January/February
2001
Editor's
Notes
"We
can make better use of existing technology. The past decade has brought
about an extraordinary leap in technology and a leap in the management
expertise that is skilled in applying those advances to real-world
problems."
- Norman Y. Mineta, U.S. Secretary of Transportation
The
new secretary of transportation's emphasis on applying existing and
emerging technologies to solve real-world problems in transportation
supports a long-held position of the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA). As a matter of fact, one of the "guiding principles"
in the FHWA National Strategic Plan is to "leverage technology
and innovation." The plan calls FHWA to become "an international
leader in researching, developing, and advancing technology to ensure
the most efficient, effective, and environmentally sensitive intermodal
transportation system."
Furthermore, the plan states, "FHWA will enhance the role of
telecommunications in transportation logistics to increase the global
competitiveness of the United States. FHWA will promote the use of
technological advancements and innovations by States and local governments
in building highways that cost less, last longer, and are more environmentally
friendly. To help its partners implement emerging technologies, FHWA
will provide technical assistance, training, and outreach to customers
and partners to implement the best technologies for safety, design,
construction, maintenance, and operation of highways and for safe
operation of commercial vehicles. Technology deployment will be a
key factor to accomplish strategic objectives in all areas."
For the first 75 years of its existence, Public Roads was specifically
a journal of highway research and development. Even since 1993, when
the magazine changed its scope and format to represent all facets
of FHWA, the magazine, with its roots deep into research and development,
continues to emphasize the reporting of new technologies and innovations.
One of the principal purposes of Public Roads is to disseminate
information about technology and innovation that will raise the level
of awareness of our readers, and as we state in our "Instructions
to Authors," "Recognizing that our readership
has
very little time for discretionary reading, Public Roads seeks to
provide interesting and useful articles with distinct professional
relevance."
This issue of Public Roads really focuses on technology and
innovation. Our feature article in the center of the magazine discusses
the unique relationship between two offices in FHWA that are working
together to leverage technology and innovation. We have three articles
about the use of computer simulation in crash analysis to improve
roadside safety and save lives. We have two articles about the use
of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and other innovations
to beat snow and ice and to enable snowplow operators to "see"
snow-covered roads and obstacles. In the article about ATLAS, we tell
you about a new center of excellence for the research and development
of algorithms, software, and systems for traffic management and logistics
management. The article about the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning
System describes the dramatic improvement in the accuracy of positioning
information obtained from satellites and how this improvement in accuracy
will create myriad new applications for this technology.
We also have articles about FHWA's efforts to achieve a 50-percent
increase in wetlands acreage resulting from federal-aid highway projects
from 1998 to 2008 and about enhancing safety and mobility in work
zones.
Public Roads is committed to providing information that is
interesting, useful, and relevant to you. We are always eager to receive
your feedback so that we can continuously evaluate how well we are
serving your need to keep up to date on developments in federal highway
policies, programs, and research and technology.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or recommendations about topics
you would like to see covered in the magazine, please e-mail me at
Martha.Soneira@fhwa.dot.gov.
And thanks in advance for taking the time to help us serve you better.
Other
Articles in this Issue:
Learning
to Beat Snow and Ice
Safe
Plowing - Applying Intelligent Vehicle Technology
Improving
Roadside Safety by Computer Simulation
Using
the Computer and DYNA3D to save lives
LS-DYNA:
A Computer Modeling Success Story
Preservation
of Wetlands on the Federal-Aid Highway System
Internal
FHWA Partnership Leverages Technology and Innovation
New
Applications Make NDGPS More Pervasive
Center
for Excellence in Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems
(ATLAS)
National
Work Zone Awareness Week (April 9 to 12) - Enhancing Safety and Mobility
in Work Zones