TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 429: Geotechnical Information Practices in Design-Build Projects addresses how states use geotechnical information in solicitation documents and contracts for design-build highway projects. The report examines current practices regarding the allocation of geotechnical risk and the level of geotechnical information provided wi...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 424: Engineering Economic Analysis Practices for Highway Investment explores how U.S. transportation agencies have applied engineering economics--benefit–cost analyses and similar procedures--to decisions on highway investments.

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 99: Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation explores the use of social media among transit agencies and documents successful practices in the United States and Canada. For the purposes of the report, social media are defined as a group of web-based applications that encourage users to interact with one another, such as blogs, Fac...

State DOT chief executives must serve deftly and effectively in a number of roles. They are at once policymakers, the public faces of their agencies, and managers of organizations with thousands of employees. The short- and  long-term challenges that CEOs face are often quite different from those of  other transportation professionals.

Roundabouts have seen unprecedented growth across the United States, from just a handful a decade ago to more than 2,000 and counting. National guidance had to keep pace with the needs of states and communities planning and implementing roundabouts, and NCHRP took a lead role.

In regions across the nation, bridge engineers know that the next major seismic event is coming—maybe tomorrow, maybe centuries from now. DOTs have the critical charge of designing for earthquakes and protecting the lives of travelers.

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 95: Practices for Wayside Rail Transit Worker Protection is designed to highlight knowledge, practice, lessons learned, and gaps in information related to wayside rail transit worker protection programs.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 368: State DOT Financial Auditing Requirements for Public Transportation Assistance Programs identifies various financial policies and procedures used by states for conducting grantee financial audits. The report documents policies, procedures, and practices used by some state departments of trans...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 97: Improving Bus Transit Safety Through Rewards and Discipline addresses the practices and experiences of public transit agencies in applying both corrective actions and rewards to recognize, motivate, and reinforce a safety culture within their organizations.

TRB’s Committee on Implementing the Research Results of the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has released its first letter report to Victor Mendez, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The committee’s first report includes recommendati...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 96: Off-Board Fare Payment Using Proof-of-Payment Verification examines the application of proof-of-payment (PoP) on transit systems in North America and internationally. TCRP Synthesis 96 updates TCRP Report 80: A Toolkit for Self-Service, Barrier-Free Fare Collection . Issues address by TCRP Synthesis 96 include evasion rates, inspec...

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has released a Renewal Products Brief, which summarizes the status of products being produced within the Renewal area of SHRP 2. The goal of Renewal research in SHRP 2 is to advance the methods and materials that transportation agencies can use to renew the nation’s vital but aging highway system even as we continue to use and live n...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 65: Guidebook for Airport Irregular Operations (IROPS) Contingency Planning is designed to help guide commercial passenger service airports of all sizes to develop, continually evaluate, and update their contingency plans for procedures pertaining to irregular operations (IROPS) that may cause significant disruptions to customers. This gu...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 152: Guidelines for Ferry Transportation Services examines the history and characteristics of ferry systems throughout North America and offers guidelines for planning, marketing, operating, and managing a ferry system as a component of an overall transportation network. The report also explores the potential benefits of and impediments t...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 693: Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Skilled Staff for Transportation System Operations and Management provides guidance designed to help transportation agencies recruit and retain qualified professional staff in the systems operation and management (SOM) area. The report explores SOM career paths, skill requirements, and ...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 182: Appendices to NCHRP Report 693 includes a set of tables showing systems operations and management job categories, number of positions, and educational requirements for all 50 states. NCHRP Report 693 : Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Skilled Staff for Transportation System Operations and Management provides...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 183: Guide for Managing NEPA-Related and Other Risks in Project Delivery is a guide on the use of risk management as a means to help support the early identification of key issues during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process; the effective application of management action and other resources to avoid or...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Legal Research Digest 39: Competition Requirements of the Design/Build, Construction Manager at Risk, and Public-Private Partnership Contracts—Seven Case Studies explores the use of various project delivery methods, including design-build, construction management at risk, and a number of options considered public-private partnerships, ...

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-L06-RR-1: Institutional Architectures to Improve Systems Operations and Management examines a large number of topics concerning organizational and institutional approaches that might help transportation agencies enhance highway operations and travel time reliability. The same project that produced SHRP 2 Report S2-L06-RR-1 also ...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 60: Guidelines for Integrating Alternative Jet Fuel into the Airport Setting identifies the types and characteristics of alternative jet fuels; summarizes potential benefits; addresses legal, financial, environmental, and logistical considerations and opportunities; and aids in evaluating the feasibility of alternative jet fuel production...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 366: Local and State Partnerships with Taxicab Companies discusses how states and local governments might promote partnerships with taxicab companies for provision of public transportation. In the context of the report, a “partnership” typically involves some form of contract for service, but also includes less ...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 56: The Ramifications of Post-Kelo Legislation on State Transportation Projects explores the consequences of legislation enacted by state legislatures that limits the use of eminent domain in response to the 2005 United States Supreme Court case of Kelo v. the City of New London, where the Court held that the use ...

TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2216 consists of 19 papers that explore transit bus emissions, determinants of delay incident occurrence, data for national transit database section 15 reporting, regularity of service, passenger flow patterns, impacts of holding control strategies, and transit performance. This issue of the TRR also examine...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Results Digest 14: Graduate Research Award Program on Public-Sector Aviation Issues summarizes the results of the initial four years of the Graduate Research Award Program on Public-Sector Aviation Issues (ACRP Project 11-04). The program is designed to encourage applied research on airport-related aviation system issues and to foster t...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 359: Models to Support State-Owned Park and Ride Lots and Intermodal Facilities addresses the needs and issues associated with state park and ride lots and intermodal commuter facilities and programs. The report identifies deficiencies, best practices, and promising innovations.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 59: Information Technology Systems at Airports--A Primer is designed to help facilitate mutual understanding between airport executives and information technology (IT) professionals to enable them to work together effectively on IT projects. One of the goals of the report is to help airports achieve better performance and reliability of I...

At Iowa DOT, every new research result from NCHRP represents an opportunity for improvement. “We judge the value of NCHRP—or any research program—by how it makes a difference in the way we do business,” says Sandra Larson, director of Iowa DOT’s Research and Technology Bureau.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 30: Airport Insurance Coverage and Risk Management Practices identifies both the variables that affect insurance purchasing for airport operators and the range of risk management practices that exist among U.S. airports. The report is designed to help airport officials confronted with risk-financing and insurance-purchasing decisions.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 58: Airport Industry Familiarization and Training for Part-Time Airport Policy Makers highlights policy issues affecting airport administrative and operational decisions. The report is designed to provide airport policy leaders, stakeholders, and policy-related decision makers with a common framework to understand airport administrative a...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Results Digest 103: Sustainable Public Transportation: Environmentally Friendly Mobility is an overview of an international study mission that explored how public transportation systems in several cities in India and China have implemented plans, policies, technologies, and strategies for creating more livable communities through bus, m...