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TRB Transportation Research E-Newsletter*
April 9, 2013
* Please note that the appearance of the newsletter on TRB's website is different than that distributed to a subscriber's e-mail system; however, the content is the same. Subscribing to the TRB E-Newsletter is free. The opinions expressed in reports highlighted in TRB's Transportation Research E-Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Transportation Research Board.
TRB News
Announcing the SHRP2 Tuesdays Webinar Series
April 9, 2013
Mark your calendar now to attend a "SHRP2 Tuesdays" webinar beginning May 7, 2012. Every other Tuesday, TRB will host a webinar that will highlight resources that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are making available to implement the research products developed by the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2). Each webinar will feature a technical overview of a SHRP 2 product and its benefits as well as a presentation by FHWA and AASHTO representatives on current implementation opportunities. In addition, each webinar will include ample time for interaction with all the webinar’s panelists. Users' experience will also be showcased in those instances when a product has already been pilot tested or implemented.
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14th TRB National Transportation Planning Applications Conference
April 3, 2013
TRB is sponsoring the 14th TRB National Transportation Planning Applications Conference on May 5-9, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio. The conference will focus on new transportation planning techniques and methods, and will examine practical, innovative, and timely technical and policy approaches to transportation planning. Early bird registration rates expire April 10, 2013.
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TRB Webinar: New Strategies for Managing Complex Projects (R10)
April 3, 2013
As part of the SHRP2 Tuesdays Webinar Series, TRB will conduct a webinar on May 7, 2013, from 2:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. ET to explore the five-dimensional approach that was developed by the second Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2) Renewal Project R10 to help manage complex transportation projects from planning through the construction phases. The goal of the five-dimensional approach is to identify issues that should be planned and managed proactively, rather than retroactively. The SHRP 2 Renewal Project R10 developed two products: 1) Project Management Strategies for Complex Projects that describes the five-dimensional project management approach for complex projects, and 2) Guidebook: Project Management Strategies for Complex Projects that is designed to help facilitate the application of the five-dimensional project management approach for complex projects.
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TRB Webinar: Improving the Quality of Pavement Management Data
April 4, 2013
TRB will conduct a webinar on May 8, 2013 from 2:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. ET that will explore strategies for improving the quality of pavement management data and techniques for evaluating a pavement program’s overall data quality. 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) will be provided to attendees who register and attend the webinar as an individual.
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TRB Webinar: Transportation Funding Challenges and Opportunities in the Age of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Legislation
April 4, 2013
TRB will conduct a webinar on May 14, 2013 from 2:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. ET that will examine the funding and finance impacts of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation, including its successes and shortcomings. Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century surface transportation authorization bill ushered in noteworthy changes to federal transit and highway funding and finance, but did not address the longer-term need for new revenues to sufficiently fund federal transportation programs and keep the Highway Trust Fund and Mass Transit Account stable. In addition to examining the funding and financial impacts of MAP-21, this webinar will consider the implications of the enacted legislation and forthcoming regulations and opportunities.
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Freeway and Managed Lane Operations Meeting and Conference
April 3, 2013
TRB is sponsoring the Freeway and Managed Lane Operations Meeting and Conference on June 23-26, 2013, in Atlanta, Georgia. The workshop will address the state of the practice in freeway operations and the integration of managed lanes into the transportation system. Sessions at the workshop will focus on transportation agency experiences and “lessons learned” from the planning, design, and operations of managed lanes. The meeting will also identify and document potential emerging research needs in this rapidly evolving area of traffic operations. Early bird registration rates expire April 27, 2013.
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Transit GIS Conference*
April 4, 2013
TRB is cosponsoring the Transit GIS Conference on October 16-17, 2013, in Washington, D.C. The mission of the biennial conference is to provide a forum for geographic information systems (GIS) in transit professionals and other key industry stakeholders to share innovative GIS solutions, industry best practices, and new technologies. The conference is also designed to explore ways to use GIS to improve the safety, reliability, sustainability, and operation of public transportation. Individuals and groups wishing to present at the conference must submit an abstract by April 15, 2013.
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NAFTANEXT: Energizing Sustainable Trade Corridors Across North America - The Intersection of Energy, Environment, Jobs, and Growth*
April 4, 2013
TRB is cosponsoring the NAFTANEXT: Energizing Sustainable Trade Corridors Across North America - The Intersection of Energy, Environment, Jobs, and Growth conference on April 22-25, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. The conference is designed to provide a forum for both public and private sectors to share ideas and strategies for a long-term vision of sustainable freight transportation and supply chain energy independence for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries--the United States, Canada, and Mexico. NAFTANEXT willl examine the overlapping issues of reducing environmental impacts and improving energy sustainability while growing jobs and increasing private sector profitability to support the economies of all three NAFTA nations. The international conference will celebrate with also celebrate the 20th anniversary of NAFTA's implementation.
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RFP: Assessing, Coding, and Marking of Highway Structures in Emergency Situations
April 6, 2013
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to develop a process to assess, code, and mark highway structures in the event of emergencies resulting from natural or man-made disasters. The project will also develop training and implementation material on the processes developed. Proposals are due May 21, 2013. A Research Project Statement for this project was originally released on October 16, 2012; no award was made. The purpose of the new Research Project Statement is to initiate a new competition for this project. This Research Project Statement has been slightly modified from the original statement. This solicitation is open to all proposers, including any agency that responded to the earlier Research Project Statement.
