May/June
2001
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
Final
Rule Permits Safe Modification of Vehicles for People With Disabilities
To
increase mobility for individuals with physical disabilities, U.S.
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta announced a final National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule to streamline the
regulatory process for modifiers who adapt passenger vehicles for
use by people with disabilities.
The
new rule identifies specific features that may be safely altered,
if necessary, when vehicles are modified for people with disabilities.
Some adaptations, such as the installation of mechanical hand controls
or a left-foot accelerator, are relatively simple. Others, such as
the installation of a joystick that controls steering, acceleration,
and braking, or the lowering of the vehicle floor, are more complicated.
NHTSA
estimates that there are more than 383,000 vehicles on the road today
that are modified for use by people with disabilities. That number
is expected to increase as the population ages and the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) increases travel and employment opportunities
for people with disabilities.
The
final rule is in NHTSA's Docket No. 01-8667 and was posted in the
Feb. 21, 2001, Federal Register. The rule became effective
on April 21.
The
new rule also is posted at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
Management
and Administration
DOT
Renews ITS America's Federal Advisory Charter
DOT
renewed the Federal Advisory Charter of the Intelligent Transportation
Society (ITS) of America, almost exactly 10 years from the signing
of the original founding charter. For the next two years, ITS America
will continue to act as a Utilized Federal Advisory Committee to the
federal transportation agency.
The
action renews the unique role of ITS America as a source of perspective,
research, and expertise deemed critical to advance the formation of
federal policy. In order to keep this function dynamic, the federal
government reviews such advisory charters every two years to ensure
that the input from its chartered committees remains fresh, complete,
and of the greatest benefit to America's surface transportation system.
ITS
America's more than 600 members come from a wide spectrum of the private
sector, including the telecommunications and automotive industries;
the public sector, including state and regional transportation organizations;
and the highest levels of academia.
Federal
advisory committees such as ITS America generally enjoy a much closer
relationship with federal agencies, allowing them to have a great
impact on federal policymaking. In particular, ITS America will provide
advice to DOT in the reauthorization proposal the federal government
will produce to replace the current six-year Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) transportation funding measure,
due to expire in 2003.
The
federal transportation agency first chartered ITS America, then known
as the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Society, in March 1991 and has
continued the charter every two years since. ITS America promotes
the use of technology in transportation to save lives, time, and money,
and to improve the quality of life.
Technical
News
Mn/DOT
Releases Ramp Meter Study Results
The
Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) released the final
results of an independent study on ramp metering in the Twin Cities
metro area. Cambridge Systematics of Cambridge, Mass., evaluated the
traffic flow and safety impacts associated with turning off all 430
ramp meters for six weeks last fall, as mandated by the 2000 legislature.
Results
presented to Mn/DOT by Cambridge Systematics reveal that without ramp
meters, there was a 9-percent reduction in freeway volume, a 22-percent
increase in freeway travel times, and a 7-percent reduction in freeway
speeds. The reliability of estimated freeway travel time was found
to decline by 91 percent, and there was a 26-percent increase in crashes.
Market
research data collection results showed a number of changes in attitude
among area travelers, which occurred once meters were shut off: Most
survey respondents believed that traffic conditions worsened. Support
for continued shutdown remained at 20 percent. The benefit-cost ratio
showed that when the costs of the entire congestion management system
(including changeable message signs, traveler information, etc.) are
factored in, the benefit/cost ratio for ramp metering is 5:1. When
ramp meter benefits are compared to only those costs directly associated
with ramp metering, the benefit/cost ratio is 15:1.
Public
Information and Information Exchange
States
Will Receive Grants for Education on Child Passenger Safety
Forty-eight
states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam,
the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, the U.S. Virgin
Islands and Indian tribes will share $7.5 million to implement child
passenger protection programs designed to prevent motor vehicle crash
deaths and injuries to children.
This
is the second year that grants have been awarded to states for promoting
child passenger safety education and training activities. NHTSA reports
that approximately 20 to 25 percent of children ages 1 through 15
years ride unrestrained, placing them at more than twice the risk
of death and injury as those riding restrained.
