT ranges from 7 to 1, with 7 being new and 1 being in a failed condition. In addition, the NYSDOT assigns ratings 8 and 9 to cases “not applicable” and “condition and/or existence unknown,” respectively. In general, consistency is defined as “conformity with practices and procedures.” In this study, consistency of inspection of elements has been quantified as a percentage of inspectors that rated the bridge element within ±1 of the median rating for elements with ratings 7 to 1, or as a percentage of inspectors who have assigned a rating of 8 or 9 to elements expected to be rated 8 or 9. Based on the evaluation of the consistency of elements of the four bridges in the study, the results show that 96% of the elements have a consistency of at least 90%. Only seven elements have been identified to have a consistency of less than 90%. For elements whose rating was supposed to be 8, approximately 97% of the elements had a consistency of at least 90%, whereas, for elements whose rating was supposed to be 9, 91% of the elements were inspected with a consistency of at least 95%. Overall team consistency based on inspection of all elements was approximately 98%. The results imply that the NYSDOT bridge inspection and training programs are effective, as evidenced by the reporting of consistent bridge ratings by multiple inspection teams.

Evaluation of Soft Clay Field Consolidation Using MEMS-Based In-Place Inclinometer–Accelerometer Array

Abstract The objectives of this study are: (1) to compare data recorded with a recently developed in-place inclinometer–accelerometer system to data measured with other established instrumentation through full-scale laminar box tests and field test sites, and (2) to evaluate possible causes for discrepancies between the measured and theoretical soil settlement at a bridge replacement site on soft clay. The performance of the three-dimensional (3D) micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based in-place inclinometer–accelerometer array is evaluated for monitoring the settlement and lateral spreading of a very soft, 30-m-deep clay deposit at a New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) bridge realignment site. Brief design details are given of the developed instrumentation system, which utilizes MEMS devices to measure angles relative to gravity, in addition to signals proportional to acceleration. The estimated theoretical accuracy of the system-displacement measurement is assessed empirically using thousands of datasets from several long-term field installations. This new instrumentation system was also included in a full-scale laminar box test of a sloping saturated fine sand deposit. This full-scale test provides a means of evaluating measured acceleration data. In all cases, data recorded with the developed in-place inclinometer–accelerometer system is compared to data measured with state-of-the-practice instrumentation. These comparisons were extremely favorable and justified the future use of this instrumentation for many geotechnical applications. This study also includes an evaluation of commercially available geotechnical software settlement predictions as compared to measured data at the NYSDOT bridge realignment site. The results of this study indicate that the effectiveness of the prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) is not constant throughout the monitoring period and that the changes in effectiveness cannot be captured in commercial software using a constant ch.

Procedure for Statistical Categorization of Overweight Vehicles in a WIM Database

Recently observed increases in the numbers of permitted and illegal overweight trucks travelling over U.S. highways have raised concerns over their contributions to the reduction in the service lives of pavements and bridges and the costs of maintaining, upgrading and replacing the highway infrastructure system. Cost allocation studies are used by transportation officials to help their asset management processes and to establish truck traffic and permitting policies taking into consideration information on the composition of overweight trucks and their permit categorization. In recent years, cost allocation studies have heavily relied on data assembled by weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems which provide information on traffic counts, truck axle configurations and weights for various highway classes and economic regions. However, WIM data by themselves do not provide information on the numbers of illegal overweight trucks because many of the overweight trucks may have been issued permits that allow them to operate on a yearly basis or on a trip-by-trip basis. The object of this paper is to develop a data mining procedure to identify and classify overweight vehicles whose axle weights were collected by WIM systems into different permit and illegal categories. The first step of the proposed data mining procedure establishes a set of rules that are satisfied by different types of permit trucks. These rules are inferred from a review of available permit databases. In a second step, a search algorithm is used to check each vehicle in a WIM database and identify whether it violates any of a jurisdiction’s legal weight limits. Subsequently, every overweight truck’s axle weights, axle spacings, total length and gross vehicle weight are checked to verify whether these characteristics match any of the criteria established when setting up the data mining rules. The overweight vehicles are separated based on the likelihood of having been issued a particular type of permit or if they are potentially illegal. The validity of the algorithm is demonstrated by analyzing truck data collected at a WIM site in upstate New York. The algorithm’s output showed reasonable agreement when compared to the results of a truck survey performed by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A parametric analysis is executed to assess the sensitivity of the results to the level of accuracy of the WIM system. It is concluded that the algorithm produces statistically robust overweight truck and permit categorizations which can eventually help highway agencies establish rational permit issuance policies, weight enforcement strategies, and cost allocation studies.

