What's New in Law

Large-scale, complex airport construction projects have the same issues as construction projects on a smaller scale, but they present a series of specialized legal issues. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Legal Research Digest 38: Legal Issues Related to Large-Scale Airport Construction Projects focuses on those legal issues causing the most significant risks during planning,...

The Standing Committee on Resource Conservation and Recovery continues today much as it has in the past, by evaluating trending topics that relate to our expanding scope such as managing risk associated with contaminated materials, utilizing recycled materials, looking for ways to be sustainable and resilient, and maximizing the resources we have such as finding alternative uses for our right o...

What is a significant contribution you think that TRB has made to transportation and why? Please submit your responses in to this month's question by February 29, 2020. TRB welcomes all stories: small or large, profound or light-hearted, sobering or humorous. The TRB “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story" centennial activity is designed to allow as many of you (TRB’s volunteers and friends) as possible to part...

If you work in the transportation industry, you probably have a plan for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). After all, part of the service you provide depends on the ability to keep people safe and healthy regardless of their travel plans. A growing list of airlines and governments have banned flights from China. Fortunately airports, airlines, first responders, and local health officials a...

By 1997, Catherine Ross gained much of her extensive experience in the transportation field through more than 15 years of research for the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and other agencies. Former co-director of the Transportation Research and Education Center at the Georgia Institut...

“Not uncontroversial” is how the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) 1994 Annual Report described the consensus study Curbing Gridlock: Peak-Period Fees to Relieve Traffic Congestion (TRB Special Report 242). The Committee for Study on Urban Transportation Congestion Pricing had dared to suggest that the federal government should encourage tolls on the country’s congested streets and highw...

The Standing Technical Committee on Environmental Analysis in Transportation has a rich history of sharing information across boundaries to forward the practice of planning, building, and maintaining environmentally thoughtful transportation solutions. To learn more about the history of the Standing Technical Committee on Environmental Analysis in Transportation (ADC10), check out the Committee...

TRB turns 100 on November 11, 2020. You are invited to join your colleagues listed below who have contributed to the TRB Century Club to support activities that will mark the anniversary; promote the value of transportation research; and celebrate the achievements of TRB’s volunteers, sponsors, affiliates, and staff. Details on the Century Club and a link to contribute is available at https://...

HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROFILES-Gloria J. Jeff This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the Profiles section of the May/June 1993 issue of the TR News. As part of TRB’s year-long centennial celebration and in commemoration of Black History Month, TRB is reprinting select profiles of African Americans that appeared in past issues of the TR News. TR New Profiles recognize volunteers for their ...

The leadership and volunteer contributions of Dr. Mary R. Brooks, Dr. Jon A. Epps, Timothy A. Henkel, Dr. Daniel Turner, Dr. Patricia L. Mokhtarian, Keith Killough, James Winebrake, Hyun-A Park, Michael F. Trentacoste, and Bruce M. Smith are recognized by TRB and the National Academies. Every year, over 7,000 dedicated individuals serve without compensation on study and oversight committees or ...

TRB is pleased to announce the launch of a new website for TRB’s Selected Studies in Transportation Law ( SSTL ) collection. Published jointly by NCHRP and TCRP , this collection is designed to help state highway departments and public transportation agencies keep abreast of operating practices and legal elements of specific issues in highway and transit law. This collection may be of particula...

As you determine your career path, are you looking for something that is on the cutting edge of technology? Or are you more interested in creating solutions for those in need? Are you ready to take the next step to save the planet? The transportation industry needs people who are passionate about making a difference and changing society. Have you seen TRB’s new video, Your future in transportat...

Although the bicycle inspired the Good Roads Movement in the late 19th century, bicycling received little more than an occasional aside during the Highway Research Board’s first 50 years. Then came another bicycle boom. By 1973, the sale of bicycles for adults had more than tripled in a decade, spurred on by new lightweight, multispeed bicycles; the environmental movement; the oil crisis; and i...

University Research Should Be Stimulus To Future Engineers, Says Delon Hampton This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the Highway Research Profiles section of the Winter 1972 issue of the Highway Research News (HR News), the predecessor to today’s Transportation Research News (TR News). It is being reprinted as part of the TRB Centennial Celebration. During Black History Month, TRB w...

The TRB Centennial Book is available for purchase in ebook or print format. In The Transportation Research Board, 1920–2020: Everyone Interested Is Invited , author Sarah Jo Peterson tells the story of how people and institutions created and have continued to shape TRB. In a compelling narrative accompanied by more than 150 images exploring the history of transportation and research, she argues...

