2014 VDOT Roadeo

VDOT: Adopt-a-Highway

VDOT, Dominion VA Power, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Create Habitats for the Monarch Butterfly

FAIRFAX – Today the Virginia Department of Transportation, Dominion Virginia Power and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy planted 1,544 pollinator-friendly plants at four locations in northern Virginia.

The sites will serve as “waystations,” or refuges, for monarch butterflies and other threatened pollinators by providing nectar and shelter to protect and boost populations.

Volunteers dug 900 square-foot beds and planted 386 plants at each of the four VDOT-owned sites in northern Virginia:

• Southbound I-95 Dale City (car-only) Rest Area
• Stringfellow Road commuter lot in Centreville
• Telegraph Road commuter lot in Woodbridge
• Dulles North commuter lot in Sterling

.All of the plants are native and include 13 species:

• Common milkweed (asclepias syriaca)
• Swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata)
• New England Aster (Aster nova-angliae)
• Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
• Joe Pye (Eupatorium maculatum)
• Beebalm/Oswego Tea (Monarda didyma)
• Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
• Wrinkle-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
• Blue-stem Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
• New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
• Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
• Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm')

The plants will attract a multitude of pollinators including native and honey bees, monarchs and other butterfly species, and beetles. 

VDOT provided the land along with volunteers to plant the way stations while Dominion provided funding and a cadre of volunteers and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy provided technical expertise.

“These sites will make for beautiful gardens, with blossoms from late spring through fall,” said Diane Beyer, Roadside Management Planner for VDOT’s Maintenance Division. “We are hoping this pilot project will lead to a statewide pollinator planting program—one all residents of the Commonwealth can be proud of.”                   

“We are pleased to partner with the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and VDOT to put our energies to work for the monarch butterfly and for our environment,” said Carolyn Moss, Managing Director, Mid-Atlantic State and Local Affairs for Dominion Resources. “We each have an obligation to leave our planet in the same condition as we inherited it. Planting way stations for monarch butterflies and other threatened pollinators will go a long way toward preserving the special qualities they bring to our everyday lives.”

“We are thrilled to see two powerhouse organizations like VDOT and Dominion Power not only working together but also putting a focus on habitat restoration and public outreach efforts to help Bring Back the Monarchs and restore pollinator health,” said Nicole Hamilton, President of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. “We need to bring back over one million acres of milkweed and nectar habitat annually to succeed, and both VDOT and Dominion Power manage lands that can help make significant strides in achieving this. The plantings today are a wonderful step in making change happen and a demonstration of how we all can make a difference. Every plant counts.”

The four sites will be registered through the Monarch Watch Waystation Program. More information is available atwww.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

How Memphis Became a Great Bicycle City

When you think of Memphis, you probably think of Elvis, FedEx, or maybe on a more somber note, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

So you might be surprised to learn that Memphis is also becoming one of America's great bicycle towns. Three urban scholars (Kevin Smiley ofRice University, Wanda Rushing of the University of Memphis, and Michele Scott of North Carolina State) share the story of this unlikely development in anew issue of Urban Studies, and consider what it means for the city's future.

A quick bio on Memphis: Years of interstate expansion, urban renewal, and white middle-class flight took a big toll on the city center. City population has been on the decline...

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/10/how-memphis-became-a-great-bicycle-city/382061/

Oregon to Test Mileage Based Gas Tax

Some drivers in Oregon will soon pay gas taxes based on how many miles they travel, instead of how many gallons they buy, according to a report from Portland. 

The plan, known in transportation circles as Vehicle-Miles-Traveled (VMT), faced opposition over privacy concerns in Washington, when it was floated as alternative to the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax that is currently used to pay for infrastructure projects.

