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ALONG THE ROAD
"Along the Road"
is the place to look for information about current and upcoming activities,
developments, trends, and items of general interest to the highway community.
This information comes from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sources
unless otherwise indicated. Your suggestions and input are welcome. Let's
meet along the road.
Policy and Legislation
DOT Initiates
Programs on Global Climate Change
At the Eno Transportation Foundation Conference on Global Climate Change
held in Washington, D.C., Deputy Secretary Mortimer Downey announced Department
of Transportation (DOT) initiatives designed to reduce carbon emissions
that are caused by the transportation system. This reduction can be done
in three ways: by encouraging more efficient travel practices, by making
transportation more fuel efficient, and by adopting fuels that will emit
less carbon.
Several programs,
such as the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
(CMAQ), which funds projects that will help regions with air-quality problems
meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act, will help lower emissions.
The new Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program
will fund strategies to improve the transportation system's efficiency.
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) authorizes
$500 million for the Clean Fuels Formula Grant Program, which will be
used for clean-fuel buses and facilities.
Deploying intelligent
transportation system technologies is also among the initiatives set up
to lower carbon emissions, improve air quality, and help to slow climate
changes.
Indiana Superior
Court Declares Seat-Belt Law Unconstitutional
An Indiana County Superior Court judge ruled that the Indiana seat-belt
law, which allowed police officers to stop vehicles if the drivers are
suspected of not wearing their seat belts, was unconstitutional. The new
ruling means that officers can stop a driver if they witness him or her
operating a vehicle without wearing a seat belt. However, officers cannot
pull a driver over because they merely suspect that he or she is not wearing
a restraint. Indiana will file an appeal in the Indiana Supreme Court.
Management and
Administration
FHWA Hires Conveners
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) hired two conveners, Alana S.
Knaster of Los Angeles and Charles Pou of Washington, to consider the
feasibility of using negotiated rulemaking to develop hours-of-service
rules for commercial drivers. The Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1996 allows
conveners to impartially assist an agency in deciding whether it is appropriate
for that agency to enter into a negotiated rulemaking process.
In negotiated rulemaking,
an agency invites those likely to be affected by a regulation to form
a committee and draft the proposed rule. If FHWA approves of the draft,
the consensus-proposed rule is then published by the agency for public
comment under traditional regulatory procedures.
This is the first
comprehensive effort to improve hours-of-service rules since they were
established in the 1930s.
Georgia Receives
Incentive
The rate of seat-belt use for fiscal year 1997 in Georgia exceeded the
state's base rate of seat-belt use. Since wearing seat belts reduces the
severity of injuries in collisions, Georgia saved the federal government
$2,113,500 in medical costs because of this statewide increase in seat-belt
use. As a result, the state will receive that amount of funding in fiscal
year 1999 under the TEA-21 Section 157 program.
Technical News
HITEC Releases
Bondade Technical Evaluation Report
The Highway Innovative Technology Evaluation Center (HITEC), a service
center of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF), released a
technical evaluation report on Transpo Industries Inc.'s Bondade CU-31
bonding solution. The product is a liquid tacking compound that is applied
to the inner surface of a pothole prior to repair to improve the adhesion
of the fill material and extend the life of the repairs.
Transpo submitted
Bondade to HITEC for evaluation to provide an impartial report of its
performance. The report, Evaluation Findings of Bondade CU-31 Bonding
Solution (#40348), can be purchased by calling (800) 548-2723 or through
e-mail at pubs@asce.org.
— CERF
Public Information
and Information Exchange
Mid-Atlantic States
and FHWA Plan for Year 2000 Maryland state and local traffic engineers
from the Mid-Atlantic states met with FHWA officials to make sure that
computerized signal systems will function properly when the year 2000
(Y2K) arrives.
Some states have different
software packages to control traffic signals, and occasionally these software
packages are not compatible. To avoid safety hazards and congestion, officials
must be certain that traffic signals do not malfunction.
FHWA urged states
and local communities to develop and implement contingency plans with
a range of Y2K scenarios that anticipate what could go wrong and how to
respond to those situations.
For more information
on Y2K traffic control issues, see FHWA's Y2K Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/y2k.
DOT Releases Technical
Analysis of Truck Sizes and Weights
The draft Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study, Volume III was released
in December 1998. The four-volume study is a technical tool used to analyze
how various truck sizes and weights impact the highway structure. This
draft volume describes analytical tools designed to evaluate the nation's
truck size and weight regulations, which takes into account such factors
as safety, the environment, traffic congestion, the economy, and infrastructure
costs.
