This study was requested by INDOT to determine if current lighting packages used on INDOT maintenance vehicles, specifically snow plow vehicles, can be improved with other commercially available products. Different light products were obtained from various vendors, mounted on INDOT vehicles, and visual comparisons were performed under various lighting and weather conditions by a team of observers. The comparison evaluations were performed revealing that other light packages, LED models for most options, were brighter and certain colors more visible. The preferred light models are recommended. These recommendations were forwarded to appropriate individuals that make these decisions at INDOT. Implementation is dependent on purchasing decisions made at the Central Office and at each of the Districts.
The study provides the background documents necessary for the development of a Technical Training Plan and makes recommendations for the content and structure of such a plan for the District Operations, Operations, Capital Program Management, and Engineering Services and Design Support Divisions. The product of the study is a web based tool for employees that provides training resource information by job category. The resources are grouped into three categories: in house training, training available through outside vendors or third party, and higher education resources. Recommendations specific to the Technical Training Plan include incorporating technical training requirements in the position descriptions currently being revised; re surveying employees and supervisors to ascertain employee training needs to ensure that the technical training requirements are appropriate; incorporating the list and schedule of INDOT training programs in the State Personnel Department's PeopleSoft system; establishing a readily accessible, centralized record management system for PEs to maintain their PDH records; and broader circulation of INDOT's Educational and Licensing Assistance Program (ELAP) to its employees.
This project investigated methods on automating field data collection of materials. The method chosen and investigated was bar codes. The automated process requires material suppliers to produce delivery forms that can be recorded and tracked using bar codes. The report describes a system configuration that shows a conceptual process to electronically transfer materials information between the material supplier, trucking company, INDOT personnel and contractor. Other activities reported include survey results from other state transportation agencies, material suppliers, and concrete paving companies. Also, investigated was how to interface with Site Manager software. Recommendations described hardware options for using bar codes and industry reaction to using bar coded delivery tickets.
This brief manual presents eight innovative contracting methods appropriate for new and major construction projects with moderately to highly significant impacts to traffic. These contracting methods are described in detail, with advantages and disadvantages of each presented, as well as recommendations for application.
Transportation construction activities on heavy traffic routes can be very disruptive to the system users due to lane closures, construction traffic, or reduced speed zones. Besides the driving public, local businesses are also affected by noise and air pollution, loss of access, or changing access routes. Thus, it is apparent that minimizing construction time will lessen these impacts. The primary objectives of this project are to explore some alternative methods to expedite construction time for particular project types whereby mitigating disruptions to the traveling public and to identify construction activities that can be accelerated by those selected methods. To accomplish these objectives, this project evaluated state-of-the-art construction techniques for accelerating processes at the jobsite by investigating practices of other transportation agencies (DOT) and their cost implications.
Numerous bridge construction accidents have occurred across the country because of construction loadings, which are an under-emphasized topic in many DOT specifications and design manuals. Bridge girders are least stable when they are subjected to construction loads, so it is important for design engineers and contractors to understand and design for these loads. The Indiana Department of Transportation's current Standard Specifications does not contain many construction load provisions, so this study was performed to identify and implement new requirements to proactively prevent accidents from occurring in Indiana. Various documents were examined in this study, including AASHTO and ASCE standards in addition to several other states DOT Standard Specifications and Design Manuals. Based on these documents, new falsework and formwork design loads, including horizontal loads, impact loads, and wind load, were developed and proposed to INDOT, which currently only specifys a dead load and live load. A set of drawings showing proposed minimum lateral bracing requirements was also developed to help ensure the stability of prestressed concrete and steel girders during construction.
One of the main issues in a warranty specification for erosion control items is how to evaluate performance objectively. This project developed a methodology that uses digital images to measure compliance with defined vegetation cover requirements. It is designed essentially for areas where vegetation (grass) is selected as the erosion control measure. The research was a technical approach to examine the feasibility of using digital photographic analysis. It does not address all issues related to field conditions and as such would require review by interested parties to be complete. For example, how often should sample pictures to taken. Should a random selection process be developed similar to ones currently used to sample asphalt materials? What criteria should be used to elect when the technical process becomes binding to both parties etc. and what wording in the warranty provision should be used? Additional items include who makes the inspection and how do they become trained in the process and become equipped with the necessary camera and light meter. This project provides some technical answers with using this approach. Due to some of the uncertainties discovered with using warranty erosion control on three INDOT projects it was decided to take a cautious approach to implementing this provision. Therefore the findings are being disseminated to the Erosion Control Committee for further consideration and action.
