Plastic culvert liners the “in” thingpublications.iowa.gov/14431/1/97octtn.pdf ·...

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2 Key to maintaining gravel roads is good drainage

3 BBS to shut down

3 Another reason to get WIRED

4 Construction process for cold in-place asphaltrecycling

4 Performance of cold in-place asphalt recycling onIowa’s secondary roads

5 Meetings and a little Monty Python

6 Micro technology: The doctor is in

CULVERTS . . . continued on page 2

SLIPLINING A CULVERT with a highdensity polyethylene pipe “wasreal easy,” says George Parris, aformer Audubon County engi-neer.

Parris lined two culverts inAudubon County two or threeyears ago. One road had a newasphalt overlay that the board ofsupervisors didn’t want torn upagain, and the other culvert wasburied under 12 feet of fill.“Replacement wasn’t an option”on those particular sites, Parrissays.

Speed of installing a plastic liner is much morefavorable than doing a complete replacement, Parrissays, which is where the cost savings are realized. Forone of his projects, 102 feet of 32-inch liner wasinstalled inside a 36-inch corrugated metal pipe cul-vert in three to four hours. Grouting took place onanother day, but the whole project amounted toabout a day, Parris says. The liner cost $6,500.

The cost of the plastic liner can be up to five timesthe cost of corrugated metal pipe for diameters up to32 inches, says Emerson Cernin of Oden Enter-prises, Inc. in Nebraska, and slightly more for largerdiameters. If the depth of fill is less than seven feet,it’s cheaper to replace a culvert than line it, Cerninsays. On the other hand, he says, it’s more economi-

Plastic culvert liners the “in” thing

cal to line culverts if they’re under more than sevenfeet of fill and the road is paved.

One of the largest plastic liner installation projectsin Iowa involved lining a 339-foot culvert beneathcounty road R27 in Hamilton County in 1995. The42-inch diameter culvert lay beneath 46 feet of fill.County employees installed the culvert liner, saysHamilton County Engineer Nicholas Konrady. Theliner had a 32-inch diameter and measured 352 feetlong. It cost $21,655, not including labor. Com-pared to a projected replacement cost of about$125,000, the liner was a bargain.

A road had to be built to get backhoes to the inletend of the culvert, Konrady says, so that an areacould be cleared and excavated to accommodate the39-foot sections of liner. Half a day was spent slid-ing the liner inside the culvert. Grouting the spacebetween the liner and the culvert with a flowablemortar took another half day using a contractpumper.

A Hamilton County employee uses a come-along to helpsnap two sections of liner together.

One of CTRE’s most popular technology transferservices—the lending library—is online via theWorld Wide Web. See page 3 for moreinformation.

Another reason to get

6 Virus detection software

7 Beware wooden horses

8 Watts up in Cedar Rapids? Electric buses

8 Electric vehicles on the Web

9 Storage rack increases space and accessibility

9 Safety short: Getting defensive about your driving

10 Conference calendar

11 Library materials

TECHNOLOGY NEWS 2 OCT–NOV 1997

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.Its purpose is to translate into

understandable terms the lateststate-of-the-art technologies in theareas of roads, bridges, and public

transportation.

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: 515-294-0467BBS: 515-294-9784

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

Tom MazeDirector

(e-mail: [email protected])

Duane SmithAssociate Director for Outreach


Marcia BrinkEditor


Sharon ProchnowProgram Coordinator


Stan RingLibrary Coordinator


Michele RegenoldIssue Editor


Mike JorgensenSafety Circuit Rider


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.Special graphics designed by

Patricia Santiago and Gail Bayeta.

Printed onRecycled Paper

The main problem on the project, Konrady says,was that the local ready mix didn’t deliver theflowable mortar fast enough. The mortar wasthicker than it should have been as it was beingpumped into the low end where a special metal caphad been installed. The flowable mortar started toset up too soon and had to be pumped into the highend of the culvert too. As a result the void wasn’tcompletely filled. Konrady says he suspects nearly75 feet remain unfilled.

Hamilton County experimented before coming upwith a mixture for the flowable fill. Suggested mix-tures for flowable mortar are described in themanual that accompanies the plastic liner, Cerninsays. “The Iowa DOT has some of the best” mix-tures for flowable fill, he says.

Besides cost, the “big issue is not to inconveniencelocal traffic at all,” Parris says. Not interrupting traf-fic, not cutting pavement, and avoiding the settlingof the “speed bump” created by replacement are themain reasons Cernin says counties are choosingplastic liners over complete replacement.

