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GDOT/GTI – PROJECT SPOTLIGHT APRIL 2023

Thursday April 13th, 2023 the Georgia Transportation Institute will hosted a 1-hour webinar that spotlighted two recently completed GDOT Research projects. Each project had maximum of a 15-minute presentation, with a short time afterward for questions.

You can join the event by using the Microsoft Teams link below:

Microsoft Teams Webinar Link

Presenter: Junan Shen, Ph.D., P.E., Professor
Georgia Southern University

Junan Shen is a full Professor of Civil Engineering and the Director of Asphalt Research Laboratory at the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction. I teach civil engineering major courses in the field of transportation and materials and supervise post-doctoral fellow and graduate students for researches

Title: GDOT RP-19-12 Cognitive Attention and Its Application in Countermeasures on a Curve Section

Abstract:

To reduce crashes and improve traffic safety on roads, this project explored a methodology of evaluating the safety countermeasures based on cognitive attention and driving performance with eye-tracking and driving simulation technologies and comprehensive analysis of eye movements, driving performance, and short-term memory. An experiment for data collection of cognitive response and driving performance to 11 countermeasures was designed with two weather conditions (clear and foggy) and two traffic flows (light and heavy) in a rural road curve section with a right and a left turn. Four combinations of the weather conditions and traffic flow were formed. Four sequence groups of the combinations were followed to eliminate the bias in data collection. Data of 60 participants were collected. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests indicated that countermeasures, weather conditions, and traffic flow impacted the drivers’ cognitive attention, driving behavior, and short-term memory. Dividing participants into groups with different sequences of simulation combinations was useful to improve the bias for a limited sample size, while different starting time points of the combinations did not cause significant differences in the data collected. Finally, regression analyses using machine learning technology indicated that edge line pavement marking, shoulder rumble strips, flexible delineator posts, curve warning sign, and increased shoulder width are effective countermeasures that can attract drivers’ attention and maintain the proper level of cognitive workload and visual information to reduce traffic crashes and improve the traffic safety. The effectiveness of the countermeasures from the regressions that considered the cognitive properties was much closer to what is expected compared to those that did not consider the cognitive properties. The proposed methodology using both eye tracker and driving simulator was found to be a useful way to evaluate the effectiveness of countermeasures to improve traffic safety.

Presenter: Xiaoming Yang, Ph.D., PE, Assistant Professor
Georgia Southern University

Dr. Xiaoming Yang is an assistant professor in Civil Engineering at Georgia Southern University. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Kansas in 2010. In the past 10 years, Dr. Yang has participated in several research projects for three different DOTs. His research expertise is in geotechnical engineering and highway safety analysis. Dr. Yang is a registered professional engineer (PE) in California.

Title: GDOT RP-19-14 Evaluation of Guardrail Performance in High- Risk Accident Zones on Georgia Roadways and Identification of Alternative Barriers

Abstract:

W-beam guardrail systems are the predominant roadside safety barrier used on Georgia highways. These systems are usually installed in accordance with guidelines for the Midwest Guardrail System and generally perform very well across the state. However, in certain areas of high traffic volume in Georgia, repetitive accident locations may benefit from the installation of alternative systems rather than the traditional guardrail system. The objective of this research project is to identify representative high-accident-rate (or “high-risk”) zones in Georgia and evaluate the type and effectiveness of the barrier system deployed in these areas. Twenty-eight (28) freeway and freeway-ramp sections with frequent roadside-barrier collisions were identified in Georgia. Road design, traffic, and crash records pertaining to the selected road sections were collected. Based on the collected information, a barrier crash-frequency model and a crash-severity model was developed through statistical regression. The regression models were used in the benefit cost analysis to determine whether a concrete barrier is a more economical alternative to the guardrail. A simple decision-making tool was developed for selecting cost-effective roadside barrier types.

Date and time:

Thursday, April 13, 2023 – 11:00 to 12:00

Location of Event:

Microsoft Teams

Event Type:

Seminars

GDOT/GTI – PROJECT SPOTLIGHT MARCH 2023

Thursday March 9th, 2023 the Georgia Transportation Institute will hosted a 1-hour webinar that spotlighted three recently completed GDOT Research projects. Each project had maximum of a 15-minute presentation, with a short time afterward for questions.

