4 Agencies Win National "Better Mousetrap" Awards for Road Equipment Innovation
The winners in FHWA's 'Build a Better Mousetrap' competition modified equipment to improve snow clearing, leaf pickup and other...
Four award winners have been announced in the 2024 “Build a Better Mousetrap” transportation innovation competition.
Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Technical Services - Center for Local Aid Support, the program highlights innovative solutions created by local and tribal agencies in the U.S. to address safety concerns, reduce costs and improve agency efficiency. Agencies in this category currently oversee 3 million miles of roadways and about half of all U.S. bridges.
The competition hands out four awards each year: the Innovative Project award, Pioneer award, Smart Transformation award and the Bold Steps award.
Here are this year’s winners:
Modified Speed Cushion: Moreno Valley, California
In Southern California, balancing the need to reduce speeds in residential neighborhoods with minimal impact to emergency services saw the city of Moreno Valley win this year’s Innovative Project award.
This came in the form of a modified “speed cushion”, designed to stop smaller vehicles while allowing larger vehicles to pass without issue through wheel cutouts between the lanes. Traffic Engineer Julien Van Simaeys collaborated on testing a prototype with the local fire department for feedback. After a summer of successful use, the city is now considering implementing the cushion, with a price tag of $5,000, in other neighborhoods.
Trackless Automated Loader: East Hartford, Connecticut
The Pioneer award went to the Town of East Hartford, Connecticut, whose annual clearing of 19 miles of sidewalks in the winter was done with an inefficient plow-and-sander setup. The previous system used a tractor that could only hold about 1 cubic yard of sand, requiring one employee to follow in a dump truck and constantly refill the hopper, which increased exposure to chemicals and fall risks.
Now, the city has repurposed an older sander that was headed to auction, removed its spinner assembly and adding a chute that steadily moves material into the tractor’s hopper. The new setup can fill the hopper in 30 seconds and cost $200 to $500 in materials.
Quick Attach Sander: Mckenzie County, North Dakota
Another improvement to sanding operations in Mckenzie County, North Dakota, won its Highway Department this year’s Smart Transformation award. Recognizing that its fleet of plow trucks sat idle during the summer when not being used for sanding, the department adapted its regular fifth-wheel tractors to function as plow trucks during the winter. This means more vehicles are available for winter operations and semi-tractors are being used year-round.
The adaption involves mounting a sander frame using the fifth-wheel and king-pin connection, with the frame’s rear cavity fitting snug with the tractor for stability.
Street Sweeper Conversion: West Lafayette, Indiana
The 2024 Bold Steps award went to the West Lafayette Street and Sanitation Department in Indiana, where workers repurposed street sweepers to increase the efficiency of annual leaf pickup operations.
Using traditional leaf vacuums required at least two people – made difficult with limited staffing – and presented safety concerns for the vacuum operator standing on the trailer. Additionally facing a limited budget for equipment replacement, the department spent about $10,000 per machine to modify old street sweepers – which usually were in good condition and have similar engines configurations – to pick up leaves. This work was done by in-house mechanics.
Honorable Mentions
Some runner-ups in this year’s competition include:
- Repurposing a retired fire department ambulance for paving crews in Munster, Indiana
- Turning a trailer chassis into a custom hot box to maintain asphalt repair material at a consistent temperature in Hastings, Nebraska
- Welding scrap metal onto a backhoe bucket to create a shoulder cleaner in Genesee, New York
- Developing a special rack for vertically storing work zone sign stands in South Carolina