Comparing Approaches to Winter Highway Maintenance Operations Through User Mobility Performance

This paper compares the winter maintenance performances of sections of two limited access highways operated by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA). Performance is assessed by two user mobility indicators: speed reduction during snowstorms and speed recovery duration following the end of snow events. Multivariate linear regressions are estimated to model these mobility indicators. The results show major discrepancies in level of service between the two agencies, particularly in the early stages of snowstorms. Another result is that speed recovery is indistinguishable in the hour following the end of snow events. It also found that NYSTA's higher outlay of resources appears to be effective only during short storms and in the early stages of storms.

Design of Public Projects: Outsource or In-House?

AbstractThis study analyzes the relative cost in New York state of having the public sector perform design work in-house or to contract out the work to private engineering consulting companies. It is important to note that the percentage of work performed in-house versus that which is contracted out varies among New York state agencies and authorities. Many agencies target a design work load of 25% in-house and 75% contracted out to accomplish their programs and in-house training goals. New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has reported that it performs 50% or more of its work with in-house forces, although in some regions the in-house design percentage is as high as approximately 80%. Because the authors believe this to be a very high percentage of in-house work when compared with other New York state agencies and authorities, the authors have chosen to focus this cost-effectiveness comparison on transportation projects and the NYSDOT. While a few studies have been conducted in this area, ...

Deterioration Rates of Typical Bridge Elements in New York

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) maintains an inventory of over 17,000 highway bridges across the state. These bridges are inspected biennially or more often as necessary. Bridge inspectors are required to assign a condition rating for up to 47 structural elements of each bridge, including 25 components of each span of a bridge, in addition to the general components common to all bridges. The bridge condition rating scale ranges from 7 to 1; 7 being new and 1 being in failed condition. These condition ratings may be used to calculate the deterioration rates for each bridge element, while considering the effects of key factors, such as the bridge material type, on the deterioration rates. This paper describes an approach based on the Weibull distribution to calculate the deterioration rates of typical bridge elements in New York State using historical bridge inspection data and compares the results with those using the traditionally used Markov chains approach. It is observed that the Weibull-based approach performs better in terms of the observed conditions than the traditionally used Markov chains approach for developing deterioration curves for different bridge elements. Both Markov chains and Weibull-based approaches have been incorporated into a computer program that generates the deterioration curves for specific bridge elements based on historical NYSDOT bridge inspection data dating back to 1981. Case studies on the deterioration rates of various bridge elements in New York State are presented to demonstrate the two approaches. The case studies show that the element deterioration rate information can be used to determine the expected service life of different bridge elements under a variety of external factors. This information is extremely valuable for making bridge management decisions. Based on the Weibull-based approach, the deterioration rates for typical bridge elements in New York State have been presented.

Pedestrian Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management of Mass Evacuations on Foot: State-of-the-Art and Best Practices

ABSTRACT The following article summarizes the latest state-of-the-art information and best practices for pedestrian-related disaster preparedness and emergency evacuation planning. Although “walk-out plans” have been developed for selected cities, no facility and/or infrastructure planning, engineering, or implementation has yet occurred that was directly related to expediting or improving mass pedestrian evacuation safety and access. Since the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has pioneered the study of pedestrian infrastructure, and its impact on mass pedestrian evacuation, we recommend more support for this activity, and ongoing outreach efforts.1 This article concludes with a brief critique based on a prior discussion of the impact of pedestrian evacuation on vehicle movement that was published in the first federal guidance exclusively on managing pedestrian evacuations.2

Access Management

This paper discusses issues encountered in developing a retrofit project for a roadway in a densely developed, commercialized area. The project was initiated, directed, and funded by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Numerous major shopping centers and a high volume of through traffic produce congestion and affect safety. NY-27, also known as Sunrise Highway, is a principal arterial in suburban Long Island. The conditions along NY-27 reflect what happens when development approvals are granted by local land use agencies without sufficient consideration of whether the transportation system can accommodate the associated traffic. NYSDOT, in this case, was put in the position of attempting to implement a retrofit project to mitigate the traffic and safety conditions. The proximity of shopping center driveways to each other and to nearby intersections results in weaving movements and heavy turning-movement volumes that block the through travel lanes and cause overlapping conflicts. The significant traffic congestion and high accident rate reflect the problems caused by inadequate access spacing and need for improved access management. The improvement options identified represented a wide range of access management strategies and configurations. The options were screened and modified to reflect community desires and business concerns. This paper reviews operational and safety problems, identifies a theoretical access configuration along the NY-27 corridor that could mitigate these problems, and reviews the alternative that was approved and is being progressed. The approved alternative reflects real-world considerations that affect a retrofit project.

Effectiveness of FRP materials with alternative concrete removal strategies for reinforced concrete bridge column wrapping

Bridge owners are increasingly attracted to fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials for bridge repair and rehabilitation as a cost-effective means for extending service life of bridge components. Major bridge applications for these materials include bridge decks, concrete strengthening, and column wrapping. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has been one of the leading states in using FRP materials for these applications, mostly on an experimental basis. Realising that data on durability of structural components retrofitted with these materials are unavailable and there is a lack of standards for design and installation, NYSDOT has been monitoring several of these applications. FRP wrapping was used, in several applications, to extend the service life of concrete bridge columns by sealing the concrete surface and confining future delaminations. This paper reports on a research study, which evaluated alternative concrete removal strategies with one layer of FRP wrapping.

Access Management: The Challenge of Retrofit Theory Versus Reality

This paper discusses issues encountered in developing a retrofit project for a roadway in a densely developed, commercialized area. The project was initiated, directed, and funded by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Numerous major shopping centers and a high volume of through traffic produce congestion and affect safety. NY-27, also known as Sunrise Highway, is a principal arterial in suburban Long Island. The conditions along NY-27 reflect what happens when development approvals are granted by local land use agencies without sufficient consideration of whether the transportation system can accommodate the associated traffic. NYSDOT, in this case, was put in the position of attempting to implement a retrofit project to mitigate the traffic and safety conditions. The proximity of shopping center driveways to each other and to nearby intersections results in weaving movements and heavy turning-movement volumes that block the through travel lanes and cause overlapping conflicts. The significant traffic congestion and high accident rate reflect the problems caused by inadequate access spacing and need for improved access management. The improvement options identified represented a wide range of access management strategies and configurations. The options were screened and modified to reflect community desires and business concerns. This paper reviews operational and safety problems, identifies a theoretical access configuration along the NY-27 corridor that could mitigate these problems, and reviews the alternative that was approved and is being progressed. The approved alternative reflects real-world considerations that affect a retrofit project.

Characteristics of worker accidents on NYSDOT construction projects

Introduction This paper aims at providing cost-effective safety measures to protect construction workers in highway work zones, based on real data. Two types of accidents that occur in work zones were: (a) construction work area accidents, and (b) traffic accidents involving construction worker(s). Methodology/Results A detailed analysis of work zone accidents involving 36 fatalities and 3,055 severe injuries to construction workers on New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) construction projects from 1990 to 2001 established that five accident types: (a) Struck/Pinned by Large Equipment, (b) Trip or Fall (elevated), (c) Contact w/Electrical or Gas Utility, (d) Struck-by Moving/Falling Load, and (e) Crane/Lift Device Failure accounted for nearly 96% of the fatal accidents, nearly 63% of the hospital-level injury accidents, and nearly 91% of the total costs. These construction work area accidents had a total cost of $133.8 million. Traffic accidents that involve contractors' employees were also examined. Statistical analyses of the traffic accidents established that five traffic accident types: (a) Work Space Intrusion, (b) Worker Struck-by Vehicle Inside Work Space, (c) Flagger Struck-by Vehicle, (d) Worker Struck-by Vehicle Entering/Exiting Work Space, and (e) Construction Equipment Struck-by Vehicle Inside Work Space accounted for nearly 86% of the fatal, nearly 70% of the hospital-level injury and minor injury traffic accidents, and $45.4 million (79.4%) of the total traffic accident costs. Conclusions The results of this paper provide real statistics on construction worker related accidents reported on construction work zones. Potential preventions based on real statistics have also been suggested. Impact on Industry The ranking of accident types, both within the work area as well as in traffic, will guide the heavy highway contractor and owner agencies in identifying the most cost effective safety preventions.

Conceptual Framework for Defining and Developing an Integrated Asset Management System

Interest in developing and implementing asset management systems has grown considerably during the past several years. Although asset management is defined in the literature, these definitions are generally all encompassing and fail to distinguish the asset management model from that of traditional infrastructure management systems. To assist those practitioners who are tasked with developing automated asset management systems, guidance is needed to better clarify what is meant by the term asset management. The work being done by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in defining asset management and enhancing its current program development process is described. The department’s asset management system is defined in relation to four precepts, and a conceptual design for an automated asset management system is presented. Central to the NYSDOT approach is a method of conducting trade-off analysis among the department’s four major goal areas—pavements, bridges, safety, and mobility. Excess user costs are discussed as the common measure to compare benefits of diverse projects such as a pavement project versus a mobility project. The goal of the NYSDOT approach is to better integrate decision making among program areas. It is concluded that while the NYSDOT approach may not be right for all transportation agencies, the idea that system development be carefully defined and properly scoped is important and should be considered as organizations endeavor to implement integrated asset management systems.

