January 23, 2018 Advisory Committee Meeting

DATE: Tuesday, January 23, 2018

TIME: 11:00am – 12:00pm

LOCATION: Conference Call

1-866-906-7447 (code: 8626283)

State Transportation Agencies Present:

Ann Scholz, NH
Robert Bollinger, NH
Emily Parkany, VT
Ian Anderson, VT
Dale Peabody, ME
Nicholas Zavolas, MA
Michael Sock, RI
Jose Lima, RI
Bradley Overturf, CT
Flavia Pereira, CT

Others Present:

Jo Daniel, UNH
Eric Hernandez, UVM
Ehsan Ghazanfari, UVM
Mike Knodler, UMass
Eric Jackson, UConn
Julie Dowds, NETC
Jacob Leopold, NETC
Hannah Ullman, NETC

AGENDA

2018 Pooled Fund Update: Maine – Dale Peabody
- Dale Peabody reminded AC members to transfer funds to the new TPF; he emailed the instructions in the past two weeks.
- Dale also informed the group that the Maine DOT contracting office expects to release the RFP for the next Coordinator Contract on January 24, 2018. If so, questions will be due by February 7^th, answers to the questions will be posted by February 14^th, and the RFP will be due on February 28^th. It was also noted that the RFP is open to all groups, not just land-grant universities.
AV/CV Quick Response Project – Emily Parkany
- Deadline for RFP questions – Jan. 20 (any responses to be posted to the website)
  - None of the AC members received any questions for the Quick Response Project. The NETC email received two administrative questions. Hannah Ullman will post the answers on the NETC website.
- Deadline for receipt of Proposals – February 1
  - Emily Parkany reported that Connecticut expects to receive at least three proposals (UConn, IBI Group)
  - Emily said that the TAC will meet the third week of February. It expects to have a decision to share with the AC at the February AC meeting for their review and approval.
  - Emily also reported that the TAC hopes to include in the project a meeting/workshop at Connecticut’s AV/CV Conference on June 12th and 13th. Eric Jackson said that he would forward the information on this event to the group.
- NETC coordinator forwards proposals to Technical Committee – February 2 (See attached full schedule)
  - There was no additional discussion of the schedule.
New Research Problem Statement Solicitation Process – Hannah Ullman

RPS #	Value	Length	Project Title
N18NY1	$100,000	24 months	Use of Intelligent Compaction Rollers and Thermal Bar Attached to the Paver Improve Pavement Density and Pavement Performance
N18NY2	$100,000	24 months	Use of Ground Up Shingles as Add-Stone to Enhance the Strength of Cold In-Place Recycled Layer in Lieu of Using Virgin Aggregate
N18NY3	$100,000	24 months	The Use of Spray Pavers Requires Tack to Sprayed in Front of the Screen to Improve Bonding Between HMA Layers
N18VT1	$80,000	18 months	The Use of Reclaimed Stabilized Base with Different Stabilizing Agents in New England Region
N18RI1	$150,000	24 months	Improved and Automated Distress Detection in New England and Local Calibration of Prediction Models in AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design
N18RI2	$150,000	24 months	Image Based Methods to Measure RAP and Aggregate Characteristics for Asphalt Pavement Performance and Safety
N18RI3	$100,000	18 months	Development of Improved Climate Inputs for Implementation of AASHTO Pavement ME in New England
N18ME1	$200,000	12 months	Development of MASH Computer Simulated Steel Bridge Rail and Transition Details
N18ME2	$250,000	24 months	Asphalt Binder Fatigue Testing
N18VT2	$110,000	18 months	Leveraging Public Investments in EVSE to Maximize the Extent of Fast Charging Networks
N18NH1	$600,000	36 months	Framework of Asphalt Balanced Mix Design for New England Agencies
N18NH2	$175,000	24 months	Improving Material Selection and Construction Staging Process for Cold Recycled Asphalt Pavements and Performance Tracking of Existing Projects
N18NH3	$150,000	24 months	Pavement Climate Resiliency and Climate Metrics
N18VT3	$150,000	24 months	Development of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology for Transportation Asset Management
N18VT4	$150,000	24 months	Rapid Detection of Internal Voids in Precast Concrete Elements using Acoustic Emission
N18CT1	$200,000 – $250,000	15 to 18 months	Research Benefit Quantification
N18MA1	$200,000	24 months	Incorporating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into State Transportation Departments
N18MA2	$300,000	24 months	Transportation Network Management for Extreme Hydrologic Events
N18VT5	$100,000	18 months	Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems into DOTs
N18RI4	$170,000	24 months	Assessment of Risk to Drinking Water Systems from Porous Pavement and Deicing Agents: The Nexus of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Health
N18VT6	$200,000	24 months	Use of Fully Autonomous Vehicles as Probes to Improve Safety and Efficiency at Work Zones
N18VT7	$300,000	36 months	Infrastructure-to-Vehicle System Dynamics in a Passenger-Vehicle Fleet with Mixed Levels of Autonomous Control