The
grants are authorized by Section 2003(b) of TEA-21, which former President
Bill Clinton signed into law on June 9, 1998. The award amounts range
from $18,938 to $725,657 per recipient.
Funds
provided to the states will be used to educate the public on all aspects
of child passenger safety, and to train and retrain child passenger
safety professionals concerning all aspects of child restraint use.
You
can view a table of the states receiving grants and their grant amounts
at www.dot.gov/affairs/nhtsa501.htm.
U.
S. DOT to Study the Causes of Large Truck Crashes
As
part of the continuing effort to help reduce the number of fatalities
in crashes involving large trucks, U.S. DOT announced a two-year study
of the causes of crashes involving large trucks.
The
study is the first national effort to collect crash data for the purpose
of determining causal factors of large truck crashes. The study's
primary goal is to identify the specific causes of fatal and injury
crashes involving large trucks, so the government and all interested
parties will be better able to help prevent them from occurring in
the first place.
The
study is a joint effort between the U.S. DOT's Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) and NHTSA. The Motor Carrier Safety
Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA) provided funds for the study.
In
January 2001, teams of crash researchers from NHTSA's National Automotive
Sampling System (NASS) and state truck inspectors will investigate
fatal and injury crashes involving large trucks in 24 locations in
17 states. Crash details will be collected at crash scenes on involved
drivers, vehicles, the roadway, and the environment.
More
than 1,000 crashes will be investigated during two years of data collection.
Information collected by the researchers and inspectors will be forwarded
to NHTSA motor vehicle crash experts who will determine what made
the crash inevitable, the reasons for the crash, and factors that
contributed to the crash. As part of the project, the Volpe Transportation
Systems Center in Cambridge, Mass., will build a crash database that
will be reviewed and analyzed by FMCSA and NHTSA, and then made available
to the public.
A
14-member committee, assembled by the Transportation Research Board
of the National Research Council, will advise the large truck crash
causation study management team. Committee members are drawn from
academic institutions and transportation consulting firms with expertise
in motor vehicle crashes. The advisory committee will ensure that
the study receives input from a wide array of motor carrier and highway
safety experts, as outlined in MCSIA.
Additional
information regarding the study and other motor carrier issues may
be found at FMCSA's Web site at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
BTS
Releases New Pocket Guide to Transportation
In
March, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS) released a new edition of the Pocket Guide to Transportation,
a compact report that gives users easy access to important information
about the nation's transportation system.
The
report shows an increase of 225 percent over the last 29 years in
miles traveled by trucks. The report also showed that while the miles
traveled by trucks grew significantly, the miles traveled by passenger
cars increased by only 71 percent from 1970 to 1999.
The
Pocket
Guide to Transportation, which
provides the public and private sectors with easy access to transportation
system information that will be used to make improved transportation
decisions for the future, is divided into five sections and a glossary
that cover the extent and use of the transportation system and its
impact on safety, the economy, energy use, and the environment. Much
of the information is based on data from the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics' (BTS) publications - National Transportation Statistics
2000 and Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2000. BTS will
release these publications within the next few months.
To
order free copies of the Pocket
Guide to Transportation, visit
www.bts.gov,
call (202) 366-DATA (press 1), fax (202) 366-3640, or write to Product
Orders, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Room 3430, 400 Seventh Street. S.W., Washington, DC 20590.
Two
High-Speed Maglev Projects Selected for Advancement
Two projects
in Maryland and Pennsylvania will advance into the next phase of the
competition to build and demonstrate the first magnetically levitated
(maglev) high-speed train system in revenue service in the United
States.
The competition
was initiated in May 1999 with the selection of seven projects to
receive planning funds and participate in the competition. After intensive
planning and design efforts by the sponsors of the seven participating
projects and evaluation of each project by multi disciplined DOT staff,
former U.S. DOT Secretary Slater selected these two projects. In the
next phase, each project team will refine its estimates of ridership
revenue and cost and its financial plan, strengthen the financial
commitments of its sponsors, and begin work on a site-specific environmental
assessment. Fourteen million dollars will be available for these purposes.
