Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program (FY25-FY29)

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General Information
Study Number: TPF-5(533)
Former Study Number: TPF-5(430)
Lead Organization: Nebraska Department of Transportation
Solicitation Number: 1613
Partners: CA, IADOT, IN, KS, MO, NE, NJ, OH, SC, SD, UT, VA, WI
Status: Cleared by FHWA
Est. Completion Date:
Contract/Other Number:
Last Updated: Jun 03, 2024
Contract End Date:
Financial Summary
Contract Amount:
Suggested Contribution: $65,000.00
Total Commitments Received: $2,815,120.00
100% SP&R Approval: Approved
Contact Information
Lead Study Contact(s): Mark Fischer
Mark.fischer@nebraska.gov
Phone: 402- 479-3163
FHWA Technical Liaison(s): Dick Albin
dick.albin@dot.gov
Phone: 360- 534-9312
Organization Year Commitments Technical Contact Name Funding Contact Name
California Department of Transportation 2025 $298,000.00 Robert Meline Sang Le
Indiana Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung
Indiana Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung
Indiana Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung
Indiana Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung
Indiana Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung
Iowa Department of Transportation 2025 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- --
Iowa Department of Transportation 2026 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- --
Iowa Department of Transportation 2027 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- --
Iowa Department of Transportation 2028 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- --
Iowa Department of Transportation 2029 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- --
Kansas Department of Transportation $0.00
Missouri Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper
Missouri Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper
Missouri Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper
Missouri Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper
Missouri Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper
Nebraska Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Austin White Mark Fischer
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela
Ohio Department of Transportation 2025 $292,620.00 Don Fisher General Research
South Carolina Department of Transportation 2025 $67,000.00 Mark Anthony Terry Swygert
South Dakota Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Thad Bauer Thad Bauer
Utah Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens
Utah Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens
Utah Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens
Utah Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens
Utah Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens
Virginia Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh
Virginia Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh
Virginia Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh
Virginia Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh
Virginia Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh
Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2025 $67,500.00 Erik Emerson Evelyn Bromberg

Study Description

In 1990, three states in the Midwest, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, recognized the need for additional research to improve roadside safety and to reduce injuries and fatalities associated with ran-off-road crashes. With this need, the concept of a State Department of Transportation, annually-funded, research program was conceived. As a result, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln collaborated with the States of Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri to form the Midwest States Regional Pooled Fund Program, a program dedicated for sponsoring roadside safety research. In 1994, the program was joined by the States of Iowa and Minnesota. In 1995 and 1996, the States of South Dakota and Wisconsin jointed the Pooled Fund Program, respectively. In 1997, the State of Ohio joined the Pooled Fund Program with the other seven states. From 2000 to 2005, the Pooled Fund Program continued with support from these eight member states in addition to short-term support from the states of California, Connecticut, Montana, and Texas. In 2005 and 2006, the states of Illinois and Wyoming joined the Pooled Fund Program, respectively. In the 30th year, the Pooled Fund program has nineteen member states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Largely due to the support from the Midwest Pooled Fund Program, MwRSF has come to be recognized as a global leader in the development of crashworthy safety structures. Numerous safety features have been developed through the Midwest Pooled Fund Program and have been adopted nationwide with several systems adopted internationally. These new safety features have saved the lives of countless motorists across the nation over the last decade.

Objectives

The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program is a collaborative program between state DOTs and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) dedicated to sponsoring roadside safety research. The goal of this program is to address the roadside safety needs of state DOTs, solve problems of similar interest, and standardize safety features across state borders. MwRSF and Pooled Fund member states eagerly welcome new members. The goals of the Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program include: 1) improving highway safety by making the roadside less hazardous for motorists; 2) designing, developing, and crash testing innovative roadside safety hardware to current impact safety standards, such as the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH); 3) conducting safety performance evaluations of existing roadside features; 4) performing computer simulation modeling of vehicle impacts with roadside hardware and geometric features; and 5) developing roadside safety guidance to aid transportation agencies in improving motorist safety.

