Practical Highway Design Solutions (2013)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

36 Appendix A State dOT Survey Questionnaire NCHRP Synthesis 43-05: Practical Design/Practical Solutions Practices Dear State Design Engineer: The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is preparing a synthesis on Practical Design/Practical Solutions Practices. This is being done for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), under the sponsorship of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration. To meet the challenge of increasing demands with limited financial resources, some state transportation agencies adopted initiatives that result in design solutions for specific roadway projects that allow them to address critical needs of the entire roadway system. This approach allows for completing more roadway projects in a shorter time period and at lower costs. This new design paradigm is called “practical design or practical solutions.” The objective of the synthesis is to compile and synthesize current state DOT practices, recent literature findings, and research-in-progress addressing practical design or practical solutions as a new procedure for developing and designing roadway projects. As an initial step in conducting this synthesis, the consultant prepared this current state practices survey. The survey is designed to: • Identify those states that have developed a program for practical design, practical solutions or some other project development and design strategy that embraces these objectives. • Of those states that have practical design, practical solutions programs, identify those which would be willing to provide further information on their program and provide information on sample projects using this approach. • Identify those states that are in the process of or are considering a similar program. This questionnaire is being sent to members of the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Design. Your cooperation in completing the questionnaire will ensure the success of this effort. There are only a few questions to achieve this objective. If you are not the most appropriate person to complete this questionnaire, please forward it to the correct person.

37 Please compete and submit this survey by January 31, 2012. We estimate that it should take approximately 15–30 minutes to complete. Your early response is appreciated. If you have any questions or have any supporting materials please contact Hugh McGee, the consultant who is preparing the synthesis, at hmcgee@vhb.com or 703-847-3071. SURVEY QUESTIONS Before completing the survey, we offer ‘definitions’ of practical design and practical solutions as suggested by two states that have adopted these design procedures: Practical Design: The Missouri DOT initiated a process that critically reviews projects to establish appropriate project scope and subsequent roadway geometrics based on needs, not standards. They stated that they want “fewer spots of perfection and more good projects that make a great system.” This approach allows for completing more roadway projects in a shorter time period. To implement their approach, called “practical design,” the Missouri DOT reviewed its existing design standards and revised them in a way that addresses the practical design approach in the new design manual. Practical Solutions: The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet implemented a similar initiative through their “practical solutions” program. The approach uses existing conditions as the baseline and tries to achieve results in project improvements that are better than the existing conditions. This approach underscores the importance of understanding the specific needs and goals of the project. The approach develops a customized solution that will address the specific needs while utilizing the flexibilities inherent in the design process. 1) Given the definitions provided above, does your state have a formal or informal program related to practical design, practical solutions, or some other similar project development and design philosophy? [ ] Yes [ ] No If you answered YES to #1, explain briefly below. Alternatively, provide a link to any documents on your website or e-mail this material to the consultant identified at the end of this survey. 2) If you answered NO to #1, are you considering developing a program? If you answer YES here, proceed to #3. If you answer NO, you may make whatever comment you wish under #5 and then return the survey. [ ] Yes [ ] No

38 3) What information would be useful to your state in either developing or expanding upon a PD/PS program? 4) Would you be willing to be interviewed by the consultant and provide information and data on one or more projects where practical design or practical solutions was applied? [ ] Yes [ ] No It is anticipated that the project consultant will interview a representative by phone and request that design data and other information be provided, such as: • roadway design tradeoffs considered; • modifications to geometric design criteria; • cost savings; • design exceptions; and • lessons learned from following this practice. 5) Provide any other comments below: Thank you for taking our survey. Your response is very important to us. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Hugh W. McGee at: E-mail: hmcgee@vhb.com