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...

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...

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...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 432: Recent Roadway Geometric Design Research for Improved Safety and Operations reviews and summarizes roadway geometric design literature completed and published from 2001 through early 2011, particularly research that identified impacts on safety and operations. The report is structured to correspond to chapters in th...

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.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 428: Practices and Procedures for Site-Specific Evaluations of Earthquake Ground Motions identifies and describes current practice and available methods for evaluating the influence of local ground conditions on earthquake design ground motions on a site-specific basis. The report focuses on evaluating the response of soil de...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 712: Optimization of Tack Coat for HMA Placement presents proposed test methods for measuring the quality and performance characteristics of tack coat in the laboratory and the field, and includes a training manual presenting proposed construction and testing procedures for tack coat materials. Links to appendixes B and D to NCH...

On March 16, 2012, TRB’s Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Committee sent its first letter report to Victor Mendez, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The committee provides advice and assistance on the conduct of the LTBP program, which is designed to collect research-quality data on a large representative sample of in-service U.S. highway bridges and to analyze thes...

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 second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has released a project brief that provides an overview, brief description, and the status of the SHRP 2 projects related to underground utilities.

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 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 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 ...

More than 7,000 crashes occur annually in highway work zones in Illinois, causing approximately 2,000 injuries. The number of work zone fatalities in the state reached a peak of 44, including 5 workers, in 2003. Speeding is one of the most important contributors, affecting the frequency and severity of work zone crashes. In 2004 the Illinois Department of Transportation deployed two self-contai...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 704: A Performance-Related Specification for Hot-Mixed Asphalt provides a proposed performance-related specification (PRS) for hot-mix asphalt (HMA) in the form of the Microsoft Windows®-based Quality-Related Specification Software (QRSS). The QRSS is a stand-alone program for Microsoft Windows (versions XP and 7) that employs a...

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has released a project brief that provides a snapshot of SHRP 2 progress. Since its authorization in 2005, 50 pilot tests and field demonstrations have been undertaken in 24 states, 35 documents have been published, data are being collected from nearly 1000 cars in the naturalistic driving study, and five invitational work sessi...

TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2228 consists of 15 papers that explore performance bond benefit–cost analysis; green contracting in highway construction; optimal hedging of commodity price risks in highway contracts; wireless real-time productivity measurement system; a performance attributes matrix for highway rehabilitation projects; ad...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 701: Proposed Specifications for LRFD Soil-Nailing Design and Construction contains proposed specifications for the design and construction of soil-nailed retaining structures. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Standard Bridge Specifications, the AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Des...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 363: Hydroacoustic Impacts on Fish from Pile Installation explores the prediction and mitigation of the negative impacts on fish from underwater sound pressure during pile and casing installation and removal.  Appendices A through H for RRD 363 are available online.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 698: Application of Accelerated Bridge Construction Connections in Moderate-to-High Seismic Regions evaluates the performance of connection details for bridge members in accelerated bridge construction in medium-to-high seismic regions and offers suggestions for further research. The following appendixes to NCHRP Report 698 were...

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-R01-RW-2: Development of the Selection Assistant for Utility Locating Technologies documents the development of the  Selection Assistant for Utility Locating Technologies (SAULT) web-based software tool that provides decision-support software and supporting information databases for the selection of utility-locating approac...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 421: Recycling and Reclamation of Asphalt Pavements Using In-Place Methods discusses the use of hot in-place recycling, cold in-place recycling, and full-depth reclamation of asphalt pavements. In-place recycling and reclamation of asphalt pavements provides agencies with the ability to optimize the value of in-place material...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 418: Developing Production Pile Driving Criteria from Test Pile Data provides information on the current practices used by state transportation agencies to develop pile driving criteria, with special attention paid to the use of test pile data in the process.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) RRD 355: Summary of Cast-In-Place Concrete Connections for Precast Deck Systems summarizes the results of a project that developed recommended design and construction specifications and examples for the design and construction of durable cast-in-place reinforced concrete connections for precast deck systems. The project focused on syst...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 699: Guidelines for the Use of Pavement Warranties on Highway Construction Projects is designed to help guide state departments of transportation (DOTs) in establishing pavement warranty programs. The guide identifies programmatic and project-level decision criteria that DOTs should consider when implementing and sustaining a pr...

The May-June 2011 TR News explores issues related to public–private partnerships by examining how the model might help meet an agency's challenge to deliver transportation projects; the variety of arrangements to select from for projects; how to ensure value from the arrangements; ways to protect the public interest in long-term concessions; the appropriateness to U.S. contexts; how the mo...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 55: Identification, Prevention, and Remedies for False Claims in Highway Improvement Contracting is designed to help define false claims as is set forth in case law, civil statutes, and other resources; and to distinguish fraud. The report also explores case law on false contract claims in connection with highways...

TRB Transportation Research E-Circular E-C154: Development of Warranty Programs for Hot-Mix Asphalt is a synopsis of current information for the development of warranty programs for hot-mix asphalt pavements. The opinions expressed in this e-circular are those of the document's author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Transportation Research Board, the National Academies.

TRB Transportation Research E-Circular E-C152: Adapting Transportation to the Impacts of Climate Change: State of the Practice 2011 focuses on transportation adaptation practices that can be implemented to yield potential benefits now and in the longer term. The document highlights what climate change adaptation means for the transportation industry. E-C152 was produced under the auspices ...