For the Hamilton County project, traffic wasreduced to one lane only during the grouting pro-cess when the truck was pumping the flowable fillthrough a long hose, Konrady says.

For more information about plastic liners, requestpublication number 1203 from the CTRE libraryby contacting Stan Ring, library coordinator, 515-294-9481, or contact Emerson Cernin, sales coordi-nator of Oden Enterprises, Inc., 402-443-4502.

First in a series of tips for motor graderoperators

A GRAVEL ROAD’S CRUST, the hard surfacethat’s a mix of aggregate and fines, is itsfirst defense against water. To create the

water-shedding crust, the surface material must con-tain enough fines (silt and clay) to form a cementthat binds the aggregate together.

Besides having a tough surface, a gravel road needsthe proper shape to shed water. An A-shaped crownwith 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches of slope per foot worksbest. To maintain the uniform slope of an A-shapedcrown, blade a straight cross slope from thecenterline to the shoulder and check your work witha slope meter.

If you carry a windrow, make sure water doesn’tcause secondary ditches on its way to the roadditches. Leave weep holes in the windrow aboutevery 100 feet by briefly angling the blade so it’sperpendicular to the roadway.

Once the water makes it to the ditch it shouldn’tjust sit there because it will eventually seep into theroad’s base and cause it to fail. A ditch with a trap-ezoidal shape and a wide flat bottom will drain bet-ter and erode less than other shaped ditches. Aminimum of a two percent grade is recommendedto keep the water moving, but grades shouldn’t betoo steep or erosion may occur.

Culverts are also part of a gravel road’s drainage system. Clear debris frominlet and outlet ends ofculverts.

If you want a good road,take care of the water. Itwas there first.

CULVERTS . . . continued from page 1

Key to maintaininggravel roads is gooddrainage

Backhoes help slide the linerinside the corrugated metalpipe culvert.Photo here and on page 1 cour-tesy of the Hamilton Countyengineer’s office.


Another reason to get

search engine to help you define your searches evenmore narrowly.

Link to the “Online library catalog” from CTRE’shome page: http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/

Center for TransportationResearch and Education

CTRE

LTAP Advisory Committee

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

The committee meets at leastannually. Representatives ofrural and urban agencies andindividuals concerned with thetransfer of transportation tech-nology in Iowa are welcome toattend advisory committeemeetings.

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

Roger AnderbergLocal SystemsIowa Department ofTransportationTelephone: 515-239-1291

Saleem BaigLocal SystemsIowa Department ofTransportationTelephone: 515-239-1051

Charles L. FisherSuperintendent ofPublic WorksCity of SpencerTelephone: 712-264-7220

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

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

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

Raymond HollandCity EngineerCity of BettendorfTelephone: 319-344-4055

Harold JensenStory County EngineerTelephone: 515-382-6581

Brian ParkerIowa Division, FederalHighway AdministrationTelephone: 515-233-7315

Bob SperryWebster County EngineerTelephone: 515-576-3281

This is the screen you’ll see when you connect to CTRE’sLTAP Library on the Web.

CTRE’s popular electronic bulletin board system(BBS) is coming to an end. The WATS telephoneline service will be discontinued October 31.

After that date, users will be able to access the ser-vice temporarily by direct dialing 515-294-9784.

The BBS project began in December 1991 withfunding through the Iowa Highway ResearchBoard through December 31, 1997. It was spon-sored jointly by CTRE and the Iowa County Engi-neers Association Computer Program andInformation Coordinating Committee. The BBShas fulfilled three purposes: (1) to provide an elec-tronic link between city and county engineeringoffices and other agencies for data sharing, (2) toprovide a dial-up site for accessing data and files,

BBS to shut down

and (3) to provide a stepping stone to the world ofelectronic data transfer.

An informational meeting for BBS users will be heldNovember 5, 1997, from 1:00–4:00 pm in CTRE’sconference room. The purpose will be to discuss theshutdown of the BBS and, if users want continuedaccess to the services now provided by the BBS, pos-sible alternative avenues for providing these services.One option, for example, may be to make data filesavailable via the World Wide Web.

Users are encouraged to attend this meeting or pro-vide input by calling Saleem Baig, Iowa DOT LocalSystems, 515-239-1051.

The BBS will be completely discontinued onDecember 31, 1997.

IF YOUR OFFICE isn’tyet wired for Internetservice, here’s a goodreason to do it soon:CTRE’s recentlyupdated catalog oflibrary materials isnow online, completewith abstracts and asearch engine.

