Emerging technologies present many potential challenges to state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other agencies that own and manage the existing infrastructure. Significant uncertainty exists about which changes are most likely to occur and where the largest impacts could be, hampering an effective national alignment in policy and approach. NCHRP Research Report 1090: Risks Related to Emerging and Disruptive Transportation Technologies: A Guide , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research ...

The focus on innovation across state departments of transportation (DOTs) continues to grow and strengthen. Unlike research activities, which have established programs and processes, innovation programs are relatively new. DOTs are focusing more directly on innovation, including that related to internal organizational excellence and external program and project development and delivery. NCHRP Synthesis 633: Innovation Programs and Practices of State Departments of Transportation , from TRB's National Coo...

State departments of transportation (DOTs) must develop long-range transportation plans (LRTPs) and State Transportation Improvement Programs (STIPs) as key products of the transportation planning process. DOTs have a long history of developing these documents through many cycles of planning. NCHRP Synthesis 631: Integrating Performance-Based Planning into Long-Range Transportation Plans and STIPs , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, documents current practices of state DOTs relate...

Emerging transportation technologies and shared mobility services, or new mobility options (NMOs), are affecting travel behavior and demand. NMOs may include shared micromobility, transportation networking companies (TNCs), and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). As NMOs grow in availability and use, transportation planners and decision-makers need to be able to understand how to harness positive and mitigate negative impacts. NCHRP Research Report 1113: New Mobility Options in Travel Demand Foreca...

Some state departments of transportation (DOTs) have begun to track data pertaining to ancillary assets (that is, assets other than pavements and bridges) in their Transportation Asset Management Plans. However, most DOTs do not track this information, even though they inventory and manage many of these ancillary assets. NCHRP Synthesis 628: Ancillary Asset Data Stewardship and Models , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, documents state DOT practices related to data models and data...

Imaging systems are commonly used for conducting pavement evaluations. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Standard Practice for Collecting Images of Pavement Surfaces for Distress Detection addresses the collection of images. However, there are no widely accepted methods for measuring the characteristics of pavement surface images such as 2-dimensional optical images and 3-dimensional surface elevation images. NCHRP Research Report 1106: Measuring the Characteristics ...

Strategic approaches to the management and operation of transportation systems blend knowledge of agency goals, asset conditions, traffic and safety performance, and finance and budget constraints. This knowledge is based on data, and many agencies are implementing consolidated data governance practices to improve data quality, maximize the value of the data to the agency, and better manage data collection and analysis resources. NCHRP Research Report 1099: Business Intelligence Techniques for Transporta...

Alternative contracting methods (ACMs) capture the delivery methods that are not design-bid-build (D-B-B), low bid, or traditional federal aid. Common ACMs used by state departments of transportation (DOTs) include design-build (D-B), construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC), progressive design-build (P-D-B), public-private partnerships (P3), and indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ), which is also called job order contracting. NCHRP Synthesis 622: Post-Construction Evaluation Practices f...

Extreme events resulting from natural or other disasters, such as fires, floods, earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes, can damage bridge structures in ways that impact the safety of motorists and the public. The procedures currently employed for response planning, assessment, and rapid restoration of service of these structures to maintain safety do not always address the full range of needs for personnel, communication, coordination, data collection, assessment levels, and other factors associated with...

As drivers place increasing demands on transportation infrastructure and freeway congestion continues to increase, arterials have become an alternative route for many drivers, resulting in the lower performance of these roadways. In many areas, weaving maneuvers – defined as the crossing of two or more traffic streams in the same direction between two or more access points on a multilane urban street with some type of traffic control – negatively affect arterial operations and safety. NCHRP Research Repo...