In the new feature 4 Questions With..., we shine a spotlight on various Resilient Roadways members, asking them four questions around the theme of resilience. This edition of “4 Questions” features a Q&A with Allie Kelly, Executive Director of The Ray.

Q - What is the relative importance of road resilience at your agency or organization?

A - Resilience and equity are at the forefront for the next decade in our country. That holds true for the transportation and infrastructure sectors. In order to keep our roads and transportation framework strong, safe and protected, we must design infrastructure that will continue to perform over time under increasingly stressful conditions and have systems in place to restore service when extreme weather or pandemics face our nation.

The Ray is not only a thought leader in energy and transportation, it is building revolutionary infrastructure as an incubator on our 18-mile stretch of interstate. Our organization’s work in road resilience has led to 13 miles of “open-graded” asphalt mixture on The Ray Highway that allows stormwater to runoff faster, keeping the roadways dry and decreasing hydroplaning. The Ray Highway also has four lane-miles of rubberized asphalt that significantly extends the life of the pavement and resists cracking. In addition to materials, The Ray has installed roadside radios as part of its smart highway system which have the ability to ingest massive amounts of contextualized data from traveling vehicles and infrastructure sensors, giving GDOT the ability to visualize traffic, road performance, and respond to issues in real time. The Ray continues to be an innovator and create partnerships around the world that not only promote resilience on our roadways but throughout the transportation industry.

Q = What are the biggest hurdles to overcome in developing more resilient transportation (road) infrastructure?

A - When it comes to transforming our infrastructure for innovation and sustainability, there is always the initial headwind that we must overcome. Officials are often risk-averse and can be reluctant to steer finite funding from established methods and materials toward new ideas. Securing funding for the potentially high upfront costs of a project innovation can be the most critical factor to avoid sinking a great infrastructure project before it’s begun.

Industry leaders are faced with the tough task of breaking through policy makers’ hesitations on the high initial cost and helping them see the long-term return of investment (ROI) and financial benefits that result from resilient infrastructure. In order to make the case, we need life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) data to present the evidence for long-lasting performance and deter decision-makers from the low-bid, temporary-fix proposals.

 Q - What type of data needs to be gathered to understand and provide more resilient roads?

A - When it comes to building effective and resilient roads that last over time, industry leaders need precipitation and environmental data that allows us to examine the model for how rainfall and weather patterns will affect our infrastructure. As we are continually breaking historical data, we require new state-by-state precipitation data to ensure we do not continue to construct systems that will head the same inefficient results.

Along with precipitation data, we require LLCA data to determine which proposals will result in the greatest ROI and long-term benefits for the area. Too many times at a project’s conception, officials and stakeholders are deterred by the initial cost of an investment and are unaware of the long-term economic benefits and potential savings on operations and maintenance. It is essential we retrieve data on the performance and longevity, as well as the cost and economic benefit over the lifetime of the project, to better assess the success and financial value.

 Q - As an industry, how might we influence policy makers and politicians to fund ‘designing and building for resilient roads’? 

A - Transportation is the foundation for our economy - locally, nationally and internationally. Our financial ecosystem relies on transportation to deliver goods and services to consumers, transport people to their workplace, and connect consumers and companies to each other. In Georgia, we are home to one of the nation’s largest seaports and the busiest airport in the world. Investment in infrastructure is necessary to drive the economy of both our state and nation. Without reliable roadways, our economy is stagnant.

To ensure we are constructing high-performing, longer-lasting, safer roads, we must secure the funding and approval of politicians by presenting the superior ROI that resilience delivers to our communities. As industry leaders, it is our responsibility to not only help policy makers see the importance of resilient infrastructure to public safety and our environment, but to educate our officials on the long-term viability and financial benefit that comes from sustainable development. An investment in “resiliency” projects is an investment in the economic future of our country and our local communities.