The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is working on a long-term project to rebuild and improve a major stretch of I-95 through an urbanized section of Philadelphia. Central to this project is the need to meet Philadelphia’s Green City Clean Water stormwater regulatory requirements for a combined sewer area. To advise the design and maintenance PennDOT has contracted with Villanova and Temple Universities to conduct research on early phases of the project to inform the design of future phases. Several stormwater management practices (bioswale and bioinfiltration) are being monitored from a hydrologic and geotechnical perspectives. Stormwater management lessons learned from the research will be presented to include both performance and the challenges of a long-term transportation project.
Robert Traver is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Villanova University, and founding Director of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems. His current research is to advance our understanding of design to performance of green stormwater infrastructure through understanding the engineering unit processes, and subscribes to the Teacher – Scholar model bringing his research to his students. Dr Traver initiated the Stormwater Control Measure Demonstration and Research Park on the Villanova Campus. Dr Traver served on ASCE’s External Review Panel (ERP) of the Corps investigation of Hurricane Katrina, and was a member of the National Academies Committee entitled Reducing Stormwater Discharge Contributions to Water Pollution. Dr Traver received his BSCE degree from the Virginia Military Institute, his MCE from Villanova, and his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. He continues to serve the profession as an associate editor of the ASCE Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment.