Session 4A: Roadside Safety Innovations
Session Description: Of the highway fatalities in Pennsylvania and the United States, more than half are related to run-off-road crashes. The highway safety community must strive to continue to find innovative solutions to prevent the large number of deaths occurring each year due to this crash type. This session will present current information related to facts and myths about guide rail end terminals, new design and construction standards for roadside safety in Pennsylvania, and the application of high friction surface treatments in Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Engineering District 2-0
Moderator: Michael Castellano, PE, Safety Engineer, Federal Highway Administration
- Facts and Myths about Guide Rail End Terminals, Will Longstreet, Safety Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety
- PennDOT’s New Standards for 31-inch Guide Rail, Hassan Raza, Standards and Criteria Engineer, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Project Delivery
- Eliminating Fatalities and Serious Injuries along US 322 Twin Bridges in Mifflin County, PA with High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST), Ryan Collins, Highway Safety Supervisor, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 2-0
- Eliminating Fatalities and Serious Injuries along US 322 Twin Bridges in Mifflin County, PA with High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST), Mark Heisey, Maintenance Manager, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 2-0 Maintenance, Juniata and Mifflin Counties
Speaker Bios:
Will Longstreet is currently a highway safety engineer with the FHWA Office of Safety roadway departure team, in Washington D.C. His duties include development of roadside safety policy and guidance, and hardware evaluation for determination of eligibility. Will is also retired from PennDOT. Having served more than 27 years, his experience includes engineering district construction, design, and maintenance, and the Central Office Bureau of Design Bridge Division where he was charged with successful crash testing to NCHRP350 standard for PennDOT standards and specifications. He is currently secretary of the AASHTO Technical Committee on Roadside Safety. Will has a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
Hassan Raza is a standards and criteria engineer in the Harrisburg Central office. He joined PennDOT in August 2017 after working with FHWA for 38 years in different positions, including assistant director of field services, division administrator in DE and Maryland, and assistant division administrator in New Jersey and Maryland. Prior to his work with the FHWA, Hassan held several program and technical positions including area engineer, design engineer, pavement engineer, and team leader for traffic/ITS, pavements/materials, safety, research and technology, maintenance, and construction. Hassan also served in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan advising host governments on all aspects of highways, including traffic and safety.
Ryan Collins is the PennDOT Engineering District 2-0 highway safety supervisor. Ryan has significant experience in the highway safety arena after serving the past 14 years in the District Traffic Unit. Ryan is involved with managing the District’s yearly Low Cost Safety Improvement Program, as well as coordinating the District’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). He is a graduate of South Hills Business School with an associate degree in business.
Mark Heisey has served as the highway maintenance manager of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in Mifflin & Juniata counties since 2010. Previously, he served as Juniata assistant highway maintenance manager from 2004 to 2009. Previous experience includes serving as an estimating supervisor and manager for Asphalt Paving Company from 1981 to 2003. Mark has also served as highway construction technician for soils/concrete/bituminous quality control testing from 1979 to 1980. Mark received an associate degree from Penn State in highway engineering technology. He currently serves on the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and is a member of Mifflin & Juniata 911 centers (incident management).
