The US government has announced $16.6m in funding for eight states to adopt digital construction technologies in transportation projects
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration has allocated the grant funding under the Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems program as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law initiative, which provides a total of $85m over five years.
The $16.6m announced today follows an earlier round of funding that provided $34m in grants.
The funding is an incentive for state departments of transportation to promote the use of data and technologies that promote a more seamless flow of digital information, moving away from paper-based systems and building efficiencies into project delivery processes.
Ultimately, the goal of the projects is to save time and resources, and to deliver projects safely in a more cost-effective manner.
Project selections for the fiscal year 2024
Arizona Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Igniting Arizona’s Digital Delivery Revolution project to develop and pilot modern digital delivery practices on Arizona transportation projects.
Maine Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Digital Results and Innovation are a GO for 2030 (DIRIGO 2030) project to pilot the electronic delivery of projects, improve data collection, and eliminate the need for paper documentation.
Maryland State Highway Administration & Montgomery County DOT will receive funding for the Precise 3D Survey & Engineering of Transportation Infrastructure (P3DSETI) pilot project that will use cloud-based software to expedite project development and reduce the need for paper files.
New Hampshire Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Using Digital Project Delivery as a Catalyst for Recruitment and Retention at NHDOT to establish digital workflows and data standards for better information management.
New Mexico Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems Implementation Plan to develop workflow and standards to enable seamless and interoperable use of data across the survey, design, construction, planning, and management phases of a project.
New York State Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Advancing Lifecycle Management of Subsurface Roadway Asset Information project that will use Building Information Modeling (BIM) to integrate data related to the subsurface of the roadway. This will save time on design and construction timelines reducing the number of subsurface explorations.
Ohio Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Workflows Optimization for Real-time Knowledge Sharing (WORKS) project that uses BIM in all stages of project development to create significant time savings through information-sharing.
The Oregon Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Item Type Library for standardized information on transportation items and features, such as guardrails, traffic barriers, signage, lighting, and numerous other transportation assets to manage these throughout their lifecycle.
“These pioneering states are using technology and innovation to digitize systems to improve the way we deliver transportation projects,” said acting federal highway administrator Kristin White.
“These projects – which range from technologies to support the workforce, improve bid accuracy, and improve the way we communicate with the public – are leading the way to modernizing transportation.
“This program is oversubscribed by over 80%, showing the desire for public agencies to get funding to improve processes to be more innovative and use 21st century technologies in an increasingly digital world. These are small investments with big industry impact.”