Through the onlinecatalog, you can use asimple searchengine to find titlesand abstracts oflibrary holdings youmight want to bor-row. You can evenorder videos, publica-tions, slide presenta-tions, etc. online. Nomore mail-order forms, no more stamps, no morehunting for librarian Stan Ring’s address or tele-phone number.

The search engine allows you to search by a word orword string that you think might be in the title; orby subject, mode, function, or sponsor; or by a com-bination of these. We are continuing to refine the


CIPAR IS BEING PER-FORMED on Iowa’s second-ary county roads and lowvolume state highways.The construction processgenerally consists of eightdifferent phases:• Planing the existing

bituminous road to apredetermined depthwhich should be suffi-cient to destroy mostexisting distresses,while leaving sufficientload bearing capacity tosupport the construc-tion equipment.

• Screening and sizing ofreclaimed asphalt prod-uct (RAP) to desiredsize (typically 1–1.5inches). During thisprocess water is sprayedonto the RAP for lubri-cation, emulsion distri-bution, and dustcontrol.

By Bryan R. Cawley, Research Assistant, Iowa State

University

COLD IN-PLACE ASPHALT RECYCLING (CIPAR) hasbeen performed successfully worldwide. It has beensuccessful because it reuses aggregate andasphalt that already exists within the road. Thismakes it a “green” process. In Iowa the value associ-ated with using this green process comes from eco-nomics.

CIPAR has been in use in Iowa since 1986. Becauseof this short history, generating pavement perfor-mance information in order to predict the expectedservice life of CIPAR roads is difficult. It was neces-sary to collect information about the present condi-tion of CIPAR roads with varying ages.

Ascertaining the condition of these roads was per-formed by surveying a sample of CIPAR secondaryroads in Iowa. The survey techniques consisted of apresent serviceability index (PSI), a qualitativemeasure, and a pavement condition index (PCI), aquantitative measure. These two indices were com-bined, with equal importance, to produce anumeric index that would represent the user’s per-ception of the road’s condition and the road’sstructural condition.

Once the current condition of the roads wasobtained, it was then possible to determine theexpected life of the roads. Statistical analysis wasperformed to determine the expected life cycle.Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were usedto determine how the average roads were currently

performing and would beexpected to perform in thefuture. These predictionsare based on maintainingcurrent variables: mainte-nance procedures, traffic,truck traffic, weather condi-tions, etc.

A terminal life index value of25 was chosen. This is basedon the PCI concept ofchanging from poor to verypoor at the index rating of

25. By using this value, an average life expectancyfor CIPAR secondary roads was determined to be15 to 26 years.

Interviews with 11 Iowa county engineers and assis-tants revealed that they expected the service life of athree-inch hot-mix bituminous overlay to be 10 to22 years. Comparing the two methods of rehabilita-tion, CIPAR roads, on the average, will last four tofive years longer than hot-mix bituminous overlays.These predictions are based on a continuation of thecurrent maintenance programs, traffic loads, weatherconditions, and other variables that can and willaffect the performance of bituminous roads.

Reviewing CIPAR economic costs showed volatilityin the market during the initial introduction of thisrehabilitation technique. Since the initial break-inperiod, the cost of four inches of CIPAR has leveledout to approximately $15,500 per mile of 22-foot-wide road. The material and construction costs offour inches of CIPAR are approximately equivalentto one inch of hot-mix bituminous overlay.

For a three-inch overlay the initial material and con-struction costs are approximately equivalent toCIPAR’s four inches and an additional two-inch hot-mix bituminous overlay on the CIPAR road. Thus,there is no initial cost benefit for either method basedon material and construction.

The economic benefit comes from deterring theoccurrence of reflective cracking. The deterrence incracking increases the duration between maintenanceand increases the service life of the road. Mobiliza-tion costs are another concern, but were notaddressed in this cost comparison.

In the state of Iowa the process of CIPAR secondaryroads is economically beneficial. Compared to thealternative of a standard hot-mix bituminous overlay,

Performance of cold in-placeasphalt recycling on Iowa’s secondary roads

CIPAR . . . continued on page 5

PROCESS . . . continued on

page 5

Constructionprocess forcold in-placeasphaltrecycling

The cold in-place asphaltrecycled mat prior tocompaction.

Koss Construction’s sizing and rejuvenatingportion of the old in-place asphalt recycling train.

Photos courtesy of Bryan R. Cawley, ISU research assistant.


• Placing and mixingrejuvenating (usuallyasphalt emulsion)agent into the RAPmaterial (typically 1–2percent).

• Placing rejuvenatedRAP.