The complete study
will have four volumes: Executive Summary, Issues and Background, Scenario
and Analysis, and Guide to Documentation. The draft of volume II was released
in June 1997. Comments on both volumes II and III will be incorporated
into the final report, expected to be released in spring 1999.
Delaware Opens
New Composite Bridge
The state of Delaware opened its first all-composite bridge deck late
last year. The deck, located on state business Route 896 in Glasgow, Del.,
is roughly 10 meters by eight meters and is composed of two 0.76-meter-thick
fiber-reinforced composite panels, each of which weighs slightly more
than six metric tons.
This bridge project
was a joint effort of FHWA; the Delaware Department of Transportation;
the University of Delaware; Hardcore, a private composites company; and
contractor James Julian International.
CERF Receives
Award for Web Site
The CERF Web site — www.cerf.org — has been honored with a 1998 "Standard
of Excellence" Web Award from the Web Marketing Association Inc.
More than 500 Web
sites from around the world were considered for the award. CERF's Web
site works to facilitate the exchange of information on research and innovations
for the design and construction industry. The site includes infromation
about CERF's innovation centers, research initiatives and ongoing research
projects, international symposiums and practices, and opportunities for
collaboration. For more information on CERF, contact Stacy Warner at (202)
842-0555.
— CERF
Construction Begins
on Alameda Corridor
Construction of the Alameda Corridor in California began at a ground-breaking
ceremony held in December 1998. This ceremony officially marked the beginning
of construction of the 16.1-kilometer, mid-corridor trench and track construction
project. Actual construction began in January 1999. This project is the
largest single component of the $2.4 billion Alameda Corridor, which,
when completed, will link the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, facilitating
the intermodal shipping of freight throughout the United States.
The 32.2-kilometer
Alameda Corridor project is jointly funded with a $400 million innovative
financing loan from DOT, $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce,
$71 million in FHWA grants, $276 million from state and local sources,
$400 million from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., and
up to $1.3 billion in project revenue bonds.
The corridor will
consolidate four separate freight train routes, eliminate about 200 rail
grade crossings, and will reduce congestion.
VDOT Constructs
Shelter for Endangered Species
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has placed nesting boxes
for peregrine falcons, an endangered species since 1970, on several Virginia
bridges: the James River bridge on U.S. Route 17; the Berkely Bridge on
Route I-264 near the Elizabeth River; and, most recently, the Godwin Bridge
on U.S. route 17 over the Nansemond River and the West Norfolk Bridge
on Route 164 over the western branch of the Elizabeth River.
VDOT, while constructing
the Coleman Bridge on U.S. Route 17 over the York River, found that the
bridge was a potential nesting site for the falcons, which tend to nest
on tall cliffs or urban skyscrapers. VDOT placed a nesting box on the
bridge to accommodate the falcons and to help preserve the species.
 
VDOT earned FHWA's
Excellence Award in the category of Environmental Protection and Enhancements
through FHWA's Excellence in Highway Design competition.
As a result of VDOT's
efforts, new criteria have been developed for establishing nesting boxes
on potential peregrine falcon nesting sites, such as state bridges.
FHWA Initiates
Aesthetic Treatments Album
FHWA has initiated the development of a photo-album workbook for special
roadway aesthetic treatments. The project will involve compiling examples
of innovative aesthetic treatments that have been applied on transportation
projects nationwide, with a particular emphasis on structural and geotechnical
features such as bridges, walls, barriers, soil, and rock cut and fill
slopes. The workbook will include color photographs, brief project and
aesthetic treatment descriptions, details of typical plan sheets, construction
specification, and construction cost data.
When completed, this
photo album workbook will be placed on a Web site to be used as a resource
by highway designers and landscape architects. Users can consult the album
when presenting preliminary design alternatives to clients, enabling them
to view and recognize a particular treatment.
Arkansas Highway
to Improve Safety
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater joined in the dedication
of the final 51.5 kilometers of Interstate 540 in Arkansas. When completed,
I-540 — which was once called one of the most dangerous highways in America
by Reader's Digest — will improve the safety of highway travel in the
state, while enhancing mobility and economic growth.
The final portion
of the 77.2-kilometer interstate was dedicated at a ceremony held at the
Bobby Hopper Tunnel near Winslow, Ark. I-540 runs between Alma and Fayetteville,
Ark.
The highway, which
was initially approved in 1987, was built at a cost of $458 million. FHWA
granted $379 million to the project.
