Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference 2024

Overview of the Office of Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) located at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC), a federally owned and operated national research facility in McLean, VA. This would include an overview of the research facility, its primary activities, and guiding the audience through a virtual tour using their online service:  https://highways.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/VirtualTour/home

Come join our group of professionals discuss all the non-engineering things that aren’t taught in school, but are important to helping advance your career!

Panelists:
Matthew Alboum
Brian Krul

A panel discussion with the current and former leaders of PennDOT Highway Safety and Traffic.  The group will talk about where we've been, challenges along the way, and where mobility and safety are heading in the future.

Panelists:
Glenn Rowe
Steve Grimme
Doug Tomlinson
Daryl St. Clair 

 PennDOT has deployed VSLs on a number of corridors of concern, both in the traditional applications such as I-76 near Philadelphia and in rural applications to address winter weather on I-80 and I-81. The session will cover the performance of these corridors, as well as the vision for the future of VSLs, including expanded permanent installations in high traffic areas and rural areas with weather concerns. This would also cover efforts to use the VSL units to support work zone operations.

Topic 1:  VSL for Winter Weather
Speaker: Jim Roman

Topic 2:  VSL Performance
Speaker: Ryan McNary

Topic 3:  VSLs in Work Zones 
Speaker: Brian Crossley

In this session we will examine the analysis, research and crash testing procedures used to determine a roadside safety devices’ compliance with standards outlined in the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). These important steps help manufacturers and developers ensure the safety of their devices while obtaining approval into an agency’s Qualified Product Lists (QPL) for use along public roadways. Representatives from PennDOT and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) will speak to their unique perspectives for roadside safety barriers, work zone devices and other testing requirements to meet MASH requirements. Questions from the audience will be received as part of this session.

Topic 1: Teaching to the Test – A Transportation Institute’s Perspective on Roadside Safety Device Development       
Speaker: James Kovar

Topic 2: MASHed Materials - A PennDOT Perspective on Roadside Safety Equipment and Approvals
Speaker: Evan Pursel

Topic 3: Running Down Barricades for Work Zone Safety          
Speaker: Brian Crossley

The Safe System Roadway Design Hierarchy is a tool that characterizes engineering and infrastructure-based countermeasures and strategies relative to their alignment with the Safe System Approach (SSA), toward the goal of eliminating traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. The purpose of the hierarchy is to help transportation agencies and practitioners identify and prioritize countermeasures and strategies when developing transportation projects. The Safe System Roadway Design Hierarchy will facilitate greater understanding and increased application of Safe System principles. Included in this discussion will be how implementing proven safety countermeasures, such as a high friction surface treatment program, can prove beneficial.

Topic 1: Safe System Roadway Design Hierarchy (SSRDH)
Speaker: Matt Hinshaw

Topic 2: Proven Safety Countermeasures and the SSRDH
Speaker: Matt Hinshaw

Topic 3: Continuous Pavement Friction Monitoring
Speaker: Joseph Cheung

Topic 4: High Friction Surface Treatments in PA
Speaker: Jason Hershock

The City of Philadelphia will discuss its “kitchen sink” approach to improve public transit operations in congested, multimodal rights-of-way. Building off the data-driven corridor prioritization of the Philadelphia Transit Plan (2021), the City has embarked on an ambitious program of over 30 transit-priority projects. Delivering transformative change on these corridors has required the City and its partners to embrace a “kitchen sink” approach to corridor design that requires both infrastructure and policy solutions, working across scales, and approaching problem-solving iteratively. The City will discuss the highs – and lows – of translating a strategic planning effort into projects and policies that affect the urban right-of-way.

AECOM will discuss the Downtown Convergence Study and APTA’s “BRT Roadway/Infrastructure Design and Best Practices” white paper. The Downtown Convergence Study. This session features two case studies to help planners and engineers utilize innovated approaches, identifying strategies for navigating data analysis, and improve decision-making processes in their communities. The LinkUS Initiative addresses the anticipated growth in Central Ohio, particularly in Downtown Columbus, which is expected to increase by 40,000 residents by 2040. This initiative focuses on guiding mobility investments, enhancing housing and job access, and promoting sustainable development. The Downtown Convergence Study examined transit connections, future rapid transit corridors, and bike plans, while highlighting the importance and challenge of decision-making and balancing competing priorities. The objective of this white paper is to share best practices from transit agencies who have implemented or are about to implement BRT, hear about lessons learned, and considerations when planning and designing BRT in order to achieve its maximum benefits and effectiveness. The study took a two-pronged approach to collect information via both a survey and case studies. Topics include roadway design elements, enforcement of bus lanes, and ITS elements.

The Luzerne County Transportation Authority (LCTA) and Kimley-Horn will explore trends in post-pandemic transit, highlighting examples in planning, community engagement, and data-driven decision-making. Featuring a case study from Luzerne County, attendees will learn how data and community engagement shaped a recent transit development plan, addressing changing travel needs and reducing barriers to transit use. Emerging trends, including flexible transit options like microtransit, will also be discussed, offering insights into the future of public transportation in a post-pandemic world.

Topic 1:  Bringing the “Kitchen Sink” to a Transit Priority Program
Speakers: Chris Puchalsky & Andrew Simpson

Topic 2: What’s the Answer? Navigating when data analysis is not yielding clear solutions
Speaker: Lauren Lynch & Steve Scheerer

Topic 3: Transit in Transformation: Trends in Planning, Community Engagement, and Data-Driven Decisions
Speaker: Bob Fiume & Tyler Beduhn

In this session, participants will explore how agencies, business and research partners are promoting safer work zones through innovations and technologies. From Transportation Management Plan Coordination for 50+ projects in West Virginia, developing strategies and tools for state DOTs using zipper merge, and to enhancing nighttime work zone safety through effective off-the-shelf strategies, participants can learn effective ways to plan and manage work zones regardless of their environments.

Topic 1: When Multiple Projects Collide: Managing the Traffic Phasing of the Charleston Metro Bridge Initiative  Speaker: Amy Balmer Staud

Topic 2: “Wait Your Turn” – Showing how Late Merge Improves Work Zone Mobility           
Speaker: Scott R. Fritz

Topic 3: “Closing Time” – An overview of PennDOT’s Upcoming LaneEval Tool     
Speaker: : Bastian Schroeder