On the basis of the new information resulting from these efforts,
DOT will then be in a position to select a single project, which will
be eligible for a grant of $950 million in federal funding authorized
for construction under Section 1218 of TEA-21, the legislation that
provides federal-aid funds to states, and will be subject to appropriation
by Congress. The selected projects are:
· Baltimore,
Md., to Washington, D.C.: A 64-kilometer (40-mile) project linking
Camden Yards in Baltimore (a sports complex) and Baltimore-Washington
International (BWI) Airport to Union Station in Washington, D.C. This
project has been under study since 1994. The project sponsors also
see this as potentially providing rapid transportation between sports
venues, which is one of the criteria for winning a bid for the 2012
Summer Olympics Games.
· Pittsburgh, Pa.: A 76-km (47-mi) project linking The Greater Pittsburgh
International Airport to Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs. The project
has been under study since 1990 and is backed by a coalition of state
and local agencies, labor unions, and members of the Pittsburgh community.
Maglev Inc., the organization that will develop the project, sees
it as not only a transportation system for commuters and air travelers,
but also as a platform for bringing precision steel fabrication technology
used in the construction of the guideway to the Pittsburgh region.
The remaining
projects in California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Nevada were
urged to continue developing their plans and seeking alternative sources
of financing. To assist them, each of these projects is slated to
receive almost $1 million in federal funds, as specified by Congress
in the FY 2001 appropriation.
FHWA
Releases New Edition of Highway Statistics
FHWA has
released the 1999 edition of Highway Statistics, an annual
publication that contains a wide range of information on America's
roads and highway users.
FHWA
and its forerunner, the Bureau of Public Roads, have published the
report every year since 1945. It contains statistical data on motor
fuel, motor vehicles, driver licensing, highway-user taxation, state
and local highway financing, highway mileage, federal aid for highways,
select tables and charts from the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation
Survey, and international data. The data also are used as the principal
data in calculating each state's share of funds under TEA-21.
The report
is available on the agency's Web site at
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/. The data tables can be viewed in PDF or
downloaded as Excel spreadsheets. The report is also available by
writing to the Office of Highway Policy Information, FHWA, Room 3306,
400 7th St. S.W., Washington, DC 20590.
Mineta
Announces $38.2 Million in Grants to Increase Seat Belt Use
Secretary
Mineta announced that 43 states will share approximately $38.2 million
in NHTSA grants for states that develop innovative projects to increase
seat belt use.
According
to NHTSA, seat belts are the most effective safety device in vehicles
and would save thousands more lives annually if everyone buckled up.
In 2000, seat belt use in the United States was about 71 percent.
The goal
of this grant program is to find creative new approaches to increase
seat belt use across the nation, with a major focus on highly visible
enforcement of seat belt laws, coupled with public information and
education.
The grants
are authorized by TEA-21. The Act provides for $500 million over five
years for states to increase seat belt use and another $700 million
over six years for states to enact and enforce tough laws to prevent
alcohol-impaired driving.
The innovative
project grants were awarded competitively. All 50 States, the District
of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were eligible to apply. The grant amounts
for fiscal year 2001 range from $204,000 to nearly $2.9 million.
New
Rollover Ratings and Crash Test Results Available on NHTSA's Web Site
NHTSA'S
latest rollover resistance ratings and crash test results for 2001
model year vehicles are now available on the agency's Web site at
www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
Vehicles
are rated for rollover resistance, frontal impact, and side impact.
The New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) reports rollover resistance
ratings and crash test results with a rating from one to five stars,
with five stars showing the best crash protection for vehicles. Frontal
tests should be compared only within the same weight class.