Promoting Environmental Stewardship in Transportation: Maintenance and Operations at the New York State Department of Transportation

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is firmly committed to a proactive environmental ethic in providing a safe, efficient, balanced, and environmentally sound transportation system in the state of New York. This includes conducting maintenance, equipment management, and construction activities appropriately to prevent and minimize adverse impacts on the environment and to enhance the environment whenever possible. The maintenance and operations at NYSDOT show how the operational capabilities of a department of transportation can be brought to bear on the environmental stewardship responsibilities shared by all governmental organizations.

New York State’s Approach to Asset Management: A Case Study

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has undertaken an effort to design and implement an asset management system for overseeing the state’s diverse and complex transportation system. The department has built an appropriate organizational and business foundation for the effective use of sound, integrated databases and technical modeling tools. For more than a decade, well before asset management attracted interest from the transportation community, NYSDOT has advanced this concept on four fronts: developing well-defined organizational roles within a highly decentralized department; designing and implementing a formal and disciplined core business procedure (the program update process) to cover both program development and performance monitoring; developing key transportation management systems (pavement, bridge, congestion and mobility, and public transportation), even without a federal mandate; and designing and implementing a state-of-the-art automated program and project management system that serves, in part, to integrate the department’s use of the individual management systems and maintains all essential data for developing and managing the program. New York’s experience strongly suggests that despite the difficulty and time required to carry out the key processes, these four elements represent the heart of an asset management system. When identifying and developing additional technical elements, state departments of transportation should heed the importance of building and maintaining an effective organizational and business foundation.

New Paradigm for State Department of Transportation Environmental Initiatives: New York State’s Guidelines and Procedures

Public-works agencies have an obligation to enhance the environment as opportunities arise. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has developed an environmental initiative to make an affirmative contribution to the environment, using the department’s organizational strengths. The environmental initiative is a paradigm shift applicable to all departments of transportation (DOTs). Conventional reactive regulatory compliance can reduce unnecessary environmental damage and sometimes gain grudging regulatory agency cooperation; however, it is not a positive, satisfying way of doing the people’s work. Through proactive steps, NYSDOT has become an important part of the state’s environmental solution (often at little or no additional cost) and has changed its working relationships with environmental agencies and groups. As these agencies and groups have become partners, instead of adversaries, permit-approval times have improved, mitigation costs have declined, morale has improved, and cost-effective environmental benefits are being realized. Procedures are outlined to apply the engineering capabilities of a DOT to the environmental-stewardship responsibilities shared by all governmental organizations.

Optimization of Amount and Blending of Cementitious Materials in High-Performance Concrete

In recent years, there has been a demand by the traveling public for longer-lasting, more durable transportation structures. One of the biggest problems encountered is the corrosion of reinforcing steel used in concrete applications. To reduce the damage caused by the ingress of chlorides, and the subsequent corrosion, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has developed and used a high-performance concrete, designated Class HP. As part of a continuous improvement effort to produce longer-lasting structures, research has been ongoing to further improve the characteristics of Class HP concrete. The study is a continuation of the previous experimental work performed by the NYSDOT and reported in Transportation Research Record 1574. During that study, the effects of microsilica, fly ash, and the total cementitious mass in a mixture on cracking and permeability of the resulting concrete were studied. The experimental design used in the investigation resulted in testing a minimal number of concrete mixtures yet allowed the analysis of a broad range of possible combinations. Statistical analysis of experimental data is presented, and examples of a scientific approach to experimentation are shown. The Response Surface Methodology was used with the appropriate statistical experimental designs, including the Box–Behnken design. In addition to the traditional linear regression models, a modern technique of the local regression was used.

Electronic Permitting Issuance System for Oversize/Overweight Vehicles

The effort reported here focuses both on improving the efficiency of the special hauling permitting processes of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and on improving the level of service offered to NYSDOT’s customers—truckers, construction companies, and others applying for permits. The electronic system is designed to replace a largely manual system of data checking, route verification, and permit issuance. By linking personal computers at transmission companies (third parties that prepare and submit permit applications for truckers) directly to computers at NYSDOT, and equipping these computers with automated route verification capability using a geographical information system, improved service can be offered at reduced cost to the state.