Expertise

Asset Management

Transportation Asset Management (TAM) is a system to manage and optimize the preservation of transportation infrastructures and supports the advancement of state-of-the-art technology, practices, procedures, and programs. As defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Subcommittee on Asset Management, "TAM is a strategic and systematic process of operating, maintaining, upgrading, and expanding physical assets effectively through their life cycle. It focuses on business and engineering practices for resource allocation and utilization, with the objective of better decision making based upon quality information and well defined objectives."

This office serves as the technical advisor to Federal Lands Highway leadership on assessing policy and program development issues working closely with Federal-aid headquarters, resource Centers and Divisions, Industry, and Federal Land Management Agencies to promote asset management principles and expertise.

Bridge Inspection Program (BIP)

The Bridge Inspection Team is responsible for the safety inspection and structural rating of 2,100 structures owned by the National Park Service (NPS) as well as other federal agencies, in accordance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards. The team also manages the NPS’s structures inventory and evaluates the data it contains, providing the FLH and NPS planners with an annual list of structure rehabilitation and repair priorities. The team provides technical leadership and support to the FHWA and partners through technology advancement, data management, bridge inspection technical assistance, system preservation technology advancement, and bridge program policy and guidance.

Geographical Information System (GIS)

The Engineering Software Support section provides computer support for engineering information systems such as CADD, Geographic Information System (GIS), interactive highway design, design visualization, and engineering cost estimating. The section ensures the development of processes and procedures for the manipulation and analysis of GIS data for programming, planning and project development purposes covering a wide range of problems in the field of highway engineering.

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)

Central Federal Lands provides technical expertise in all Traffic Operations Engineering subject areas including, but not limited to Operational Analysis, Traffic Engineering Studies and Design, Traffic Safety, Road-User Characteristics, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Technical assistance to transportation planning and highway design staff pertaining to planning, geometric design, and traffic operations is ongoing. Work primarily entails review and certification of highway design PS&E development and specific traffic engineering work performed by A/E for highway design development.

Roadway Inventory Program (RIP)

The Road Inventory Program (RIP) Section manages the nationwide Road Inventory Program for the National Park Service and the Road Inventory Program for the Forest Service in the Eastern United States. With the use of state-of-the-art equipment and engineering expertise, this program documents the condition of pavements, geometrics, and drainages of existing park roads and parkways. The data collected includes a video log that can be used by the appropriate Federal Lands Management Agency and Federal Highway Administration managers to define and support decisions for improvement projects. This information will be integrated within a Geographic Information System (GIS).