A fact
sheet, containing explanatory information and tables showing NCAP
rollover resistance ratings and crash test results for model year
2001 vehicles, is available by calling the NHTSA Office of Public
and Consumer Affairs at (202) 366-9550 or by writing to NHTSA Public
Affairs, Room 5232, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, DC 20590. Rollover
resistance ratings and crash test information are available at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/hot/rollover/2001rollover.html
or at www.nhtsa.dot.gov by clicking on "Crash Tests" under "Popular
Information" in the index on the left side of the screen.
Atlanta
Study Links Traffic With Asthma
A study
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association underscores
a reduction in asthma attacks during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games
held in Atlanta, but these results have little, if anything, to do
with the activity of the athletes themselves. Researchers with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) point to the region's
reduced traffic levels as the causal factor.
Health
care claims for asthma events in patients up to 16 years of age were
reduced by as much as 45 percent when compared with a baseline both
four weeks before and after the Olympic Games. Officials with the
American Lung Association cite the study's "indisputable" evidence
that vehicular traffic in urban areas is a clear contributor to asthma
and other respiratory health problems.
Atlanta
transportation planners implemented a number of mobility plans and
programs that sought to reduce or eliminate motor vehicle traffic
on major arteries downtown. The resulting traffic figures indicated
a decrease of just fewer than 23 percent for the morning peak over
the 17-day Olympic Games. Furthermore, the one?hour peak ozone concentration
dropped about 28 percent from the daily averages. The CDC researchers
also pointed out that the data, when corrected for temperature, wind
speed, and other weather factors, still revealed a 13-percent drop
in ground-level ozone in downtown Atlanta.
Route
45 Record of Decision Signed
The Texas
Division administrator signed the Record of Decision on Feb. 22, 2001,
for State Highway (SH) 45. The proposed facility, approximately 24
km (15 mi) in length, will consist of the new construction of a six-lane
freeway, with frontage roads and high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes.
The SH
45 project is one of four major transportation projects in the Austin
area, collectively named the Central Texas Turnpike Project (CTTP),
included in the application for federal credit assistance under the
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) by
the Texas Turnpike Authority. CTTP is of paramount importance because
it has significant regional, national, and international implications,
including critical congestion relief ans support of commerce along
Interstate 35, which is a vital North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) trade corridor.
KDOT
Announces Major Safe Driving Initiative
Kansas
Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary E. Dean Carlson unveiled
a major new statewide safe driving education and awareness program
called "Kansas Driving: Safe. Not Sorry."
The goal
of the program is a simple one - reduce deaths and injuries from vehicle
crashes on Kansas roadways. During 1999, 540 people lost their lives
in crashes in Kansas, leading Carlson to describe the new campaign
as "a desperately needed effort."
This
program is intended to serve as an umbrella for all existing highway
safety communications efforts, as well as to present a comprehensive
new program based on extensive research of Kansas crash data and Kansas
drivers' beliefs and attitudes. State transportation officials hope
to reach drivers throughout the state.
The campaign
will employ a wide variety of media, including television, radio,
newspapers, and billboards. A special folder, containing the official
state highway map and pockets for insurance and registration documents,
has been printed with highlights of the message and key emergency
contact information. It will be distributed widely by KDOT personnel,
including distribution at the Kansas State Fair.
A key
element of the campaign will be information kits distributed to KDOT
field offices. There are eight different information packages, called
"modules," each dealing with a different driving situation. These
modules will contain a variety of communications tools for getting
the safe driving message out to Kansas communities. Module contents
range from pamphlets and posters to videotapes and PowerPoint computer
presentations.
To ensure
maximum impact, this campaign is based on solid scientific research,
including an extensive statewide telephone survey and interviews with
focus groups, consisting of both urban and rural residents. The research
revealed that Kansas drivers generally know how to drive safely. They
also take pride in both their courtesy and their common sense behind
the wheel, and they believe that this sets them apart from other American
drivers.
The surveys
and the analysis of the crash data, however, indicated that Kansas
drivers don't always do the things they already know they should be
doing. So the main thrust of the campaign will be to remind Kansas
drivers to follow the rules of the road and to remember the value
of using courtesy and common sense behind the wheel.