• Primary compactionperformed by pneu-matic roller whichmust be performedduring the curing ofthe rejuvenator.

• Secondary compac-tion using steel wheelroller which willremove pneumaticroller marks.

• Final curing of emul-sion. This process isgenerally performedby allowing curing tooccur over a two-weekperiod. However,shorter and longertimes have been usedsuccessfully. Becauseof the emulsion cur-ing, the most favor-able constructionperiod is summer.

• Placing a surfacecourse (typically 2–3inches of hot-mixbituminous).

CIPAR provides a longer life expectancy anddecreases maintenance. The construction techniqueand physical characteristics of the resilient materialcontribute to the benefits. From an environmentalperspective, this rehabilitation technique minimizesthe quantity of natural resources consumed.

The data was acquired by funding from Iowa High-way Research Board, project HR 392.

For more information about cold in-place asphaltrecycling on Iowa roads, contact Bryan Cawley, aresearch assistant in civil and construction engineer-ing at Iowa State University, 515-294-4590.

3. Prepare for the meetings by prioritizing items.Use time management to move the meetingalong quickly; researching agenda items before-hand can streamline the schedule.

4. Structure and control the meeting’s progress bystating your proposition, showing evidence tosupport it, coming to a group consensus, andthen collaboratively deciding on the action totake.

5. Summarize and record what has been accom-plished, especially how responsibilities and taskshave been allocated.

The bonus of CD-I“Meetings, Meetings, Bloody Meetings” is availableonly in CD-I format, an interactive software pro-gram that allows the viewer to easily navigate amongthe various scenes, opt to take short quizzes onmeeting strategy, and construct solutions to Tim’smanagement troubles. The viewer becomes anactive participant in the video, consequently makingits lessons even more effective and memorable.

Although CD-I requires a special CD-I player,CTRE offers both the player and its CD-I collectionfor loan. Anyone interested in improving meetingswhile maintaining a sense of humor is encouragedto check out this program.

For more information on this video or others inCTRE’s collection, contact Stan Ring, CTRE library coordinator, 515-294-9481.

First in a series about management

AFTER BLUSTERING THROUGH several un-successful business meetings, formerMonty Pythoner John Cleese learns how

to improve his leadership skills in “Meetings, Meet-ings, Bloody Meetings,” a 1994 interactive CDtraining program by Video Arts, Inc. The programuses humorous scenarios to demonstrate tips inmaking meetings efficient and productive, whileallowing viewers to interact with the material on-screen. Each sketch shows Cleese’s hapless business-man, Tim, making a series of meeting mistakes,then learning how to correct his blunders and pre-vent future problems.

Turning a meeting nightmare into a dreamThe video divides its message into four sections:why meetings are important, Tim’s meeting “night-mare,” the five stages of meetings, and finally, asummary of the entire program. Most of the video isdevoted to the five stages for improving communi-cation, saving time, and getting significant results.Among its suggestions:1. Plan clearly and concisely what the meeting is

supposed to achieve, and prepare yourself as tothe meeting’s goals and priorities.

2. Inform all participants of the meeting’s objec-tives. Write and distribute an agenda thatexplains what is being discussed, why it’s beingdiscussed, and what you hope to accomplish.

Meetings and a little Monty Python

A productive meeting features a clear agenda and efficient scheduling.

CIPAR . . . continued from page 4

PROCESS . . . continued

from page 4


YOU HAVE A VIRUS. So you take some NyQuil, maybea little ibuprofen, and wait it out. Too bad yourcomputer doesn’t have the same option. Computerviruses aren’t easily alleviated, and waiting them outcould be catastrophic to your machine. What canyou do?

If your computer has developed behavioral prob-lems and its programs are acting out, it’s critical thatyou look for a possible virus. The sooner, the better.The sole mission of some computer viruses is to seekand destroy everything they can access, and failingto react can leave you with a big paperweight thathappens to resemble a computer.

As defined by Galaxy, a specialized search engine forthe electronic community, “a computer virus is onekind of threat to the security and integrity of com-puter systems; there are several problems similar tocomputer viruses. They too have colorful names:worms, bacteria, rabbits, and so on.” Galaxy offers alengthy discussion on viruses, from the commonmeans of infection to coping techniques.

