it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a . . . bridge? · technology news 2 feb–mar 1999 the...

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THE CITY PARK in Fredericksburg, Iowa,has a new old bridge. The historical pin-connected truss bridge, which was built

in 1875–1876 before Custer’s last stand in the LittleBig Horns, was sold to the city by Buchanan Countyfor one dollar.

Once Buchanan County decided it wasn’t economi-cally feasible to preserve the bridge or relocate theroadway, the bridge was advertised, and the City ofFredericksburg made arrangements to acquire it.The bridge, known locally as Bordners Dam Bridge,spanned the Wapsipinicon River west of Ottervilleand was part of a gravel farm-to-market-class roadaveraging 120 vehicles per day. A three-ton loadlimit was posted on the bridge.

To begin the moving process, the bridge was disas-sembled and moved off the water by Taylor Con-struction of New Vienna. Buchanan CountyEngineer Brian Keierleber worked with a consultingengineer to choose the proper pick points along thebridge to accommodate the various stresses of beingmoved.

Before the Iowa Army National Guard attempted tomove the bridge, the Iowa Department ofTransportation’s weight enforcement divisionweighed the 100-foot main truss. After all the floorbeams were removed, but with all its rigging, themain truss weighed 18,700 pounds.

Pilots with an aviation battalion in Davenport useda Chinook helicopter to fly two spans of the bridgefrom a field near its original site on December 5 and10, 1998. The Guard agreed to move the bridge forfree.

The Guard pilots had trouble with the main truss,partly because the Chinook helicopter had toomuch weight itself with all its fuel. So the smaller64-foot truss was moved first. Meanwhile portalswere pulled off the ends of the 100-foot truss tomake it a bit lighter. It was successfully moved sev-eral days later. The Guard pilots flew the two trussbridges approximately 35 miles to their new site.The longer truss was set on its news pilings.

In its new location, the historical truss bridge will beopen to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

In the old bridge’s place, a new federal-aid concretebeam bridge will be built and should be finished byJune 1999, says Keierleber.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a . . . bridge?

2 Green cleaning3 LTAP advisory board provides direction4 Traffic calming concepts5 Traffic calming, Iowa style7 Concrete award winners7 Get ready for 20008 Spin your web: Planning the site

9 More about the web9 Hot tip? Earn $10010 Safety short: Fluorescent yellow green signs

in Iowa10 Safety short: Retroreflectivity standards

update11 Conference calendar11 Update on signing conference

TECHNOLOGY NEWS 2 FEB–MAR 1999

The preparation of thisnewsletter was financed through theLocal Technical Assistance Program

(LTAP). LTAP is a nationwideeffort financed jointly in Iowa by

the Federal HighwayAdministration and the Iowa

Department of Transportation.The mission of Iowa’s LTAP:

To foster a safe, efficient,environmentally sound

transportation system by improvingskills and knowledge of local

transportation providers throughtraining, technical assistance, and

technology transfer, to improve thequality of life for Iowans.

Subscriptions toTECHNOLOGY NEWS are free, and

we welcome your comments,questions, and suggestions. To

subscribe, or to obtain permissionto reprint articles, contact the editor

at the address below.

Center for TransportationResearch and Education

2625 N. Loop Drive, Suite 2100 Ames, Iowa 50010-8615

Telephone: 515-294-8103 Fax: 515-294-0467

http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/

Tom MazeDirector

[email protected]

Duane SmithAssociate Director for Outreach

[email protected]

Marcia BrinkEditor

[email protected]

Tom McDonaldSafety Circuit Rider

[email protected]

Sharon ProchnowProgram Coordinator

[email protected]

Stan RingLibrary Coordinator

[email protected]

Michele RegenoldAssistant Editor

[email protected]

The opinions, findings, orrecommendations expressed

here are those of theCenter for Transportation

Research and Educationand do not necessarily reflect

the views of the FederalHighway Administration or the

Iowa Department ofTransportation.

Iowa State University and theCenter for Transportation

Research and Educationprovide equal opportunities and

comply with ADA requirements inprograms and employment. Call

the Affirmative ActionOffice at 515-294-7612

to report discrimination.

TECHNOLOGY NEWSnameplate was designed by

Jennifer Reed.Printed on

Recycled Paper

IOWA’S TRANSPORTATION agencies con-tinue to experiment with environmen-tally friendly winter road maintenance

methods. Simply prewetting salt before spreading it,for example, helps salt stick to the roadway better sothat less salt is needed. Spreading salt brine or otherchemicals before snow and ice bond to the roadway(anti-icing) also reduces the total amount of chemi-cal required.