Scope of Work

The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program provides a wide variety of research capabilities and expertise to its members. The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) is a full-service testing laboratory that offers compliance testing, design, redesign, failure analysis, and component testing of roadway and roadside appurtenances. MwRSF’s testing experience includes performance testing of guardrail, bridge rails, noise walls, concrete barriers, delineators, luminaries, mailboxes, work zone sign supports, and component testing of post designs, break-away and slip bases, as well as materials testing. In addition to testing of safety hardware and components, MwRSF can perform vehicle handling and friction testing. MwRSF is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accredited Laboratory. In 2009, MwRSF was approved for accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in the field of safety performance evaluation of highway features and vehicle testing of crash barriers for the tests identified in the Scope of Accreditation. The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program and MwRSF have led the development of innovative barrier systems and roadside safety guidance for over 30 years. The Midwest Pooled Fund Program and MwRSF have developed many of the most common and successful barrier systems in use on roads today, and their research has formed the basis of many of the roadside safety guidance used in the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (RDG), MASH, and individual state standards. Some examples of this influence would include development of the Zone of Intrusion (ZOI) concept, development of updated cable barrier test matrices for MASH 2016, and design of a variety of barrier systems ranging from bullnose barriers, approach guardrail transitions, various longitudinal barriers and bridge rails, and other hardware, that form the basis for many states standard plans. The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program has access to expert researchers at MwRSF that are proficient in the use of state-of-the-art computer software, including LS-DYNA, Barrier VII, CarSim, and others, to simulate real-life impact events. Using computer simulation, it is possible to design more advanced barrier systems, reduce design costs, and better understand system behavior outside the range of standard crash testing. Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program members also have access to the following benefits. 1. The ability to address and prioritize safety topics critical for state departments of transportation. 2. Access to top-tier research staff with extensive experience and a repository of historical data as well as an exclusive opportunity to submit consulting questions. 3. Ability to collaborate with other Midwest Pooled Fund member states. 4. Staff assistance with preparing MASH evaluations for FHWA division offices and determining MASH-crashworthiness of devices without conducting full suite of tests. 5. Direct involvement and input on new innovations and major advancements in safety that reduce fatal and serious injury crashes. Most developments are non-proprietary and do not create IP problems. 6. Extensive dissemination of research results via technical reports, journal paper publications, conference presentations, webinars, and a free web library.

Comments

SPR-B Waiver letter is in FHWA evaluation process.

Annual contribution is $65,000 per state/agency.

Documents Attached
Title File/Link Document Category Document Type Privacy Document Date Download
Waiver Approval Memo #1613 Match Waiver Approval Memorandum.pdf Memorandum Other Public 2024-06-03
Acceptance Memo TPF-5(533) Acceptance Memo TPF-5(533).pdf Memorandum Other Public 2024-06-03

No document attached.

Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program (FY25-FY29)

