Asphalt Paving Principles

A Road Master qualified course

Who should attend

Highway superintendents who select paving alternatives, evaluate options, and analyze cost. Whether you use a paving contractor, share paving operations with another municipality, or do your own paving, this workshop and accompanying workbook can help you do a quality job. Crew leaders, field personnel, engineers, and deputies will also benefit.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Describe Road Structure & Design based on Traffic, Soil, and Environmental Characteristics.
• Identify all varieties and types of Hot Mix and Cold Mix Asphalt, including analysis of choosing the proper variety.
• Identify types of Asphalt failures and probable cause.
• Describe Pavement Rehabilitation process in depth.
• Discuss the necessity of and the protocols for the Construction & Inspection of Asphalt Pavements.

Complete Streets: Planning Safer Communities for Pedestrians and Bicyclists

This workshop is currently not available. For more information, contact us at clrp [at] cornell.edu or 607-255-8033

Who should attend

Local officials and planning board or council members for villages, towns, cities and counties, who are interested in learning the basics of how to safely accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians in their community.

Topics

• Planning strategies and basic design and maintenance principles used in bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities
• How to do a community assessment for walkability and bikeability
• Traffic laws
• Essential items for one's 'toolkit'
• Education strategies Multi-use facilities
• Enforcement

Dollars and Sense of Municipal Operations

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

The workshop is focused on highway operations and anyone who manages a budget will be able to take advantage of the many years of experience of the instructors.

After taking this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the pitfalls and realities of the budget process,
• Discuss how highway and public works department budgets are created, managed, and updated during a crisis,
• List the legal duties involved in preparing a budget,
• Defend the highway department budget, and
• Incorporate planning and asset management into the budget process.

Flagging Training for Trainers and Crew Supervisors

Who should attend

Aimed at the folks doing the training of the flaggers, this one day workshop trains those who train the flaggers as well as the crew leaders who will be working with the flaggers. Workshop participants should have prior flagging experience.

This on-demand workshop is available in 2020. We just need 15 participants to hold the workshop in your area. And again, the folks you send to this workshop should be either the people who plan to train your flaggers or the crew leaders who will be working with the flaggers on the job site.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Describe the parts of the work zone and the roles and responsibilities of the flaggers.
• Present flagging basics using the best presentation style, their own!
• Identify good flagging techniques and share that knowledge with others.

Local Roads (and Streets) Done Right

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Town, county, city, and village highway officials, street foremen, construction supervisors, and others interested in learning about what makes a good road or street and how to keep it that way are encouraged to attend. Bring your mayor, town board, supervisor or highway committee to this session!

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Identify functional classifications of roads.
• State the 10 commandments for good roads.
• List topics to determine if road is performing adequately.
• Compare the benefits of preventative maintenance vs. rehabilitation or construction.
• Identify contributing factors to frost heave.
• Describe the effects of fines in road base materials.
• Determine the best steps to drain water off the road surface.
• List the three types of sight distance.
• Identify the 5 parts of a work zone.

Pavement Maintenance

A Road Master qualified course

Who should attend

Highway superintendents and field personnel who select pavement maintenance, evaluate options, and analyze cost.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Explain the concept of fatigue as it relates to pavements.
• Identify common underlying factors for pavement failure including design, construction, materials, and maintenance.
• Describe all varieties of pavement distress and contrast the concepts of severity and extent of distresses.
• Discuss the concept of observe, analyze, & evaluate including the importance of looking beyond the actual physical failure when evaluating pavement distresses and failures.
• List steps to take when determining which repair method to choose.
• Describe in detail crack repair and patching techniques.
• Describe the benefits and the limitations of thin wearing courses.

Powers and Duties of Local Highway Officials

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Town, county, city and village highway, public works and municipal officials who have responsibility for or are interested in the legal responsibilities of the operations and management of highway departments in New York State.

Topics

• Use the legal principles governing the establishment and abandonment of highways.
• List the sources of 'law' pertaining to highway officials.
• Explain the legal principles governing the width of a highway right-of-way.
• Discuss a highway official’s legal authority to cause highway obstructions to be removed and the use of emergency powers.
• Assess conflict of interest and ethics obligations.
• Apply Freedom of Information Law and Labor Relations.

Reducing Liability for Highway and Public Works Departments

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Local government officials in New York State responsible for highway department operations and management. Also, those employees responsible for safety and risk programs.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Explain the general nature of highway liability and the nature of municipal duties
• Determine how courts evaluate a municipality’s liability for the maintenance and design of local roads and streets.
• List the special defenses applicable to claims when agencies have good plans and procedures to repair defects.
• Discuss how liability arising from motor vehicle accidents involving municipal vehicles is evaluated.
• Contrast between insurance and indemnity.
• Set up department records to reduce risk and provide support when claims are made.