This winter the Iowa Department of Transportation(Iowa DOT) is testing one of a breed of new, envi-ronmentally friendly, anti-icing/deicing agents: ICEBAN. Made of liquid byproducts from the pro-cessing of grains and other agricultural products,ICE BAN is highly soluble in water, biogradable,non-toxic, and non-corrosive, according to themanufacturer. When mixed with brine or used as aprewetting agent, it could reduce the amount ofdamaging chlorides in the environment. Accordingto ICE BAN’s Iowa distributor, a mixture of aslittle as 20 percent ICE BAN to 80 percentsodium chloride is less corrosive than tap water.

Preliminary results in Iowa DOT operations indi-cate that ICE BAN is no more or less effectivethan plain salt brine. However, at about 65 cents agallon, ICE BAN is significantly less expensivethan another environmentally friendly product, cal-cium magnesium acetate (CMA). CMA is manufac-tured in Fort Madison but, because of its cost, isused by the Iowa DOT in only one area: the newBurlington bridge. ICE BAN could become a rea-sonably priced alternative in environmentally sensi-tive areas.

Dan Laing, operations assistant in the Tiptongarage, says his shop mixes ICE BAN 50/50 withsalt brine. They have used the mixture four or fivetimes this winter for after-storm cleanup and as aprewetting agent. “We haven’t seen a whole lot ofdifference” between the ICE BAN‘ mixture and juststraight salt brine, Laing says.

The ICE BAN mixture is “pretty thick,” accord-ing to Laing, and the Tipton crew has experiencedsome settlement of ICE BAN in the tank. Theyhad some trouble at first with excessive foamingwhen filling the tank. The manufacturer suggestedfilling from the bottom, which helped. “We’ve alsofound some corn hulls in the nozzles,” Laing says,but clogged nozzles have not been a significantproblem.

The Ames garage also uses a 50/50 blend of ICEBAN and salt brine. According to Paul Durham,maintenance supervisor, the maintenance crew istesting the mixture in two applications: pretreatingbridges to prevent frost development, andprewetting salt in deicing activities.

Other than some valve shut-downs caused by viscos-ity of the mixture, Durham says there have been noreal problems with the product but no real advan-tages either. “It turns the pavement brown,” he says.

According to Dennis Burkheimer, winter opera-tions administrator at the Iowa DOT, in addition toits brown color ICE BAN has a “funny smell.”Sometimes it smells like chocolate but, more often,like a cereal processing plant—not particularlypleasant. But the strange smell is not necessarily aproblem, Burkheimer says.

In Spirit Lake, Roger Vigdal, highway maintenancesupervisor 2, reports the shop is using a 50/50 ICEBAN/salt brine mix primarily as a prewettingagent. They have recently saturated a salt pile withthe mixture, taking a cue from New York state,which has claimed that salt treated in this way maywork faster as a deicer.

“We haven’t been able to get a handle on whetherit’s less corrosive,” Vigdal says. “The shop floor is alittle cleaner” when using the ICE BAN mixturecompared to using straight salt or salt brine.

The Council Bluffs garage is mixing ICE BAN50/50 with calcium chloride. Todd Frank, highwaymaintenance supervisor 2, says that after only threetest runs, they have found no difference in meltingcapabilities of the 50/50 mix compared to straightcalcium chloride.

One positive aspect, Frank says, is that the ICEBAN mix is visible coming out of the sprayer. Thetraveling public can see the product being sprayedon the roadways. But the spray also covers the taillights with a dirty film “like a slimy road grime,”requiring the spreader to be hosed down more oftento keep it clean and visible on the road.

The jury is still out on ICE BAN. Burkheimer willcontinue to monitor operational tests this winterand next. For more information, call him at515-239-1355. Or see the manufacturer’s web page,www.iceban.com/.

Green cleaning


Center for TransportationResearch and Education

CTRE

LTAP Advisory Board

The people listed below helpguide and direct the policiesand activities of the Center forTransportation Research andEducation’s Local TechnicalAssistance Program (LTAP)The board meets at leastannually.

Contact any of the advisorycommittee members tocomment, make suggestions, orask questions about any aspectof LTAP.

