November Camping In Massachusetts
This is it! Our first video! Please join us as we embark on this new adventure in our lives! We are a family of 3 set to RV camping and explore America, one camping trip at a time! My name is William, and along with my wife Christina and our baby girl, we try to manage having full time jobs and explore America in our 2012 Fleetwood Bounder. This website was created to show our adventures, camping trips, and for us to share all of experiences, how-to’s and the things we learned the hard way about Rving. This is our first RV and the first time camping on our own. We decided to embark on this adventure to see how far it will take us. If we can do it, you can do it!
MassDOT's Fast 14 Project: Innovation That Works
HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE MANY OF OUR COUNTRY'S MOST VALUED TRADITIONS FIRST TOOK ROOT, THE STATE'S TRANSPORTATION AGENCY IS CHAMPIONING INNOVATION. THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, MASSDOT, IS CHANGING HOW IT DOES BUSINESS.
FOR YEARS, MASSACHUSETTS HAD SEPARATE AGENCIES TO DEAL WITH ITS VARIOUS MODES OF TRANSPORTATION. BUT IN 2009, THEY WERE FOLDED INTO ONE AGENCY, THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. NOW, WHEN MOBILITY CHALLENGES ARISE, THEY WORK TOGETHER TO FIND SOLUTIONS --
-- SOLUTIONS THAT ARE BEST FOR THE COMMONWEALTH AS A WHOLE.
MASSDOT'S BRIDGE PROGRAM IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE. RATHER THAN BUILDING BRIDGES THE WAY THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN BUILT, WITH MONTHS OR YEARS OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION, WORK ZONE SLOW-DOWNS AND TRAFFIC CONES --
MASSDOT'S BRIDGE ENGINEERS TOOK A LOOK AT WHAT OTHERS WERE DOING, BOTH HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD. WHAT THEY FOUND WERE INNOVATIONS. INNOVATIONS THAT CUT CONSTRUCTION TIME, CUT COSTS, IMPROVED SAFETY DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PERIOD, AND CREATED BRIDGES OF HIGHER QUALITY. AND BRIDGE QUALITY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE LONGER A BRIDGE LASTS, THE LONGER THE PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE CREWS HAVE TO COME BACK IN FOR REPAIRS OR RECONSTRUCTION.
SHOUKRY ELNAHAL. IT HAS BEEN THE HISTORY, NOT JUST IN MASSACHUSETTS, BUT IN STATES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, THAT PROJECTS TAKE TOO LONG. THAT PROJECTS ARE IN PLACE FOR A LONG TIME, DISRUPTING THE TRAFFIC FOR A LONG TIME. WE WANTED, HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS, TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND ACTUALLY COMPLETE OUR PROJECTS IN A TIMELY MANNER SO THAT WE COULD GET IN AND GET OUT AND STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE TRAVELING PUBLIC.
ONE OF THE PROGRAM'S EARLIEST PROJECTS IS CALLED FAST 14. FOURTEEN BECAUSE 14 BRIDGES WERE INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT, AND FAST BECAUSE IT'S GOAL WAS TO CUT CONSTRUCTION TIME FROM FOUR OR FIVE YEARS TO ONE.
DURING THE SUMMER OF 2011, MASSDOT REPLACED ALL 14 DETERIORATED BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURES ON A SECTION OF I-93 WITHOUT IMPACTING WEEKDAY RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC. HOW? BY USING INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES AND CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES THAT ALLOWED THEM TO REPLACE THE ACTUAL BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURES ON THE WEEKENDS.