Read the rest of the story here: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/222322-oregon-to-test-mileage-based-gas-tax

New App Involves Parents in Education of Teen Drivers

It was National Teen Driver Safety Week recently, and a new app is helping parents
become more involved in the process of educating their children about driving.Brandon Ripplinger has been teaching drivers education for nearly a decade, and it’s a job he takes seriously.“Drivers ed is a subject that, obviously, we feel is very important,” he said. “It’s a subject where students’ lives are literally on the line.”Two years ago, Ripplinger had the idea for an app to make the drivers ed process safer as well as easier.Maneo Drive is a cloud based educational management system that allows teachers to do instant reports and automatic scheduling. It also includes access toparent involvement tools.“When you get parents involved with their kid’s learning, the student does so much better, and so this software, a big part of what it does is it bring the parents into the loop, which is going to lead to better drivers on the road,” he said.Once in the car, the instructor marks which things the student will be tested on. Then the iPad is put away until after the drive, allowing the teacher to pay full attention to the road.Afterward, the teacher makes notes on what the student needs to practice and sends it to the parent.“I think it has potential to have a huge impact,” Ripplinger said. “I think it has the ability to make the roads a lot safer. When you get parents and teachers on board together… great things happen, and so this is a tool that makes that easier for teachers.”Parents said this new app will give them more peace of mind when their kid is behind the wheel.“I think it’s really exciting,” parent Polli Wakley said. “I think anytime you get parents involved in the educational process, you’re maximizing your learning potential.”In return, the group Zero Fatalities believes it will result in safer drivers on the roads.“Parents are the key to teen driving success,” said Stacy Johnson, who is the coordinator for Zero Fatalities in Utah.  ”When parents are involved in the teen driving process, teen fatalities go down 50 percent.”Four school districts—Granite, Emery, Davis and Cache–will roll out Moneo Drive in November as a pilot program. They expect even more schools to have the program next year.

Watch video of this report here- http://fox13now.com/2014/11/01/new-app-involves-parents-in-education-of-teen-drivers/

VDOT's Winter Budget and Equipment In Place

VDOT’S WINTER BUDGET, EQUIPMENT IN PLACE
Agency Estimates $145.5 Million Available for Statewide Snow Removal

RICHMOND, Va. – Ready for winter again this year? The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is. VDOT has its initial budgets, materials, equipment and staffing in place across the state in preparation for whatever this year’s weather brings to keep your roads clear. Last winter proved that weather patterns pay no attention to the calendar, with snow on the ground in various parts of the state from late October into early April.

VDOT’s estimated snow-removal budget is $145.5 million for the winter of 2014-2015. The snow-removal budget is part of VDOT’s overall FY 2015 maintenance budget of approximately $1.5 billion.

“Maintaining roads – no matter what the weather brings – is VDOT’s number-one job,” said VDOT Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick. “On the front lines clearing snow, in control rooms managing traffic flow, in the districts reporting conditions to the public or elsewhere allocating necessary resources – our employees train year-round to keep you moving. We ask you to slow down and give our equipment operators plenty of room to do their job on the road, which is primarily to get you where you need to be – safely.”

VDOT snow-removal budget, equipment, materials

The snow-removal budget covers all materials, staff and contractor time. Here’s a breakdown by each VDOT district:

Last winter, VDOT’s preseason snow-removal budget for 2013-2014 was $157 million, a figure based on the average expenditures from the previous five winters. The agency spent approximately $350 million by the end of the season.

Materials and supplies in stock for the 2014-2015 season for snow and ice removal include:

• 366,678 tons of salt,
• 122,766 tons of sand,
• 60,850 tons of treated abrasives,
• 564,405 gallons of liquid calcium chloride, and
• 1.1 million gallons of salt brine.

VDOT replenishes supplies as they are used throughout the winter.

What’s new: Recycling runoff into brine

When VDOT loads salt onto snow-removal trucks on a paved area – called a “mixing pad” – at its salt-storage facilities, the runoff is directed either to impermeable ponds or underground tanks, since the mixing pad is normally wet during the loading process due to water or snow.

To manage such runoff during the salt-loading process, VDOT is reusing some of this water from the ponds or tanks to produce brine, a solution of salt and water, to turn an environmental challenge – disposing of that runoff – into a supply opportunity.

In the past few years, VDOT has relied more and more on applying brine to roads in areas where feasible before winter storms. This is because it can prevent frozen precipitation from bonding to the pavement, and it’s more environmentally friendly than salt.