You can join the event by using the Microsoft Teams link below:

Microsoft Teams Webinar Link

Presenter: George Yuzhu Fu, Ph.D., P.E., Professor
Georgia Southern University

Dr. George Yuzhu Fu is Professor in Water and Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction at Georgia Southern University. He has been studying, working and researching in Environmental Engineering with an emphasis on Water and Environment for more than 30 years. He has completed/is working over $700K in externally funded research mainly as PI, and has published more than 35 scholarly works in developing innovative and cost-effective Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes. He has developed and established Water and Environmental Research Lab (1,000 ft2) with a variety of state-of-the-art instruments with a total worth of more than $200K. He also has over 10 years of professional engineering experience in well-known national/international consulting companies including AECOM, SNC-Lavalin, and North China Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute as Environmental and Project Engineer.

Title: GDOT RP18-09 Investigation on Water Quality Impacts of Bridge Stormwater Runoff from Scupper Drains on Receiving Waters

Abstract:

The objectives of this research project were to investigate water quality impacts of bridge stormwater runoff from scupper drains on receiving waters, and to develop an efficient simulation tool so that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the resource agencies can accurately anticipate potential effects and better evaluate whether scupper drains would adversely affect waters and the protected species. This 29-month project is concerned with the investigation of potential impacts and accumulation of water quality parameters including heavy metals (lead, zinc and copper), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients, oil and grease, solids, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity in bridge deck scupper drain runoff of six (6) bridge sites and the potential impact on sensitive major rivers in the State of Georgia. Four (4) of the sites are Southeast the State of Georgia, which are SR24, Rocky Ford (RF), US80 and SR297, crossing two (2) major rivers, which are Ogeechee River and Ohoopee River. The other two (2) sites are located North the State of Georgia, which are US255 and SR197, crossing two (2) other major rivers, which are Chattahoochee River and Soque River, respectively. The impact of the elevated parameters due to introduction from bridge deck scupper drains was observable on downstream water quality of all sites, except for lead, PAHs, phosphorous, and oil and grease that were only detected at the four (4) Southeast sites. It was observed that upon discharge of bridge deck scupper drain runoff, instant impairment of downstream water quality took place. Seasonal analyses showed variation in the parameters concentrations that was highly dependant on many factors, such as dry periods, rain intensity, traffic activity and stream discharge. Time intervals analyses showed that highest concentrations of contaminants were in the first 30-60 minutes’ samples, and that parameters concentration decrease with continuous rainfall due to dilution. The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) was used for modeling potential projected impacts of some water quality parameters of concern on the downstream water quality at each Site location effectively.

Presenter: Jon Calabria, Ph.D., Associate Professor
The University of Georgia

Jon Calabria, a licensed landscape architect, educates students at The University of Georgia’s College of Environment & Design to conserve and restore enduring landscapes that improve environmental quality within the human context. Dr. Calabria’s research includes landscape performance and the amelioration of land use impacts on freshwater and coastal systems.

Title: GDOT RP19-05 Phase 2: Enhancement and Restoration Interventions for Bird-Long Island Shoreline Alternatives: Design and Modeling for Stewardship

Abstract:

This study evaluated a variety of design interventions using nature-based solutions to preserve a culture resource on Bird-Long Island and promote indigenous vegetative communities by maintaining or increasing vegetative biodiversity. Several alternatives were proposed that utilized a combination of green and gray infrastructure, such as living shorelines, thin layer placement, and beneficial dredge. Strengths and weaknesses accompany each design alternative with relative construction costs. Environmental site data was collected during study and demonstrated that naturally occurring, reef forming organisms were naturally present and could likely populate proposed nature-based solutions.

Presenter: Baabak Ashuri, Ph.D., Professor
Georgia Institute of Technology

Baabak Ashuri is Professor in Schools of Building Construction, and Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Fellow of Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems at Georgia Tech. His research/teaching occupy a distinctive position, bridging the fields of building construction, civil and environmental engineering, economics, and operations research. His work has focused on Quantitative Methods for Construction Engineering and Management with important contributions in the areas of construction analytics, innovative project delivery, and valuation of green-energy investments. He has 159 publications, including 44 refereed-journal papers, and secured $6.77M funding from NSF, FHWA, DOE, CII, GDOT, and Perkins+Will, to name a few. The impact of Dr. Ashuri’s research was recognized by several awards (CII/FIATECH Outstanding Early Career Researcher, ASCE Thomas Fitch Rowland, ASC National Research Faculty, DBIA Distinguished Leadership, and AASHTO High-Value Research “Sweet Sixteen”). Dr. Ashuri has chaired the ASCE Construction Research Council (CRC) and currently serves on the ASCE Construction Institute (CI) Board of Governors.