General Information
Study Number: TPF-5(533)
Lead Organization: Nebraska Department of Transportation
Solicitation Number: 1613
Partners: CA, IADOT, IN, KS, MO, NE, NJ, OH, SC, SD, UT, VA, WI
Status: Cleared by FHWA
Est. Completion Date:
Contract/Other Number:
Last Updated: Jun 03, 2024
Contract End Date:
Financial Summary
Contract Amount:
Total Commitments Received: $2,815,120.00
100% SP&R Approval:
Contact Information
Lead Study Contact(s): Mark Fischer
Mark.fischer@nebraska.gov
Phone: 402- 479-3163
FHWA Technical Liaison(s): Dick Albin
dick.albin@dot.gov
Phone: 360- 534-9312
Commitments by Organizations
Organization Year Commitments Technical Contact Name Funding Contact Name Contact Number Email Address
California Department of Transportation 2025 $298,000.00 Robert Meline Sang Le (916)701-3998 sang.le@dot.ca.gov
Indiana Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung 765-463-1521 ext 248 tnantung@indot.in.gov
Indiana Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung 765-463-1521 ext 248 tnantung@indot.in.gov
Indiana Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung 765-463-1521 ext 248 tnantung@indot.in.gov
Indiana Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung 765-463-1521 ext 248 tnantung@indot.in.gov
Indiana Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Katherine Smutzer Tommy Nantung 765-463-1521 ext 248 tnantung@indot.in.gov
Iowa Department of Transportation 2025 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- -- -- Transfer.Research@iowadot.us
Iowa Department of Transportation 2026 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- -- -- Transfer.Research@iowadot.us
Iowa Department of Transportation 2027 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- -- -- Transfer.Research@iowadot.us
Iowa Department of Transportation 2028 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- -- -- Transfer.Research@iowadot.us
Iowa Department of Transportation 2029 $67,000.00 Michael Thiel -- -- -- Transfer.Research@iowadot.us
Missouri Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper 573-526-3636 Jennifer.Harper@modot.mo.gov
Missouri Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper 573-526-3636 Jennifer.Harper@modot.mo.gov
Missouri Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper 573-526-3636 Jennifer.Harper@modot.mo.gov
Missouri Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper 573-526-3636 Jennifer.Harper@modot.mo.gov
Missouri Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Amy Crawford Jennifer Harper 573-526-3636 Jennifer.Harper@modot.mo.gov
Nebraska Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Austin White Mark Fischer (402) 479-3163 Mark.fischer@nebraska.gov
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela 6099632239 Giri.Venkiteela@dot.NJ.gov
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela 6099632239 Giri.Venkiteela@dot.NJ.gov
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela 6099632239 Giri.Venkiteela@dot.NJ.gov
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela 6099632239 Giri.Venkiteela@dot.NJ.gov
New Jersey Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Hung Tang Giri Venkiteela 6099632239 Giri.Venkiteela@dot.NJ.gov
Ohio Department of Transportation 2025 $292,620.00 Don Fisher General Research 614-644-8135 Research@dot.state.oh.us
South Carolina Department of Transportation 2025 $67,000.00 Mark Anthony Terry Swygert 803-737-6691 SwygertTL@scdot.org
South Dakota Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Thad Bauer Thad Bauer 6057734404 thad.bauer@state.sd.us
Utah Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Utah Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Clint McCleery David Stevens 801-589-8340 davidstevens@utah.gov
Virginia Department of Transportation 2025 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh 434-293-1934 Bill.Kelsh@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Transportation 2026 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh 434-293-1934 Bill.Kelsh@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Transportation 2027 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh 434-293-1934 Bill.Kelsh@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Transportation 2028 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh 434-293-1934 Bill.Kelsh@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Transportation 2029 $65,000.00 Kevin Wright Bill Kelsh 434-293-1934 Bill.Kelsh@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2025 $67,500.00 Erik Emerson Evelyn Bromberg 608-267-7360 evelyn.bromberg@dot.wi.gov

Study Description

Study Description

In 1990, three states in the Midwest, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, recognized the need for additional research to improve roadside safety and to reduce injuries and fatalities associated with ran-off-road crashes. With this need, the concept of a State Department of Transportation, annually-funded, research program was conceived. As a result, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln collaborated with the States of Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri to form the Midwest States Regional Pooled Fund Program, a program dedicated for sponsoring roadside safety research. In 1994, the program was joined by the States of Iowa and Minnesota. In 1995 and 1996, the States of South Dakota and Wisconsin jointed the Pooled Fund Program, respectively. In 1997, the State of Ohio joined the Pooled Fund Program with the other seven states. From 2000 to 2005, the Pooled Fund Program continued with support from these eight member states in addition to short-term support from the states of California, Connecticut, Montana, and Texas. In 2005 and 2006, the states of Illinois and Wyoming joined the Pooled Fund Program, respectively. In the 30th year, the Pooled Fund program has nineteen member states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Largely due to the support from the Midwest Pooled Fund Program, MwRSF has come to be recognized as a global leader in the development of crashworthy safety structures. Numerous safety features have been developed through the Midwest Pooled Fund Program and have been adopted nationwide with several systems adopted internationally. These new safety features have saved the lives of countless motorists across the nation over the last decade.