Unendorsed/incomplete RPSs
- There was discussion about what to do about projects that did not have signatures from a member of the Advisory Committee, those that were only missing a signature from a potential TAC chair, and those from the state of New York and universities.
- RI reported that it choose not to endorse URI projects.
- Dale and Emily suggested that all AC members have one week to review and endorse, if interested, any of the problem statements that did not currently have AC signatures.
- There was concern about whether it was fair to extend the deadline or expect state DOTs to find TAC chairs for projects from New York and universities. Additionally, some AC members did not have time for an additional review.
- Nicholas Zavolas reported that MassDOT had decided to not include TAC members at this point, but that they are committed to the projects and committed to identifying TAC members if the project moves forward.
- Ann motioned to move forward with the literature search and review for any proposal that had a signature from an AC member, regardless of whether a TAC Chair had signed. This also included N18VT5, where the TAC chair signed for himself and the AC; the VT AC member has approved this project. There was a motion and the suggestion was unanimously approved.
Next steps in RPS process; confirm timeline (attached)
- The schedule was discussed in terms of shortening the time needed for doing the literature search for the RPSs. Hannah Ullman and Julie Dowds agreed to the shortened timeline so that the literature search is completed by February 20th for the AC to then review.
- Since the timeline was shortened, it was decided among AC members that a March RPS ranking meeting would be best.
2018 RPS Ranking Meeting
- Ann Scholz said that she would look for available conference room time at the NHDOT and send these details to Hannah who will send out a Doodle Poll to the AC in order to schedule that meeting.
- The general consensus among the AC was that Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays would be the best days to hold the meeting.

Open Project Review (January 2017) – Jacob Leopold/Hannah Ullman

Project # and Title	PI, University AC Liaison	Update	End Date
10-3: Low Temperature and Moisture Susceptibility of RAP Mixtures with Warm Mix Technology	Mogawer, UMass Dartmouth A. Scholz	The TAC gave comments on the draft final report. The final draft will be submitted this week or the next.	5/31/17
13-1: Development of High Early-Strength Concrete for Accelerated Bridge Construction Closure Pour Connections	Brena, UMass Amherst MassDOT	PI is requesting a NCE to 1/31/18.	12/31/2017 (NCE)
13-2: HMA Mixtures Containing Recycled Asphalt Shingles (RAS): Low Temperature and Fatigue Performance of Plant-Produced Mixtures	Mogawer, UMass Dartmouth A. Scholz	Work was finished on the project utilizing lab produced mixtures. Work on the draft final report continues.	12/1/17
13-3: Improved Regionalization of Quality Assurance (QA) Functions	Dave, UNH C. Franco	NETC Coordination Team reminded PI of pending final report. PI indicated he will have the final report finished in 1-2 weeks.	4/2/17 (NCE)
14-1: Measuring the Effectiveness of Competency Models for Job Specific Professional Development of Engineers & Engineering Technicians	Ahmadjian, UMass Amherst D. Peabody	The TAC has members from VT, ME, and NH. Other states were reached out to for recommendations. No response from the PI as to the current project timeline. A TAC meeting was held; next steps were discussed regarding the CM frameworks and site visits. Project funding has expired; work on the project has ceased with the exception of final report preparation.	12/31/17 (NCE)
14-4: Optimizing Future Work Zones in New England for Safety and Mobility	Xie, UMASS Lowell MassDOT	Yuanchang Xie held a TAC meeting and presented on his research. The session was recorded and will be posted on the website. Work on the draft final report continues.	12/31/2017 (NCE Requested)
15-1: Use of Forested Habitat Adjacent to Highways by Northern Long Ear Bats	Foster, UNH D. Peabody	Work continued on tasks 3, 5, and 7.	11/30/18
15-2: Using the New SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study Safety Databases to Examine Safety Concerns for Older Drivers	Samuel, UMass Amherst D. Peabody	The TAC voted to approve Tracey Zafian as the new PI. UMass has submitted an official letter for PI change to Michael Knodler; TAC committee will re-vote on the PI change. The project is also requesting a budget reallocation. Task 1 is complete and work continues on task 2.	12/31/18
15-3: Moisture Susceptibility Testing for Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements in New England	Dave, UNH D. Peabody	All lab specimen production and fabrication has been completed. Testing is underway.	7/31/18
15:4 Optimizing Quality Assurance (QA) Processes for Asphalt Pavement Construction in the Northeast	TBD A. Scholz	Project timeline is the AC’s decision. UVM has not begun a contract for this project.	TBD

Open Project Review Discussion
- On project 13-1: The AC unanimously approved a motion in favor of provisionally approving a No Cost Extension for the new project end date of 1/31/18, as long as the TAC also approves it.
- On project 14-1: Dale said that he would follow-up on the project concerning the timeline as project funding has expired but next steps were outlined in a recent TAC meeting (per the Quarter 4 Progress Report).
- On project 15-2: The AC unanimously approved a motion in favor of provisionally approving the project’s budget reallocation, as long as the TAC also approves it.
Project 15-4 Updates and Questions
- Break into two-part project, complete part 1 for December 31?
- Defer to new pooled fund?
  - A third suggestion for project 15-4 was to choose not to proceed with the project at all.
  - Ann suggested that this conversation should be saved for the AC in-person meeting in March (ranking meeting); all agreed on this. It was suggested that a decision about the project should be made in part based on the results of the 13-3 final report.
Research Briefs and Posters
- Dale reminded the NETC that project fact sheets and posters should also go on the NETC website.
NETC Fund Balance Update (no change)
- All previous fund transfers have been completed
- FY2016 Fund Balance Transfers: $0.00
- FY2017 Fund Balance Transfers: Decision deferred, but budgeted by each state
- NETC Unallocated Balance as of 8/21/2017: $139,278.00
- NETC Coordinator funded through 9/1/2018 and limited funding through 2/15/2019 to complete NETC 15-series
  - It was noted that the fund balance would not change until the start of the Quick Response project ($50,000).
Other Business
- University Representatives
  - Ehsan Ghazanfari (UVM) has been put forward as the VT rep
  - Michael Knodler (UMass-Amherst) has been put forward as the MA rep
  - RI is without a university rep after a retirement. Outreach to both URI and RI DOT to seek a new rep
    - Mike Sock said that he would send the contact information of the new RI university rep to Hannah Ullman.
- February meeting is Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 11:00am. This meeting will be a regular conference call.
- Other
Adjourn