As part of a multi-year pilot, most salt facilities in VDOT’s Richmond District now recycle this runoff into brine. The water in the holding ponds doesn’t evaporate quickly, and offsite disposal that meets environmental standards is often quite costly, averaging 46 cents per gallon in some areas. The Richmond District used approximately 550,000 gallons of brine last winter, most of which came from runoff processed from its holding ponds.

VDOT is looking to increase the number of locations where such recycling would be feasible and cost effective. In-house research has determined that VDOT could reduce the volume of water requiring disposal by at least 50 percent. The research also concluded that, based on average statewide pre-wetting and brine applications before winter storms, more than 20 million gallons of such runoff could be reused around Virginia.

Ongoing: Online snowplow tracker in Northern Virginia

For the past three years, VDOT has activated an online neighborhood tracking map that monitors the status of plowing in Northern Virginia neighborhoods when it snows two inches or more.

You can access the snowplow tracker at http://www.vdotplows.org/.

A video on how to use the website is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMRaItZLgyo&feature=youtu.be.

Pretreating roads

When snow or ice is predicted, VDOT crews pretreat trouble spots on interstates and other high-volume roads with anti-icing chemicals, including salt brine and liquid calcium chloride.

As part of a pilot to reduce costs, VDOT’s Northern Virginia District will only apply a brine mix in part of Chantilly, in lieu of any road salt, to determine if this is a viable alternative to applying salt after plowing.

Road-clearing priorities

• VDOT’s goal is to have all state-maintained roads passable within 48 hours after a winter storm ends.

Crews first begin clearing interstates, primary roads and major secondary roads that connect localities, fire stations, employment hubs, military posts, schools, hospitals and other important public facilities. Secondary roads and subdivision streets will be treated if multiday storms hit the commonwealth, but crews will focus efforts on those roads that carry the most traffic.

A statewide network of 77 weather sensors in roadways and bridges, plus 16 mobile video data platforms, allows crews to quickly identify when and where road surfaces might be freezing.

VDOT maintains all roads in Virginia, except those in incorporated cities and in Arlington and Henrico counties.

Have a plan before you drive

VDOT advises motorists to have a winter driving plan and to get where you need to be ahead of the bad weather. Visitwww.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/stayinformed/winter for more winter-weather preparedness tips from VDEM.

To avoid accidents during winter storms, VDOT always suggests delaying travel when possible. If you see a slow-moving snowplow or other vehicles treating roads, slow down and give the operators the right of way for their safety and yours.

Before traveling, you can get the latest traffic conditions by calling 511, or go to www.511virginia.org. You also can download Virginia’s free 511 mobile app at http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/511.asp#app.

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Additional Winter-Weather Information Sources

The following fact sheets on VDOT’s website contain more detailed information about tips for safe winter-weather driving and the agency’s snow-removal policies, budget and equipment:

• Snow-removal preparations, procedures – VDOT’s road-clearing priorities
• Estimated snow-removal budget, 2014-2015
• Available equipment by VDOT district, 2014-2015
• VDOT equipment and supplies, winter 2014-2015
• How VDOT keeps roads clear in winter – explains the processes used
• Winter weather tools for clearing roads – materials VDOT uses
• Be prepared for winter driving – tips on how to stay safe in snow and ice

Travel resources

• 511 and www.511virginia.org

Call 511 or use the 511 website for real-time updates on Virginia road conditions and traffic incidents.

• 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623)

Report road hazards or ask road-related questions at VDOT’s 24-hour Customer Service Center by calling this statewide toll-free number.

• Facebook

“Like” www.facebook.com/virginiadot  to learn more about VDOT news and programs, and to receive updates.

• YouTube 

Visit VDOT’s YouTube site (www.youtube.com/vdotweb) for videos on snow removal.

• VDOT’s website
  • Winter travel tips and photos, video and audio clips of snow: www.virginiadot.org/travel/snow.asp
  • How VDOT prepares for emergencies and what residents and visitors can do:www.virginiadot.org/about/emer_response.asp

For more winter driving information, please visit http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/snow.asp.