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Construction 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 construction. In addition, it includes links to selected construction 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 construction-related research products.

What's New

TRB Construction-Related Programs and Activities

Development of a Test Method that Will Allow Evaluation and Quantification of the Effects of Healing on an Asphalt Mixture
May 20, 2012
The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that explores the development of a test to evaluate the healing behavior of a dense- and open-graded asphalt mixture.
2013 TRB 92nd Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers2013 TRB 92nd Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers
May 18, 2012
TRB standing committees have issued  calls for papers for the TRB 92nd Annual Meeting, January 13-17, 2013, in Washington, D.C, and the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRR). While papers addressing any relevant aspect of transportation research will be considered, some committees are soliciting papers in specific subject areas to help potential...
New Tool for Estimating Economic Impacts of Transportation Projects: Transportation Project Impact Case Studies (T-PICS)New Tool for Estimating Economic Impacts of Transportation Projects: Transportation Project Impact Case Studies (T-PICS)
May 18, 2012
TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has released a project brief that highlights Transportation Project Impact Case Studies (T-PICS). T-PICS is a web-based tool designed to allow for economic impacts to more easily be considered during community visioning for transportation, or during public and stakeholder involvement for long-range system planning or corridor planning. Vi...
Geotechnical Information Practices in Design-Build ProjectsGeotechnical Information Practices in Design-Build Projects
May 14, 2012
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...
FHWA Focus Magazine: April 2012FHWA Focus Magazine: April 2012
May 11, 2012
The Federal Highway Administration has released the latest version of its Focus magazine, which highlights efforts designed to accelerate infrastructure innovations in order to build better, safer roads.
Construction of Field Cast Ultra-High Performance Concrete ConnectionsConstruction of Field Cast Ultra-High Performance Concrete Connections
May 7, 2012
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a report that explores issues to consider when deploying ultra-high performance concrete construction material for the construction of prefabricated bridge elements and systems. 
Successes in Stewardship Newsletter: May 2012Successes in Stewardship Newsletter: May 2012
May 5, 2012
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of its Successes in Stewardship monthly newsletter, which highlights current environmental streamlining practices from around the United States.
Rockfall: Characterization and ControlRockfall: Characterization and Control
May 2, 2012
This fall, TRB will release Rockfall: Characterization and Control, which will address rockfall hazard identification and evaluation, investigation process, mitigation options, and maintenance and management programs. The 400 page publication will include a DVD with video clips of rockfall field tests and several historical movies documenting rockfall field activities. Because of the expec...
Health Monitoring of Precast Bridge Deck Panels Reinforced with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bars
April 30, 2012
The Utah Department of Transportation has released a report that explores monitoring concrete precast panels for bridge decks that are reinforced with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars.
Legal Aspect of Environmental Permitting in the Emergency Response Environment
April 25, 2012
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to compare and contrast environmental resource, regulatory, and other processes that various governmental entities use to facilitate recovery from catastrophic events. Proposals are due May 21, 2012.

National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)
NCHRP conducts research in problem areas that affect highway planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance nationwide.
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.
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.
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.
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 investigate the underlying causes of highway crashes and congestion in a short-term program of focused research. To carry out that investigation, SHRP 2 targets goals in four interrelated focus areas--Safety, Renewal, Reliability, and Capacity.
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.
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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