k kentucky transportation center t c annual report 2000...

Kentucky Transportation Center l Annual Report 2000KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CENTER

Annual Report 2000

We've formeda unique partner-ship with the Ken-tucky Transporta-tion Center at theUniversity of Ken-tucky that pro-vides hands-onexperience foruniversity stu-dents, builds re-search expertise, and creates useful re-sults.

We have altered our partnership ina manner that encourages everyone tothink “outside-the-box” to increase theefficiency and effectiveness of transpor-tation in Kentucky. The deployment ofchange and subsequent improvement canbe expected to produce very positiveresults in Kentucky.

From the Director From the Secretary ofTransportation

We put to-gether our strate-gic plan and mis-sion statement for

the Center a few years back and ourvision, simply put, became Innovationand Service Beyond Expectation. Thisbrief, alternate-year annual report hasinnovation as its theme. What do wemean? It is said that we make progressby invention, innovation, and deploy-ment. Innovation develops new scien-tific knowledge (invention) into some-thing useful. It may be relatively expen-sive but, through deployment, holds thepromise of making dramatic improve-ment in the materials, methods, and tech-niques of transportation. At the Center,we are striving for innovation beyondexpectation. Our projects highlighted inthis annual report demonstrate the rangeof our challenge.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

Our MissionWe provide services to thetransportation community

through research, technologytransfer, and education.

We create and participate inpartnerships to promote safe andeffective transportation systems.

We Value . . .Teamwork--listening and

communicating alongwith courtesy andrespect for others.

Honest andethical behavior.

Delivering thehighest quality products

and services.Continuous improvement

in all that we do.

Paul ToussaintDirector, KentuckyTransportationCenter

James C. Codell IIIKentucky Transpor-tation Secretary

KentuckyTransportation Center

176 Raymond BuildingUniversity of Kentucky

Lexington, KY 40506-0281

VOICE: (859) 257-45131-800-432-0719

FAX: (859) 257-1815INTERNET:

http://www.engr.uky.edu/ktc

Innovation and Service Beyond Expectation

Innovative Contracting I-275 ....................................................................... 2Improvement in Bridge Painting .................................................................. 2Geotechnical Information System ................................................................ 2Nighttime Construction ................................................................................ 3Technology Transfer .................................................................................... 3Intelligent Transportation Systems ............................................................... 4Context-Sensitive Design ............................................................................. 4Bridge Composites ....................................................................................... 5Transportation and the Community .............................................................. 5Financial Snapshot ....................................................................................... 6

Contents

Kentucky Transportation Center l Annual Report 2000

Improvement in Bridge Painting

Containment enclosure is used toprevent releases of dust and paintoverspray into the environment on theUS 25 (Clay Wade Bailey) Bridge atCovington.

The Kentucky Department ofHighways (KYDOH) and the Centerhave cooperated over the past 10 yearsto advance the state of the art ofbridge painting. To help accomplishtheir goals, they formed the KYDOHPaint Team, a multi-disciplinary groupthat includes representatives from theKYDOH Divisions of EnvironmentalAnalysis, Materials, Operations,Planning, and Worker Safety, andCenter researchers. Bridge paintingprojects experiment with specificapproaches to painting that “best” fitthe needs at hand. Small changes in

painting practices are tested and thoseproving successful are subsequentlyused on future projects. This incre-mental improvement process has ledto significantly better bridge paintingprojects over the past 10 years.

The Paint Team also hasdeveloped a quality control/qualityassurance program that requirespainting contractors to provide betterworkmanship.

The Center has assisted theKentucky Transportation Cabinet inthe development of new specificationsfor warranty pavement construction.This warranty allowed two industriesto competitively bid on a warrantedpavement rehabilitation project. Thecontractors were permitted to bid a 5-to 10-year warranty and receive creditbased on the length of warrantytoward the evaluation of the final bid.The Center will be responsible formonitoring the pavement structure andaccumulated trafficduring the warrantyperiod. This project isone of the first in thecountry to use thisconcept in the evaluationof competitive bids.