Roadway and Roadside Drainage

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Crew leaders including foremen, equipment operators, superintendents of small highway departments, and others who want to gain knowledge of open drainage systems. The course is geared to practical day-to-day operations.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Contrast the differences in soil behavior in the presences of water (gravel to clay)
• Explain how freezing and thawing changes the characteristics of soils under a pavement
• Choose good candidates for subsurface drains and select proper backfill for said drains
• Select the proper cross section to improve surface drainage off a highway
• Distinguish between reasonable use, common law, and civil law with regard to drainage of surface water
• Design a basic culvert installation and assess when to get help with the design
• Analyze a culvert's maintenance needs
• Differentiate between scraping and cleaning a ditch
• Select the lining / covering for a ditch or slope to reduce erosion while still performing its function

Running Your Highway Department

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who should attend

Recently elected or appointed town or village highway superintendents or public works officials who supervise staff.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Compare and contrast various highway department organizational structures.
• Calculate efficiency of various highway department operations.
• Locate critical resources needed to manage the department.
• List the assets of the department and develop simple replacement plans.
• Identify the proper budget lines to use and describe various budgeting methods.
• Propose asset management plans to the board.

Snow and Ice Control Operations for Local Highway Officials

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who should attend

Established highway and public works officials who oversee and manage snow and ice control operations, and who have a basic understanding of these operations. Crew supervisors may also find this workshop valuable.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Identify the backbone of an effective snow and ice control program.
• Design an ice control material treatment plan.
• Describe how to minimize the risk of snow and ice-related tort liability.
• Identify which type of anti-icing strategy to use on which type of road.
• Choose the best ice-control treatment for their roads.
• Measure a reduction in cost to their municipality's snow control operation.

Solutions for Safer Roads and Streets

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for highway and public works officials interested in learning about the fundamental concepts of safe roads. Superintendents and safety officers will benefit from this overview.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Explain how human factors affect highway safety and ways highways can be built and maintained to help overcome these issues.
• Predict changes in crashes after road and street upgrades using crash modification factors (CMFs).
• Justify the use of systemic safety to improve overall safety with limited funds.
• List the needs for good signs signals and markings.
• Select tools to help keep drivers on the road.
• Identify the steps to improve roadway safety including the use of guiderail.
• Examine intersections and determine upgrades to improve safety.

Stormwater Management

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Highway and public works officials, superintendents, crew leaders, field supervisors, and anyone else interested in learning about the fundamental concepts, management and maintenance of stormwater. This course is geared to provide a practical understanding of stormwater.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Determine what influences runoff.
• Identify effective methods for reducing runoff peaks.
• Identify effective measures for reducing erosion and sediment transfer.
• Explain what an MS4 is.
• Identify pollutants and sources associated with stormwater runoff.
• Describe the four land types and how they influence runoff.

Survey Methods for Local Highway Departments

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for town, county, city, and village highway officials, street foremen, construction supervisors, and others who are interested in learning about the fundamental concepts of surveying.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Name three factors that affect surveying field work.
• Identify which distance is always shown on highway plans.
• Describe how to hold the tape to convert slope to distance in horizontal distance (to avoid using a mathematical formula).
• Define what foresights and backsights are.
• List the most common avoidable leveling mistakes.
• Determine Slopes using hand tools.
• Measure horizontal distance.
• Measure vertical elevation using a level.
• Use surveying in trenching and pipelaying.
• Use a hand level to determine elevations.
• Determine percent of grade.
• Measure distances by pacing.
• Describe differential leveling.
• Describe profile leveling.

Tools for Practical Communication

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

This workshop is open to everyone (highway superintendents, crew members, town clerks, board members, etc.) who would like to improve their interaction with others.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Discuss what is communication and why it is critical for creating productive working relationships.
• Identify your own leadership style and how this helps to understanding others.
• Describe five common ways of reacting to change.
• Demonstrate listening to understand.
• Choose when and how to delegate work assignments.
• List the four primary leadership styles.
• Practice giving feedback in a practical situation.

Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Superintendents of highway and public works departments, supervisors, crew leaders and others who are involved with the ordering, installation and maintenance of signs.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Identify the five principles of signing
• Properly install signs and pavement markings
• Use the MUTCD
• Select the correct post/hardware for each sign installation
• Demonstrate proper sign and pavement marking maintenance
• Identify the correct traffic control device for each situation

Work Zone Traffic Control for Local Roads

A Road Master Qualified Course

Who Should Attend

Highway superintendents, crew leaders, foremen, maintenance supervisors, and those responsible for planning and managing work zone set up and operations.

Participants taking this course will be able to:

• Use the MUTCD.
• Set up an effective Work Zone.
• Demonstrate a quick, easy-to-use record keeping system.
• Identify potential hazards to workers in work zones.
• Choose legal and effective traffic control devices.
• Demonstrate effective flagging.