NJ STIC 2019 Summer Meeting

The NJ State Transportation Innovation Council (NJ STIC) held its 2019 Summer Meeting on August 8, 2019 in the NJDOT Multi-Purpose Room. The STIC Meeting Agenda was distributed to the attendees.

After Welcome and Opening Remarks, the NJDOT Bureau of Research informed attendees of the results of an online survey distributed in April and May 2019 that sought to identify innovative practices being undertaken by Local Public Agencies (i.e. Regional, County, Municipal). The survey had several goals: to inform the target survey audience of the Every Day Counts (EDC) initiatives; to identify innovative initiatives that deserve greater recognition (news articles, awards) and invite the sharing of lessons learned; to encourage greater deployment of innovations; and to identify presentation topics for upcoming STIC Quarterly Meetings. Indeed, some of the participating respondents identified EDC-5 initiatives that may offer lessons learned that are “ripe” for sharing through future STIC-related presentations, articles, workshops, or peer exchange type events. The survey also revealed some higher priority topics for Local Public Agencies (LPAs) for future presentations, workshops, and other forms of technical assistance. An initiative to further align the LPA's priority topics in subsequent rounds of EDC with future workshops and trainings through the Local Technical Assistance Program was also discussed.

Also of interest to Local Public Agencies, the Bureau of Research informed attendees of the newly established NJDOT Local Aid Resource Center, a new statewide effort designed to serve the needs of the 21 counties and 565 local governments throughout the state. The new Resource Center is available to assist communities with project planning, project delivery, communications, grant applications, guidance through the federal process, and much more.

The FHWA provided a brief update of the status of Every Day Counts (EDC-5) Innovative Initiatives, noting that progress reports were recently submitted for the initial six-month milestone period (January-June, 2019).

Short presentations were given by the three Core Innovation Area (CIA) Teams—Safety, Mobility & Operations, and Infrastructure Preservation—reporting on the activities planned and underway. More detail on the innovative initiatives can be accessed HERE.   The Infrastructure Preservation CIA Team gave a featured presentation on "High Friction Surface Treatments (HFST) that highlighted the benefits, lessons learned and challenges of applying HFST on state roads.

NJ STIC representatives from Local Public Agencies in Princeton Township, Monmouth County and Jackson Township provided a local perspective on EDC-5 innovative initiatives that are being institutionalized. The presentations highlighted key efforts and lessons learned to integrate data-driven safety in project selection in Monmouth County and implement pavement preservation treatment techniques in Jackson Township.

The NJDOT Bureau of Research described some of its recent communications efforts to raise awareness of the NJ STIC. The NJDOT Technology Transfer website contains a section describing the status of Innovative Initiatives through several EDC rounds and an  NJ STIC Outreach and Coordination webpage with information disseminated at recent conferences. The meeting closed with a Roundtable discussion that highlighted how the NJ STIC is evolving and using its outreach and communications tools (e.g., website, videos, trainings and workshops, and Tech Talk events) to further disseminate innovative practices among its diverse set of stakeholders.

The next STIC meeting is scheduled for November 19, 2019.

The NJ STIC Summer Meeting Presentations can be found here or in sections below along with some videos of skid measurement and the application of HFST shown during the High Friction Surface Treatments feature presentation.