March/April
2002
Synergy
in
Action: FHWAs
Transportation Pooled-Fund Program
by Brett
Joseph
Its
About Synergy
Websters
Dictionary defines synergy as the interaction of two or more
forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their
individual effects. The growing success of the Federal
Highway Administrations (FHWA) Transportation Pooled-Fund Program,
through which states can join together to jointly fund research in
areas of common interest, is all about synergy. Sharing resources
and technical expertise among partners creates a better research effort
and broader benefits from the study product.
The
Program in a Nutshell
The
bottom line is that if youre like most managers in the highway
research community, you simply dont have the time or the funds
to conduct all of the critical research on your own. Thats where
FHWAs Transportation Pooled-Fund Program comes in.
The
Transportation Pooled-Fund Program is administered by FHWAs
Office of Program Development and Evaluation at the Turner-Fairbank
Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, Va. As the research center
for FHWA, TFHRC coordinates an ambitious program of innovative research,
development, and technology that addresses the safety, efficiency,
and operational needs of the National Highway System.
The
Transportation Pooled-Fund Program enables various public and private
entities to pool their resources to jointly fund research,
planning, and technology innovations aimed at solving a wide variety
of transportation-related problems. Such entities may include federal,
state, regional, and local transportation agencies, academic institutions,
foundations, and private industry.
FHWAs
central role is to administer the program and to act as a broker of
the funds obligated to pooled-fund projects. FHWAs responsibilities
also include establishing new pooled-fund studies (usually at the
request of states), authorizing the use of 100-percent state planning
and research (SP&R) funds, assigning technical liaisons to studies,
and notifying and instructing partners on pooled-fund financial issues.
FHWA division offices in each state, the District of Columbia, and
Puerto Rico also play an important role by working closely with their
states to ensure the eligibility of projects; to aid in the obligation
of funds; and, in some cases, to serve as a technical liaison for
the project.
What
kind of project qualifies as a pooled-fund study? Its pretty
simple. At least one state department of transportation (DOT) and
one of the organizations mentioned above (state, federal, academic,
etc.) must find the subject important enough to commit funds or other
resources to conduct the research. As with other Federal-Aid Highway
Program activities, the proposed pooled-fund study must be eligible
for funding with SP&R or other selected funds.
The
following are some representative examples, showing the kinds of projects
that qualify as a pooled-fund study.
HOV
Systems
If youre
like many state DOT and FHWA engineers, congested roadways are a growing
nightmare for you. What about high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes?
They sound good in theory, but do they really work? One of FHWAs
pooled-fund projects is studying that question. [Study Number TPF-5
(029), High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) Systems]
Fatal
Crash Prevention
Want
to learn some low-cost effective solutions to combat fatal crashes?
FHWA and 11 states have come together in an effort to implement solutions
aimed at reducing fatal crashes by 15 percent in the next three to
five years. [Study Number SPR-2 (209), Enhanced Guidance for
Implementation of Safety Strategies]
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The
two accelerated loading facility (ALF) machines are the centerpiece
of the Pavement Testing Facility at the Turner-Fairbank Highway
Research Center in McLean, Va.
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Work-Zone
Safety
One of
the most challenging aspects for any highway engineer is improving
work-zone safety. Put simply, the driving public bristles at the inconvenience
of traveling through work zones, and its a constant battle to
lessen speeds within any work zone. Twenty states recently pooled
their resources and developed a winning promotional campaign aimed
at improving safety in work zones by better educating the public.
[Study Number SPR-2 (191), Public Service Campaign æ Work
Zones]
The
Goal of the Program
The
goal of the program is to allow states to leverage limited funds,
thereby enhancing the value of the many successful state-run programs,
said Bill Zaccagnino, FHWAs pooled-fund program manager. One
of the offshoots that has made the pooled-fund program such a success
for participating organizations is that by creating partnerships,
they create a customer base for the ultimate product that will come
out of the study. Whats good for one state may also be
good for others. The core idea is that if Pennsylvania has developed
æ or is currently developing æ a successful research study,
then Missouri may chose to join in with its resources to help further
the research and take advantage of the studys benefits.
The
Use of 100-Percent SP&R Funds
The
normal match for SP&R funds is 80 percent federal to 20 percent
non-federal funding. FHWA has the authority to approve the use of
100-percent federal funding for pooled-fund projects at the request
of the lead state as long as it is in the interest of the Federal-Aid
Highway Program. To ensure an FHWA technical link to a study., an
FHWA technical liaison is assigned to each pooled-fund study at the
initiation of the study.
