Scientists use artificial intelligence to forecast large-scale traffic patterns more accurately, reads the headline in a recent article by Tech Xplore , which cites an article published this summer in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record .

In March 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a policy statement supporting the development of fully integrated transportation networks. The policy is to “incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycle facilities into transportation projects.” The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 558: Availability and Use of Pedestrian Infrastructure Da...

Advanced warning of brake problems can lead to benefits in increased transit safety and operating efficiencies. Transit safety will be improved through fewer accidents and injuries due to brake failures. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 94: Evaluation of Transit Vehicle Brake Inspection through Ultrasonic Emissions Analysis details a new...

Understanding pandemics, their impacts to transportation, and potential effective response has become more important, not only for the response to COVID-19, but also if, as the World Health Organization warns, we are now “living in a time of viruses.” TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued this pre-publication draft of NCHRP...

As unmanned systems (UxS) continue to develop and be used by other military services and federal agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard should proceed more aggressively and deliberately in taking advantage of UxS advancements, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Coast Guard should also produce a high-level strategy with critica...

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has proven a formidable adversary worldwide, with tremendous impact on the United States. The transportation system is an essential element of our response to this pandemic but has also been significantly impacted across all modes, both passenger and goods movement. This environment is where research is needed most. TRB's Transportation Research Circular E-C267: Summary of T...

Understanding pandemics, their impacts to transportation, and potential effective response has become more important, not only for the response to COVID-19, but also if, as the World Health Organization warns, we are now “living in a time of viruses.” TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued this pre-publication draft of NCHRP...

Real-time transit data has been shown to have many benefits and is, in comparison with many other potential operational or capital improvements to bus or rail service, an affordable means of increasing ridership. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 93: An Open Platform for Transit Agencies to Improve the Quality of Their Real-Time Data deta...

The collection and sharing of data are essential in an airport’s risk management process. The data can allow the airport to benchmark against the industry, monitor performance, and proactively understand trends. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 222: Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data identifies data sources, best practices, and the challenges as...

The Office of Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has excelled in engaging, maintaining communication with, and using inputs from a broad range of stakeholder groups. That is among the findings in TRB Special Report 334: Review of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Research and Development Program . FRA's RD&T requested this National...

Transportation Research Record (TRR) will be publishing a special, open-access issue featuring research relating to COVID-19 and transportation. In addition to papers submitted for TRBAM 2021 and recommended by TRB committees, we are also accepting additional submissions until October 31. We invite papers that address all aspects of pandemic-related effects on transportation, including: The COVID-...

The amount of data surrounding the application of emerging technologies is expanding, producing “big data” at magnitudes not previously seen. While a few agencies have found some success with individual projects, most are uncertain on how to handle this level of big data at an organizational level. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 282: Framework for M...

With increased connectivity between vehicles, sensors, systems, shared-use transportation, and mobile devices, unexpected and unparalleled amounts of data are being added to the transportation domain at a rapid rate, and these data are too large, too varied in nature, and will change too quickly to be handled by the traditional database management systems of most transportation agencies. The TRB N...

Although researchers have developed instrumentation for scour detection around bridge piers, the current state-of-the-art practice relies upon visual inspection by divers. As a potential alternative to the traditional methods, this research explored the possibilities of using non-contact and remote sensing-based laser ranging technique for scour mapping and monitoring. The TRB IDEA (Innovations De...

This 2018 study published in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record , examined the increasing penetration of online shopping on physical stores. "Accessibility or Innovation? Store Shopping Trips versus Online Shopping," by Kees Maat and Rob Konings of Delft University of Technology. is one of the most read TRR articles of the past 6 months. The study determined, as of 2017, that online sho...

Structural supports of signs, luminaires, and traffic signals are an integral part of the transportation system. The promising results in this analysis present an opportunity to address the longstanding issue of fatigue-related failures in traffic signal structures. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Development of a Novel Aerodynamic Solution to Mitigate L...

