September/October 2004
Communication Product Updates
Compiled by Zac Ellis of FHWA's Office of
Research and Technology Services
Below are brief descriptions of products recently published online by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Research, Development, and Technology. Some of the publications also may be available from the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies are available from the Research and Technology (R&T) Product Distribution Center.
When ordering from NTIS, include the NTIS publication number (PB number) and the publication title. You also may visit the NTIS Web site at www.ntis.gov to order publications online. Call NTIS for current prices. For customers outside the United States,
Canada, and Mexico, the cost is usually double the listed price. Address requests to:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703–605–6000
Toll-free number: 800-553-NTIS (6847)
Address requests for items available from the R&T
Product Distribution Center to:
R&T Product Distribution Center, HRTS-03
Federal Highway Administration
9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q
Lanham, MD 20706
Telephone: 301-577-0818
Fax: 301-577-1421
For more information on research and technology
publications from FHWA, visit the Turner-Fairbank
Highway Research Center's (TFHRC) Web site at
www.tfhrc.gov, FHWA's Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov,
the National Transportation Library's Web site at
http://ntl.bts.gov, or the OneDOT information network
at http://dotlibrary.dot.gov.
Incremental Costs and Performance Benefits of Various Features of Concrete Pavements Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-044
This TechBrief presents a methodology for quickly
assessing the relative costs and benefits of incorporating
various design features into portland cement concrete
(PCC) pavements. The methodology has been incorporated
into an analytical software tool that pavement
design engineers can use to investigate the cost-versus-performance
tradeoffs associated with selecting different
features during the PCC pavement design process.
Although the software is not intended to provide
absolute answers on the effects of different design
features, it can provide insight into general performance
and cost trends associated with using those features.
The document discusses why design features-
including dowel bars, tied shoulders, and drainable
bases-that can be added to PCC pavement designs to
improve overall performance by increasing serviceability
or extending service life also can sometimes increase the
initial cost of the design significantly. Taking into account
that current practices do not always consider the
tradeoffs between performance benefits and costs, this
publication points out that adding more features to the
design may produce increasingly small performance
gains while raising the final cost of the pavement
structure.
A Review of Pedestrian Safety Research in The United States and Abroad Publication No. FHWA-RD-03-042
This report provides an overview of research studies
on pedestrian safety in the United States and in other
countries. Readers will find information on pedestrian
crash characteristics, measures of pedestrian exposure
and hazard, and the effects of specific roadway features
on pedestrian safety.
Such features include
crosswalks and
alternative crossing
treatments, signalization,
signage,
pedestrian refuge
islands, provisions
for pedestrians with
disabilities, bus
stop locations,
school crossing
measures,
reflectorization
and conspicuity,
grade-separated
crossings, traffic calming
measures,
and
sidewalks and
paths. Educational
and enforcement
programs related to pedestrians
also are discussed.
The report builds on two earlier reports. The most
recent is Synthesis of Safety Research: Pedestrians
(FHWA-SA-91-034), by C.V. Zegeer, published in August
1991. The earlier work is Chapter 16 from "Pedestrian
Ways" by R.C. Pfefer, A. Sorton, J. Fegan, and M.J.
Rosenbaum, published by FHWA in Synthesis of Safety
Research Related to Traffic Control and Roadway
Elements (from Volume 2, December 1982). The updated
report includes results from numerous domestic and
foreign studies on pedestrian safety-including those
from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and
the United Kingdom-that are available online at
www.walkinginfo.org/rd/international.htm.
Other Articles in this issue:
Taking the High Road
The Space Between
Designing Tomorrow's Pavements
Learning from the 2003 Blackout
Rustic Pavements
I-95 Shutdown—Coordinating Transportation and Emergency Response
Traffic Safety Information Systems
Preventing Corrosion in Steel Bridges
The Uncertainty of Forecasts
Testing Truncated Domes