Coordination
of the Program
As with
many federal and state-run programs, one of the biggest challenges
is the coordination and oversight of the pooled resources.
Our
goal at TFHRC is to make the program work well for the states and
FHWA, Zaccagnino said. We want to ease the bureaucratic
burden that partnering can create. The bottom line is that I want
to create a backdrop where researchers are able to concentrate on
research instead of wasting time and energy dealing with unnecessary
administrative details.
The
Future Is Interactive
The
most recent effort to improve communications and ease administrative
burdens is the development of a new pooled-fund program Web site.
This site, which is being developed by the Texas Transportation Institute,
is in progress under National Cooperative Highway Research Program
(NCHRP) Project 20-39(2), Improved Transportation Research-in-Progress
Data System.
Currently
in the middle stage of development, the site will be interactive and
will be the central communications tool for tracking the status of
pooled-fund studies. The site will permit online solicitation and
commitment by project partners, and it will allow the posting of work
plans, progress reports, final reports/deliverables, implementation
activities, and other relevant information.
Initiating
a Pooled-Fund Study
Want
to sponsor your own pooled-fund study?
First,
develop a problem statement. States can solicit partners through
the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee (RAC) listserv. (This
will be done on the new interactive Web site when it is launched.)
Problem statements should include all of the following: project
title, detailed description, objective and goals, budget, estimated
project duration, deliverables, implementation plan, and sponsor
information.
Determine
whether the study will be state-led, FHWA-led, or Transportation
Research Board-(TRB-) led.
Determine
project viability based on the level of commitment from interested
partners. If the project is viable, FHWA will formally establish
the project. This includes processing the funding commitments;
assigning a project number; assigning a technical liaison; and,
if the state requests, determining if the study will be approved
for the use of 100-percent state planning and research (SP&R)
funds.
Thats
all it takes to initiate a study.
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ALFs
enable researchers to rapidly collect data on pavement performance
under conditions in which axle loading and climatic conditions
are controlled.
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The
site will help to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of communications.
It will allow state partners to post and receive informational updates
in a timely fashion without any administrative delay. And when a study
is posted for review, potential partners will be notified of new postings
via the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) Research Advisory Committee (RAC) listserv. The goal is to
have the new Web site online in late summer or early fall 2002.
Two
Pooled-Fund Examples
Erosion
Control
John
Mason, vegetation manager for Texas DOT, is currently leading Study
Number TPF 5(015), The Erosion Control Laboratory.
The Hydraulics
and Erosion-Control Laboratory, operated by the Texas Transportation
Institute, was established in the late 1980s to maintain an approved
product list for soil-retention blankets and for cellulose fiber mulches,
both critical products in battling erosion. Because there are many
other state DOTs that use the approved product list, the Erosion-Control
Lab seemed to be a perfect fit for a pooled-fund study.
By
getting other people involved, you get a lot more ideas, Mason
said. As different states get involved with different projects
here at the lab, I see a lot of things I might not be aware of. From
a research and learning perspective, the project is an excellent idea.
If
no other states participated in this study, the lab would have to
downscale what it does, said Mason. We simply would not have
the opportunity to test as many things.
According
to Mason, participating in a pooled-fund study is an excellent idea.
Ive really been pleased with it. It helps defray the large
costs associated with this type of research. You can do projects on
a much larger scale than you normally would.
Mason
has some advice for starting a successful study. Planning. You
need to plan way ahead to give people time to get involved. You have
to remember that many states work under the constraints of an annual
budget cycle and you may have to approach them a year in advance in
order for them to sign on as a partner, he said.
Asphalt
Testing
Dr.
Terry Mitchell, research materials engineer on TFHRCs Asphalt
Pavement
Team, is one of the leaders of a brand new pooled-fund study that
is showing a great deal of promise. TPF 5(019), Full-Scale Accelerated
Performance Testing for Superpave and Structural Validation,
was established in mid-2001.
The
study is being conducted by the Asphalt Pavement Team at TFHRCs
Pavement Testing Facility. At this facility, pavement and highway
research engineers study the complex interactions between pavement
structures, construction materials, and axle loads, and they evaluate
the durability of pavement materials.
The
centerpieces of the Pavement Testing Facility are its two accelerated
loading facility (ALF) machines, which enable researchers to rapidly
collect data on pavement performance under conditions in which axle
loading and climatic conditions are controlled.
