Safety
Safety is a top priority with everyone involved in the road- and bridge-building market. The Safety Channel is a reflection of the commitment to reduce injuries and fatalities at the jobsite. Enhancing this section is Roads & Bridges' continued partnership with the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA). ATSSA has represented companies and individuals in the traffic control and roadway safety industry for 35 years. Over 1,800 members provide the majority of safety features, services and materials used on the nation's roadways.
The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) last week launched a multimedia messaging campaign to highlight the dangers to road crews in work zones.
NAPA unveiled the "WatchForUs" campaign, which targets distracted driving, for National Work Zone Awareness Week observed April 9‒13. The goal...
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that recommends the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) strengthen its safety oversight by improving guidance the agency provided to states.
Specifically, GAO suggests the FTA create a plan for developing risk-based inspection guidance...
Alkali-silica reaction (ASR), commonly known as “concrete cancer,” is a chemical reaction that can wreak havoc on concrete structures and accelerate deterioration. This corrosive force is quite prevalent in concrete bridge rails and can cause a number of issues, such as negatively affecting the...
Beginning this year, work zones in the state of Virginia will have rumble strips, a safety tool that will be used to capture the attention of drivers as well as alert workers to cars entering a work zone, according to officials with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
VDOT officials...
With nearly 1 in 5 crashes in the state involving distracted driving, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is launching a campaign to remind drivers that their undivided attention to the road could save a life.
In 2017, 19% of vehicle crashes on Texas roads involved distracted driving....
Distracted driving tops drivers’ list of growing dangers on the road, according to a new survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
The annual Traffic Safety Culture Index from the AAA Foundation is designed to identify attitudes and behaviors related to traffic safety. The index shows...
The Oregon Department of Transportation announced plans this week for a series of construction projects along I-84 between Pendleton and La Grande to make the stretch of freeway safer for motorists.
The work is based on the I-84 Corridor Management Plan, a study that looked at road safety between...
Many bridge experts believe accelerated bridge construction is not the culprit of the FIU bridge collapse that claimed six lives. In the latest Infrastructure Insider podcast, hear from University of Washington Professor John Stanton, who specializes in ABC. To listen to the podcast, click here.
An I-4 Ultimate construction worker has died after a rebar cage fell and struck him in Orlando, officials said.
SGL Constructors, the P3 joint venture operating the project on I-4, said Michael Tolman, 56, died after being struck around 9:45 a.m. Thursday at an I-4 west on-ramp at South Street...
Before workers began adjusting support cables at the north end of the Florida International University (FIU) bridge that collapsed and killed six people last week, they performed the same work at the opposite end of the bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a statement...
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao asked the inspector general of her department to probe whether a federally funded pedestrian bridge that collapsed and killed six in Florida complied with all rules, her office said on Tuesday.
Chao said in a letter she has asked for an audit to determine...
A pedestrian was killed overnight in Tempe, Ariz., after being hit by a self-driving car operated by Uber.
This incident appears to be the first known death of a pedestrian struck by an autonomous vehicle on public roads.
The Uber vehicle was in autonomous mode with a human safety driver at the...
Bridge collapse
Five days after the deadly bridge collapse at Florida International University (FIU) there are still a lot of unknowns, but this is what we know:
The number of confirmed dead is six, and 10 people were injured;
There have been conflicting reports as to what was being done on the bridge prior to...
NTSB officials have still not been able to access the FIU bridge accident site. AP Photo
As rescue workers continued recovery efforts at the site of the pedestrian bridge collapse at Florida International University in the city of Sweetwater on Friday, officials were waiting to get a chance to do their job.
At least six have been confirmed dead and more may be pulled from the rubble...
A report released by nonprofit transportation research group TRIP finds fatalities in traffic crashes involving drivers 65 years old or older increased 22% from 2012 to 2016.
The number of seniors killed in those crashes increased by 16% nationwide. The TRIP report identified Florida as having...
Copenhagen has hundreds of miles of separated bikeways built next to their sidewalks.
U.S. travelers to many European cities often note the very large number of bicyclists of all ages and abilities. Indeed, bicycles are used for nearly half of urban trips in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Another notable feature of these cities is their extensive network of infrastructure...
A federal grant has been awarded to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to help to make I-57 safer near the town of Marion.
In a news release from Democratic U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, it was announced that IDOT was awarded a $7.6 million TIGER grant for...
LaneGard 3 Folding Type III Barricade is designed for emergency road closures.
After a storm hit northeastern Ohio on March 1, 2018, an estimated 80,000 people lost electrical power as a result. High winds, gusting as strong as 50 mph, brought many power lines down, and numerous road closures were reported throughout the area. The storm, severe enough to earn its own name,...
Downtown Las Vegas is one of the most congested urban areas in the nation. But Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) officials hope to crack the traffic crunch with a series of digital active traffic management signs, which are set to go live today.
Some 300,000 vehicles travel through the U...
I-90 in Cuyahoga County was one of the locations where ODOT installed longitudinal diamond grooving.
In Ohio, it’s important to look at pavement solutions in relation to the current highways—only 2-3% of the pavements in the state system are concrete.
Composite pavements (asphalt over brick or concrete) represent 45-48%, and the remainder are full-depth asphalt. The Ohio Department of...