FHWA Extends Deadline
for Motor Carrier GPS Pilot Test
FHWA extended its application deadline for those interested in participating
in a global positioning system (GPS) test program from Oct. 5, 1998 to
June 30, 1999. Written applications should be mailed to the Office of
Motor Carrier Research and Standards, FHWA, Department of Transportation,
400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC. 20590. FHWA extended the deadline
because no applications had been received; however, several motor carriers
indicated that they wanted to participate in this pilot project but were
unable to purchase or develop the requisite computer systems and software
that complement the GPS software before the original deadline in October.
Motor carriers who
want to participate in the program must have GPS technology and complementary
safety management computer systems that meet all of the conditions specified
in the April 6, 1998, notice in the Federal Register.
This project will
allow qualified motor carriers that use GPS technology and related safety
systems to enter into an agreement with FHWA to use these technologies
to record and monitor a driver's hours of service.
Ice Ban™ Deicing
Product Wins 1998 CERF Charles Pankow Innovative Applications Award
Ice Ban America Inc. won the 1998 CERF Charles Pankow Innovative Applications
Award. FHWA, among others, collaborated with Ice Ban America to produce
Ice Ban™ — a non-toxic and biodegradable deicer made from a liquid residue
that is created from the processing of corn and grains.
This product has proven
to be cost-effective and can be mixed with road salt to significantly
decrease salt's corrosiveness and to lower its working temperature.
Collaborators on the
project include Archer Daniels Midland; Better Roads Magazine; FHWA; Minnesota
Corn Processors; the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation;
New York State DOT; Dr. Jeno Toth; the towns of Murray, Webster, and Yates,
N.Y.; and Washington State DOT.
— CERF
Personnel
 Forster
Receives ASTM Prevost Hubbard Award
The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee D-4 on
Road and Paving Materials presented Stephen Forster, research geologist/team
leader at FHWA's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, with the 1998
Prevost Hubbard Award. This award is presented annually and honors outstanding
service to the committee and work in the field of bituminous road and
paving materials.
Forster received the
award for providing outstanding leadership and standards-writing contributions
to the committee. He was chairman of Subcommittee D04.51 on Aggregate
Tests from 1983 to 1996. During that time, standard test methods for flat
and elongated particles in coarse aggregate were developed along with
the standard test method for determining the percentage of fractured particles
in coarse aggregate.
The award was established
in 1972 in honor of Prevost Hubbard, a distinguished member of D-4 for
63 years, who also served as committee secretary for 38 years.
FHWA Deputy Administrator
Honored by NTA
The National Technical Association (NTA) named FHWA Deputy Administrator
Gloria Jeff as one of the 1998 Top Women in the Sciences and Technology.
NTA selected Jeff
as one of 50 women who have excelled in the field of science and technology.
She shares the honor with former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary; Dr. Shirley
Ann Jackson, who chairs the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and U.S.
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.
Jeff helps lead an
agency of DOT that has 3,550 employees and an annual budget of more than
$25 billion.
Hyun Named Deputy
Chief of Staff of DOT
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater named Carrie Hyun as
DOT's deputy chief of staff. She will be responsible for strategic communications
and for crisis and policy management. Previously, Hyun was communications
director at the bipartisan U.S. Census Monitoring Board, where she worked
to ensure that the year 2000 census is conducted fairly and accurately.
She also served as DOT's associate director of media relations.
Ptak Retires
Thomas J. Ptak, FHWA associate administrator for program development,
retired Jan. 2, 1999. Ptak worked for FHWA and its predecessor agency,
the Bureau of Public Roads, for 35 years.
In recent years, Ptak
served as FHWA deputy regional administrator, region seven; then as chief
of the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway System Research Division; then Director
of the Office of Engineering and Highway Operations Research and Development;
and then FHWA regional administrator, region nine.
Ptak earned his bachelor's
and master's degrees in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin
and is a registered professional engineer in that state.
Shackelford to
Chair TRB
Wayne Shackelford, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation,
was named chairman of the Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Executive
Committee for 1999. He took office during the 78th Annual Meeting of TRB
in Washington, D.C., in January.
 Shackelford
has served as commissioner of Georgia DOT since 1991. He served as president
of the Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials;
as vice president, and then president of the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO); and, most recently, as
chairman of the board of directors of the Intelligent Transportation Society
of America (1998-1999).
Turner Receives
Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation
Francis C. "Frank" Turner is the inaugural recipient of the Frank Turner
Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation, a newly established
award given in his honor by TRB.
Frank Turner is know
as the "father" of the Interstate Highway System and spent his entire
professional career at FHWA and the Bureau of Public Roads. Turner was
selected by President Eisenhower to serve as executive secretary to the
Advisory Committee on the National Highway Program. With Turner's support,
the committee recommended a National System of Interstate and Defense
Highways financed through a federal-state partnership, which has continued
to this day.