The campaign
will include:
-
Back-to-basics
elements that reinforce the fundamental rules of the road, such
as how to deal with mechanical breakdowns, and adjusting speed
and driving techniques to changing weather and road-surface conditions.
- Specific
driving situations commonly found in Kansas, including merging on
high-speed freeways and making room for large, slow-moving farm
vehicles on rural two-lane roads.
- Attention
to growing problems, such as aggressive driving, drowsiness, and
driver inattention. "Kansas Driving: Safe. Not Sorry." materials
will caution drivers about distractions ranging from cellular phones
and hand-held computers to bad habits that have distracted drivers
for decades, such as eating, reading, or applying make-up while
driving.
The program
is funded with federal dollars. The Kansas Legislature's decision
in 1993 to approve a drunk-driving standard of .08 blood-alcohol content
brought additional federal transportation funds to Kansas for use
in safety education efforts.
NHTSA
Publishes List of Recalls
In March,
NHTSA released a list of January 2001 motor vehicle and equipment
safety recalls. The release, NHTSA 14-01, identifies the make and
model of the vehicles and equipment involved and a brief description
of each safety problem. It can be obtained by calling NHTSA's Office
of Public and Consumer Affairs at (202) 366-9550, or by visiting NHTSA's
Web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/index.dbm.
Updated
Manuals Validate SHRP Research
After
five years of monitoring and evaluating 22 test sites on asphalt and
concrete roads throughout the United States and Canada, FHWA has concluded
that the pavement repair materials and procedures recommended by the
Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) work.
Seven
years ago, SHRP researchers published a two-volume set of manuals
aimed at assisting highway agencies and contractors in determining
the most effective and cost-efficient means for repairing asphalt
and portland cement concrete pavements. The recommendations were based
on an extensive review of the literature, a nationwide survey of highway
agencies, and 18 months of monitoring various types of pavement repairs
made at the 22 test sites.
The monitoring
ended when the SHRP research phase ended in late 1992. Realizing that
significant knowledge could be gained through continued monitoring
of the test sites, FHWA stepped in and assumed responsibility for
the project in 1993, under the auspices of the Long Term Pavement
Performance (LTPP) program.
During
the five years of monitoring under FHWA, teams of pavement specialists
from ERES Consultants (who had also been involved in the SHRP project)
conducted periodic field inspections.
FHWA
updated the original SHRP reports as a series of four manuals of practice.
Each manual includes a discussion of the most appropriate time to
apply a particular treatment, what types of materials and construction
methods should be used, and how to evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness
of a repair procedure. Also included are step-by-step procedures for
ensuring a high-quality repair and a list of sources for materials
and equipment.
The four
manuals of practice are available at www.tfhrc.gov/pavement/ltpp/reports.htm.
They can also be purchased from the National Technical Information
Service at (703) 605-6000. The original SHRP two-volume manuals are
still available from the Transportation Research Board's bookstore
at (202) 334-3213 or www.nas.edu/trb/bookstore.
VDOT
Quickly Patches Recent Sinkholes
Thanks
to prompt action by Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) crews,
three sinkholes that suddenly appeared along a 14.5-km (9 mi) stretch
of Interstate 81 in Augusta County were patched quickly, and traffic
went back to normal. The largest of the recent sinkholes was 6 meters
long, 3.4 meters wide, and 6.7 meters deep (20 feet by 11 feet by
22 feet) - enough to bury eight cars.
During
the past 30 years, almost 350 sinkholes have threatened roads in the
district whose geographical center is Harrisonburg. That's an average
of 12 per year. But the year 2000 was anything but average; 32 sinkholes
were reported in spring alone.
Following
long dry spells the previous summer, 17.8 centimeters (6.8 inches)
of rainfall in April contributed to the large number of sinkholes
last spring, and helped cause 16 landslides along Staunton District
roads.
