Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Colbern Road 089


December 26, 2014


Colbern Road 087


Lake Jacomo from Colbern Road.  December 26, 2014.


Colbern Road 088


December 26, 2014



Prairie Lee Lake 086


Colbern Road and Lake Jacomo.  December 26, 2014.

Prairie Lee Lake 085


Apparent stilling basin outlet structure.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 084


Western arm, Prairie Lee Lake.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 083


Outlet structure.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 082


West Abutment, Prairie Lee Lake.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 081


East arm, Prairie Lee Lake.  December 26, 2014.


Monday, December 29, 2014

Importance of Infrastructure

From U.S. Department of Transportation:




Innovation and investment in infrastructure doesn't take a holiday. Throughout 2014, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been relentless in working with state DOTs to save time, save money, and save lives, by encouraging the use of innovative technologies and methods to build roads, bridges, and highways better, faster, and more cost-effectively.http://1.usa.gov/149bSqg

Prairie Lee Lake 080


Upstream face of Prairie Lee Lake dam.  Looking northeast.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 079


Crest of Prairie Lee Lake dam.  Looking northeast.  December 26, 2014.

Prairie Lee Lake 078


Downstream face of Prairie Lee Lake dam.  Looking northeast.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 077


Stilling basin and side channel letdown structure.  Looking southwest.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 076


Colbern Road in foreground.  Prairie Lee Lake dam in background.  Looking southeast.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 074 & 075




Side channel spillway letdown structure.  December 26, 2014.


Prairie Lee Lake 072


Stilling basin.  December 26, 2014.

In the foreground is the stilling basin that receives water from the Prairie Lee Lake side channel spillway.  The outlet of the stilling basin appears to pass beneath Colbern Road and into Lake Jacomo.


Prairie Lee Lake 071


Side channel spillway, Prairie Lee Lake, Lee's Summit, MO.  December 26, 2014.

Prairie Lee Lake is on the south side of Colbern Road, near the junction of Colbern Road and Beach Drive in Lee's Summit, Missouri.


Prairie Lee Lake 070


Side channel spillway at Prairie Lee Lake, Lee's Summit, MO.  December 26, 2014.


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Wild Road Rage Incident Caught on Video Results in Assault With a Deadly Weapon Charge | Video | TheBlaze.com

Two women were caught in a bizarre incident of alleged road rage Saturday along Interstate 80 outside Sacramento, California, where they say 50-year-year-old Dierdre Orozco, who had just been released from jail on hit-and-run charges, tried to run them off the road.
The dramatic scene, caught on cellphone video, shows driver Delanie Strykul and her friend Vanessa trying to escape Orozco as she allegedly tried to cut them off twice just before slowing down to drive alongside of them, posing as a police officer.


Wild Road Rage Incident Caught on Video Results in Assault With a Deadly Weapon Charge | Video | TheBlaze.com

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Fatal crash closes portion of K-10 | Local News - KMBC Home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —K-10 is currently closed in both directions from the US 59 interchange to Kasold Road in Lawrence, Kan., due to a fatal crash.



Fatal crash closes portion of K-10 | Local News - KMBC Home

Miami-Dade Transit changing schedule for holidays | The Miami Herald

If you are looking to take public transportation over the Christmas or New Year’s Holidays, make sure you are aware of the following tweaks to the Miami-Dade Transit schedule:


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article4855899.html#storylink=cpy


Miami-Dade Transit changing schedule for holidays | The Miami Herald

Friday, December 19, 2014

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Awards $5.4 Million to Speed Innovation in Transportation Projects

From FHWA:


FHWA 38-14
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Contact: Neil Gaffney
Tel: 202-366-0660

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Awards $5.4 Million to Speed Innovation in Transportation Projects

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced $5.37 million in grants from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designed to accelerate deployment of innovative road and bridge work. The funds will be used to offset the cost of pioneering highway project delivery in six states.
"We are building projects faster and at less cost to taxpayers, without compromising safety, because of the investments being made through this program," said Secretary Foxx. "Saving money on one project means we can make improvements to critically needed infrastructure in communities elsewhere and that's smart investing."
The funding announced today comes from the FHWA Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration program, which will ultimately invest $30 million in incentive funding for federal, state, local and tribal government agencies to hasten their use of these innovative methods. The AID program builds on the success of the agency's ongoing Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative, a partnership between the FHWA and state and local transportation agencies to accelerate the deployment of innovative methods and cutting project delivery times.
"We're proud to be a partner in this by providing the financial impetus to get these efforts off the ground and bring higher quality, more durable roads and bridges built using proven, state-of-the-art tools and technologies," said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. "The states and local communities receiving these AID grants are breaking ground when it comes to putting better techniques in road- and bridge-building in place."
The AID Demonstration program grants will be used for the following projects:
AgencyAmountProject Description
Arizona Department of Transportation  (ADOT)$1,000,000ADOT will use AID funds to replace an antiquated lighting system with a new Light-Emitting Diode lighting system in the Queen Creek Tunnel along U.S. 60 in Superior. The project is expected to improve safety and efficiency along U.S. 60.
Michigan Department  of Transportation (MDOT)$1,000,000MDOT will use AID demonstration funding to replace the US-131 bridges over 3 Mile Road using slide-in bridge construction to minimize the impact on traffic in and around Grand Rapids on a major route that links major cities in Southern Michigan to resort areas in the north.
Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)$964,000MoDOT will use its AID grant to apply High Friction Surface Treatments on seven projects throughout the state in order to improve surface friction and safety.
Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT)$775,110UDOT is using AID funds to save lives in work zone areas by implementing a program that utilizes new technology and portable variable speed limit signs to effectively reduce speed limits in active construction work zones on as many as four projects.
MDOT and the Dickinson County Road Commission$661,000MDOT and the Dickinson County Road Commission will use its AID demonstration grant to apply Hot In-place Recycling and Warm Mix Asphalt to rehabilitate 4.5 miles of Pine Mountain Road/Westwood Avenue to Brookfield Street in the City of Kingsford. The project is expected to be environmentally friendly (100 percent recycling of the existing pavement) and achieved with reduced construction costs.
Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA)$600,000ODOT and NOACA will use AID funds to develop a comprehensive Transportation Asset Management Program that would provide significant improvement from the region’s conventional practice by addressing the backlog of projects and make informed, cost-effective program decisions. 
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)$371,604INDOT will use its AID demo grant to develop a template and best practices for the use of alternate-bid detailed plans for a Self-Propelled Mobile Transport installation and SIBC method to replace existing twin interstate bridges in the state.
TOTAL$5,371,714 
For more information about these grants, and FHWA's AID Demonstration program, visitwww.fhwa.dot.gov/accelerating/grants.
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