Two ground-breaking projects championed by Iowa DOT were recently selected for awards from the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
For this project, researchers equipped a remote-controlled boat with data collection equipment to allow engineers to quickly and safely survey Iowa bridges.
In the past, divers might have to inspect underwater bridge elements, or field staff would have to squeeze into hard-to-reach places or wade into fast-moving water.
But the comparatively small boat, which cost about $50,000 to develop, has GPS, a compass, and sonar, and can enter tight spaces with ease—meaning engineers will have more data without ever having to get into the water.
The project earned Iowa DOT an AASHTO 2020 Sweet Sixteen award, an honor selected by Midwestern state DOT research directors who deemed this project to be of exceptionally high value.
In addition, an AASHTO 2020 Supplemental Award for Maintenance went to Iowa DOT for its Snowplow Optimization project, which increased snowplow route efficiency, saving both time and material costs.
Iowa DOT was honored with both awards at the RAC annual summer meeting in July 2020.
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