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Recently Released TRB Publications
Research Pays Off: The Asphalt Binder Cracking Device Test
April 8, 2013
Low-temperature thermal cracking is a major type of asphalt pavement failure. State departments of transportation (DOTs) allocate significant financial resources to repair or replace cracked pavements. Properly grading asphalt binders for the expected climatic environment, however, can minimize premature pavement failure from thermal cracking. To enhance the grading process, an asphalt binder cracking device (ABCD) test was developed under National Cooperative Highway Research Program–Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Project 99 that directly determines the low-temperature cracking potential of asphalt binders in field-like conditions.
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Design Guide for Bridges for Service Life
April 8, 2013
TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Renewal Project R19A has released a prepublication, non-edited version of a report titled Design Guide for Bridges for Service Life that provides information and defines procedures to systematically design new and existing bridges for service life and durability.
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Sensitivity Evaluation of MEPDG Performance Prediction
April 5, 2013
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 372: Sensitivity Evaluation of MEPDG Performance Prediction summarizes the results of a study that evaluates the sensitivity of pavement performance predicted by the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) to the values of the design inputs.
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Legal Issues Surrounding the Use of Digital Intellectual Property on Design and Construction Projects
April 3, 2013
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 58: Legal Issues Surrounding the Use of Digital Intellectual Property on Design and Construction Projects is designed to provide an understanding of various legal issues surrounding the use of building information models on transportation design and construction projects. Those legal issues include ownership; updating and distribution rights; software interoperability; liability; copyright protection, nondisclosure agreements, trade secrets, and public information disclosure laws; protection of digital intellectual property; and digital signatures.
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Meeting Critical Data Needs for Decision Making in State and Metropolitan Transportation Agencies
April 7, 2013
TRB’s Conference Proceedings on the Web 9: Meeting Critical Data Needs for Decision Making in State and Metropolitan Transportation Agencies summarizes the result of a December 2011 conference in Irvine, California, that was designed to increase the understanding of the data needs of today’s transportation decision makers. The conference also focused on strategies to help ensure that essential data will be available to support transportation decisions in the future.
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Integrating Passenger Ferry Service with Mass Transit
April 4, 2013
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 102: Integrating Passenger Ferry Service with Mass Transit examines the integration between land- and water-based transit systems and explores successful aspects of seamless integration.
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Federal Research News
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Federal Grants to State and Local Governments
April 6, 2013
The Congressional Budget Office has released a report that provides an overview of federal grants that state and local governments can receive—including those for transportation.
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Women in Transportation Video Series
April 5, 2013
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has launched a new series of videos about women in transportation. The new series shares the stories of women who are working in the transportation field by focusing on what they do each day, how they’re making a difference, and how they got where they are today. According the U.S. DOT, “by showcasing the exciting career opportunities available, and the tremendous possibilities for success, we hope more women and girls will consider choosing careers in transportation.”
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Review of California High-Speed Passenger Rail
April 6, 2013
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a report that reviews the reliability of the project’s cost estimates, revenue and passenger rail ridership forecasts, risks of the funding plan, and the extent to which economic impacts were identified.
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The 2011 National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats
April 6, 2013
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a report that presents results from the 2011 National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats, which is the only probability-based nationwide child restraint use survey in the United States.
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State Research News
Characterizing Oregon’s Supply Chains
April 6, 2013
The Oregon Department of Transportation has released a report that summarizes a survey of licensed motor carriers in order to identify the relationships between truck movements and company characteristics.
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University Research News
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Access to Destinations: Access Across America
April 6, 2013
The Center for Transportation at the University of Minnesota has released a report that estimates the accessibility to jobs by automobile in the U.S.’s 51 largest metropolitan areas for 2010, and compares results with 2000 and 1990.
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Travel Reliability Inventory for Chicago
April 6, 2013
Illinois Center for Transportation at the University of Illinois has released a report that discusses how state departments of transportation can document and monitor the reliability performance of their highway networks by using a computer tool called the Travel Reliability Inventory for Chicago.
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Multipath Signal Phase and Timing Broadcast Project
April 6, 2013
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has released a report that discusses the Multipath Broadcast Project’s Safe Green Passage traffic signal application for providing speed guidance to an approaching driver passing through an upcoming traffic signal.
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International Research News
Expanded Operating Speed Model
April 6, 2013
Austroads has released a report that documents the process used to analyze speed data on horizontal curves, assesses the implications of cars’ and trucks’ deceleration on curves, and considers the influence of curves in sequence. This report is available without a fee after logging on to the site.
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Wear of and Particle Emissions from Concrete Pavements
April 3, 2013
VTI—the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, has released a report that explores wear and formation of inhalable particles from concrete coating, concrete coating with titanium dioxide, and a reference asphalt, all tested under controlled conditions. This report is written in Swedish with an English summary.
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In the Know
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2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure
April 6, 2013
2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure The American Society of Civil Engineers has released its annual report card that assesses infrastructure in each of the 50 states and by various categories such as dams, transit, and aviation.
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Eno Brief: April 2013
April 3, 2013
The Eno Transportation Foundation has released the latest version of its monthly on-line newsletter. The newsletter is designed to provide information on transportation policy, executive leadership, news within the greater Eno community, and other items of interest.
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