WINTER 2016  |   VTrans On The Move  is a quarterly Agency of Transportation newsletter.
Spring Pothole Repair
Springtime is pothole breeding season in Vermont. Learn what causes a pothole to form, and what Vermont is doing to keep them in check. 
From the Secretary
VTrans has faced a rather unusual winter maintenance season, with temperature swings and a mix of precipitation creating quickly changing conditions that can vary drastically from region to region.

Although this season's salt usage may be down, this type of winter presents other challenges. Thawing and refreezing from temperature swings causes moisture in the roads to expand and contract, leading to potholes. More thawing and freezing leads to more potholes and increased maintenance costs.

If you encounter a pothole, you can report it to your  district garage, or let us know on  Facebook. And remember to slow down and move over in work zones so we can safely do our job to repair and improve the roads.

- Secretary Chris Cole
Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire to Merge 511 Systems
VTrans' road alert system will soon be integrated with New Hampshire and Maine, with added features like live doppler radar, customize-able trip planners, and improved mobile capability - including hands free alerts.
Visit 511VT.com
Rail App Portal
The Rail App Portal gives VTrans' staff and partners mobile access to GIS rail data, used to track assets and improve planning. View crossing inspection results, rail asset inventory, valuation sheets, clearance restrictions, bridge inspection reports, and more.
VTransparency
Construction Season is coming...view scheduled paving, bridge, and maintenance projects, and see what projects are in development on VTransparency.
Federal Grant to Bring Passenger Rail Service to Burlington
Vermont was awarded $10 million in federal discretionary TIGER 7 grant funding, as part of a $26.4 million project to rehabilitate the western corridor rail line, allowing for the extension of Ethan Allen Express Amtrak service to Burlington from its current end point in Rutland. The project includes replacing 11 miles of old jointed rail with continuously-welded rail, rehabilitating grade crossings, and installing passenger rail platforms.

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VTrans Improves Transportation Resilience Planning
In December 2015, VTrans launched a project that integrates river science with transportation planning, engineering and decision making to improve the resilience of the transportation network to damage and disruptions caused by flooding. 

The project employs a risk management approach, which combines the probability of an event occurring with the consequences. A high risk location is a road segment, bridge or culvert that is likely to be damaged by a flood (the event), and the resulting disruption to the transportation system will have a significant, negative impact on travel, emergency access and the economy (the consequence). A resilient transportation system will continue to function, or could be restored quickly, when stressed by a flood. 

The project will provide tools to help planners and engineers identify high risk locations and to develop alternative solutions from a watershed and transportation network perspective. For example, options to improve the flood resilience of a road segment with an undersized bridge could include a new bridge with a longer span, improving a local road to provide an alternate route if the bridge is damaged, modifications to the river channel, or reestablishing the river's connection to a floodplain and conserving the underlying land.

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Vermont Transportation Research Projects Selected
Each year, VTrans funds research projects that are conducted by UVM professors and graduate students. This year, in a partnership with the UVM Transportation Research Center, we developed and implemented the Vermont Transportation Research Collaborative (V-TRC) to better align academic research projects with the VTrans Strategic Plan. 

Eight research proposals were submitted seeking almost one million dollars, compared to a total budget of $300,000. The proposals were peer reviewed to ensure the methodologies were feasible and not redundant to other on-going or completed research and ranked by panels that consisted of staff from VTrans and the other state agencies.  The following two research projects were recommended by staff and endorsed by the VTrans Executive Staff:
  • Monitoring Condition of Structural Elements during Accelerated Bridge Construction.   Awarded $144,610 to evaluate the feasibility and performance of an acoustic emission monitoring device that listens for cracks that are not otherwise detectable in precast concrete girders. The device, if found to be effective will improve quality assurance/quality control for accelerated bridge projects.
  • Assessing VTrans Employee Retention. Awarded $111,974 to evaluate the factors that are important to retaining current employees and an analysis of why employees leave before their time. It will include recommendations and piloting of retention strategies and an assessment of strengths and vulnerabilities in the Agency's knowledge management practices.
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