Saleem BaigLocal SystemsIowa Department ofTransportationTelephone: 515-239-1051

Gary FoxTraffic andTransportation DirectorCity of Des MoinesTelephone: 515-283-4973

Kevin GilchristSenior Transportation PlannerDes Moines MetropolitanPlanning OrganizationTelephone: 515-237-1316

Neil GuessCity EngineerCity of NewtonTelephone: 515-792-6622

Becky HiattIowa Division, FederalHighway AdministrationTelephone: 515-233-7321

Raymond HollandCity EngineerCity of BettendorfTelephone: 319-344-4055

Harold JensenStory County EngineerTelephone: 515-382-6581

Larry JesseLocal SystemsIowa Department ofTransportationTelephone: 515-239-1528

Bob SperryWebster County EngineerTelephone: 515-576-3281

by Duane Smith, Associate Director of Outreach

THE IOWA LTAP advisory board met withLTAP staff on January 21, 1999, to reviewthe work plan and to provide input into

the 1999 accomplishment plan.

Goals and strategies provide guidance for completingthe Iowa Local Technical Assistance Program’s(LTAP) mission “to foster a safe, efficient, environ-mentally sound transportation system by improvingskills and knowledge for local transportation provid-ers through training, technical assistance, and tech-nology transfer. By working together we strive toenhance the quality of life for all Iowans.”

The goals are to• obtain sustaining and predictable funding

• continue to diversify and to deliver qualitycustomer services

• communicate the program’s value to LTAPpartners and customers

• develop a premiere technology transfer networkin Iowa and contribute to a national network

The strategies are to• secure funding resources

• integrate research delivery with local agencyneeds

• expand and strengthen partnerships

• deliver quality services

• improve LTAP recognition

• develop and implement measurement andevaluation methods

The advisory board reviewed each LTAP activity andshared comments and input with staff members.

Technology NewsThe possibilities for reducing costs of the LTAP pub-lication Technology News were reviewed. After dis-cussing options (reduced distribution, fewer issuesper year, fewer pages per issue, and improved man-agement of the mail list), the advisory board recom-mended keeping Technology News as it is with sixissues per year and 12 pages per issue. Staff will workon improving the management of the mail list,which will be a top priority for 1999.

WorkshopsThe board reviewed workshops that are the core ofLTAP such as construction inspection, sign man-agement, the summer and winter expos, motorgrader operator (MoGO), and the Iowa SecondaryRoad Maintenance Supervisory Association confer-ence. The board suggested that scheduling work-shops farther in advance will help with budgetingand scheduling. As suggested by the board, staff willwork more closely with local communities and pro-vide facilities for workshops in more locations, al-lowing for a wider audience.

LibraryThe library and reference activities continue to be astaple of the Iowa LTAP. Library resources are keptcurrent and older resources are removed. The cata-log has been distributed widely and is well knownby most of the local agencies. The library catalog isalso available online with full search capabilities andthe ability to place online orders. There is not yet alarge demand for this Internet service, but the de-mand will grow in the near future. LTAP staff con-tinues to provide reference information on an asneeded basis.

Safety Circuit RiderThe growing Safety Circuit Rider program is a criti-cal element in providing safety training for localgovernments. The program will continue offeringflagger training, PC-ALAS training, signing work-shops, and work zone safety training to local agen-cies in conjunction with the Iowa Department ofTransportation. Input from local governmentsabout their needs is important. See the survey onCTRE’s web site at www.ctre.iastate.edu/outreach/survey/surveyform.cfm.

The board will continue to meet twice annually toreview the LTAP program and progress made onachieving goals and objectives, and to provide guid-ance to the program in general. The next meeting ofthe advisory board is scheduled for April 20, 1999.If you wish to have input to the program you cancontact any of the LTAP staff or any of the boardmembers. The board members are listed in the mar-gin on this page in every issue of Technology News.All input is valued and will be considered forimplementation.

For more information, contact Duane Smith,515-294-8103, [email protected].

LTAP advisory board provides direction


with Keith Knapp, Manager, Traffic Engineering and

Traffic Safety Programs at CTRE

This article is the second in a series abouttraffic engineering and traffic safety.

“TRAFFIC CALMING” is a relatively newapproach to roadway improvements.Until recently in the United States, the

general emphasis of roadway design has been onserving vehicular traffic. Whether by widening athoroughfare or implementing intelligent transpor-tation system technologies, roadway designers havegenerally focused on accommodating vehicles.

Traffic calming provides an alternative roadwaydesign approach that, in appropriate neighbor-hoods, also accommodates pedestrians, bicyclists,and other non-vehicular traffic. Traffic calmingmeasures may be considered wherever motoriststend to drive too fast or carelessly for the mixed-traffic character of the neighborhood, e.g., residen-tial streets, developed rural roadways, collector/distributor streets, school neighborhoods, and mainstreets. Such measures serve to slow motorists,requiring them to be more attentive and perhapseven diverting them to other roadways. Properlyimplemented, traffic calming measures may make

roadways safer (or at least feel safer) for foot trafficand wheeled traffic alike.