Title: GDOT RP 20-17 Enhancing the Accuracy of Construction Cost Estimates for Major Lump Sum (LS) Pay Items and Generating a More-Accurate List of Pay Items Throughout the Design Development Process

Abstract:

State departments of transportation (DOTs) encounter a critical challenge in estimating accurate cost estimates for major lump sum (LS) pay items, such as Traffic Control and Grading Complete, due to incomplete project information during the early stages of project development. To estimate prices for LS pay items, cost estimators and designers in state DOTs apply engineering judgment using knowledge from similar projects from the past and reach out to subject matter experts for providing additional resources. However, researching similar projects for finding appropriate estimates for the LS pay item is not a simple endeavor and leads to significant inaccuracy of cost estimates. A need exists to develop new methods that are capable of capturing key information from project documents and incorporating the complex nonlinear relationships between input and output variables in developing prediction models for LS pay item prices for highway projects. Thus, the overarching objective of this research is to develop forecasting models to estimate the prices of the Traffic Control and Grading Complete LS pay items using advanced text mining and machine learning algorithms that detect key patterns of information generated during project development and provide higher accuracy in cost estimates. In this research, a forecasting model for the prices of the Traffic Control and Grading Complete LS pay items was developed using machine learning algorithms (i.e., random forest, bagging, k-nearest neighbors, and stacking regressor). Furthermore, a web-based application tool was developed in a Python environment to help designers developing cost estimates with a data-driven tool for estimating the prices of the Traffic Control and Grading Complete LS pay items.

Date and time:

Thursday, March 9, 2023 – 12:00 to 13:00

Location of Event:

Microsoft Teams

Event Type:

Seminars

GDOT/GTI – PROJECT SPOTLIGHT DECEMBER 2023

Tuesday December 12th, 2023 the Georgia Transportation Institute will hosted a 1-hour webinar that spotlighted two recently completed GDOT Research projects. Each project had maximum of a 15-minute presentation, with a short time afterward for questions.

You can join the event by using the Microsoft Teams link below:

Microsoft Teams Webinar Link

Presenter: Michael O. Rodgers, Ph.D.
Regents Researcher
Deputy Director of the Georgia Transportation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Rodgers is the director of the Georgia Tech Air Quality Laboratory, holding academic and/or research appointments in the Georgia Tech Schools of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Public Policy. Dr. Rodgers has a long and distinguished record in air quality research, serving as principal investigator on research projects totaling more than $20 million since 1988 including numerous projects on field and laboratory measurements of pollutants and instrument development and intercomparison. Current activities include managing projects GRASP (Georgia Rural Aerosol Sampling Program) and ON-RAMP (On-Road Ammonia Measurement Program) both of which focus on particulate emissions, conversion and fate. In the area of mobile source emissions, he directs Georgia Tech’s efforts in vehicle remote sensing and model validation and is Co-Principal Investigator on the development of the MEASURE model. Dr. Rodgers serves on EPA’s Mobile Source Technical Advisory Subcommittee and Emissions Modeling Workgroup, the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to the International Standards Organization, ASTM International’s Committee D-22 on the Analysis of Atmospheres as well a numerous other technical and policy advisory committees.

Title: GDOT RP-19-11 Safety and Illumination of Rural and Suburban Roundabouts (Phase II)

Abstract:

