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Bridges and Other Structures Research at TRB
The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. This page highlights recently released TRB reports, meeting announcements, requests for proposals, and other announcements related to bridges and other structures. In addition, it includes links to selected bridges and other structure research-related activities taking place at the federal and state levels, and within the academic and international transportation communities. Finally, this page also highlights and provides links to TRB programs and activities, which are the source of most of TRB’s bridges and other structures-related research products. |
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What's New
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TRB Bridges and Other Structures-Related Programs and Activities
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 Testing of In-Service Bridges Using Automated Ultrasonic Testing MethodsOctober 11, 2019 Identifying the location, size, and extent of weld defects or flaws can be critical for ensuring bridge safety. Current bridge-inspection practice relies primarily on visual inspection for detecting cracks but is not capable of detecting subsurface weld defects that may develop into cracks under service loading. Other technologies such as conventional ultrasonic testing (UT) and radiographic te... |
Measuring bridge durabilityOctober 10, 2019 Factors affecting a bridge’s durability are examined in Performance of Bridge Deck Overlays in Virginia: Phase II: Service Life Performance , a report from the Virginia Department of Transportation. This report focuses on bridge deck overlays and develops a model for understanding how long these overlays last without rehabilitation. |
Appropriate materials for accelerated bridge constructionOctober 10, 2019 Alternative materials for bridge rehabilitation are examined in IBRD-2012 NEXT-D Implementation and Field Monitoring of Hanging Rock Creek Bridge , a report from the South Carolina Department of Transportation. Specifically, this report investigates options that address reflective cracking while still maintaining the benefits of accelerated bridge construction. |
 TRB Webinar: Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Systems for Concrete Structures October 10, 2019 Bridge engineers are invited to a TRB webinar on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET. The webinar will provide a summary of the findings from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)’s Research Report 907 : Design of Concrete Bridge Beams Prestressed with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Systems. Due to the differences in the physical and mechanic... |
RFP: Stainless Steel Strands for Prestressed Concrete Bridge ElementsOctober 9, 2019 TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to propose modifications to the AASHTO bridge design and construction specifications and develop guidelines for the applications of stainless steel strands for prestressed concrete bridge elements. Proposals are due December 3, 2019. |
RFP: MASH Railing Load Requirements for Bridge Deck OverhangOctober 9, 2019 TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to propose modifications to the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware for bridge deck overhangs and develop examples to demonstrate the application of the proposed modifications. Proposals are due December 4, 2019. |
 Featured Centennial Paper - Traffic Signal Systems Research: Past, Present, and Future TrendsOctober 8, 2019 Learn about the history of traffic signal systems, and of the shifting interests of the community of researchers interested in them in the Standing Technical Committee on Traffic Signal Systems' Centennial Paper. Over the years, the committee has served as one of the principal forums on signal control and has stimulated many currents in research that have had transformative impact on the indust... |
Braceras, Shaheen among those appointed to lead TRB's Executive CommitteeOctober 7, 2019 Dr. Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, has approved appointments for the TRB Executive Committee. Carlos Braceras, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Transportation, will become Chair of the Executive Committee at the completion of the TRB Annual Meeting on January 16, 2020. At the same time, Susan Shaheen, a Professor from the University of California, Berk... |
History Highlights - Landslides!October 5, 2019 The Cucaracha Slide had first bedeviled the builders of the Panama Canal in 1907. It appeared along the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut that carried the canal through the mountains and over the Continental Divide. A huge break in January 1913 pushed back the canal’s opening to August 1914. Slides continued and dredging struggled to keep pace. A fast-growing island appeared in the canal, eventually forci... |
 2020 TRB Annual Meeting: Register TodayOctober 5, 2019 Register and make hotel reservations today for the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Registration is required for all Annual Meeting attendees, including session speakers, poster presenters, and those who attend the exhibit hall, career fair, or any workshops. As part of TRB's Centennial Celebration, all full registrants at the 99th Annual Meeting will be eligib... |
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Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems
TRB's Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) report series, Synthesis of Highway Practice.
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Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program
TRB's Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program is designed to provide an opportunity to investigate new and unproven concepts or to evaluate novel applications of technologies that have been tried, tested or used for highway systems practice.
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Cooperative Research Programs
TRB's Cooperative Research Programs Division manages several cooperative research programs that frequently produces reports that have relevence to issues outside of the program's core focus areas.
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Technical Activities Standing Committees
TRB's Technical Activities Division provides a forum for transportation professionals in all modes and functions to identify research needs and to share information on research and issues of interest. The Division's staff of specialists in each mode and discipline work with a network of volunteers to carry out activities on behalf of TRB sponsors and the transportation community, including the TRB Annual Meeting, conferences and workshops, publications, visits to each state, and responses to inquiries. This network includes members and friends of over 200 standing committees, supplemented by designated TRB representatives in each state, over 150 universities, and 35 transit agencies. |
Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2)
Congress established the SHRP 2 in 2006 to find strategic solutions to three national transportation challenges: improving highway safety, reducing congestion, and improving methods for renewing roads and bridges. Research was focused in four areas, which are described below. The program carried out 145 research projects and produced 130 products as well as 132 research reports. |
Research in Progress in this Subject Area
TRB's Research in Progress (RiP) Database now contains more than 11,900 current or recently completed transportation research projects. Most of the RiP records are projects funded by federal and state departments of transportation. University transportation research is also included. The RiP Database also serves as a clearinghouse of University Transportation Centers ongoing research. |
Research Needs in this Subject Area
An important function of TRB is to stimulate research that addresses concerns, issues, or problems facing the transportation community. In support of this function, TRB Technical Activities standing committees identify, develop, and disseminate research need statements (RNS) for use by practitioners, researchers, and others.
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Research Completed in this Subject Area
TRB's TRID is integrated database that combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services ( TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation ( ITRD) Database. TRID provides access to over 900,000 records of transportation research worldwide. |
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