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May/June 2004
Communication Product Updates
Compiled by Zac Ellis of FHWA's Office of Research and Technology ServicesBelow are brief descriptions of reports recently published by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Research, Development, and Technology. Some of the publications also may be available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies are available from the Research and Technology (R&T) Product Distribution Center.
When ordering from NTIS, include the NTIS publication number (PB number) and the publication title. You also may visit the NTIS Web site at www.ntis.gov to order publications online. Call NTIS for current prices. For customers outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the cost is usually double the listed price. Address requests to:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 7036056000
Toll-free number: 800553NTIS (6847)Address requests for items available from the R&T Product Distribution Center to:
R&T Product Distribution Center
Federal Highway Administration
9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q
Lanham, MD 20706
Telephone: 3015770818
Fax: 3015771421For more information on research and technology publications from FHWA, visit the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center's Web site at www.tfhrc.gov, FHWA's Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov, the National Transportation Library's Web site at http://ntl.bts.gov, or the OneDOT information network at http://dotlibrary.dot.gov.
Fiscal Year 2004/2005 Performance Plan
Publication No. FHWA-RD-03-085The Fiscal Year 2004/2005 Performance Plan is available now on FHWA's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Web site at www.tfhrc.gov/about/03085. The plan describes the Office of Research, Development, and Technology's (RD&T) role in research and technology, challenges and commitments to FHWA customers, and research products and services the office will provide in fiscal year 2004/2005. The Web site also includes a link for customer feedback, and FHWA encourages visitors to provide their thoughts and suggestions on the plan. The FHWA RD&T FY 2002 Performance Report, a companion document to the performance plan also is available on the site. The plan and report reflect FHWA's commitment to its customers and willingness to be held accountable for the performance of research and technology activities.
Corporate Master Plan for Research and Deployment of Technology & Innovation
Publication No. FHWA-RD-03-077Released in April 2003, the Corporate Master Plan (CMP) addresses recommendations from FHWA's 7 guiding principles, including 26 agency commitments. The commitments include setting research agendas, increasing the role of external stakeholders, using multiyear plans (or "roadmaps"), and evaluating research results and deployment.
To implement the plan, the FHWA R&T Leadership Team has identified areas for multiyear plans, promoted self assessments by functional areas for current R&T activities, and developed a list of priority, market-ready technologies and innovationsincluding the nine technologies embraced by the Technology Implementation Group (TIG) at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. These priority technologies and innovations were the focus of an FHWA exhibit at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in January 2004.
Copies of fact sheets (listed below) on the technologies and innovations, and information about the implementation of the plan, are available on the new "FHWA Research and Technology" Web site, www.fhwa.dot.gov/crt/index.cfm. Printed copies of the CMP are available from the R&T Product Distribution Center.
Priority, Market-Ready Technologies And Innovations
Priority, Market Ready Technologies and Innovations List
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-081This master document lists all the priority, market-ready technologies and innovations currently available.
511 Traveler Information
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-048An easy-to-remember, three-digit telephone number available to State and local transportation agencies nationwide can provide highway and transit conditions and other information for travelers.
Asset Management Guide
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-049This guide, along with a companion course from the National Highway Institute (NHI), illustrates asset management principles and identifies techniques and methods for adopting a decisionmaking framework in transportation agencies.
Augered Piles
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-050Augered piles can be installed quickly and inexpensively, and are a viable alternative to driven piles or drilled shafts for certain foundation applications.
Border Wizard
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-051This PC-based model simulates cross-border movements of automobiles, buses, trucks, and pedestrians, using customs, immigration, and security procedures. Agencies can use the model to evaluate and balance the needs for security and trade efficiency, and to address the impact of roadway modifications at or near borders.
Dispute Resolution Guidance for Environmental Streamlining
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-052Guidance titled "Collaborative Problem Solving: Better and Streamlined Outcomes for All" is one element of a national system for dispute resolution that presents strategies for interagency, collaborative problem solving during the development and environmental review of transportation projects.
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-053EPS is a lightweight material that can be used as fill behind walls and other support structures. In specific applications, EPS can reduce stress on underlying soils or limit lateral pressures to retaining walls, abutments, or foundations.
FHWA Traffic Noise Model (TNM), Version 2.1
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-054By enabling transportation officials to predict noise impacts in the vicinity of highways more accurately, this model improves the quality of decisions on roadway placement.
Highway Economic Requirements System (HERS-ST), State Version
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-055HERS-ST is a software model that evaluates the implications of different programs and policies on the conditions, performance, and user costs associated with highway systems. The model provides cost estimates for economically optimal program structures and predicts system conditions and user costs resulting from a given level of investment.
