Project Summary
Better road lines can save lives.
The Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) District 2 partnered with Hanson for the Statewide Traffic and Railroad Initiative using Dynamic Envelopes (Operation STRIDE) project that involves installing an improved pavement marking design at rail crossings. Making the pavement markings bigger and brighter is one part of FDOT’s efforts to increase motorists’ awareness of their proximity to railroad tracks and prevent more fatalities at crossings.
Hanson designed plans for the pavement striping and traffic control for 73 crossings in the STRIDE program, providing field inspection and reporting throughout Northeast Florida. Tasks included preparing signing and pavement marking plans to reflect “X” warning patterns to be implemented with new state standards and preparing traffic control plans tailored for each crossing. The work had to be done within a four-month time frame, and Hanson’s team adjusted to the project’s evolving criteria while rapidly accomplishing the task. Hanson is providing post-design services.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, Florida was third in crossing collisions, fatalities and injuries in the U.S. in 2019. FDOT’s $60 million STRIDE directive will upgrade all FDOT roadway and state-owned at-grade rail crossings — more than 4,000 in Florida. The improvements include signs, crossing arms and dynamic envelopes that increase the clearance for trains, reducing the incidences of vehicles getting too close to the tracks. According to FDOT, traffic data shows that the dynamic envelope reduced the number of vehicles that stopped on or too close to the tracks by at least 15%.
This effort, combined with other directives, including rail safety education and partnering with law enforcement agencies to enforce rail safety laws, is expected to be complete in 2022.
FDOT District 2 gave Hanson a quality delivery indicator score of 96 out of 100 for the project.