When
sinkholes occur, VDOT has to dig them out to assess the full extent
of the problem. For example, a sinkhole that occurred near Virginia's
Natural Bridge first appeared to be 3.7 m long, 2.4 m wide, and 1.8
m deep (12 ft by 8 ft wide by 6 ft deep), but was actually 6.7 m by
4.0 m by 5.8 m (22 ft by 13 ft and 19 ft deep) - big enough to swallow
a fleet of small cars.
Sinkhole
repair typically requires closing a lane of traffic while the work
is being done, because VDOT's excavating machine is more than 3.7
m wide (12 ft wide) and requires a strong, flat surface for stability.
Areas
prone to sinkholes typically form in karst terrain, which is made
up of limestone or dolomite bedrock, and usually contains barren rocky
ground, caves, sinking streams, underground streams, springs, and,
in some places, an absence of surface streams and lakes. Naturally
occurring sinkholes are shaped like a cone and are common where slightly
acidic groundwater has dissolved limestone and dolomite bedrock. Karst
terrain is formed where surface water enters the ground and moves
downward through enlarged fractures to conduits such as caves.
Most
sinkholes occur suddenly where soil collapses into a pre-existing
void over bedrock, as often happens during floods or prolonged wet
seasons, or during prolonged dry seasons. Sinkholes can also result
from man's activities, such as excessive pumping of groundwater from
karst aquifers, which could lower the water table and cause a sudden
loss of the buoyant factor that stabilizes the roofs of caverns.
International
Symposium Will Be Held This Summer
A Transportation
Technology Transfer Symposium will be held July 29 through Aug. 2,
2001, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The objectives of this symposium are
to bring together major transportation technology transfer entities
worldwide to exchange advances and current technology transfer practices
and techniques and, in doing so, to improve their efficiency. The
symposium presents a unique opportunity for participants to interact
with colleagues from around the world to learn and share. All practitioners
involved in technology transfer should plan to attend.
This
symposium is being held in conjunction with meetings of other organizations
including the Local Technical Assistance Program. Sponsoring organizations
will hold simultaneous meetings that are open to all participants.
Topics
for the joint sessions include: the technology of technology transfer,
worldwide library and information resources, international transportation
training and workforce development, international partnerships, and
expanding and strengthening partnerships.
The symposium
is sponsored by transportation entities throughout the world, including:
FHWA's Office of International Programs and the National Highway Institute
(NHI), LTAP, the Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP), the World
Road Association (PIARC), the Transportation Research Board (TRB),
the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Pan American
Institute of Highways (PIH).
For more
information about the International Symposium, visit www.international.fhwa.dot.gov
or e-mail 2001symposium@fhwa.dot.gov.
Public
Opinion Surveys Show More Travelers Satisfied With Major Highways
The report
Moving Ahead: The American Public Speaks on Roadways and Transportation
in Communities shows that 65 percent of highway travelers are
satisfied with the major highways they travel most often. This represents
an increase of 15 percent since completion of a similar study in 1995
by the National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ), formerly the
National Quality Initiative.
Increases
in traveler satisfaction were found in areas such as pavement condition,
safety, bridge condition, visual appeal, and travel amenities. The
survey also identified safety as an area of importance to the public.
Although
most people are satisfied with the overall condition of the highway
system, the findings from the 2000 survey point to several areas that
require attention. About 20 percent of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction
with the highway system. This is a 6-percent point increase since
the 1995 survey.
Travelers
want more improvements to traffic flow, continued improvements in
pavement conditions, and more effective ways to deal with or to decrease
traffic congestion in work zones. Citizens also want highway projects
that are more sensitive to local communities and transportation enhancements,
such as transit services and bicycle and pedestrian facilities, in
their communities.
In addition,
maintenance response time emerged as an area of concern that should
be monitored for opportunities for improvement. Travelers also want
transportation agencies to maintain the excellent existing quality
of items such as visual appeal and travel amenities.
Visitors
to national parks and national forests were very satisfied with access
to and within these areas and expressed a desire for improved driving
safety, primarily through providing more roadway signs and pavement
markings.
