Implementation of Safety in the Project Development Process

When: Tuesday, April 9, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET

This webinar is led by the ITE Safety Council.

Webinar Description:

This webinar explores recent developments in the implementation of safety in the project development process. FHWA has updated its informational guidance on design exceptions with the publication of “Design Decision Documentation and Mitigation Strategies for Design Exceptions”. This updated guide and the design flexibilities as described in FHWA’s Memo dated November 16, 2023 (regarding provisions contained in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will be examined.

During the project development process, agencies can design their highway projects using low-cost systemic safety improvements. Systemic safety improvements is a approach to safety that allows agencies to address particular crash types by implementing widespread safety countermeasures to roadways with high-risk features. This webinar will also present two examples of systemic safety improvements implemented in a county and a city setting. The first example shows how systemic safety and data-driven safety analysis principles were applied during the scoping and design process within a national forest in Shoshone County, Idaho. The second example presents how the city of Colorado Springs evaluated, prioritized, and implemented new school zones and other safety improvements in school zones city wide.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss FHWA’s updated guide on documenting and mitigating design exceptions and FHWA’s recent Memo on project design flexibilities.
• Describe how systemic safety goals can be applied at the project level
• Identify how to create a systematic approach to implementing and prioritizing new school zones city wide.

Moderator:

Yanira Rivera, RSP, Safety and Transportation Operations Team Lead | Federal Highway Administration Eastern Federal Lands | Ashburn, VA, United States
 

Presenters:

• Todd Frisbie, P.E., City Traffic Engineer | Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs, CO, United States
• Sean Kilmartin, P.E., Civil Engineer (Highway) Safety | Federal Highway Administration Western Federal Lands | Vancouver, WA, United States
• Michael Matzke, Program Manager | Federal Highway Administration | Washington, DC, United States