The primary objectives of most traffic calming mea-sures are to decrease the number and severity ofvehicle-related accidents and increase pedestrians’and bicyclists’ feelings of security. In addition toslowing vehicles, traffic calming measures mayreduce the number and types of vehicles on a road-way. Discouraged by required speed reductions andvehicle maneuvers, some drivers (e.g., those onthrough trips and/or driving commercial vehicles)may find more suitable routes. Other benefits mayinclude less vehicle noise and/or emissions,enhanced roadway appearance or identity, andincreased pedestrian and bike flow.

Many engineers and planners who may not befamiliar with the term “traffic calming” have never-theless implemented measures that have similareffects. Most transportation professionals couldprobably identify at least one traffic engineeringdevice in their jurisdiction that changes vehicle traf-fic patterns. For example, one-way roadways andturning restrictions at specific intersections are com-mon and effective devices for re-routing traffic.

Examples of specific traffic calming measures, someof them borrowed from Europe, being implementedaround the country include the following:• roadway closures (full or partial)

• speed humps

• speed tables (wide, flat speed humps)

• rumble strips/thumps

• changes in pavement texture/color

• splitter islands

• gateways

• roadway narrowings/pinch points/chokers

• jogs

• chicanes

• raised junctions

• traffic circles/mini-roundabouts

Many established neighborhoods are feeling thepressures of increased traffic congestion. Heavyvehicle traffic on through streets sometimes causes

Traffic calming concepts

Schematic examples of aspeed table, roadway nar-rowing, and fully-divertedroadway are shown in thefigure below. Figure cour-tesy of the City of IowaCity’s web site (www.iowa-city.com/city/planning/Frame.htm).

TRAFFIC CALMING . . . continued on page 5


traffic to shift to parallel streets in neighborhoods that were neverintended or designed to handle significant numbers of fast-mov-ing vehicles. In recent years, prompted by increased surface streetcongestion, some planners are turning to traffic calming mea-sures that help re-claim the intended character of these neighbor-hoods. Traffic calming measures are also being implemented innew neighborhoods to prevent similar problems.

Before implementing a traffic calming measure on an existing orplanned roadway, however, carefully consider several issues:

Is the measure a viable alternative for improving safety and/or pedes-trian mobility and comfort? Before and after implementing a traf-fic calming measure in an existing neighborhood, take trafficcounts, check speeds, review crash records, and/or conduct ori-gin/destination surveys to identify the amount of through andlocal traffic.

Is it self-enforcing? An effective traffic calming measure automati-cally controls motorists’ drivingbehavior without police enforcement.

What impact will the measure have on street maintainance, emer-gency response, and the surrounding street system? Street mainte-nance departments are concerned about navigating theirequipment through traffic calming devices. Firefighters andother emergency personnel worry that traffic calming measureswill increase their response time. Surrounding streets will likelyexperience additional traffic as motorists select alternate routes.

What are the liability issues? Could your traffic calming measurebe considered an obstacle to safedriving?

Perhaps most important, does your proposed project have the supportof city agencies and surrounding neighborhoods? To improve yourchances for successful implementation, involve adjacent propertyowners, surrounding neighborhood groups, and relevant cityagencies in the planning, design, and implementation stages.

Because answers to these questions are not always clear, someagencies implement traffic calming measures on a temporary ba-sis. Then, if the outcome is positive, a permanent solution can beconstructed.

As described in the accompanying article, many of Iowa’s urbanareas have or soon will have all theingredients needed to implement traffic calming. Expect an in-crease in requests for traffic calming measures—especially afterthat first successful project.

For more information• Contact Keith Knapp, 515-294-2744,

[email protected].

• The August 1997 issue of ITE Journal contains several excellentarticles on traffic calming that address liability issues, questionsconcerning AASHTO design specifications, and measures beingimplemented around the country.

• CTRE’s LTAP library includes several publications, videotapes,and taped public serviceannouncements regarding traffic calming; to borrow any of thesematerials contact librarian Stan Ring, 515-294-9481,[email protected]. You can also search the library catalog andplace an order online at www.ctre.iastate.edu/Outreach/ltap/library/search.cfm.

• CTRE recently conducted a study on speed humps; it is online atwww.ctre.iastate.edu/projects/other/roadhump/speedhump.htm

TRAFFIC CALMING . . . continued from page 4

A BIT OF EUROPe is making its way to Iowa, as our citiesexperiment with traffic calming techniques that are com-mon across the Atlantic.

