The Johnson County Secondary Roads Department received a national award from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for developing an innovative tool that saves time and improves employee safety when surveying roads.

The department received the national SMART Transformation Award through the FHWA's Build a Better Mousetrap competition for its Roadway Mobile Survey Rig, a custom-built device that allows employees to collect roadway measurements while driving instead of walking alongside traffic.

The Roadway Mobile Survey Rig was developed to address the time-consuming and potentially dangerous process of surveying miles of roadway on foot. The device attaches to a hitch and holds GPS surveying equipment, allowing employees to collect roadway data safely from inside the vehicle.

Using the rig, employees can survey approximately eight miles of roadway in 35 minutes while traveling at 25 mph. The equipment collects measurements at 100-foot intervals, providing information that engineers use to evaluate road conditions and plan future improvements.

Secondary Roads employees designed and built the rig using repurposed materials, including undamaged sections of road signposts. The adjustable design allows the equipment to serve different surveying needs.

The department initially submitted the Roadway Mobile Survey Rig to the Iowa Local Technical Assistance Program's (LTAP) Build a Better Mousetrap competition, where it earned first place at the state level. The project then advanced to the national competition, where judges evaluated more than 100 submissions.

The Build a Better Mousetrap competition recognizes innovative solutions developed by local transportation agencies that improve efficiency, enhance safety and reduce costs. The program also encourages agencies to share their ideas so other communities can adopt or improve upon them. For more information about the competition, visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/clas/babm/babm_winners_2026.aspx.