This project focused on establishing the relationship between the presence/absence or levels of illumination and other geometric and traffic characteristics on nighttime safety at rural and suburban roundabouts. Eighty roundabouts from thirty-seven counties across Georgia were selected to provide a wide range of conditions in terms of illumination layout, illumination levels, number of legs, number of circulating lanes, daily entering volumes, approach speeds, etc. for field measurements of illumination levels. Urban roundabouts with significant pedestrian activity were excluded.
Field data collection at each site included both direct measurements of illumination levels as well as a civil site survey to verify the geometric characteristics of the roundabout and were conducted by measurement teams from Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Southern University. The resulting data were processed, joined, and aggregated to the individual site level and used to establish statistical relationships between observed nighttime crash rates, severity, and crash types (e.g., single vs. multiple vehicles, impaired drivers, etc.) and underlying geometric factors and measured illuminance levels. The variation in observed crash rates were modeled against known parameters of the roundabouts to develop a predictive model as to how single vehicle nighttime crash rates were impacted by illumination and other factors.
As expected, multiple vehicle crashes showed no statistically significant dependence on illumination levels as the vehicles themselves, through their head- and taillights, are important contributors to nighttime visibility at the roundabout. This was not the case for single vehicle crashes. Single vehicle crashes were shown to increase for 3-leg roundabouts for illumination values less than 5 lux. No such trend was observed in either 4 or 5-leg roundabouts and these sites showed no statistically significant variation in nighttime single vehicle crash rates at any level of illumination. An overarching conclusion of the study is that there was no observed evidence of illumination values exceeding 5 lux resulting in a statistically significant reduction in nighttime crash rates for rural and suburban roundabouts.
These results suggest that for rural and suburban roundabouts with no significant pedestrian volumes, illumination values significantly lower than current standards may still prove effective as a safety treatment and that, in the absence of a need to protect pedestrians or cyclists at nighttime at a particular location, a reduction in lighting levels or the use of passive retroreflective safety treatments may be a cost-effective treatment.

Presenter: Jun Liu, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor
College of Engineering
The University of Alabama

Dr. Jun Liu, is an assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at The University of Alabama. His primary areas of research interests are innovations related to intelligent transportation systems, connected and automated vehicles, transportation planning, highway safety and operation, and sustainable transportation.
Liu has published 25 refereed papers in premier transportation journals and three book chapters in the area of connected and automated vehicles. He also has more than 50 conference presentations/papers and invited talks.
Liu is a member of TRB Standing Committee on Transportation Safety Management and a member of TRB Standing Committee on Geo-spatial Data Acquisition Technologies. He is also a National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Panel Member for NCHRP 20-102(22) State and Local Impacts of Automated Freight Transportation Systems.
He currently serves on the Inaugural Editorial Board of Transportation Research Record: Journal of Transportation Research Board. He is also an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems.
He has served as a principal investigator, co-principal investigator or key researcher in projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Transportation and Alabama Department of Transportation.
Liu received his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to joining The University of Alabama in 2018, Liu worked as a transportation planner at Virginia Department of Transportation and as a post-doc researcher at the University of Texas at Austin.

Title: GDOT RP-19-15 Safety Performance of Rural Four-Lane Undivided Roadways and Rural Four-Lane Roadways with a Two-Way Left-Turn Lane

Abstract:

Non-traversable medians consistently yielded improved safety performance compared to other median types such as undivided, 4-feet flush medians, and two-way left-turn lane cross-sections. However, constructing non-traversable medians can be costly. The goal of this study is to 1) examine the safety performance of existing rural four-lane roadways with above-mentioned four median types in Georgia by using Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) and Crash Modification Factors (CMFs), and 2) develop criteria to determine under what conditions these four median types yield maximum safety benefits while considering construction costs. Data were refined and integrated from multiple sources such as from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Google Maps. The Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), truck percentage, and access point density were considered as key independent variables in SPFs. The CMFs were estimated to show the effectiveness of a cross-section compared to the base- four-lane undivided roadway. Note, the SPFs and CMFs developed in this study did not consider the speed limit. The key results show that the estimated CMFs vary across different values of variables, indicating that the safety effectiveness of a treatment is likely to vary across different roadway and traffic conditions. Specifically, the segments with non-traversable medians outperformed the other three segment types across all AADTs, truck percentages, and access point densities, except at very low AADT under 5,000 where the 4-feet flush medians appear to have improved safety. The research team estimated average annual crash reductions (compared with undivided roadways), which were converted into monetary values using the average crash costs by severities. The safety benefits and project construction costs were used to estimate benefit-cost ratios (BCRs). Simulations were suggested in situations where safety solely did not help in the decision-making process of identifying cost-effective median type for rural four-lane roadways. It is highly recommended that decision-makers or practitioners use the estimated safety benefits from this study and the construction costs of a specific highway project to estimate BCRs for recommendations of the cross-section type.

