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Hydraulics and Hydrology 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 hydraulics and hydrology. In addition, it includes links to selected hydraulics and hydrology 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 hydraulics and hydrology-related research products.

What's New

TRB Hydraulics and Hydrology-Related Programs and Activities

TRB Webinar: Subsurface Drainage for Slope Stabilization, Part 1 of 2
May 20, 2013
TRB will conduct a webinar on May 29, 2013 from 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. ET that will present the results of a recently completed pooled fund research project on subsurface drainage for slope stabilization. Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. A certificate for 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) will be provided to attendees who...
TRB Webinar: Subsurface Drainage for Slope Stabilization, Part 2 of 2
May 20, 2013
TRB will conduct a webinar on June 25, 2013 from 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. ET that will present the results of a recently completed pooled fund research project on subsurface drainage for slope stabilization. Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. A certificate for 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) will be provided to attendees wh...
2014 TRB 93rd Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers2014 TRB 93rd Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers
May 15, 2013
TRB standing committees have issued  calls for papers for the TRB 93rd Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2014, 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...
50th Anniversary for the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 50th Anniversary for the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
May 15, 2013
The 2013 series marks the 50th year of TRB’s peer-reviewed journal, which debuted as the Highway Research Record in 1963; became the Transportation Research Record in 1974, with Number 480; and added the subtitle, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, in 2000, with Number 1653. In all, TRB has published more than 25,000 papers in volumes of the TRR Journal and continues to build on its ...
Stormwater Pollution, Erosion, and Sediment Control Products Demonstration and Training Center
May 15, 2013
The Illinois Center for Transportation at the University of Illinois has released a report that outlines the activities of the Erosion and Sediment Control Research and Training Center, which provides training and research for stormwater management practices, erosion prevention, and sediment control.
Design Guidelines for Horizontal Drains Used for Slope Stabilization
April 15, 2013
The Washington State Department of Transportation has released a report that provides a reference for geotechnical engineers and hydrogeologists on designing horizontal drainage systems to improve slope stability.
Evaluation of Design Methods to Determine Scour Depths for Bridge Structures
March 28, 2013
The Louisiana Transportation Research Center has released a report that evaluates the applicability of the Federal Highway Administration’s Hydraulic Engineering Circular documents method to Louisiana bridges situated on cohesive soils as a way to develop a design method for scour depth and scour rate prediction.
Assessing Pre-Tensioned Reinforcement Corrosion Within the New Zealand Concrete Bridge Stock
March 27, 2013
The New Zealand Transport Agency has released a report that presents an assessment of the New Zealand pre-tensioned concrete bridge stock and identifies bridges at risk of pre-tensioned reinforcement corrosion.
Transportation, Specification, Toxicity and Treatability of Highway Stormwater Discharged to Receiving Waters in Louisiana
March 6, 2013
The Louisiana Transportation Research Center has released a report that discusses transport and treatability of particles and phosphorus in urban rainfall-runoff, the influence of hydrology on rainfall-runoff metal element speciation, and the toxicity of particulates in rainfall-runoff.
Development of High Quality Pervious Concrete Specifications for Maryland Conditions
March 6, 2013
The Maryland Department of Transportation has released a report that develops preliminary specifications for high-quality pervious concrete suitable for use in Maryland State Highway Administration projects.

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.
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.
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.