InnovativeContracting I-275 Theodore Hopwood II (859-257-2501)

David L. Allen (859-257-4513 ext. 250)

A geotechnicaldata base is beingdeveloped in a client-server environment.

All highway district offices and theDivisions of Materials’ and Opera-tions’ central offices are connected tothe data base. The data base consistsof three components:

l Rockfall Sitesl Landslide Sitesl Soil and Rock Engineering Data

Geotechnical Information System

Interactive applications, such asretaining wall designs and pavementdesign programs, will be incorporatedinto the data base. On-line analyzersfor statistical analyses of data andrelated graphs will be programmed.

Methods will be developed forinputting historical geotechnicalrecords for analysis as well as proce-dures for capturing, in a “real-time”mode, geotechnical data as it isgenerated.

Tommy Hopkins (859-257-4513 ext. 249)


Technology Transfer

This year, the TechnologyTransfer (T2) Unit provided thefollowing services to help optimizeKentucky's transportation system: (1)training included workshops, semi-nars, conferences, and teleconfer-ences, (2) tried and true methods,innovations and new information formaintaining highways, (3) on-sitetechnical assistance, (4) an informa-tion service featuring a state-of-the-art transportation library, (5)publications included newsletters,directories, and training manuals, and(6) a toll-free number for client use.

TrainingAttendance at the Center's 111

workshops/training sessions across

the state included 4,027 individualsfrom governmental agencies and thetransportation industry.

This year, 142 individualscompleted the Roads Scholar TrainingProgram bringing the total number ofRoads Scholars to 472. Seventy ofthose Roads Scholars completed theadditional training program to becomethe first Road Masters.

New training courses offeredincluded Environmental Awarenessand Snow and Ice Removal. Engineersand other professionals from the Centerdeveloped and presented nine ThinkingBeyond the Pavement training classes.

T2 presented several teleconferencecourses this year. Also, on-demandtraining has increased significantly.These courses are available on-site uponthe request of an agency providing aminimum number of participants.

A schedule of training courses islisted in each issue of the Center'squarterly newsletter and on the Center'sweb site. A hard-bound calendar also ispublished that lists training activities ayear in advance.

Library FactsVisitors ..................................... 4,696Materials Circulated ................. 1,121

Videos Circulated ..................... 457Reference Questions Answered .. 609New Materials Added ................. 838

New Videos ............................... 100

PublicationsFour issues of The Link included a

special feature on the Library. Othertopics addressed included: safety,whitetopping, roadside vegetation,center/edge line striping regulations,drainage, transit, rails-to-trails andsister city projects, and the Kentucky'snew graduated driver's licensing.

WebsiteThe newly designed web site

(http://www.engr.uky.edu/ktc--clickon Technology Transfer) offers easyaccess to the training calendar,publications, and library information.

Patsy Anderson (859-257-4513 ext. 229)

There is an increasing demand forperforming transportation-relatedconstruction and maintenance opera-tions at night, especially in urbanareas, to reduce conflicts with thetraveling public. The goal of this studywas to provide the Kentucky Trans-

portation Cabinet with a base ofknowledge for determining when andhow to successfully use nighttimeconstruction practices for its highwayconstruction projects. Seventeenspecific recommendations have beenproposed. These cover several issues

Nighttime ConstructionDonn Hancher (859-257-4857)

related to nighttime work, includingcontract requirements, traffic control,law enforcement, personnel issues,lighting, and public awareness. Also,a method was developed for evaluat-ing a proposed construction project asa candidate for nighttime work.


Center researchers are developingan integrated, regional IntelligentTransportation Systems (ITS) deploy-ment plan for the Cumberland GapTunnel and surrounding areas alongthe US 25 E corridor. The affectedregion includes southeastern Ken-tucky, northeastern Tennessee, andsouthwestern Virginia.