Des MoinesYou don’t have to spend a lot of money to implement some very effec-tive traffic calming measures, according to Mike Ring, senior trafficengineer for the City of Des Moines.

The city recently re-striped Ingersoll Avenue between Polk Boulevardand 56th Street to narrow the lanes and slow drivers down. The 24-foot-wide surface used to be two 12-foot lanes, with a four-foot side-walk bumping up against the curb along one lane. After restriping, theroadway now has two 10-foot lanes with edge lines that create a four-foot buffer area between the sidewalk curb and the edge line.

The result? Before-and-after speed studies show that the narrowerlanes along the 30-mph stretch “slow people down,” Ring says. Infact, the 85th percentile speed was reduced by three miles per hour,and the number of drivers exceeding 40 mph was cut in half. Theslower speeds, along with the buffer area, create a more comfortableenvironment for pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Ring has experimented with other traffic calming devices that haveworked “extremely well.” Hisdepartment constructed a traffic circle near East High School to slowvehicles. Traffic circles are smaller and less expensive to construct thanroundabouts. This particular circle, about 16 feet in diameter, wasbuilt within an existing intersection without other major reconstruc-

Traffic calming, Iowa style

IOWA STYLE . . . continued on page 6


IOWA STYLE . . . continued from page 5

tion of the intersection geometry. With support ofthe neighborhood, the city first constructed a tem-porary asphalt circle. After the device proved effec-tive, it was replaced with a permanent concrete curbin the fall of 1998.

At either end of a block in the same school neigh-borhood, the city constructed intersection “knuck-les” that narrow the street and make drivers slow

down. Again, before-and-afterspeed studies demonstratedthat the devices effectively“calmed” traffic. In the area,85th percentile speeds werereduced four miles per hour,and the number of driversexceeding the 25-mph speedlimit was cut by 35 percent.

Iowa CityIowa City has had a trafficcalming policy in place formore than two years. (See

www.iowa-city.com/city/planning/Frame.htm.)Along with physical changes to streets, the city in-cludes police enforcement and driver education aselements of its traffic calming program.

Doug Ripley, Iowa City’s traffic engineering plan-ner, says that since the policy was adopted the cityhas installed speed humps in one neighborhood andis planning two other installations: traffic circles inone neighborhood, and chicanes and bulb-outs(sometimes called bump-outs) in another. For allthree projects, the city has worked closely with theaffected neighborhoods.

Reaction to thespeed humps hasbeen mostlypositive. In afollow-up sur-vey, most peopleaffected by thehumps likedthem because ofperceived re-duced speedsand reducedtraffic. “Noteverybodywanted to keep

the humps,” Ripley says, “but the majority did.”The fire department, however, “doesn’t like them”because they may reduce response time.

The traffic circles and the chicane-and-bulb-outprojects will be temporarily constructed out ofasphalt. After a year, the city will evaluate theireffectiveness, using follow-up neighborhood surveysand before-and-after speed studies. If the projectsare proven worthwhile, they will be replaced withpermanent construction.

CliveThe City of Clive is addressing the issue of emer-gency responders when it constructs severalroundabouts in a residential neighborhood thisyear. The radius of the roundabouts will be largeenough to accommodate emergency vehicles. Also,the center island will have a two-foot mountablecurb that allows emergency vehicles to drivethrough the roundabout in a straighter (i.e., faster)line.

Clive’s street maintenance crew is concerned aboutsnow plowing activities in the roundabouts, accord-ing to Doug Ollendike, community developmentdirector for the City of Clive. Maintenance workerswill experiment when the first snow falls nextwinter.

“We got our ideas for the roundabouts from theFlorida and Maryland DOTs,” Ollendike says. Bothstates provided Clive’s design engineers, Snyder &Associates, with design manuals and videotapes thathelped the city design the roundabouts as focalpoints in a parkway connecting fragmentedneighborhoods.

“The roundabouts have an aesthetic purpose asmuch as a functional purpose,” Ollendike notes. Hebelieves they will create safer, more efficient inter-sections along the connector street.

In another Clive neighborhood, a calming islandhas been approved for construction this spring inconjunction with a highly debated re-zoning fromresidential area to office park. Including the trafficcalming device was critical to approval of there-zoning. Its inclusion helped alleviate some of theneighborhood’s concern about office traffic movingthrough the residential area. Now, Ollendike says,“the city is excited to get this project movingforward.”