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl outNot all virus attacks are caused by a vengeful com-puter hacker. Often a virus is unwittingly allowedinto a machine via downloading and software shar-ing. An employee who brings a favorite program tothe workplace may introduce the virus without real-izing what has happened. Once this occurs, the viruscan spread throughout the entire computer net-work. Similarly, infected software that has beendownloaded might be installed without first beingchecked by a virus alert program. The World WideWeb is a cyber-logjam of safe, quality programs, butit takes only one flawed download to damage a com-puter. Furthermore, watch out for e-mail attach-ments that include executable programs (EXE); theyalso can cast a dark shadow.

There are other hidden mines to tiptoe around. Forinstance, “If people expect their virus scanner towork, they need to think about any data (DAT) filesthey might have,” says Chris Pirillo, president ofLockergnome, LLC, an online service that analyzesdownloadable programs and software. “If you’ve gotthree-year old DAT files, delete them. DAT filesshould be updated every two months.

Does this qualify for sick time?Nope, but improper procedure could mean a per-manent vacation for your computer. Galaxy recom-

mends that your workplace take somecommonsense precautions:• Use good, general security practices.

• Keep good backups of critical data and pro-grams.

• Use access control facilities to limit access toinformation by users (you shouldn’t be surfingthe net on the job, anyway).

• Put mechanisms in place to detect viral infec-tions quickly.

“I watch what I download, and a lot of programmersvirus scan before posting their material if only sothey don’t get yelled at,” says Pirillo. “I also recom-mend viewing documents instead of opening them(from within a program).” Windows users can dothis by installing a free program such as Quick ViewPlus and certain Microsoft viewers.

Coping with a virusNo plan is foolproof and if a particularly wily virusmanages to infect your system, Galaxy recommendsthat you report it to your workplace immediately.This will enable coworkers to protect and save theirown files from corruption. Depending on the typeof virus and its prevalence in the system, a virusdetection program can rectify the problem. Likecomputers themselves, however, viruses are con-tinually evolving into new forms, so make certainthat your cures are also up-to-date.

The doctor is inmicro

technology

WHEN DECIDING on a virus detection package, lookfor software that recognizes the latest virus strains,such as the new macro viruses. Avoid complacencywith your program; keep the detector up-to-date byinstalling plug-ins or upgraded software. The Websites of many virus detection companies offer plug-ins free of charge for their customers. Below aresome of the more common names in the virusdetection market.

Safetynet’s VirusNet: This program is fully aware ofnewer macro viruses and also features a Rescue Disk

Virus detectionsoftware

VIRUS . . . continued on page 7

Often a virus is unwit-tingly allowed into amachine via down-

loading and softwaresharing.


offers LiveUpdate as a monthly upgrade packagefor the latest virus developments.

TouchStone’s PC-Cillin: This program coversboth files and dialing systems such as modem andWinsock connections. It’s also a fast scan for .zipfiles, which often take time to analyze.

Check out these Web sites for information aboutthe virus detection programs described above:http://www.safe.net/indexnf.htmhttp://www.drsolomon.com/home/home.cfmhttp://www.mcafee.com/http://www.symantec.com/pys95nt.htmlhttp://www.checkit.com/low/tshome.htm

IT’S NOT DIFFICULT for a disguisedvirus to sneak into your com-puter and, once inside,wreak all sorts of cyber-havoc. The latest newsin virus infectionsconcerns the macroviruses, which can prolif-erate with greater ease. Whileit’s impossible to be fully edu-cated about every virus, basicawareness of the prevalent viralstrains is important in order tokeep your computer safe.

The Dr. Solomon Website,http://www.drsolomon.com, listsseveral common virus forms:

Macro virusUnlike previous viruses, a macrovirus infects documents insteadof executable programs and iswritten inWordBasic.

Macros can spread fasterbecause documents are sharedat a greater rate than programs.Also, macro viruses aren’t exclusiveto either DOS or Macintosh operatingsystems; anything is fair game.

Boot sector virus (BSV)When a computer starts up from an infected floppy

Beware wooden horses

disk, the virus replaces the machine’s master bootrecord (MBR) and subsequently is used to boot upthe machine.

A BSV infects every disk used in the A drive, virtu-ally guaranteeing that it will be spread via disksharing.

Multipartite virusThis open-mindedvirus doesn’t dis-criminate and willinfect an MBRplus .EXE and.COM programs.

A greater numberof programs canfall prey, causing

widespread infec-tion throughout a

machine.

While some viruses are ahoax, such as the well-

hyped Good Times virus,others can cause severe damage. The Cheeba virus,for example, nabs a system manager’s password,shares it with an outsider, and creates unlimitedaccess to that system. Virus detector packages anda standard operating procedure for virus preven-tion can keep your computer healthy and safefrom intrusion.