Information from key stakehold-ers within the region will be used toidentify primary ITS initiatives for theCumberland Gap Tunnel. Possible ITS

Intelligent Transportation Systems

initiatives include highway advisoryradio, traveler information systems,variable message signs, and other ITSapplications included in the range ofthe ITS User Services as defined in theU.S. Department of Transportation,Federal Highway Administration’sNational ITS Architecture. The finalCumberland Gap ITS plan will bedeployed with TRW working inconjunction with the KentuckyTransportation Cabinet and the Center.

Context-sensitive design is acollaborative approach to designinghighways that focuses on purpose andneed while giving equal attention tosafety, mobility, and preservation ofthe natural and human environment.Use of a multi-disciplinary team, withpublic involvement as an integral partof project development, attempts toassure that projects will be in har-mony with and contribute lasting

Context-Sensitive Design

value to the community. Highwaydesigners, in cooperation with theproject development team, areencouraged to be creative andincorporate flexibility tailored to theneeds of a specific project. Thisconcept is based on previouslydeveloped principles and commit-ments to preserving and protectingenvironmental and cultural valuesaffected by transportation facilities.

Jerry G. Pigman (859-257-4513 ext. 252)

Joe Crabtree (859-257-4513 ext. 241)

Visit the Center on UK'sLexington campus or surfour web site: http://www.engr.uky.edu/ktc


The research activities con-ducted in Fiber Reinforced Polymer(FRP) Composites focus primarily onbridges and bridge components.Various FRP bridge decks weretested in the laboratory and comparedwith standard steel reinforcedconcrete (R/C) panels. The FRPpanels surpassed the R/C panels inload capacity and deflection limita-tions. The advantage of the FRPpanels lies in the rapid replacementof bridge decks, and in longer servicelife.

Laboratory testing was con-ducted on bridge deck panels

Bridge Compositesreinforced with steel and/or glass FRPrebars to generate design guidelines.The FRP rebars were later deployed inthe Roger’s Creek Bridge in BourbonCounty. Advance FRP composites alsoare being deployed in a non-magneticUS-NAVY platform.

This project illustrates the value ofresearch by transferring aerospacetechnology to infrastructure applica-tions leading to an economical solutionto a complex construction project.Implementation of the Center’sresearch findings lead to safer bridgesand to highly cost-effective investmentsof public funds.

This project will first test, thencreate a guide to the use of visualiza-tion technologies in aiding commu-nity input for transportation designdecisions. Researchers are involvinga local focus group in testing theusefulness of different visualizationtechnologies for improving theirunderstanding and input into a

Transportation and the Community

sample highway design problem.Focus group members will be able to“walk around” or “drive through” thevirtual design to examine its featuresand assess its impact on the landscapeand the roadway functionality.Researchers hope to extend theseinsights to other kinds of publicinfrastructure participatory design.

Issam Harik (859-257-4513 ext. 273)

Ted Grossardt (859-243-0971 ext. 25)


Kentucky Transportation Center176 Raymond BuildingUniversity of KentuckyLexington, KY 40506-0281

Program Area Research** TechnologyTransfer

AdvancedInstitute

SpecialAdministration Total

Category of Expense:

Personnel 3,086,620 283,216 62,952 65,198 3,497,986

Operating 979,685 305,399 5,881 24,306 1,315,271

Equipment 382,469 -0- -0- -0- 382,469

Indirect Costs 861,646 -0- 2,032 -0- 863,678

Total Program 5,310,420 588,615 70,865 89,504 6,059,404

Financial SnapshotKentucky Transportation Center

*Expenditure detail by subcategory of expense is available on request (1-800-432-0719) or on theCenter's Web Site: www.engr.uky.edu/ktc/

**The research/study program for FY00 consisted of over 100 projects conducted for thefollowing agencies: the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky State Police, USDOT/FHWA, USDOT/FMCSA, and various private firms. Some work is done in cooperation withother universities including: Northwestern, UT/Knoxville, Georgia Tech and Johns Hopkins; andalso in partnership with private firms including TRW and Booz-Allen-Hamilton.

FY00 Expenditures*

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