Biweekly #78

• Multidisciplinary Roadway Safety Series, Tuesday, 10/10 (Atlantic); Wednesday, 10/11 (Cherokee); Thursday, 10/12 (Ankeny); Tuesday, 10/17 (Washington); and Wednesday, 10/18 (Waterloo) – This event will be at multiple locations throughout Iowa. Learn about the latest work and programs aimed at reducing fatal crashes on Iowa roadways from various safety partners in the state, including the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Traffic and Safety, Local Systems, and Systems Planning Bureaus; Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau; and Iowa LTAP. For more information, including an agenda and to register, please go here.

Biweekly #78

• Gradation Optimization Tool for Granular-Surfaced Roads, Thursday, 9/21 at 12:00 PM – The focus of this webinar will be a tool developed as part of a research project on cost-effectively recycling existing degraded granular surface materials. The tool allows engineers to mix existing roadway materials with fresh aggregates in optimized proportions to achieve a target gradation and plasticity that will maximize performance and durability. This spreadsheet-based tool has been distributed throughout Iowa and is available online. Registration for this webinar can be found here.
• Risk Management Lessons Learned from Lawsuits Against Local Road Agencies, Thursday, 10/26 at 12:00 PM – A road agency’s legal duties and the implications of tort liability are discussed in this webinar. The speaker examined about 50 fatal and serious injury crashes on low-volume roads from his forensic experience, and the results of this analysis will be presented. Noteworthy findings include the role of driveways as a source of contamination of the roadway surface and the significance of transitions such as from a paved road to gravel road or from one cross-section width to another. Risk management strategies discussed include conducting operational reviews, paying attention to written and spoken words, regularly reviewing policies and manuals, safety training for maintainers, and good documentation. Registration for this webinar can be found here.
• W-Beam Bridge Rails for Low-Volume Rural Roads: Issues and Solutions, Thursday 11/16 at 12:00 PM – W-beam and thrie-beam rails are commonly used as bridge rails on rural, county roadways. However, due to a lack of understanding these railings, many of these bridge rails are installed improperly. Common safety issues include a lack of guardrail anchorage, inadequate run-out lengths, guardrail blunt ends, and large posts posing as snag risks. This presentation explores these issues and their negative effects on safety performance. Additionally, multiple crashworthy W-beam railings are detailed and discussed as options for either side-mounted or top-mounted W-beam railings. Finally, similar W-beam systems are presented for use to treat concrete box culverts. All of these W-beam systems have been evaluated and satisfy current Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) safety standards for TL-2 and/or TL-3 installations. Registration for this webinar can be found here.
• Highway Design and Maintenance for Horse-Drawn Vehicles, Thursday, 12/7 at 12:00 PM – This webinar will cover topics related to designing and maintaining roads in areas with large Amish populations based on experiences in Elkhart County, Indiana. Some of the topics covered will include: coordination with the Amish community, implementation of buggy plates and user fees for non-motorized vehicles, characteristic road distresses caused by horse usage and maintenance options to address these impacts, and adaptation of intersection sight distance design parameters for horse-drawn vehicles. Registration for this webinar can be found here.

Biweekly #78

• Iowa Winter Maintenance Workshops Series, Tuesday, 11/7 (Cherokee); Wednesday, 11/8 (Eagle Grove); Thursday, 11/9 (West Union); Tuesday, 11/14 (Atlantic); Wednesday, 11/15 (Indianola); and Thursday, 11/16 (Ainsworth) – Snow and ice control can be the most demanding, challenging, and visible tasks performed by local public agencies. This workshop will cover many of the topics needed for operations staff to be prepared for the upcoming winter season. Some of the topics include pre-season preparation, snow removal on county roads and city streets, the use of deicers, calibration, pre-trip inspection, and common snow and ice ordinances and policies. Speakers will include county and city operators and supervisors, DOT maintenance supervisors, and Iowa LTAP staff. For more information, learning outcomes, an agenda, and to register, please go here.

Biweekly #78

• APWA Iowa Chapter Fall Conference (APWA Iowa Chapter), Wednesday–Friday, 9/27–9/29 (Iowa City) – This American Public Works Association (APWA) Iowa Chapter-sponsored event is back in central Iowa for 2023. This conference has historically offered an excellent opportunity for those in the broad world of public works to expand knowledge, network, elect officers, and recognize award winners. Additional details and registration can be found here.
• SPOT and Roadeo 2023 (APWA Iowa Chapter), Tuesday–Thursday, 10/3–10/5 (West Des Moines) – This APWA Iowa Chapter-sponsored event is back in central Iowa for 2023. Snow Plow Operator Training (SPOT) is being offered 10/3 & 10/4, and the ever-popular Roadeo event will take place on 10/5. The City of West Des Moines is hosting the event this year at its Public Services facility located at 8550 Grand Avenue. Additional details and registration for both options can be found here.
• 77th Annual Iowa County Engineers Conference, Wednesday–Friday, 12/13–12/15 (Des Moines). This event will take place at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. Each member of the county engineering staff will find this conference provides information of interest to aid them in the design, construction, and operation of the transportation system in the county. Consultants, equipment vendors, and material vendors will have direct contact with those directly in charge of county procurement of equipment and services. For more information and to register, please go here.