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May/June 2002
Editor's Notes
Raising the Bar on Effective Communication
Throughout its rich 80-year history, Public Roads has been about effective communication. However, it has evolved considerably as a communications tool to keep pace with advancing technology. Public Roads grew from an in-house research journal to a world-class transportation magazine with a diverse and broad transportation audience. Engineers, researchers, and program managers use this publication as a marketing and technology transfer tool to share transportation knowledge with peers in the industry. Timely articles focus on cutting-edge technology, implementation methods, applications, and effective business practices that affect and benefit partners and customers in the transportation community.
Public Roads competes for the attention of its readers, who are bombarded by other information resources in print, on the Internet, via email, and through networking activities. This national magazine is one of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) most visible avenues for effective communication, and it aids our readers in navigating floods of data by providing targeted information—a “technical sanctuary,” as one FHWA engineer recently tagged it.
Based on customer and stakeholder expectations, FHWA has articulated three critical focus areas—safety, environmental stewardship, and congestion mitigation—as our organizational direction for success. Effectively communicating about successful programs and accomplishments that support the “Vital Few” goals is critical to meeting our high performance standards. Our new editorial staff will help you use Public Roads for connecting with the transportation population and conveying your message clearly, concisely, and in a timely manner. Guest editorials in each issue will provide an FHWA focus to issues and priorities that shape our national agenda.
As FHWA’s executive director, I also serve as chairman of Public Roads’ editorial board. I look forward to working with this high-caliber team of experienced individuals at FHWA, who will help shape and guide the efforts of this magazine by highlighting your illustrations and models of innovative excellence across the public roads of today and tomorrow. Our intent is to keep this magazine a valuable resource for sharing knowledge, communicating innovative technologies and practices, and keeping our readers on top of evolving
transportation issues.
F. G. Wright, Jr.
Executive Director
Federal Highway AdministrationOther Articles in this issue:
Arizona Tackles Work Zone Delays
A Hallmark of Context-Sensitive Design
Do Better Roads Mean More Jobs?
Exciting Opportunity for ITS Work
Benefitting from LTPP—A State's Perspective