Date and time:

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 – 11:00 to 12:00

Location of Event:

Microsoft Treams

Event Type:

Symposia & Conferences

APPROVED FALL 2021 RTAG RNS SUBMITTALS

The Georgia Department of Transportation has released the list of projects selected from the Fall 2021 RTAG submittals. Congratulations to the selected projects! Thanks to everyone who submitted a Research Needs Statement (RNS). The research community was highly engaged, with approximately 78 submitted needs statements. GDOT research staff is currently contacting the project PIs and setting up the next steps in the process.

The opening of the Fall 2022 RTAG RNS call will be announced later this year. Announcements will be distributed through the GTI mailing list and GTI website.

Please feel free to contact Supriya Kamatkar(skamatkar@dot.ga.gov) if you have any questions regarding the project selection process or Michael Hunter (michael.hunter@ce.gatech.edu) if you have any questions regarding GTI.

#	Project Title (Abbreviated)	Research Team
1	Nondestructive/Noncontact Inspection Protocols and Technologies for Aging Mechanically Stabilized Earth and Modular Block Retaining Walls	Georgia Southern University
2	Structural Monitoring of Steel-Member Bridges with Fatigue Life Prognosis due to Dynamic Vehicular Loads	Georgia Institute of Technology
3	Remote Bridge Health Monitoring for Scouring Using Cost-Efficient Sensing Technology	Kennesaw State University and University of Georgia
4	Quality Manual for Steel Bridge Fabrication	Georgia Institute of Technology
5	Phase III: Investigation and Guidelines for Best Practices of Thermal Control for Mass Concrete Construction Projects	Georgia Institute of Technology
6	A Scheduling Assistant Toolkit for GDOT’s Effective Planning of Transportation Project	Georgia Institute of Technology and Clemson University
7	Rebalancing Contracting Terms to Ensure Success for the GDOT’s Alternative Delivery Projects and Better Reflect Real-Time Market Conditions	Georgia Institute of Technology
8	Post-let Environmental Analysis and Permitting for Alternative Delivery Projects	Georgia Institute of Technology
9	A Playbook for CM@Risk Adoption in Transportation Projects	Georgia Institute of Technology
10	VISSIM^™ Simulation Calibration Procedure	Georgia Institute of Technology
11	Development of Safety Performance Functions for Urban and Suburban Multilane Highways in Georgia	University of Georgia and University of Alabama
10	5.9 GHz Interference Resiliency for Connected Vehicle Infrastructure	Kennesaw State University

GDOT/GTI – PROJECT SPOTLIGHT JULY 2022

Tuesday 19th, the Georgia Transportation Institute will hosted a 1-hour webinar that spotlighted three recently completed GDOT Research projects. Each project had maximum of a 15-minute presentation, with a short time afterward for questions.

You can join the event by using the Microsoft Teams link below:

Microsoft Teams Webinar Link

Presenter: Kimberly E. Kurtis, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Scholarship
Professor Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials; Construction and Infrastructure Systems Engineering
Resilient Infrastructure Systems, Smart Cities, Sustainable Communities Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Kimberly (Kim) E. Kurtis is a Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has served as Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Scholarship in the College of Engineering since 2014 and was interim chair of the School for the 2017-2018 academic year. Dr. Kurtis earned her BSE in civil engineering from Tulane University under a Dean’s Honor Scholarship and her Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was a Henry Hilp Fellow and a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow. Dr. Kurtis’s innovative research on the multi-scale structure and performance of cement-based materials has resulted in more than 100 technical publications and two US patents. In addition to her technical and educational service contributions at the American Concrete Institute (ACI), American Ceramics Society (ACerS), Portland Cement Association (PCA), Transportation Research Board (TRB), American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), she has held two leadership positions – Chairman of ACI Committee 236: Materials Science of Concrete (2006-2012) and Chair of American Ceramic Society’s Cements Division (2008-2009) – central to advancing science-based research on cement-based materials. Dr. Kurtis has served as Associate Editor of ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering and as an Editorial Board member of Cement and Concrete Composites. Having previously served six years on ACI’s Educational Activities Committee (EAC), she is currently appointed to ACI’s 12-member Technical Activities Committee, which oversees the development of ACI standards, technical committee activities, and technical content presented at ACI conventions and in archival publications. Since 2018, she has been a Trustee at the ASCE Foundation, representing District 5. She has been honored with ACI’s Walter P. Moore, Jr. Faculty Achievement Award (2005), ACI’s Del Bloem Award for Service (2013), Outstanding Senior Undergraduate Research Mentor Award at Georgia Institute of Technology (2013), the ACI James Instruments Award for Research on NDE of Concrete (2008), Award for Outstanding Article in ASTM’s Journal of Testing and Evaluation (2010), and ASCE’s Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (2013). Dr. Kurtis is a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute and the American Ceramics Society.

