By providing a solution to the highway and bridge rebar corrosion problem, it could be possible to enable transportation infrastructure to last for 100 years or longer in corrosive environments. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 240: Stainless Steel Coated Rebar for Chloride Resistant Concrete Highway and Bridges focused on a novel material approach to solving the reinforcement corrosion problem, using a stainless steel coating to crea...

A new AI-based tool has been developed and designed as a complement to classic statistical analysis in reaching a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the factors that contribute to traffic crashes. It has the potential to help transportation agencies identify high-risk areas and develop targeted countermeasures to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes. NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 231: AI Analyzer for Revealing Insights of Traffic Crashes , from TRB's IDEA (Innovations Deservin...

A robot-based device called AMAZE has been developed and can automate air void measurement, temperature conditioning, and cracking and rutting testing. This may help state departments of transportation face challenges that include cracking and rutting of asphalt mixes, loss of workforce, and laboratory safety concerns. NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 224: Development of an Automated and Rapid Conditioning and Testing Device for Cracking and Rutting , from TRB's IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory...

State highway agencies use structural snow fences to prevent blowing and drifting snow from encroaching onto roadways and causing public safety concerns. A solar snow fence is a versatile and effective tool that can be used to improve winter road safety and sustainability. It can generate electricity year-round and trap and store blowing snow as effectively as a wooden snow fence. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 234: Field Test and E...

Infrastructure inspectors can accelerate certain routine tasks, such as measuring all the cracks in a defect region or calculating the area of spalling, through the use of technology. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 222: Mixed Reality Assisted Infrastructure Inspections introduces a novel visual inspection methodology that uses a learning-based computer vision algorithm optimized for real-time operation in edge devices such as wearab...

Common multi-span bridges need to include applications that prevent damage in their substructure and superstructure due to earthquake excitation. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Achieving Resilient Multi-Span Bridge by using Buckling-Restrained Braces tests the concept of using energy-dissipating buckling restrained braces as “fuses” or sacrificial elements located at the end of the superstructure’s floating spans.

Static soil shear strength parameters in the form of friction angle and cohesion are required inputs for the safe design of foundations and earth retaining structures for virtually all transportation infrastructure including bridges, buildings, railways, wharves, piers, ports, tunnels, and pavements. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Development of In Situ Cyclic Borehole Shear Soil Test Device develops a device designed to enable the rapid in situ measurement of...

Bulk specific gravity is measured routinely during mixture design and quality assurance processes for asphalt mixtures. Due to a variety of factors, there can be large measurement variability that may require repeated measurements. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 229: Laboratory Dielectric Measurement System (LDMS) for Asphalt Mixture Bulk Specific Gravity Determination seeks to establish both the reliability and standardizing proced...

Fatigue cracks developed under repetitive traffic loads are a major threat to maintaining the structural integrity of steel bridges. It is believed that 50 percent to 90 percent of all mechanical failures in metallic structures are fatigue related. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 223: Fatigue Crack Inspection Using Computer Vision and Augmented Reality proposes a new concept that integrates computer-vision-based motion tracking and a...

A self-healing and conveniently removable pavement marking material allows for an increased marking life expectancy compared to existing epoxy systems. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 219: A Novel Durable, Healable, and Conveniently Removable Pavement Marking Material Suitable for Both Permanent and Temporary Marking Uses details the development of a pavement marking material that can be used for both permanent and temporary applicat...