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Design 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 design. In addition, it includes links to selected design 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 design-related research products.

What's New

TRB Design-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...
Fatigue Loading and Design Methodology for High-Mast Lighting TowersFatigue Loading and Design Methodology for High-Mast Lighting Towers
May 15, 2012
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 718: Fatigue Loading and Design Methodology for High-Mast Lighting Towers provides criteria for the fatigue design of high-mast lighting towers. The report also includes a series of proposed revisions with associated commentary to the fatigue design provisions of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offic...
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.
Improved Effectiveness and Innovation for Audio Tactile Profiled Roadmarkings
April 25, 2012
The New Zealand Transport Agency has released a report that explores the relationship between the dimensions of audio tactile profiled road-markings and the noise and vibration generated inside a vehicle when it traverses the road-markings.
Hydraulic Efficiency of Grate and Curb-Opening Inlets Under Clogging Effect
April 23, 2012
The Colorado Department of Transportation has released a report that investigates the hydraulic efficiencies of bar inlets, vane inlets, and curb-opening inlets for street and roadway drainage.
Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts, Third EditionHydraulic Design of Highway Culverts, Third Edition
April 23, 2012
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a report that provides information for the planning and hydraulic design of culverts. The publication updates Hydraulic Design Series Number 5 and adds new information on software solutions, aquatic organism passage, culvert assessment, and culvert repair and rehabilitation.
TRB Webinar: Guidelines on the Use of Auxiliary Through Lanes at Signalized IntersectionsTRB Webinar: Guidelines on the Use of Auxiliary Through Lanes at Signalized Intersections
April 20, 2012
TRB will conduct a webinar on July 11, 2012, from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET that will explore National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 707: Guidelines on the Use of Auxiliary Through Lanes at Signalized Intersections . Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. A certificate for 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDH...
4th Urban Street Symposium*
April 20, 2012
TRB is cosponsoring the 4th Urban Street Symposium on June 24-27, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois. The symposium is designed to explore improvements in suburban and urban street design practices, foster discussions on alternative street design practices, examine alternative street designs, and facilitate the transfer of urban street research findings to state agencies and to local governments. Early...

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.
Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)
ACRP carries out applied research on problems that are shared by airport operating agencies.
Synthesis of Information Related to Airport Problems
TRB's Synthesis of Information Related to Airport 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 Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) report series, Synthesis of Airport 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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