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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) have produced a video to help highway agencies and contractors successfully implement high friction surface treatments (HFST) as a crash-reducing safety countermeasure. HFST is applied to existing pavement surfaces to significantly increase skid resistance at locations where friction demand is highest, such as at curves and near intersections. FHWA and ATSSA’s video contains practical information regarding proper HFST site selection, application, and quality control procedures before, during, and after the installation.
According to FHWA and ATSSA’s video, agencies have experienced significantly reduced crash rates following HFST installations. After 87 crashes occurred on a busy connector ramp in Wisconsin within just one year, HFST was installed on the pavement surface. FHWA and ATSSA report that only two crashes have been recorded at that site since the 2011 installation.
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Crash rates have dropped significantly on the Marquette Interchange in Wisconsin after a HFST was installed to increase the pavement surface’s skid resistance.
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[column size=”one-third”]The HFST installation process is quick and cost-effective. HFST is typically used as a spot safety treatment, providing an alternative to costly roadway reconstruction or repaving. Installation can be completed in as little as a few hours and the treatment can be expected to last 5-10 years or more, depending on traffic exposure.
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HFST installation on the Marquette Interchange in Wisconsin.
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In addition to delivering practical information, FHWA and ATSSA’s video explains the theory behind HFST, the treatment’s history, and recommendations for the materials used in the treatment.
HFST is one of the innovations promoted under FHWA’s Every Day Counts (EDC) 2 initiative, a program that aims to deploy a selection of transportation innovations throughout the US. To learn more about how to successfully implement HFST, watch FHWA and ATSSA’s video at http://youtu.be/k8EJsVYrL8U or visit FHWA’s EDC 2 initiative online at www.FHWA.dot.gov/everydaycounts.
About The Transtec Group: The Transtec Group is a pavement engineering firm that delivers exceptional engineering in pavement design, design/build, P3, construction, research, pavement surface testing, pavement software development, and technology implementation. Transtec engineers pavements that reduce cost, accelerate schedules, and protect clients from risk. The firm has completed over 600 projects worth more than $20 billion on five continents and is a minority-owned small business based in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit www.TheTranstecGroup.com.