attract new entrants to the industry. The educational outreach program is sponsored by AASHTO with state department of transportation and industry partner support. TRAC & RIDES is an acronym for Transpor - tation and Civil Engineering and Roadways in Developing Elementary Students. the program seeks to encourage elementary, middle, and high school students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math or STEM-based careers in the transportation industry. The Benefits of Digital Delivery and Digital Twins Innovative technologies and processes can help DOTs and their part - ners do their jobs better and faster. One such process is digital delivery where projects are delivered using digital models, data, and supporting field tools for roadway design, structures design, and construction. Digital delivery incorporates streamlined processes to manage asset information as it changes through project development. All project elements are contained within a digital model that can include 2D and 3D model elements with attached attributes and references. Contrac - tors and construction inspectors can use digital models on the project site and the as-built deliverables are an accurate representation of the constructed project. Digital delivery makes it easier to review the design intent and develop high-resolution 3D visuals, providing improved design quality. It can make a significant impact on reducing project cost over-runs and the 3D design enables designers to test "what if" scenarios to refine con - structability and optimize project cost. It improves design efficiency and contractors can benefit from a more complete representation of the design intent delivered in a more directly usable format. This enables enhanced construction planning and less time to extract information. Lastly, digital delivery improves as-built records, saving valuable time. Instead of marking up PDF plans, contractors will collect digital as- built records. When the Minnesota Department of Transportation received funding to transform TH 169 into a freeway system, they retained WSB to oversee the final design. The project included converting four traf - fic intersections into interchanges, relocating utilities, and designing roadway, drainage, and bridge elements. WSB selected Bentley’s open modeling, visualization, and construction simulation applications to help save the client over USD 4.8 million. Leveraging Bentley applica - tions saved 18 months relocating utilities and accelerated the construc- tion schedule by three months on MnDOT’s first project to use digital delivery methods. Synchronizing the 3D model with 4D construction scheduling identified potential conflicts, which helped to accelerate construction activities by three months to save USD 485,569. Using the Bentley iTwin platform to create digital twins early in the engineer- ing process facilitated collaboration that supported seamless data and model integration throughout construction and operations. Digital twins provide civil engineers with the ability to visualize assets across their entire lifecycle to track change and to perform analysis that optimizes asset performance. Contractors, construction firms, and road and bridge owner-operators can leverage digital twins to allow project teams to gain more visibility into the design. Digital twins also allow managers and owners to understand the implications of design
decisions early in the process and help them achieve improved perfor- mance across the asset lifecycle. Built in 1938, the existing East 138th Street Bridge in New York City needed to be replaced to eliminate vertical clearance issues and opti- mize vehicle and pedestrian traffic demands. New York State Depart - ment of Transportation (NYSDOT) initiated a USD 48 million project to replace the aging bridge structure with a new 100-foot, single-span bridge. Located in a heavily congested area, the team needed to create the construction sequencing plan and accommodate existing utilities. To achieve this digital context, they required integrated hybrid model- ing technology to generate a dynamic 3D model of the complicated superstructure and pedestrian components. NYSDOT wanted to use a digital twin as the primary contract document and public outreach tool for contractors, stakeholders, and the community to virtually visualize the design intent and construction plan. With Bentley’s comprehensive, integrated modeling and iTwin technology, NYSDOT was able to ac - curately design and generate a digital twin that helped identify and resolve costly issues prior to construction. By providing the contract digital twin to project bidders, contractors could digitally visualize their work to calculate more accurate bids, resulting in the winning contractor’s bid being 15 percent lower than the engineer’s estimate. Taking Advantage of IIJA Grants for Digital Delivery Included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a new USD 100 million grant program that encourages state departments of trans - portation to accelerate their usage and deployment of Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems. These systems are generally de- fined as commercially proven digital technologies and processes for the management of construction and engineering activities including, but not limited to, commercial cloud-based advanced decision-support technologies for infrastructure planning and coordination, commercial building information modeling, and digital 3D design software. This new grant money, included in the Federal Highway Administra - tion’s (FHWA) Technology and Innovation Deployment Program, al - lows states to purchase technology platforms, train personnel, develop best practices, and develop guidance to assist in updating regulations to allow project sponsors and contractors to fully capture the efficiencies and benefits of advanced digital construction management systems, among other uses. As digital transformation in the construction and engineering sectors is a priority for the U.S. Department of Transporta - tion (USDOT) and the FHWA, this program is a great way for states to take advantage of this momentum. Summary Rome wasn’t built in a day and the aging infrastructure in the U.S. won’t be fixed overnight, but with proper planning, funding, tools, technology, and resources we can start laying the foundation for the future.
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August 2022 csengineermag.com
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