The Washington State Department of Transportation has released a manual that aims to establish a common basis for consistent roadside management decisions across the state. It also provides references for previously unpublished material related to roadside management, including planning, design, construction, and maintenance. Effective roadside management may result in improved road function, integration of the road facility into the surrounding landscape, and positive psychological effects on vehicle oc...

The Maryland State Highway Administration has released a report that evaluates the compaction of unbound geomaterials under unsaturated conditions. To achieve this goal, this study examines different lightweight deflectometers (LWD) that are currently used throughout Maryland in order to find a possible replacement for the conventional methods with a practical modulus-based specification using LWD.

The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that summarizes the existing practices and issues associated with the federal outdoor advertising control (OAC) program. The Highway Beautification Act is an arm of the OAC program, which has encountered several issues over the last few years. The Highway Beautification Act outlines a set of requirements for specific types of advertising sings, including directional and official signs, on-property signs, and new signs in commercial and indust...

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has released a report that investigates Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene polymer-modified asphalt binders currently used in Louisiana. This study conducts a suite of asphalt binder characterization tests to assess the suitability of MSCR tests to be included in Louisiana DOTD’s asphalt binder specifications. The report also identifies the potential of replacing elastic recovery and force ductility tests with MSCR recovery.

The Montana Department of Transportation has released its quarterly newsletter that discusses transportation research issues in Montana. This issue includes: Exploring traffic safety citizenship Identifying disparities in definitions of heavy trucks Assessment of Montana road weather information system

The Virginia Department of Transportation has released a report that evaluates current nighttime work zone lighting practices for limited-access highways and primary routes in Virginia. The report examines lighting levels, illuminance characterizations of light towers, and human factors considerations. The report also develops nighttime work zone lighting requirements for Virginia based on these criteria.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has released a report that provides participating state departments of transportation with the necessary tools to fully implement Prep-ME software. This software has the capabilities of generating, pre-processing, importing, and checking the quality of traffic data for pavement mechanistic-empirical (ME) design. Many U.S. highway agencies are moving toward pavement ME design, which requires extensive data needs for the calibration and implementat...

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has released a report that analyzes structural capacity indicators in predicting pavement structural deficiency based on rolling wheel deflectometer (RWD) measurements. The report also develops a methodology to integrate structural capacity indicators into the Louisiana Pavement Management System. RWD measures deflections at highway speeds, which can offer the potential to characterize the structural capacity of pavements efficiently and cost-eff...

The Ohio Department of Transportation has released a report that examines the blending of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) with virgin asphalt binders. This report also evaluates the factors that may affect fatigue, cracking, and moisture-induced damage in asphalt mixtures prepared with these materials.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has released a report that identifies hotspots of pedestrian and bicyclist collisions on main street highways, which are stretches of state routes that also act as main streets for the local populations. This project is part 2 of the study, which is part of the Washington State Strategic Highway Safety Plan. One goal of this plan is to reduce the number of pedestrians and bicyclists involved in motor-vehicle collisions on state highways.