This temporary asphaltcurb was installed during

the summer of 1998. It hassince been replaced with apermanent concrete curb.

This 16-foot traffic circle islocated at the intersection

of E 12th Street andBuchanan Street in Des

Moines.


IT’S NOT TOO LATE to protect your department from serious impacts ofthe Y2K bug—the computer programming glitch that renders someprograms, particularly older ones, incapable of handling the year 2000.

But Blake Redfield, traffic supervisor for the City of Council Bluffs, encouragescities to act now.

“The Y2K issue is a major concern for all cities throughout Iowa,” Redfield says.“Practically every conceivable automated system now utilizes microprocessors andmust be considered a candidate for Y2K problems.”

His suggested timetable for applying these steps for all computer systems in a typi-cal city agency, including traffic controllers, is reproduced here. If you’re behindschedule, start today.

Redfield’s timetable is part of a small handbook, “Year 2000 Computer Problemsin Transportation,” he prepared for the Iowa Traffic and Traffic Safety Forum inDes Moines in December 1998. For more information, contact him at712-328-4634, [email protected].

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Get ready for 2000

IOWA LOCAL governments were amongthe 1998 award winners for the ninthannual National Awards Program for

Excellence in Concrete Pavement. The 1998 awardsrecognize contractors, engineers, and owners whocompleted outstanding projects in 1997.

The City of Decorah won the “municipal streets-rural” award for nine blocks of a business districtreconstruction. The storefront-to-storefront pavingincluded streets and sidewalks.

The Cities of Des Moines and Windsor Heightswon the “municipal streets-urban” award for the reconstruction of the 63rdStreet and University Avenueintersection. Contractors widened one of the inter-secting streets to four lanes and added left-turn lanesto both streets at the intersection. All the construc-tion and paving was done without closing the roadto traffic.

Fremont County took home the “county roads”award for an eight-mile stretch of county highwayL-68. Most of the original pavement was 22-feetwide, the width of the new unbonded concrete over-lay, but a 1.6-mile section was only 18 feet wide. Toavoid displacing the original centerline, county en-gineers capped the narrow section with a thickened,tied, and jointed two-foot widening on both sides.

Concrete award winners


First in a series of articles about web sitedevelopment.

A WELL PLANNED World Wide Web (web)site takes time to develop, but it’s worththe extra effort when your customers can

easily find the information they need. Even if youplan to outsource your web site’s design and mainte-nance, answering the questions below will help yourfuture webmaster (and you) understand your visionfor the site.

1) What’s your purpose for publishing a web site?Remember that the web is an interactive medium.Not only can you provide information to your con-stituents, but they can interact with your depart-ment or agency. Think of a web site as an extracustomer service counter, one that can be accessed24 hours a day.

2) Who are the intended audiences?Knowing who you’re planning this web site for willhelp you decide what kind of information to includeon your site, how to organize it, and how to presentit. Potential audiences include• people who live in your city or county

• visitors to your area

• other city or county agencies/departments

• your city council or county supervisors

• utility companies

• local businesses

3) What are the short- and long-term goals of yourweb site?Is the web the best way to meet those goals? Possibleshort-term goals include• publishing information and e-mail link to con-

tact staff

• publishing this year’s construction plans

• describing your department’s/agency’s primarymission

• advertising job openings

• announcing bid openings

• announcing snow emergencies and road closures

• providing an e-mail link for customers torequest maintenance

• publishing news releases

Possible long-term goals include• providing an online service request form for cus-

tomers to report maintenance problems on theirstreets or roads

• publishing an online newsletter for yourconstituents

• providing an online library of all agency policies

• publishing maps of future construction plans

4) What can you afford?There are several factors to consider here that basi-cally break down into four categories: short-termand long-term costs, personnel, and equipment. Inaddition to the initial development costs, rememberthat a web site needs regular maintainenance. If youput all your money into setting up a web site andthen never update the information or make sure allthe links still work, you’ve wasted your time andmoney because your site will lose credibility withthe very people you’re trying to reach.

Specific personnel costs can vary dramatically:• Will you hire someone to be a webmaster to cre-

ate and maintain your site?

• Will you contract with someone to develop thesite but have existing staff maintain it?

• Will your staff do all the development andmaintenance?

• Will you hire an outside firm to develop, main-tain, and host your site?

• Who will oversee or manage the site?

A web site needs a computer, called a server, to runon. Your department doesn’t need its own server inorder to have a web site. If your city or countyalready has a network and server in place, it’s pos-sible the city or county would host your site.Another option is to have an Internet service pro-vider host your site for a monthly fee, usually about$50 for small sites.