Objectives

The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program is a collaborative program between state DOTs and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) dedicated to sponsoring roadside safety research. The goal of this program is to address the roadside safety needs of state DOTs, solve problems of similar interest, and standardize safety features across state borders. MwRSF and Pooled Fund member states eagerly welcome new members. The goals of the Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program include: 1) improving highway safety by making the roadside less hazardous for motorists; 2) designing, developing, and crash testing innovative roadside safety hardware to current impact safety standards, such as the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH); 3) conducting safety performance evaluations of existing roadside features; 4) performing computer simulation modeling of vehicle impacts with roadside hardware and geometric features; and 5) developing roadside safety guidance to aid transportation agencies in improving motorist safety.

Scope of Work

The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program provides a wide variety of research capabilities and expertise to its members. The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) is a full-service testing laboratory that offers compliance testing, design, redesign, failure analysis, and component testing of roadway and roadside appurtenances. MwRSF’s testing experience includes performance testing of guardrail, bridge rails, noise walls, concrete barriers, delineators, luminaries, mailboxes, work zone sign supports, and component testing of post designs, break-away and slip bases, as well as materials testing. In addition to testing of safety hardware and components, MwRSF can perform vehicle handling and friction testing. MwRSF is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accredited Laboratory. In 2009, MwRSF was approved for accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in the field of safety performance evaluation of highway features and vehicle testing of crash barriers for the tests identified in the Scope of Accreditation. The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program and MwRSF have led the development of innovative barrier systems and roadside safety guidance for over 30 years. The Midwest Pooled Fund Program and MwRSF have developed many of the most common and successful barrier systems in use on roads today, and their research has formed the basis of many of the roadside safety guidance used in the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (RDG), MASH, and individual state standards. Some examples of this influence would include development of the Zone of Intrusion (ZOI) concept, development of updated cable barrier test matrices for MASH 2016, and design of a variety of barrier systems ranging from bullnose barriers, approach guardrail transitions, various longitudinal barriers and bridge rails, and other hardware, that form the basis for many states standard plans. The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program has access to expert researchers at MwRSF that are proficient in the use of state-of-the-art computer software, including LS-DYNA, Barrier VII, CarSim, and others, to simulate real-life impact events. Using computer simulation, it is possible to design more advanced barrier systems, reduce design costs, and better understand system behavior outside the range of standard crash testing. Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program members also have access to the following benefits. 1. The ability to address and prioritize safety topics critical for state departments of transportation. 2. Access to top-tier research staff with extensive experience and a repository of historical data as well as an exclusive opportunity to submit consulting questions. 3. Ability to collaborate with other Midwest Pooled Fund member states. 4. Staff assistance with preparing MASH evaluations for FHWA division offices and determining MASH-crashworthiness of devices without conducting full suite of tests. 5. Direct involvement and input on new innovations and major advancements in safety that reduce fatal and serious injury crashes. Most developments are non-proprietary and do not create IP problems. 6. Extensive dissemination of research results via technical reports, journal paper publications, conference presentations, webinars, and a free web library.

Comments

SPR-B Waiver letter is in FHWA evaluation process.

Annual contribution is $65,000 per state/agency.

Title File/Link Type Private
Acceptance Memo TPF-5(533) Acceptance Memo TPF-5(533).pdf Memorandum Public
Waiver Approval Memo #1613 Match Waiver Approval Memorandum.pdf Memorandum Public
No document attached.

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