To Combat Potholes, Cities Turn to Technology

RiverAware, an app that uses real-time data from a national network of gauges, has helped citizens, first responders, floodplain managers, scientists, and recreational users such as paddlers and anglers access river-flow data, informing or alerting communities as to when it's time to evacuate or seek higher ground. The data is aggregated from more than 13,000 stream-gauging stations around the country maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Weather Service.

BlueConduit, an analytics startup, applies statistical models to identify neighborhoods and households that might have lead pipes. The models include dozens of factors, such as the age of the home and proximity of other homes where lead has been found, to help predict likely locations of lead pipes and create a ranking by likelihood that cities can use to prioritize which pipes to examine. In Flint, MI, about 70% of the homes identified using the models had lead pipes, compared to about 15% of homes where excavations did not use the model. The company is working with organizations in dozens of other cities.

Low-code applications assist in modernizing governmental software systems. A development platform that allows people who have little coding experience to easily digitize processes has allowed New Orleans and the Orleans Parish Communication District to streamline their 911 and 311 services, allowing citizens to track information and engage with government agencies more transparently.

Boston needs more parking spaces, especially in a neighborhood surrounded by water. It is looking to build an underwater parking garage, like the ones being built in Amsterdam, in order to free up street level space and add more parking to decrease car pollution from driving around searching for a parking spot.

According to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are fewer than 180 panthers left in the state due to high rates of animal-vehicle collision. Now, the state is trying to prevent further harming the species by introducing specially designed technology, including highway underpasses and roadside animal detection systems.

Terrain closures, avalanche education, and parking management are some of the topics that Canada’s ski permit system tackles. This government-regulated permit system has resulted in zero skier-triggered slides on Rogers Pass. Officials in Wyoming as looking to their northern neighbors to see if a similar system could work at Teton Pass.

Snowsheds are just one tool in Canada’s arsenal to combat the impacts avalanches can have on their complex road systems. Snowsheds are aboveground tunnels where snow can travel over it and into the river, thereby reducing the number of road closures to cleanup the aftermath and allowing thousands of drivers to continue on their journeys. This idea is being explored by state officials in Wyoming as a way to improve their avalanche-mitigation tactics.

A failed bridge construction project in the 1960s in Wyoming to mitigate the impacts of avalanches inspired Washington state to complete a similar project fifty years later. The project included an elevated bridge that allows snow from slide paths to pass beneath the roadway, which ends up saving losses of economic activity due to road closures. While the construction can be expensive, Wyoming is looking to see if a similar solution can be applied to their own mountain passes.

The Downtown Greenway in Greensboro was already underway when the coronavirus hit and it has turned out to be quite the respite and economic boon. The Greenway draws visitors in with trails, greenways, public art, local businesses, and "the first grocery store to open in 30 years in downtown.” $8.5 million was invested in the project, but it has already brought in $215 million in revenue. The Downtown Greenway was created in partnership with the city and nonprofit Action Greensboro, and while it's currently being used with social distancing, it'll still be there when the quarantine is over.

Discarded plastic can serve as construction material for major infrastructure and public works projects. In the Philippines, private companies like San Miguel are stepping in to participate in the government’s infrastructure projects. Companies are increasingly looking at closed-loop systems as a way to address plastic waste and drive construction projects. Nestlé and Unilver are among the other companies working to recover discarded plastics. Some of the programs offer incentives like cash for returned plastic waste.