Quality control during soil compaction is critical to the proper construction of our roadways and structures. There has always been a void between laboratory moisture-density compaction and the soil’s strength and stiffness. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 244: Development of a Compaction Quality Control Standard for the Small Diameter Pressuremeter presents information on the development of a new product called the SSMini Pressureme...

A bridge deck serves as the protective layer of the structure. However, the ingress of moisture and early age cracking in a steel-reinforced concrete bridge deck are often overlooked in their relationship to the overall trajectory of its deterioration. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's  NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 243:  Establishing NDE Protocols for Use in Early Age Bridge Deck Preservation Strategies presents  a method to calculate a vulnerabilit...

In bridge engineering, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have been employed to enhance the efficiency of the structural design phase, aid in the selection of optimal bridge types, produce cost estimates, conduct realtime structural health monitoring, predict structural response and deterioration, reconstruct data for comprehensive health assessment, and prioritize maintenance efforts. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Proj...

Recycled binder availability (RBA) is the proportion of total recycled binder in a reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) source that is available to blend with virgin asphalt. Partial RBA is a consequence of agglomerations of adhered RAP particles. RAP binder locked inside of an agglomeration is ‘unavailable’ whereas the binder within the peripheral mastic coating of an agglomeration is ‘available.' The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 236: A ...

Safety in construction is paramount, yet the U.S construction sector remains one of the most hazardous work environments among industrial segments. Visibility-related issues, often involving construction equipment and pedestrian workers, cause approximately a quarter of all construction fatalities. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 226: A Smart IOT Proximity Alert System for Highway Work Zone Safety involves the development and validat...

Cracks in concrete structures significantly compromise their durability. For example, cracks are commonly observed in bridge decks at different stages of service, due to early age volume shrinkage, or long-term service loads, and climate conditions such as dry-wet cycles and freeze-thaw cycles. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 233: Development of an Innovative Bio-Mediated Self-Healing Concrete Technology aims to conduct a proof-of-co...

Concrete infrastructure is a significant investment for State Highway Agencies. Because of this, these concrete structures must have a long service life. The permeability of concrete is critical in the durability of concrete. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 232 Measuring Concrete Permeability with CHIP  seeks to improve an existing device called the CHIP (checking ion penetration). The CHIP can determine the permeability of conc...

By providing a solution to the highway and bridge rebar corrosion problem, it could be possible to enable transportation infrastructure to last for 100 years or longer in corrosive environments. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 240: Stainless Steel Coated Rebar for Chloride Resistant Concrete Highway and Bridges focused on a novel material approach to solving the reinforcement corrosion problem, using a stainless steel coating to crea...

A new AI-based tool has been developed and designed as a complement to classic statistical analysis in reaching a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the factors that contribute to traffic crashes. It has the potential to help transportation agencies identify high-risk areas and develop targeted countermeasures to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes. NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 231: AI Analyzer for Revealing Insights of Traffic Crashes , from TRB's IDEA (Innovations Deservin...

A robot-based device called AMAZE has been developed and can automate air void measurement, temperature conditioning, and cracking and rutting testing. This may help state departments of transportation face challenges that include cracking and rutting of asphalt mixes, loss of workforce, and laboratory safety concerns. NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 224: Development of an Automated and Rapid Conditioning and Testing Device for Cracking and Rutting , from TRB's IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory...