Amtrak’s New Acela Improves Efficiency, Speed
March 11, 2021
America’s fastest train just got even faster. Amtrak’s Acela train has increased its speed by 10 miles an hour – up to 160 mph — which is expected to trim 15 minutes off a trip between D.C. and Boston. Additionally, the new trains can carry 380 passengers, 25% more than current fleets, while using 20%......
Autonomous shuttle service increases equity in Columbus, Ohio
March 11, 2021
Columbus, OH has set out to be America’s first major “smart city,” with several noteworthy programs making its case. One such program is the city’s Smart Circuit self-driving shuttle bus, a free service which covers a downtown route (the Scioto Mile) and a route in the Linden neighborhood in northeastern Columbus. The Linden route serves......
Sensors Tell Construction Crews Exactly How Long to Let Concrete Cure
March 11, 2021
Those in the mid-west like to joke that there are two seasons: winter and construction! While closed lanes can cause headaches, it’s important that concrete is given enough time to cure before it accommodates traffic. To better understand exactly how far along concrete is in the maturation process, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) sought......
Small Colorado Town Uses Innovative Water Filtration Design to Save Money
July 10, 2020
Branson, a small town in southern Colorado, only has 55 residents – with a population so small, infrastructure funding is hard to come by. Colorado tightened its water safety regulations, which proved to be just outside the performance standards Branson’s purification system was capable of. Local company Innovative Water Technologies introduced a filtration design that......
Hawaii DOT Uses Heat-Resistant Panels to Protect Highways From Lava
July 10, 2020
After Kilauea Volcano erupted in May 2018, the Hawaii Department of Transportation scrambled to find a way to protect Highway 130, a primary mode of transportation for Puna District residents. Cracks had begun to form in the road due to intense heat from volcanic activity, forcing officials to temporarily close the road. HDOT officials used......
Assisting Illinois Rural Communities with Water and Broadband Two-For-One
July 10, 2020
Rural areas often have difficulty accessing the same services as suburban and urban communities. Accessibility to broadband services and clean drinking water are two of the greatest concerns for these underserved communities. One state found an innovative solution for this problem. To combat the issue of access, Illinois nonprofit and water utility EJ Water Cooperative......
Kentucky Sewage Project Enhances Community
July 10, 2020
Louisville’s Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) was not meeting standards set in the Clean Water Act, as storms would frequently lead to sewage discharging in local inland waterways. To mitigate the problem, the Louisville/Jefferson Country Metropolitan Sewer District embarked on the $78 million Southwestern Parkway Combined Sewer Overflow Basin project, which uses “capture and release” technology......
Radars Watching Over Mississippi’s Aging Levees
July 10, 2020
Mississippi State University researchers used an instrument developed by NASA called Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) in conjunction with satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to detect the variations in the soil properties along the Mississippi River. These two instruments were able to penetrate layers of soil to analyze areas that will suffer from......
PennDOT Saves Millions with Demand-Response Transit
July 10, 2020
For over 30 years, Pennsylvania DOT has helped provide transportation services for disadvantaged populations. Ideally, transportation services are based on demand, not an arbitrary schedule, to reduce costs in running transit options during sub-optimal times. Over the years, Pennsylvania has seen localities independently procure systems without significant improvement in the service to customers. In response,......
Recharging Groundwater with SWIFT
July 10, 2020
In Eastern Virginia, along with much of the US, groundwater is being drained faster than it can recharge. The Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow, SWIFT, aims to re-balance this crucial natural resource. SWIFT is an innovative water treatment project changing the way water is recycled. The aim of this initiative is to take highly treated......
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