The City of Ames saves $3,000–4,000 per year bymaintaining its own site. Clare Bills, the city’s pub-lic relations officer, is the overall webmaster, buteach department maintains its own pages. Bills says“we looked for natural talents” when it was decided

If you think it’s time foryour transportationagency, either by itself oras part of a city or countygovernment, to publish aweb site, this series ofarticles will help youthink through the plan-ning stages of developinga web site and then pro-vide several how-toarticles to guide youthrough the nuts andbolts of web site creation.More detailed versions ofthese articles will appearonline atwww.ctre.iastate.edu/outreach/web/ with linksto even more resources.The series will also bereprinted in a handybooklet and distributedto local transportationagencies.

Spin your web: Planning the site

SPIN . . . continued on page 9


that existing city employees would maintain the site.“Each department has a sense of ownership,” Billssays. Interested people volunteered and were trainedon Microsoft’s FrontPage software. No additionalsalary is paid to anyone. The city’s site is hosted byLighthouse Communications, an Internet serviceprovider in Des Moines. Bills sends the changespeople have made to the web site to LighthouseCommunications at the end of each day.

The next article in this series will address hardwareand software needs for developing and maintaininga web site and how to get connected to the Internet.

For more information about the City of Ames’ site(www.city.ames.ia.us/), call Clare Bills,515-239-5101. For more information about devel-oping a web site for your transportation agency, callMichele Regenold, communications specialist andwebmaster at CTRE, 515-296-0835,[email protected].

More about the web

IN CONJUNCTION with this new series ofarticles on developing a World WideWeb site, CTRE is sponsoring a two-day,

eight-hour satellite conference, “TransportationAgencies and the Internet.” Mark your calendar forMay 5 and 12, 1999, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The May 5 session will cover basic uses of theInternet and World Wide Web for transportationagencies and professionals, including planning anddeveloping a web presence. The May 12 session willcover advanced uses of the web.

Registration materials will be mailed soon, withinformation about reserving satellite downlink sites.Sites are available at many educational and govern-mental locations like university extension offices,community colleges, city and county administrationoffices, and some public schools.

For more information contact Duane Smith, associ-ate director for outreach, 515-294-8817,[email protected].

WANT TO SHARE your tips for doing your job better,smarter, faster, safer, or cheaper?

We’ll publish the best tips in the “Tip from theField” column in Technology News and send you$100.

To submit a tip, write a short description of yourinnovation. Explain how you use it and how itsolves a problem or saves your department time,money, or accidents. Include brief instructions forbuilding any special equipment.

A good tip should be about something easy to do oreasy to construct in a shop. Please don’t send tipsthat focus on a commercially available product orthat endorse any specific product.

Take several photos of your innovation and sendthem with the tip. We’ll happily return photos atyour request.

Send your tip toMarcia Brink, edi-tor, TechnologyNews, CTRE,2625 N. Loop Dr.,Suite 2100, Ames,Iowa, 50010-8615.For more informa-tion call her at515-294-8103 ore-mail her [email protected].

Hot tip? Earn $100tip fromthe field

Examples of successfullypublished tips include a sawrack that attaches to thefront of a truck, and abedliner made from oldbarrels.

SPIN . . . continued from page 8


safetyshort

----

OSHAApproved

by Tom McDonald, Safety Circuit Rider

OVER THE PAST few years we have all noticed the useof fluorescent yellow green (FYG) colored schoolcrossing signs in various test locations around thestate, and more recently, its increased occurrence onvests of flaggers and other roadway workers.

Of course the intent for this unique color is toincrease the awareness of the driving public whenpassing through areas where heightened attentionfor pedestrians, particularly children, is needed.

After review of responses from test use, the Manualon Uniform Traffic Control Devices was revised inJune 1998 to permit optional use of the FYG colorin specific applications. The specific signs approvedare• Bicycle Crossing (W11-1)

• Advance Pedestrian Crossing (W11-2)

• Pedestrian Crossing (W11A-2)

• School Advance Sign (S1-1)

• School Crossing (S2-1)

• School Bus Stop Ahead (S3-1)

Because the FYG color is used only in work zonesand areas involving pedestrians or other non-motor-ized traffic, the signs will be an immediately recog-nizable warning to drivers to be alert tonon-vehicular traffic.

In response to this opportunity, the Iowa Depart-ment of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is acting toupgrade all signs of this type on primary highwaysand extensions in the state. Although details of thetransition have not yet been finalized, replacementefforts should be underway in the next few months.

