FHWA introduces EDC highway innovations

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has introduced out a second wave of innovations for its ‘Every Day Counts’ (EDC) initiative; a program that is focused on shortening the time needed to complete highway projects through the use of new technologies and innovative processes. The FHWA will promote 13 innovations to state, local and regional transportation agencies, as well as to the design and construction industries. The initiatives range from innovative construction management techniques, to paving machinery that is designed to use global positioning systems (GPS) to achieve higher quality and longer-lasting roadways.

The EDC initiative supports the deployment of innovations with proven benefits in getting highway and bridge projects built faster, which includes planning, permitting, and design phases, as well as construction. Many of thee innovations offer other benefits, such as: enhanced safety during construction and throughout the life of the project; better quality, so that highways and bridges last longer and require less maintenance; and less impact on the driving public during construction. The FHWA will promote the new initiatives over the next two years, and teams of its specialists will explain the benefits to DOTs and other stakeholders across the country.

The FHWA launched the EDC scheme in 2010 and has already seen dramatic results from the first round of technologies. Every one of the country’s state DOTs has applied at least one of the technologies and many of the initiatives are now widely used. As an example, the FHWA cites ‘Safety Edge’, a construction method that tapers the edge of the roadway to allow drivers who drift off highways to return to the pavement safely, which has been applied to roads in more than 40 states. For further information on the FHWA’s EDC2 initiatives, go to: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/edctwo/2012/

1 August 2012