VIRUS . . . continued from page 6

for rebooting a system that otherwise can’t restart.

Dr. Solomon’s AntiVirus Toolkit: Dr. Solomon’sFindVirus program can detect over 12,000 viruses,including the WM.Concept virus, and it can repairsome macro viruses.

McAfee’s VirusScan: This program keeps tabs on asystem for existing and incoming infections and alsolooks out for local and network connections.

Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus: Norton is anotherpopular program that scans whatever files are acti-vated. Its Auto-Protect function alerts the user whena virus appears and asks for further instructionswhether to delete, fix, or ignore the problem. It also

While some virusesare a hoax, such asthe well-hyped GoodTimes virus, otherscan cause severedamage.


Third in a series about transportation and theenvironment

ELECTRIC TRANSIT VEHICLES accomplishtwo purposes: they are good for theenvironment because they do not emit

any emissions and they reduce dependence onimported energy. Five Seasons Transportation andParking, Cedar Rapids’ public transit system, cur-rently operates four dedicated electric buses in afleet of 48 vehicles. One hybrid electric bus will bedelivered soon. Director Bill Hoekstra says they’reworking on obtaining four more electric buses.

Five Seasons has a reputation for experimentingwith alternative fuels and for being a good stewardof air quality. It’s no surprise that Five Seasonsreceives economic development requests from theprivate sector. “We were asked by the local utility,IES, to test electric transportation,” Hoekstra says.

A grant from the Federal Transit Administration,funding from the Iowa Department of Transporta-tion, municipal tax funds, and cost shares fromIES, Northrop Grumman, and Blue Bird Indus-tries allowed Five Seasons to acquire its first electricbuses and build two charging stations at its garage.

Five Seasons’ partnership with IES, NorthropGrumman, and Blue Bird has developed into theCedar Rapids Electric Transportation Consortium.Five Seasons functions as a beta test site for theconsortium.

Testing a new generation of transit vehicles is goodbusiness, Hoekstra says, because he can see whatkind of buses Five Seasons may want in the future.

The future is hereFive Seasons is “on the cutting edge,” Hoekstra says,and will test various technologies. Each electric bususes one 230 horsepower electric traction motor torun the two rear wheels. The motor is powered byfour packs of 28 gel lead acid batteries that must berecharged every 80 miles, an average of once everyseven hours.

The biggest stumbling block Hoekstra sees to othercommunities buying electric transit vehicles is thecost of acquiring the charging station, which can costup to $100,000.

Since electric buses are currently not mass produced,they cost about 130 percent of a traditional dieselbus, Hoekstra says. But the purchase price can benearly recouped in operation and maintenance costsover four to five years, he says. An electric engine hassix major parts compared to thousands in a dieselengine. Electricity for a day’s operation of one buscosts $2.70 compared to $52 a day for diesel.

Five Seasons charges all the buses’ batteries, andextra batteries that are used for recharging buses dur-ing the day, during the non-peak times of 8:00 pm to7:00 am. By charging during non-peak times, thecost is seven cents or less per kilowatt compared to14 cents per kilowatt during peak hours.

Electric vehicle technologyBatteries need to evolve so they can go longerbetween charges, Hoekstra says. The technology hasnot been as well researched for batteries in largervehicles like transit buses, Hoekstra says, comparedto batteries used in smaller passenger vehicles.

Technology for electric vehicles has evolved “enoughthat in certain situations and in certain cities it mightwork,” Hoekstra says. He emphasizes the need forpartners in the private sector, for the strong supportof the city, and for a quality staff. “We’re fortunate,”Hoekstra says, “to have a good maintenance staff.”

You “have to look at all types of technology,”Hoekstra says, and “see what you can make work.”

For more information about Five SeasonsTransportation’s electric buses, contact BillHoekstra, 319-398-5367.

Watts up in Cedar Rapids? Electric buses

Five Seasons Transporta-tion takes charge with itselectric transit buses.Photo courtesy of Five Sea-sons Transportation.

Electricvehicles onthe Web

TWO WORLD WIDE WEB

sites that offer informa-tion about electric vehicles can be found athttp://www.calstart.org/services/evfaq.htmlandhttp://www.chattanooga.net/chamber/bus.html


be stored outside, thus increasingstorage capacity and efficiency inthe shop.

For more information, contactBret Hodne, West Des Moinessuperintendent of public works,515-222-3480.