According to Magnus Quarshi, CEO, Delin Consult Limited, Ghana "I have been attending TRB since 2013. The technical sessions have contributed immensely to my knowledge and skills with which I have consequently contributed to the quality of life and safety in my country, Ghana.I have been attending TRB since 2013. The technical sessions have contributed immensely to my knowledge and skills with...

If you’re an aviation professional, you are probably aware of the complexities of airport fueling facilities now that the industry has been altered by the advent of more fuel-efficient aircraft. TRB hosted a webinar on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET that outlined the business aspects of an airport-operated fueling facility. Presenters described inventory management, fu...

A primary goal of the Standing Technical Committee on Aviation Economics and Forecasting, that continues to this day, is to help inform the FAA’s annual forecast of aviation activity. The findings of the FAA forecast are especially important for predicting the financial needs of the air traffic control system (ATC) and feed directly into the annual federal budget process. The FAA forecast in tu...

The January 12 - 16, 2020 TRB Annual Meeting generated headlines, podcasts, and video from the various press on hand to cover more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops. Catch up on your reading, watching, and listening!     Video   C SPAN 2020 Transportation Policy Agenda   Automation Technology and Transportation      DC Department of...

For more than 150 years, the Federal False Claims Act has served to prevent false claims for federal government funds. In recent years, a number of state legislatures have enacted state false claims acts modeled after the Federal FCA, to prevent false claims for state government funds. State highway departments and transportation agencies have a continuing need to keep abreast of operating prac...

Presentations from the 2020 Annual Meeting are now available on the interactive program . To see presentations, log into the program, then search for the session you are interested in.  If approved for posting by the speaker, the presentations are listed under the scheduled presentations towards the bottom of the page. Click the ‘View Presentation’ button to view. (If there is no pres...

TRB’s Legal Resources Group is sponsoring the 59th Annual Workshop on Transportation Law from August 2-5, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Each year the workshop attracts 150 to 200 lawyers, engineers, and transportation planners. The workshop provides opportunities to meet and hear from federal, state and local government transportation attorneys and private transportation practitioners from around th...

We hope you had a wonderful experience at the 2020 TRB Annual Meeting. Thank you for joining us. The meeting may be over, but this is a great time to jump start your interactions with TRB. Subscribe & follow: Weekly newsletter TR News print subscription TRR Journal Social media Be a friend: Receive email updates and volunteer opportunities. Log into MyTRB , update your Profile and navigate ...

Your Future in Transportation, a new video produced especially for the TRB Centennial Celebration, is now available. You can view it on the Centennial website's homepage or watch it here. Critical to TRB’s and the transportation community’s future is a diverse workforce that can creatively deal with the innovations that will define transportation in the future. This video highlights the excitem...

Autonomous vehicles (AV) took center stage at the Chair’s Luncheon of the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting this week. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced “AV 4.0,” a new DOT-White House initiative created to unify AV efforts across 38 federal government entities, focusing chiefly on the potential of increased safety with less human error. One part ...

TRB gathered a group photo at the Annual Meeting to celebrate attendees and a record year of attendance at 13,900+. The result was a magnificent display of many of the world's best and brightest thinkers in the world of transportation, also showing what a multimodal group the annual meeting brings together of people from all over the world. For the full-size photo that allows you to scroll clos...

TRB released a new video, Your future in transportation , at the TRB Annual Meeting. As the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine turns 100 on November 11, 2020, we are focused on the role of research and taking the lessons learned into the future of transportation. Along with the video, we released a companion book, The Transportation...

Intermodal terminal design and operations are now facing different kinds of challenges, with escalating volumes, rising customer expectations, and increased community concerns over emissions and traffic congestion. The Standing Committee on Intermodal Freight Terminal Design and Operations (AT050) has evolved by both broadening the scope of the intermodal terminal issues it addresses and foster...

Congratulations to TRB Division Committee chair Chris Hendrickson! On Saturday, January 11, Dr. Hendrickson received the Council of University Transportation Centers’s CUTC-HNTB Lifetime Achievement Award for Transportation Education and Research. He is recognized for decades of research and professional leadership as well as his unparalleled impact on the field of transportation through nurtur...

The Wisconsin DOT issues both single- and multi-trip permits for Oversize–Overweight (OSOW) vehicles. As the number of OSOW vehicle permits issued in Wisconsin have increased in recent years, the management and analysis of OSOW permit data has become more labor-intensive and time-consuming. This "Research Pays Off" feature in  TR News edition 324 (November-December 2019), by Hani Titi, Nic...