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted transportation agencies across the U.S. in a variety of ways. On July 15, 2020, TRB's Transportation Asset Management Committee hosted a webinar that featured executives and CEOs from state, regional, and transit agencies. Transportation Research Circular E-C266: Transportation Asset Management in a COVID-19 World captures the details of the discussion on how the...

TRB hosted the Transportation Resilience 2019: 2nd International Conference on Transportation Resilience to Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather Events (TR2019) at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C., November 13–15, 2019. The primary purpose of TR2019 program was to present advancements made in transportation systems resilience to natural hazards, climate change, and impa...

State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and other government agencies recognize the value of connected vehicle (CV) technologies in helping achieve the strategic objectives of saving lives and relieving congestion. Several agencies are currently planning and preparing for a future where CV technologies could become a part of their routine business operations. A core consideration in any such pl...

The Alabama Department of Transportation (DOT) incorporated post-construction stormwater management design into the overall roadway design process. The Texas DOT developed the approval process for products used in the construction of a roadway to promote vegetation. And the Virginia DOT improved the management of data associated with stormwater infrastructure best management practices to effective...

The July-August 2020 issue of TR News —with a focus on stormwater—is available in hard copy and digital copy for subscribers. For those who are not subscribers, the table of contents is available. Feature articles in the issue include "Integrating Stormwater Infrastructure into State Department of Transportation Processes," "Transportation Perspective on Virginia’s Nonpoint Source Nutrient Credit ...

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and equity issues will be included soon in   Critical Issues in Transportation 2019 . In this report, which is updated periodically by the TRB Executive Committee, a series of challenging questions are posed to explore issues and opportunities that may arise 10 to 20 years into the future. These questions, 63 in all, have been organized into 12 topic areas ...

Social media is an important, if not crucial, tool for sharing information among individuals and for connecting organizations with their customers. For this reason, social-media managers at airports are critical to emergency management for information gathering and sharing. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP WebResource 8: Integrating Social Media with Emergency Management at...

Issue 326 of TRB's magazine dives into details from the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, which had a record crowd of nearly 14,000 attendees gathered January 12–16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. The March–April 2020 TR News features photo highlights from the Annual Meeting along with more coverage of the conference. TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-a...

There is a wide disparity between the goals that state departments of transportation (DOTs) have for priced managed lanes and the public assumption for those goals. The public tends to be highly skeptical of priced managed lanes because the concept is difficult to explain to a nontechnical audience. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 559: Emerging Challenges to...

Compared with much of the world, the United States has relatively few highway tunnels. Norway, for instance, has more than 900 roadway tunnels, while the entire United States has 503. In a feature article in TR News magazine, Number 327, May-June 2020, the authors examine the challenges of using tunnels in a road or rail network, including relatively high first costs, the need for continuing maint...

There are issues, opportunities, and challenges related to technology-enabled mobility services, and lots of ways that transit can learn from, build upon, and interface with new ways of traveling. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Report 188: Shared Mobility and the Transformation of Public Transit examines the relationship of public transportation (including paratransit and dema...

The high-resolution micro traffic data (HRMTD) of all roadway users is important for serving the connected-vehicle system in mixed traffic situations. The roadside LiDAR sensor gives a solution to providing HRMTD from real-time 3D point clouds of its scanned objects. "Automatic Background Filtering Method for Roadside LiDAR Data" proposed an algorithm based on the spatial distribution of laser poi...

Few resources provide information related to selecting the most appropriate traffic signal phasing for the various geometric and operational situations encountered in the field. This is especially true for left-turn signal phasing decisions with respect to the level of control for the left-turn movement and whether left turns should precede or follow the main through movement. The TRB National Coo...

The May–June 2020 issue of TR News is a special edition illuminating the many hidden aspects of tunnels as well as the benefits of tunnel technology to modern transportation systems. Articles highlight the contribution of tunnels to the economy and how transportation operators use the best technology to keep tunnels efficient and safe.