Improved Decisionmaking Using Geographic Information Systems
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-056Geographic information systems software enables users to manipulate, analyze, and display geographically referenced data. Applications include safety analysis, environmental partnering, asset management, highway inventory attributes, and oversized truck permitting.
Interagency Funding Guidance for Environmental Streamlining
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-057A resource titled Interagency Guidance: Transportation Funding for Federal Agency Coordination Associated with Environmental Streamlining Activities provides a common understanding between Federal and State departments of transportation, local transit operators, and Federal resource agencies regarding options for using funding under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) SpecWizard
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-058The software tool SpecWizardTM helps transportation agencies write specifications for standards-based ITS equipment. Standards set by the National Transportation Communication for ITS Protocol safeguard transportation agencies from being locked into proprietary solutions.
Load and Resistance Factor Design and Rating of Structures
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-059The Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) and Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) specifications for bridges, developed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), will help agencies design structures with more uniform levels of safety, superior serviceability, and long-term maintainability.
Pavement Smoothness Methodologies
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-061This new pavement specification covers testing methods for smoothness, equipment specifications, and certification programs for equipment.
QuickZone
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-062QuickZone is a user-friendly software tool for estimating and analyzing the length of queues and delays in work zones.
Red Light Cameras
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-063Agencies can automate the enforcement of violations for running red lights by using camera systems installed at light-controlled intersections. The camera detects an offending motorist, captures an image of the license plate, and issues a citation by mail.
Roundabouts
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-064A roundabout is a circular intersection that requires entering vehicles to yield to existing traffic in the circulatory roadway. Studies show that modern roundabouts can reduce intersection fatalities by up to 90 percent, injury crashes by 76 percent, and pedestrian crashes by 30 to 40 percent.
Rumble Strips
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-065Shoulder rumble strips are continuous grooved indentations in roadway shoulders that provide both an audible warning and a physical vibration to alert drivers that they are leaving the roadway. Studies have shown that these strips yield a significant reduction in drift-off-road crashes.
Safe Speeds in Work Zones
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-066Technologies used to reduce speeds and improve safety in work zones include feedback displays that show the speed of approaching vehicles and portable speed limit signs that automatically display a safe speed based on traffic conditions and the nature of the roadwork.
Transportation, Economic, and Land Use (TELUS) System
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-070The TELUS system for information management and decision support helps State departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations prepare their annual and Statewide transportation improvement programs by tracking history, schedule, funds expended, and budget.
Technology Implementation Group (TIG) Technologies
Accelerated Construction
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-067Accelerated construction includes techniques, materials, and innovative contracting practices that reduce construction time and congestion and enhance quality and safety.
Air Void Analyzer
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-068The air void analyzer measures the air content, specific surface, and spacing factor of fresh portland cement concrete. When implemented, this real-time evaluation can improve quality control and help develop a standard testing protocol, specifications, and data-collection form.
Fiber-Reinforced Polymer
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-069Agencies can use fiber-reinforced polymers to repair cracks in overhead sign supports, preventing failures and providing structural integrity to the support.
Global Positioning System (GPS) Surveying
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-071GPS is a satellite-based, radio-navigation system that provides worldwide, all-weather, three-dimensional data on position, velocity, navigation, and time. Agencies can use GPS technology to increase accuracy and reduce labor, time, and costs for many highway applications, including surveying pavement conditions and inventorying assets.
Ground-Penetrating Radar
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-072This vehicle-mounted technology collects information about underlying highway pavement layers at normal highway speeds, without incurring the time and labor costs and traffic delays associated with traditional methods that involve drilling for core samples.
ITS Technologies in Work Zones
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-074Using ITS technologies, such as ramp-metering systems, intrusion alarms, and queue-detection information (sensors and cameras), increases safety for workers and road users, minimizes the impact of delays, and ensures a more efficient traffic flow.
Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-075Prefabricated bridge elements and systems may be manufactured onsite or offsite, under controlled conditions, and brought to the job location ready to install. Prefabrication improves safety in work zones and minimizes the impacts of construction projects on traffic flow and the environment.
Thermal Imaging Safety Screening System
Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-076Using infrared imaging, the system enables an inspector at a weigh station to screen for brake defects in commercial vehicles.
Other Articles in this issue:
What If We Changed the Way Highways Are Built
Sometimes Quality Is in the Eye of the Beholder
The Case for Performance Standards
May/June 2004 · Vol. 67 · No. 6