Once you’re ready to go, get into a defensivemindset for driving. Look out for drivers exhibiting“road rage,” and take note of your own emotions,especially frustration, fear, and even joy. Emotion-induced driver error causes 80 percent of auto acci-dents. The most common driver error? Tailgating.Another mistake is driving under the influence ofdrugs and medications, which leads to 55 percentof accident fatalities.

Defend yourself from distractions too. Cell phonesare handy, sure, but they also divert your focusfrom the road. If phone calls are a significant part ofyour travel, preschedule calling times and pull offthe road before picking up the phone. Keep an eyeout for other drivers who aren’t paying attention,especially apparently intoxicated drivers and thosewho are trying to merge into your traffic lane.

For more information on this video or others inCTRE’s collection, contact Stan Ring, CTRElibrary coordinator, 515-294-9481.

Storage rack increases space and accessibility

Getting defensive about your driving

tip fromthe field

This storage rack providedthe needed space and accessi-bility for wing plows.

A storage rack assembledfrom scrap metal offersstorage for wing plows.

Photos courtesy of West DesMoines Public Works.

EMPLOYEES FROM the City of West Des MoinesDepartment of Public Works recently solved spaceand accessibility problems in the shop with the helpof a simple storage device.

During extended periods of good weather, WestDes Moines stores its wing plows in the shop.Although removal and storage minimizes wear andtear on the plows, employees experienced someproblems.

Limited shop space forced workers to store plows ina corner. When workers stored other equipment,the plows became inaccessible. This made accessdifficult during emergency events, when plows mustbe installed quickly and efficiently.

To simplify installation and storage and increaseaccessibility, a group of employees built a portablestorage rack out of agricultural running gear andscrap metal. The rack, which workers fabricated forabout $500, enables operators to quickly remove,store, and replace plows. In addition, the rack can

EACH YEAR, 200,000 employees are injured in work-related automobile accidents in the United States.The Coastal Video, “Defensive Driving: A CrashCourse,” offers suggestions for freeway, city, andrural driving and developing a defensive attitude onthe road.

Defensiveness doesn’t necessarily mean aggression.A defensive driver “recognizes hazards before some-thing goes wrong. A defensive driver is an alertdriver.” Commonsense prevention is the key. Thevideo recommends preparing both your vehicle andyourself to get to your destination safely.

For longer trips, review a road map and plan a route.Be aware of construction sites, detours, and othersituations that would lengthen or alter your route.

Inspect the vehicle thoroughly before starting thetrip, especially if you’re unaccustomed to it, like thecompany vehicle or a rental. Look for leaks, checkthe tire pressure, and learn the location of thevehicle’s panel controls.

safetyshort

OSHAApproved


21 Accident Location and Analysis System Ames Mike JorgensenThe one-day ALAS workshop is a free training program designed 515-294-6384to help new users learn ALAS and help current users get moreout of ALAS’s analysis and reporting capabilities.

21 Excavation Safety Sioux City Mike JorgensenThis workshop explains the hazards of excavation and trenching, 515-294-6384how accidents happen, and how worker protective measuresshould be applied.

22 Accident Location and Analysis System Ames Mike Jorgensen515-294-6384

23 Excavation Safety Waterloo Mike Jorgensen515-294-6384

23–24 Iowa Traffic Control and Safety Association Conference Ames ContinuingConference topics include the Iowa State Patrol’s safety tips program, Educationthe “No Zone” safety campaign, and laser speed detection. 515-294-6222

29 Excavation Safety Ottumwa Mike Jorgensen515-294-6384

5 Iowa Section ASCE Transportation Conference Ames Don Wall515-294-3811

6 GIS & Safety Data Conference Ames Tim StraussThis conference explains how GIS tools can be used for safety data 515-294-3230analysis for highway and traffic safety purposes.

6 Better Concrete Conference Ames Jim Cable515-294-2862

13 Stream Stability and Scour at Highway Bridges Ames Jim Cable515-294-2862

14–18 AASHTO Annual Meeting Salt Lake City, UT Tom Maze515-294-8103

18 Short Span Steel Bridges/Structural Engineering Workshop Ames Jim Cable515-294-2862



2–4 Iowa County Engineers Aassociation Annual Conference Ames Jim Cable515-294-2862

10 Iowa LTAP at CTRE Ames Duane Smith515-294-8103



18 CCE Least Squares Workshop Ames Jim Cable515-294-2862

19–20 Surveyors Workshop, Least Squares Adjustment Ames Don Wall515-294-3811

11–16 TRB Annual Meeting Washington, D.C. Duane Smith515-294-8103

27 AC Paving Conference Ames Jim Cable515-294-2862


conferencecalendar

October 1997

December 1997

November 1997

October 1997 Location Contact

ALASworkshops

The Accident Locationand Analysis System(ALAS) is a DOS-basedcomputer database thatstores traffic accident information. ALAS helpsagencies analyze accidentdata to identify high-acci-dent locations, determinedriver characteristics andcontributing circum-stances, develop crashstatistics for specific loca-tions, etc.

Several free, one-dayALAS workshops will beheld this fall and winterin Ames. The workshopshelp new users learnALAS and current usersget more out of ALAS’sanalysis and reportingcapabilities. Participantsreceive hands-on instruc-tion in a small-groupsetting.

For more information,contact Safety CircuitRider Mike Jorgensen,515-294-6384.

Read the brochure onlineand register online athttp://www.ctre.iastate.edu/outreach/conf.htm

January 1998


Intersection Geometric Design and Opera-tional Guidelines for Older Drivers andPedestrians (US DOT-FHWA, 1997) 249pages

Factors Influencing Stability of GranularBase Course Mixes (Iowa DOT-HRB) 108pages

Traffic Signing Handbook (ITE, 1997) 347pages

Settlement of Bridge Approaches (NCHRP,1997) 75 pages

Guidance on Sharing Freeway and HighwayRights-of-Way for Telecommunications(AASHTO, 1996) 44 pages

Accelerated Construction Methodology forConcrete Pavements at Urban Intersections(TTI, 1996) 204 pages

Design and Construction of Driven PileFoundations, Vols. I and II (US DOT-FHWA, 1996)

Low Volume Road Series (IRF, 1997) 38minutes

Construction Management Systems Series(IRF, 1997) 95 minutes

Equipment Management Series (IRF, 1997)114 minutes

Access Management Overview (US DOT-FHWA, 1997) 14 minutes

Request #P1256

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Request #P1261

Request #P1265

Request #P1268

Request #P1272

Request #P1265

Request #V523

Request #V524

Request #V525

Request #V527

Name (first/last) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Please send me the new, updated, 1998 catalog of all publications and audiovisual materials available from CTRE’s LTAP library.

LISTED AT LEFT are new orpopular materials availablefrom CTRE’s library. Toobtain materials or a cata-log of library materials,check the box next to thematerials you want andmail or fax the form to:

Stan Ring, LibrarianCTREISU Research Park2625 N. Loop Drive, Ste. 2100Ames, Iowa 50010-8615FAX 515-294-0467

Please limit your request tofour items.

librarymaterials

Videotapes

How to ordermaterials

Publications

This publication presents guidelines for changes in thegeometric design and operations at intersections withthe greatest potential to aid in their use by older driversand pedestrians.

This research was conducted to evaluate the variousfactors influencing the stability of granular base coursemixes.

This handbook contains information on types of signs,existing standards, planning and engineering studies,etc.

This synthesis of highway practice describes the cur-rent state of the practice for the design, construction,and maintenance of bridge approaches to reduce,eliminate, or compensate for settlement at the bridge/abutment interface.

The purpose of this guidance is to identify key ele-ments involved in the implementation of sharedresource projects. The rapid construction of communi-cation networks has spurred interest in public-privatearrangements.

This publication will assist in organizing, planning,and executing reconstruction of concrete pavementintersections.

This publication serves as a primary reference of rec-ommended practice for driven pile foundations.

This videotape covers: Selecting maintenance prioritiesfor low volume roads, 19 min.; and Managing mainte-nance for low volume roads, 19 min

This videotape covers: Construction managementsystem overview, 19 min; Construction managementsystem planning, 19 min; Developing contract staffingguidelines and planning values, 19 min; Manpowerbudgeting/scheduling procedures, 19 min; Construc-tion management system monitoring and updatingprocedures, 19 min.

This videotape covers: Introduction to equipmentmanagement systems, an overview, 19 min; Equip-ment inventory, 19 min; Equipment maintenance, 19min; Parts and supplies management, 19 min; Finan-cial management, 19 min; Equipment managementinformation sub-system and EMS implementation, 19min.

This videotape describes the concept of access manage-ment as controlling access points to improve the effi-ciency, safety, and capacity on streets and highways byreducing conflict points.

1998 librarycatalogavailable

CTRE’S NEW, UPDATED,1998 CATALOG of librarymaterials is now available.To get your FREE copy,complete the form at leftand mail as directed above,or contact Stan Ring,515-294-8103 (e-mail:[email protected]). Thecatalog is also online athttp://www.ctre.iastate.edu

TECHNOLOGY NEWS JUNE 199712

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