The findings
regarding highway conditions correspond to data from FHWA's most recent
report on the physical condition of the highway system. Recent FHWA
highway condition and performance data indicate that the percentage
of miles on the National Highway System with acceptable ride quality
increased from 90 percent in 1995 to 93 percent in 1999. The number
of deficient bridges declined from 26 percent of the total in 1995
to 23 percent in 1999.
The report
is a compilation of several nationwide surveys conducted by the Bureau
of Transportation Statistics and FHWA. During the surveys, respondents
were asked questions on topics ranging from condition of highways
to traffic congestion and on how well they thought highways serve
communities. In addition, visitors to six national parks and six national
forests were surveyed about their thoughts on the roads in those areas.
The survey
is posted on the Internet at www.bts.gov/omnibus.
Personnel
Tignor
Retires After 42 Years
On Feb.
1, Samuel (Sam) Tignor, Ph.D., P.E., retired after more than 42 years
of service at the Federal Highway Administration. He was chief of
the Traffic and Driver Information Systems Division, Office of Safety
Research and Development, at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research
Center in McLean, Va.
During
the late 1980s, Tignor led the development of the Highway Safety Information
System (HSIS), which is now an eight-state crash, traffic volume,
and highway inventory database used in identifying new areas for research
and delineating proposals for safety studies.
In addition
to his work on HSIS, Tignor led research on freeway management and
incident detection, railroad-highway grade-crossing safety, visibility
of changeable message signs, condition-responsive work-zone traffic
control, and truck overturn warning systems.
In the
late 1990s, Tignor's research responsibilities broadened to include
nighttime highway safety, smart technology, and human factors research.
Throughout
his career, Tignor was active in professional societies. He served
12 years on the TRB Travelers Services Committee, six of these as
committee chair, and three years on the TRB Operation, Safety, and
Maintenance of Transportation Facilities Group. In May 1998, he led
an Innovative Traffic Controls group to France, Germany, Great Britain,
and Sweden to determine which new technologies and traffic controls
would be adaptable for implementation in the United States. The 10-person
group included representatives from TRB, state DOTs, and local governments.
Lunner
to Head DOT Public Affairs
Secretary
Mineta appointed Chet Lunner, former chief of staff to Rep. Amo Houghton
of New York to be assistant to the secretary and director of public
affairs for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Lunner,
a former reporter and newspaper editor, had been Rep. Houghton's press
secretary since 1994 and his principal aide and staff director since
1999. His new post involves media relations and public affairs oversight
for DOT and its agencies.
Fong
Selected As Director of Field Services - East
Gene Fong
has been selected for the Senior Executive Service (SES) position
of director of Field Services - East. Fong currently serves as division
administrator in Olympia, Wash. In the past, he held other key positions
in the field, including assistant administrator of the New York Division
and district engineer in the Arizona Division. He also served in several
positions at headquarters in the areas of pavement management, research,
construction and maintenance, and planning. Fong began his career
with FHWA as a highway engineer trainee in 1971.
Marshall
Selected Director of Corporate Management
Ronald
Marshall has been appointed to the SES position of director of the
office of Corporate Management. Marshall currently serves as division
administrator in Springfield, Ill., and served as assistant division
administrator in Wisconsin. He also held several positions in the
planning field, including transportation planner in the North Dakota
Division and community planner in the former Office of Planning at
headquarters. Marshall graduated from the former highway engineer
training program in 1972.
Other
Articles in this Issue:
5-1-1
Traffic Help May Soon Be Three Digits Away
Using
the Dynamic Modulus Test to Assess the Mix Strength of HMA
The
ITS Public Safety Program: Creating a Public Safety Coalition
Handling
the Worst Crash Ever in Virginia
Moving
Ahead - The American Public Speaks on Roadways and Transportation
in Communities
Branding America's Byways
Travelers
Seek Byway Experiences
National
Work-Zone Awareness Week Commemorated Across the Nation
Work-Zone
Traffic Control: Survey of Contracting Techniques