2013 AASHTO TRANSCOMM SKILLS CONTEST Division No. 1) Excel Category No. 1a) With a Consultant Entry Title: VDOT Interstate 95 Bridge Restorations Organization: Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

The Virginia Department of Transportation’s four-year project to restore 11 bridges on Interstate 95 in Richmond has been a massive undertaking along a seven-mile stretch of the nation’s busiest freeway on the East Coast. VDOT’s primary outreach goal – Radically change driver behavior How? Share information about construction work across multiple media platforms Urge drivers to use alternate routes Maintain and increase driver satisfaction with VDOT and its administration of this project Halfway through the project, VDOT has exceeded these goals, as measured by traffic counts and a 2012 tracking study. VDOT traffic measures during summer 2011 (pre-advertising) and summer 2012 (during advertising): During the initial 2011 summer construction period, traffic volumes decreased by an average of 30 percent throughout the entire seven-mile work zone. Traffic decreased up to 58 percent within the area of the Boulevard work zone (one of the rehabilitated I-95 bridges) during periods of aggressive advertising during the summer of 2012.

Second wave of the “I-95 Bridge Restoration Tracking Study” by the Southeastern Institute of Research Inc., conducted among 400 Richmond residents, August 2012: This survey revealed major advancements in Richmond area drivers’ awareness of the I-95 bridge restoration project and their behavior changes to accommodate the construction. Major findings included: Project awareness grew from 13 percent to 88 percent. 85 percent of residents said they had altered their driving behavior. 40 percent cited communications as their source for changing behavior. 62 percent are satisfied with the information they received about lane and road closures. 67 percent are satisfied with the information they received about traffic and travel delays. 51 percent are satisfied with VDOT’s management of the project (up from 28 percent in 2010). 57 percent are satisfied with VDOT’s communications (up from 21 percent in 2010). 59 percent feel they received the information they needed about the construction. This measure surpasses VDOT’s “Gold Standard” of 54 percent, established in 2006 during the immense Springfield interchange construction project on I-95 at the Capital Beltway in Northern Virginia.

Average Decrease in Traffic Within Interstate 95 Work Zones – 2102 The chart shows how driver behavior changed significantly during the summer of 2012, as compared to 2011, when VDOT aggressively increased its outreach over various media platforms to urge motorists to use alternate routes during rehabilitation of bridges on I-95 in the Richmond area. Traffic counts dropped 58 percent along I-95 when VDOT deployed its aggressive advertising campaign in the summer of 2012.

Interstate Billboards Billboards were placed on I-95 and I-64 outside downtown Richmond to reach drivers headed into the city where construction zones are located. VDOT used three standard 14’x40’ billboards and one 12’x40’ digital billboard. These ads achieved 10.4 million impressions during the 12-week “buy” in (This compares with the 5.3 million impressions during the five- week “buy” in 2011.)

Web Banner Ads In 2012, VDOT used Facebook and Google, where ads could appear on a variety of contextually relevant sites in Google’s network. This generated 77.6 million impressions and more than 29,000 clicks to i95bridges.org.

Facebook Advertisements Examples of ads VDOT used on Facebook to communicate the impacts of the Interstate 95 bridge restoration project.

Gas-Pump Toppers Twenty-three gas stations in Fredericksburg, Petersburg and Williamsburg had gas-pump toppers with information about the I-95 bridge restoration project to reach travelers potentially headed into the Richmond area.

TV Billboard This billboard aired with a voiceover on three of Richmond’s network television stations – WTVR (CBS-6), WRIC (ABC-8), WWBT (NBC-12) – between March and November 2012 during peak construction periods. During this time, traffic to the project page for the I-95 bridge restorations on VDOT’s website showed significant increases as traffic counts declined in the various construction zones.

Time-Lapse Video of Replacement of I-95 Bridge Over Overbrook Road VDOT’s photography staff set up a camera to take photos at one-minute intervals throughout the replacement of the nine sections of the northbound I-95 bridge over Overbrook Road one weekend in March The video is on VDOT’s YouTube channel and has received nearly 3,000 hits. The video is available at