Title: GDOT RP17-14 Productive Reuse of Savannah River Dredge Material

Abstract:

The Port of Savannah is located 18 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean in the southeastern United States. Historically, 6 million cubic meters of river sediment is dredged from the Savannah River each year; however, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) (Georgia, USA), which is proposed to accommodate post Panamax ships in the channel, will result in further increased dredge volume for disposal. Because dredge materials are currently disposed of on land, this study was focused on identifying possible beneficial uses of dredged material to reduce the requirements for land disposal. A laboratory-based study was performed to assess the feasibility of large volume geotechnical use options for dredged sediments. Four samples were collected from the disposal facilities and characterized using physical, chemical, and morphological analysis techniques, including grain size distribution, Atterberg limits test, specific gravity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser diffraction particle size analysis (PSA), total organic carbon content (TOC), loss on ignition (LOI), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis. The compactibility of the dredge was quantified using the standard Proctor test. Overall, characterization and compaction results demonstrated that the dredge material is viable for use as a nonstructural fill material, indicating that additional research and feasibility studies focused on specific beneficial use options are warranted. These results have important implications on the potential for beneficial use of the dredged sediment.

Presenter: Seth Wenger, Ph.D., Associate Professor Director of Science, River Basin Center
Graduate Program Faculty
University of Georgia

Title: RP18-06 Review of Special Provisions and Other Conditions Placed on GDOT Projects for Imperiled Aquatic Species Protection (Main Project Phase)

Abstract:

Georgia has numerous protected freshwater species, which means that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) must frequently consult with federal and state agencies to identify measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts on imperiled aquatic organisms. Some of these measures, such as restrictions on in-water work during the reproductive season, impose substantial costs on GDOT projects, but their efficacy has not been thoroughly evaluated. The current system also provides limited flexibility. The research team has developed a system for assessing the impact of road construction projects on imperiled freshwater species that accounts for project characteristics, site characteristics, and species sensitivity. Called the “Total Effect Score” (TES), it is based on a comprehensive assessment of the tolerances and traits of 111 freshwater species and a thorough review of the literature on the efficacy of construction and post-construction BMPs. It employs a risk-based system to assess construction-phase effects and post-construction effects over a 50-year time horizon, making it possible to identify tradeoffs among alternative management practices. Additionally, the research team developed a template for a programmatic agreement (PA) that uses the TES as the basis for a streamlined system for evaluating projects. The PA is intended to cover both informal and formal consultation under a single system, which should reduce consultation time and increase predictability. To support the adoption of the PA, the research team conducted a biological assessment of all species. Adoption of the PA and the TES system should provide substantial cost savings for GDOT while improving outcomes for federally and state-protected freshwater species.

Date and time:

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 – 11:00

Location of Event:

Microsoft Teams

Event Type:

Seminars

GDOT FINAL REPORT TRAINING

Tuesday February 8th, the Georgia Transportation Institute hosted a 1-hour webinar on the required Final Report for all GDOT Research projects. This webinar will discuss Research Project Final Report requirements and the essential report elements. The session will emphasize report organization and proper documentation practices in order to submit a satisfactory report.

If you missed or want to review the presentation, it can be found on YouTube at https://youtu.be/6qzyJGxXgjI

Date and time:

Tuesday, February 8, 2022 – 11:00 to 12:00

Location of Event:

Microsoft Teams

Event Type:

Training

APPROVED FALL 2020 RTAG RNS SUBMITTALS

The Georgia Department of Transportation has released the list of projects selected from the Fall 2020 RTAG submittals. Congratulations to the selected projects! Thanks to everyone who submitted a Research Needs Statement (RNS). The research community was highly engaged, with approximately 95 submitted needs statements. GDOT research staff is currently contacting the project PIs and setting up the next steps in the process.