In recognition of a similar potential benefit on othersystems, the Iowa DOT is also considering a pro-gram to assist local agencies in converting their signsas well. After the scope of such an undertaking isdetermined and funding obligations are identified, alocal program will be announced, which couldinclude furnishing all or many of these signs in thenew color to qualifying cities and counties for instal-lation. Expect to hear more about this in the nearfuture.

Fluorescent yellowgreen signs in Iowa


IN THE 1993 TRANSPORTATION Appropriations Act,Congress mandated that the Secretary of Transpor-tation “revise the Manual on Uniform Traffic Con-trol Devices to include a standard for a minimumlevel of retroreflectivity that must be maintained forpavement markings and signs which shall apply toall roads open to public travel.”

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) hashad an ongoing retroreflectivity research program todefine minimum nighttime visibility requirementsfor traffic control devices and also develop measure-ment equipment and computer management toolswhich will be necessary to effectively implementthose requirements. Part of that research was con-ducted here in Iowa with participation by the IowaDepartment of Transportation (Iowa DOT) andLinn, Clinton, and Black Hawk counties.

Based on that research, the FHWA has issued pre-liminary guidelines for pavement markings rangingfrom 55 millicandelas/meter squared/lux for yellowmarkings on roads under 40 mph to 150 mcd/m2/lux for white markings on roads with speeds over 55mph. These values are based on readings with a 30-meter geometry retroreflectometer.

Due to the potential materials and maintenancecosts as well as possible additional liability exposure,state and local governments are concerned about theadoption of standards. At this time, the FHWA hasdeferred any further action on these proposed stan-dards and a Notice of Proposed Rule Making forretroreflectivity has been placed on hold pendingreviews and reports from several workshop groups.

A task force for sign retroreflectivity, to be formedby AASHTO, will be headed by PennsylvaniaDepartment of Transportation Director GaryHoffman and include representatives from ITE,NACE, APWA, and the FHWA, as well as statetraffic and materials engineers. In addition, a seriesof three workshops will be conducted around thecountry in 1999 to study and consider recommen-dations for pavement markings.

Only after thorough review and comment fromthese groups, possibly late this year, will the FHWAbe ready to proceed with rule making.

If you have concerns or suggestions for consider-ation, you may wish to address them through youragency organization.

Retroreflectivitystandards update


16 National Workshop on Sign Vandalism Kansas City, Missouri Sharon Prochnow515-294-3781

17–18 Iowa State Associationof Counties Spring Meeting Des Moines Tom McDonald515-294-6384

23 Excavation Safety Carroll Tom McDonald515-294-6384

31 Signing Conference Ames Tom McDonald515-294-6384

1 Soil Construction Workshop Ames Duane Smith(in conjunction with APWA Spring Conference) 515-294-8103

1–2 APWA Spring Conference Ames Duane Smith515-294-8103

19–20 Summer Maintenance Expo Ames Duane Smith515-294-8103

5 and 12 Transportation Agencies and the Internet various locations Duane Smith(satellite conference) 515-294-8103

13 Iowa Traffic Control and Safety Association Ames Tom McDonaldSpring Conference 515-294-6384

May 1999

March 1999

conferencecalendar

April 1999


BY NOW YOU should have received a registration bro-chure for the Signing Conference in Ames onMarch 31. Following is some new informationabout conference speakers.

Due to the ongoing reorganization of the FederalHighway Administration (FHWA) in Washington,D.C., the keynote speaker will be Ernest Huckabyinstead of Rudy Umbs. Huckaby has almost 30years of service with the FHWA. As leader of theMUTCD team, he has extensive experience withthe Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.This position involves extensive interpretation ofthe manual to the public, reviewing the ongoingreformatting of the document, and many otherMUTCD-related matters.

The topic for our guest speaker will be MUTCDstandards and revisions and will include presenta-tion of the latest information about retroreflectivitystandards currently under consideration. This issueis sure to draw significant interest from localagencies.

To present the second general session subject, thehistory and development of signing, we are verypleased to welcome Susan Chrysler. Chrysler’s workat 3M includes involvement in product develop-ment by identifying driver needs and evaluatingcandidate products for visual performance. She hasconducted research in traffic sign legibility,headlamp illumination, and readingcomprehension.

Update on signing conference

If you need a conferencebrochure, check CTRE’sweb site atwww.ctre.iastate.edu/whatsnew.htm. We putall of our conferencematerials online. Or callCTRE, 515-294-8103,to request that a brochurebe mailed to you.

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