The
ALFs can run two kinds of tests. First, they can be used to study
the effects of a single-loading configuration on up to 12 different
pavement sections (differing in materials or structures). Second,
they can be used to test alternative loading configurations (e.g.,
by varying tire pressure or axle loading) on identical pavement designs.
The
Asphalt Pavement Teams study will select, build, and test 12
lanes of newly constructed pavement. This multitask, multilevel experiment
will aim primarily at examining the performance of modified asphalt
binders in
The
TFHRC Transportation
Pooled-Fund Program Web Site
The
TFHRC Transportation Pooled-Fund Program Web site includes a
variety of information to help interested partners to better
understand the program and to obtain information about active
and completed pooled-fund studies. The site is located at www.tfhrc.gov/site/active.htm
on the TFHRC Web site.
Among
other information, the site includes: introductory information
about the program, program procedures, funding report, lists
of active and completed studies with study information, links
to some final reports, and links to pooled-fund study-related
Web sites.
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Superpave
mixes, but it will also study pavements designed in accordance with
the proposed 2002 pavement design guide, measurements made with various
falling-weight deflectometers (FWDs), and crumb rubber-modified asphalt
pavements.
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ALFs
can be used to study the effects of a single loading configuration
on up to 12 different asphalts (differing in materials or structures)
at once or to test alternative loading configurations (e.g.,
by varying tire pressure or axle loading) on identical pavement
designs.
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Why perform
these experiments within the framework of a pooled-fund study? According
to Mitchell, bringing in state and industry participants at the very
beginning of a study means you can design an experiment that really
fits what they need.
We
held a workshop here [TFHRC] in November 2001 with 10 state agencies,
industry, and academia that were interested in participating in the
project, Mitchell said. The meeting allowed us to better
develop the study, and forming a pooled-fund study allowed us to gather
resources and support from a much wider range of sources. The
key to a successful pooled-fund study, according to Mitchell, is communication.
When youre partnering with as many as 20 or 30 different
states, it is a challenge to keep them informed and give them a chance
to give input. Thats why things like having regular panel meetings
and the frequent use of e-mail are so crucial.
Role
of Private Industry and Academia
The
states and FHWA often have other important partners in pooled-fund
studies. For example, federal partners include the U.S. DOTs
Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory.
Industry
and academia also play big roles. In many studies, the actual experiments
are not conducted by state or FHWA engineers. A wide variety of contractors
from private industry and academia are brought in for their expertise
and experience.
Academic
partners for current studies include the University of Maryland, Purdue
University, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of
Illinois.
Partners
from private industry include Scientex Corp. and Intelligent Design
Technologies.
Its
a win-win situation for industry and academia. For instance, industry
will
play a key role in the Asphalt Teams experiments by providing
modified asphalts for the mixes that will be tested. By partnering
with us in this study, members of industry can see firsthand how their
asphalt types perform next to others being tested, Mitchell
said. More importantly, the study will provide industry and
the states with better laboratory tools for predicting how modified
asphalt mixes will perform in the field.
The
Bottom Line Is Value
With
the expense of conducting highway research constantly on the rise
and when both state and federal highway budgets are limited, more
and more highway engineers nationwide are looking to TFHRCs
Transportation Pooled-Fund Program as an effective way to launch and
continue important research without breaking the bank. Yes, the program
facilitates the sharing of resources. That is a given.
But
do not overlook the value gained by having more minds working together
to accomplish a common goal. From long experience, FHWA knows that
the value created by participating in a pooled-fund study is greater
than the sum of its parts.
Brett Joseph, a contracting specialist at the Defense Supply
Center in Philadelphia (DSCP), is currently on assignment in TFHRCs
Office of Program Development and Evaluation. At DSCP, Joseph serves
as the program administrator for the Medical Fleet Prime Vendor Program,
which provides medical devices to the U.S. Navy worldwide. He has
a bachelors degree in business administration from Rider University
in Lawrenceville, N.J., and a masters degree in business administration
from La Salle University in Philadelphia.
For
more information about TFHRCs Transportation Pooled-Fund Program,
visit www.tfhrc.gov/site/active.htm.
Other Articles in this issue:
"Stone-Walling"
in Arkansas
Arkansas
Combines Best Practices for an Innovative Insterstate Rehabilitation
Program
Small
Investment, Dramatic Dividends — Saving Lives in "Blood
Alley"
National
Review of the Highway Safety Improvement Program
Weather:
A Research Agenda for Surface Transportation Program
Highway
Quality Awards
FHWA
Model Predicts Noise Impacts
Synergy
in Action: FHWA's Transportation Pooled-Fund Program