This project developed an AVL system for INDOT that utilized the statewide wireless network, SAFE-T. This option was chosen after doing a cost analysis of commercial AVL systems that use cellular data communications. The system developed provides real time information collected during snow and ice removal. Information includes weather and road conditions, truck speed, amount of chemicals spread, time, location, plow position, and road temperature. This information is displayed on INDOT GIS maps available through a browser on the INDOT network. The data is also transferred to the MDSS that INDOT uses in winter activities. This system experienced significant data transfer problems and consequently was eliminated as a viable AVL alternative. Therefore other commercial AVL systems were evaluated in this study. Other activities included investigating other hardware options for data collection and data transfer. Also, a hotspot method for data transfer was tested to do batch data transfer. A summer AVL application for paint stripping was developed. Two other commercial systems were evaluated, IWAPI and ThomTech. The IWAPI system was evaluated over three winter seasons and ThomTech for the 08-09 season. Both systems experienced data transfer problems which seems to be the biggest issue with AVL systems. Overall most users were satisfied with how the systems operated and with the information being collected and reported. The project exposed issues that exist with all types of AVL systems. There are plusses and minuses, and costs and benefits. These are described in the report. One outcome is that AVL systems are not a panacea, they offer better information and benefits, but are they economically justifiable? An internal INDOT study was performed during the 08-09 season that shows a savings of $10,000,000 in salt costs that can be attributed to some degree the use of AVL and MDSS.
The 1968 US men's Olympic track and field team won 12 gold medals and set six world records at the Mexico City Games, one of the most dominant performances in Olympic history. The team featured such legends as Tommie Smith, Bob Beamon, Al Oerter, and Dick Fosbury. Fifty years later, the team is mostly remembered for embodying the tumultuous social and racial climate of 1968. The Black Power protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the victory stand in Mexico City remains one of the most enduring images of the 1960s. Less known is the role that a 400-meter track carved out of the Eldorado National Forest above Lake Tahoe played in molding that juggernaut. To acclimate US athletes for the 7,300-foot elevation of Mexico City, the US Olympic Committee held a two-month training camp and final Olympic selection meet for the ages at Echo Summit near the California-Nevada border. Never has a sporting event of such consequence been held in such an ethereal setting. On a track in which hundreds of trees were left standing on the infield to minimize the environmental impact, four world records fell—more than have been set at any US meet since (including the 1984 and 1996 Olympics). But the road to Echo Summit was tortuous—the Vietnam War was raging, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, and a group of athletes based out of San Jose State had been threatening to boycott the Mexico City Games to protest racial injustice. Informed by dozens of interviews by longtime sports journalist and track enthusiast Bob Burns, this is the story of how in one of the most divisive years in American history, a California mountaintop provided an incomparable group of Americans shelter from the storm.
The history of hot rodding and performance cars has been well chronicled through the years. Books and magazines have covered the cars, builders, pioneers, engineers, early racers, muscle cars, street racers, etc. Most take a nostalgic and fun look at the cars that many have loved their entire lives. Some even cover the lifestyle, the hobby as it involves people, and the effort, time, and commitment people put into it. It is more than just a hobby to most, and to many, a certain wave of nostalgia comes over them when remembering what the car scene was like "back in the day." The local speed shop is an important element of the nostalgic feeling that people have when fondly remembering their hot rodding youth. Speed shops were not just parts stores, they were a communal gathering place for car guys wanting to talk smart, bench race, and catch up on the local scene, as well as to solicit the expert advice from the owner or staff behind the counter. Here, longtime hot rodder and industry veteran Bob McClurg brings you the story of the era and the culture of speed shops as told through individual shop's histories and compelling vintage photography. He covers the birth of the industry, racing versus hot rodding, mail-order, and advertising wars. You learn about the performance boom of the 1960s and 1970s, lost speed shops as well as survivors, and a overview of the giant mail-order speed shops of today.
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