Highway Feature Sustainability Highway Feature Sustainability A Maintenance PerspectiveA Maintenance Perspective

Luci MooreState Maintenance &Operations Engineer

Oregon Department of TransportationApril 2009

Maintenance PerspectiveMaintenance Perspective

• Be able to be maintained• Get to it• Cost effective and doable within a

variety of constraints including environmental

• Trying to infuse maintenance needs/issues into design guidance and thought processes

What Are Sustainable Landscapes?What Are Sustainable Landscapes?

• Easy To Establish• Native Plants if Possible• No Irrigation Requirements• Require Little or No Maintenance• Able to Out-Compete Noxious Weeds

The Right Plant in the Right The Right Plant in the Right PlacePlace

What Doesn’t WorkWhat Doesn’t Work

What Doesn’t WorkWhat Doesn’t Work

What Doesn’t WorkWhat Doesn’t Work

What Doesn’t WorkWhat Doesn’t Work

What Doesn’t WorkWhat Doesn’t Work

What Does WorkWhat Does Work

What Does WorkWhat Does Work

What Does WorkWhat Does Work

What Does WorkWhat Does Work

What Does WorkWhat Does Work

Permeable Pavement Permeable Pavement ConcernsConcerns• Spills and cleanup requirements• Verticle grades and sags• Surface Life• Low risk areas

– Multiuse paths– Parking lots for new cars– Guardrail flares ?

Water Quality Feature Water Quality Feature ConsiderationsConsiderations

• Location-accessibility to maintain• ODOT has a prioritized list for these

features based on life cycle costs• Try to minimize propriety parts needed• Maintenance Costs

– Disposal of materials from clean outs– Frequency of clean outs– Replacment Parts– Equipment required to clean out

• Must have a maintenance and operations plan

Impact AttenuatorsImpact Attenuators

• Low Maintenance Group now on the Qualified Products List

• Issues– Numerous different replacement parts

may be needed if lots of variety on the system

– Time and Costs to repair• Safety of the crew and the public• Traffic delays resulting in more

emissions

SummarySummary

• Maintainability is a critical element of sustainability– Reduces fuel, emissions, chemicals and

materials needed to keep the system functioning

• Please think past constructability and include maintainability