The opening of the Fall 2021 RTAG RNS call will be announced later this year. Announcements will be distributed through the GTI mailing list and GTI website.

	Project Title (Abbreviated)	Research Team
1	Strategic Prioritization in Bridge Asset Maintenance Through Data-Driven Long-Term Asset Valuation with Additional Emphasis on Promoting GDOT’s Partnerships with Counties	University of Georgia
2	Enhancing the GDOT’s Maintenance Decision Trees Considering the Effectiveness of Various Treatment Options in Different Geographical Locations and Over Time	Kennesaw State University and Georgia Institute of Technology
3	Pragmatic Precast/Prestressed Girder Acceptance Criteria	Georgia Institute of Technology and Kennesaw State University
4	Practical Assessment of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Techniques for on-site Application on GDOT Construction Projects	Georgia Southern University
5	Effective Management and Emerging Best Practices of Geotechnical and Utilities Risks in Alternative Delivery	Georgia Institute of Technology
6	Improving sales tax forecasting for the Georgia Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST)	Georgia State University
7	Study on Spectrum Options for GDOT’s Connected Vehicle Infrastructure	Georgia Southern University
8	Non-Motorized Count Program and Risk Factors Assessment	Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University

APPROVED FALL 2019 RTAG RNS SUBMITTALS

The Georgia Department of Transportation has released the list of projects selected from the Fall 2019 RTAG submittals. Congratulations to the selected projects! Thanks to everyone who submitted a Research Needs Statement (RNS). The research community was highly engaged, with approximately 89 submitted needs statements. GDOT research staff is currently contacting the project PIs and setting up the next steps in the process.

The opening of the Fall 2020 RTAG RNS call will be announced later this year. Announcements will be distributed through the GTI mailing list and GTI website.

Please feel free to contact Supriya Kamatkar (skamatkar@dot.ga.gov) if you have any questions regarding the project selection process or Michael Hunter (michael.hunter@ce.gatech.edu) if you have any questions regarding GTI.

	Project Title (Abbreviated)	Research Team
1	Development of Drone-Assisted Highway Mowing Operations Planning, Monitoring, and Verification Capabilities	Georgia Institute of Technology
2	Development of Drone-Assisted Pavement Profile Mapping: Near-Surface Void Detection Application	Georgia Institute of Technology
3	Towards the Implementation of a Geotechnical Asset Management Program in the State of Georgia	Georgia Institute of Technology
4	Incorporating Resilience Considerations in Transportation Planning, TSMO and Asset Management	Georgia Institute of Technology
5	Community-Augmented Rapid-response to Events (CARE) Integrated Crisis Communication System	Georgia Institute of Technology
6	Guidelines for Incorporation of Cement Stabilized Reclaimed Base (CSRB) in Pavement Design	Kennesaw State University
7	Recommendations for Nondestructive Testing (NDT) of Concrete Components for Performance-Based Specifications	Georgia Institute of Technology
8	Development of Training Modules to Increase Usage and Understanding of Agency-Wide Software Programs	University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology
9	Enhancing the Accuracy of Construction Cost Estimates for Major Lump Sum (LS) Pay Items and Generating a More-Accurate List of Pay Items Throughout the Design Development Process	Georgia Institute of Technology
10	Recommendations for Extension in Service Life of ASR-Affected Concrete	Georgia Institute of Technology
11	Recommendations for Future Specifications to Ensure Durable Next Generation Concrete	Georgia Institute of Technology
12	Tacit Knowledge Model to Support Knowledge Capture and Transfer in GDOT	Kennesaw State University
13	A Forecast of State Motor Fuel Revenues: The Effect of New Technologies and the State Vehicle Fleet Mix on Georgia Motor Fuel Receipts	Georgia State University

DR. ANDREW L. DANNENBERG – EMERGING ISSUES IN TRANSPORTATION AND HEALTH RESEARCH: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW NCHRP RESEARCH ROADMAP FOR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH

The Georgia Transportation Institute welcomes Dr. Andrew L. Dannenberg to speak at the Spring 2020 Transportation Speaker series webinar. He is an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, and in the Department of Urban Design and Planning, College of Built Environments, at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he teaches courses on healthy community design and on health impact assessment. Among other activities, he serves as a member of the Health and Transportation Subcommittee of the Transportation Research Board and as a member of the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board. Previously, he served as Team Leader of the Healthy Community Design Initiative at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. For the past two decades, his research and teaching has focused on examining the health and equity aspects of community design including land use, transportation, urban planning, architecture, and other issues related to the built environment. He has a particular interest in the use of a health impact assessment as a tool to inform community planners about the health consequences of their decisions. He has worked in public health for over 35 years, including conducting research in cardiovascular epidemiology at the National Institutes of Health and in injury prevention at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Dr. Dannenberg is the lead author, with Howard Frumkin and Richard Jackson, of the book Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability (http://www.makinghealthyplaces.com).

Title: Emerging Issues in Transportation and Health Research: Highlights of the New NCHRP Research Roadmap for Transportation and Public Health

Abstract:

Dr. Andrew Dannenberg of the University of Washington will present highlights of the recently published TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s NCHRP Research Report 932: A Research Roadmap for Transportation and Public Health (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/179959.aspx). Written by a team at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, this report was developed to support the increasing interest in the links between transportation and health both in state and local transportation agencies and in the academic transportation community. Dr. Dannenberg served on the TRB NCHRP oversight panel for this report which describes key opportunities and challenges associated with transportation and health, indicates why they are important to transportation agencies, identifies gaps in knowledge and practice, and outlines specific research projects needed to address these gaps.

Dr. Andrew L. Dannenberg Lecture Flyer 03 05 2020

JOSH ROWAN – DELIVERING ATLANTA’S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE

The Georgia Transportation Institute welcomes Commissioner Josh Rowan to speak at the Spring 2020 Transportation Speaker series. He is the Commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Transportation (ATLDOT) formed to significantly accelerate and diversify projects with better options for getting around Atlanta safely, affordably and equitably.
Born Texan, raised New Mexican, and lived his adult life as a Georgian, Josh attended Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, GA) as a basketball walk-on, earning a scholarship before transferring to the Georgia Institution of Technology (Georgia Tech).
Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Josh remained in Atlanta and spent the first five years of his career working with a local highway contractor. There, he learned the road-building business from multiple perspectives – laborer, foreman, estimator, and project manager. Later, as a consultant in Cobb County, Josh was introduced to the management of large capital construction programs. For nearly two decades, Josh has worked in the public sector as a program manager for transportation, transit, education, healthcare, and law enforcement capital construction programs throughout the eastern United States, as well as Mozambique and Tanzania. Most recently, he served as General Manager for the City of Atlanta’s Renew | TSPLOST Program.
Josh is a member of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2012, Leadership Cobb Class of 2013, and Regional Leadership Institute Class of 2018. Of all his achievements, knowledge, and experience, these are, without a doubt, the classes that mattered most.
Throughout his career, Josh has been actively engaged in the Atlanta community, serving for a decade as a reserve deputy in Cobb County. He is currently a board member for Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta and the Construction Infrastructure Systems Engineering Board at Georgia Tech. In addition, he is an emeritus member for Georgia Tech’s External Advisory Board for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He also mentors for the 100 Men to Mentors Challenge and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.
Josh is a member of the Alliance Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team, where he is a purple belt and trains under professor Leonardo Nogueira. He serves on the vestry at Village Church, a local Anglican congregation. He and his wife, Nancy Ladson Rowan, have four children – John, Dorothy, Ed, and Josie, who range in age from 2 to 18.

Title: Delivering Atlanta’s Transportation Future

Abstract:

Our vision for the newly created Atlanta Department of Transportation includes 4 key components. First, we are the path to a safe, welcoming, and inclusive City that is committed to ending traffic fatalities through an improved understanding of our streets. We will continue to develop thriving neighborhoods, communities, and businesses that everyone can reach with a 21st-century transit network. This will include well-maintained roads to keep both people and goods moving efficiently on our streets. City of Atlanta has world-class employees, infrastructure, and services that reflect a diverse and talented workforce, making ATLDOT a great place to work and ensuring that our infrastructure – from signals to street lights – are always in good repair. Lastly, an ethical, transparent, and fiscally responsible government that articulates clear policy priorities for our region; communicates early and often with residents, and delivers projects as effectively and efficiently as possible.