FHWA's Turner-Fairbank
Highway Research Center in McLean, Va., also bears his name.
Selection of future
award recipients will be made by a committee composed of top officials
of the following organizations: FHWA, AASHTO, the American Public Works
Association, the Texas Transportation Institute, and TRB.
— TRB
New Executive
Director at AASHTO
Francis B. "Frank" Francois, AASHTO executive director for 18 years, retired
on Feb. 1. He is succeeded by John Horsley, former associate deputy secretary
of transportation and director of U.S. DOT's Office of Intermodalism.
In addition to directing
AASHTO's operations, Francois led and participated in a number of national
and international transportation organizations. He was an ex officio member
of TRB's Executive Committee and played a key role in the creation of
the Strategic Highway Research Program and the Intelligent Transportation
Society of America (ITS America). He currently serves on the boards of
ITS America and the World Road Association (formerly the Permanent International
Association of Road Congresses).
Horsley served as
DOT's associate deputy secretary since April 1998. He was appointed by
President Clinton as DOT's deputy assistant secretary for governmental
affairs in 1993. Before that appointment, he served five terms as county
commissioner in Kitsap County, Wash., near Seattle.
Chase Selected
as Boase Lecturer
Steven Chase, a research engineer in FHWA's Office of Research, Development
and Technology, has been selected as the 36th Boase Lecturer for the University
of Colorado in Boulder. Each year, the university selects an individual
of national recognition to lecture.
Chase is an expert
in the areas of nondestructive evaluation and bridge management information
systems. His lecture will present a summary of the evolution of bridge
management systems over the last three decades and will discuss the next
generation of bridge management systems. Issues to be discussed include
the impact of new technologies, integration of bridge management systems
into comprehensive infrastructure management systems, and the need for
both network and project-level support.
Skelton Is FHWA's
Chief Counsel
In January, Karen E. Skelton was named FHWA's chief counsel. Before this
position, Skelton was deputy assistant to the president and deputy director
of political affairs. Previously, she was director of political affairs
in the Office the Vice President and a trial attorney for the Justice
Department's Office of Environment and Natural Resources. She also has
served as the deputy counsel to the attorney general.
Reagle and Cirillo
Are Reassigned
George L. Reagle, FHWA's associate administrator for motor carriers, was
appointed senior adviser to the federal highway administrator. He will
advise on safety, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and other motor
carrier issues.
Reagle held other
key safety-related positions, such as director, Office of Surface Transportation
Safety, National Transportation Safety Board; associate administrator
for enforcement, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA);
and associate administrator for traffic safety programs, NHTSA.
With the reassignment
of Reagle, Julie Anna Cirillo, the change manager for FHWA's organizational
restructuring and former regional administrator of region nine, will assume
the responsibilities of program manager (previously called associate administrator)
for motor carriers and highway safety.
Conferences
Design Build for
Transportation Conference To Be Held in Utah
On April 22-23, 1999, the nation's largest conference on design-build
delivery for transportation projects will take place in Salt Lake City.
The Design-Build for Transportation Conference is sponsored by the Design-Build
Institute of America (DBIA), FHWA, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The conference will
feature FHWA Administrator Kenneth Wykle as the keynote speaker and will
hold several break-out sessions on topics such as design-build for small
bridges, performance specifications for transportation projects, and design-build
finance.
For more information,
contact DBIA at (202) 682-5860, or visit DBIA's Web site (www.dbia.org).
Photos:
Photo 1 and 2: Virginia
DOT received FHWA's Excellence in Highway Design Competition Award for
its falcon nesting box on the James River bridge in Newport News, Va.
Photo 3: Frank Turner,
whose portrait hangs in the Turner Building — one of the two buildings
that comprise the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Va.
— received the Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation, a newly
established award in his honor.
Photo 4: Stephen
W. Forster received the ASTM Prevost Hubbard Award.
Articles & Departments
Making it Happen: Implementing the FHWA Restructuring
Plan
Is Benchmarking in Your Future?
Building Roads in Sync with Community Values
Seismic Protection of Bridges
Getting Around in Japan: The Status and Challenges
of ITS a
Getting Smoother Pavement: An Arizona Success
Story That's Adaptable Nationwide
Brownfields and Bikeways: Making a Clean Start
FHWA's Computer Systems Are Ready for the Year 2000
"Steps for Action" - Making Sure ITS Is Ready
for the Year 2000
Value Pricing Helps Reduce Congestion
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