The projected advent of new, large metropolitan areas will create challenges in mobility but also will lead to new aviation megacities. Smaller and rural communities may also revive and grow, with people seeking another way of life. Local airports will continue to play a vital role in connecting residents to the world, using a variety of new technologies. This is the focus of a feature article in ...

The accurate characterization of the in situ aging of asphalt pavement materials over the service life of the pavement is of utmost importance to the implementation of mechanistic empirical (ME) pavement design and analysis methods. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's pre-publication draft of NCHRP   Research Report 973: Long-Term Aging of Asphalt Mixtures for Performance ...

The September–October 2020 issue of TRB's magazine is now available in full online. Issue 330 includes the cover story, “Recycled Material Web Map,” and features articles on topics including incorporating resiliency into freight mobility, living with transformational technologies, and pollution-reducing highway barriers. TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative a...

The January-February 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on the challenges of truck size and weight—is available in hard copy and digital copy for subscribers. For those who are not subscribers, the table of contents is available. Other feature articles in the issue include "Way of the Future: Airports at the Horizon of 2040 and 2070," by Gaël Le Bris; "Strengthening Post-Hurricane Supply ...

Recycling is a concept that most of society supports as a practice that can benefit the environment and overall well-being, as well as reduce the needs and costs associated with raw materials. However, the conversation needs to shift from just recycling to responsible recycling. This is the focus of a feature article in the November-December 2020 issue of TRB's magazine, TR News (Issue 330). TR Ne...

Asphalt binders experience aging that occurs in two distinct stages under quite different conditions: (1) short-term during construction (plant mixing, storage, placement, and compaction) and (2) long-term during the service life of the pavement. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's pre-publication of NCHRP Research Report 967: Asphalt Binder Aging Methods to Accurately Reflect ...

British–Hungarian Nobel Prize physicist Dennis Gabor wrote: “The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented." Considering in a reasonable and logical way what the implications of new technologies may be and acting on our conclusions is how the future is invented. This is the focus of a feature article in the November-December 2020 issue of TRB's magazine, TR News (Issue 330). TR News&...

Issue 328 of TRB's magazine, TR News , is dedicated to water and the role of transportation agencies in the stewardship of this vital resource, particularly as the way humans use water is changing dramatically. Authors explore the evolution of stormwater regulation; how departments of transportation manage water in planning, design, construction, and operations; and more. TR News  is TRB's bi...

Issue 327 of TRB's magazine is a special edition illuminating the many hidden aspects of tunnels as well as the benefits of tunnel technology to modern transportation systems. Articles highlight the contribution of tunnels to the economy and how transportation operators use the best technology to keep tunnels efficient and safe. TR News  is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles o...

Laboratory testing and field experience have shown that highway concrete should be properly air entrained to resist the action of freezing and thawing, particularly in wet climates. Several gaps in the state of the knowledge still exist. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 961: Entrained Air-Void Systems for Durable Highway Concrete addresses these gaps an...

Pavement recycling is a technology that can restore the service life of pavement structures and stretch available funding for pavement rehabilitation. In general, pavement recycling techniques remix the existing pavement material and reuse it in the final pavement in the form of a stabilized layer. Limitations to further widespread implementation of pavement recycling processes have been reported ...

The September–October 2020 issue of TRB's magazine is now available in full online. Themed “Embracing the Future,” the issue celebrates TRB’s centennial with articles forecasting the future of transportation. Authors present outlooks that are multimodal, creative, diverse, inclusive, and thought-provoking, offering a pause point for transportation researchers, policy makers, and practitioners as t...

The year 2020’s raging coronavirus pandemic and reckoning with long-standing racial injustice led to widespread disruption and suffering, social unrest, and renewed calls for an accounting of our fragmented public health system and troubled history of racial inequity. The crises of 2020 transcend transportation yet also raise fundamental questions for it along with other sectors of our society and...

The 2020 Annual Report summarizes TRB’s accomplishments in each of its major program areas and how TRB has served the nation and the global transportation professional community throughout 2020. TRB provides leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation...

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has proven a formidable adversary worldwide, with tremendous impact on the United States. The transportation system is an essential element of our response to this pandemic but has also been significantly impacted across all modes, both passenger and goods movement. This environment is where research is needed most. TRB's Transportation Research Circular E-C267: Summary of T...

The Texas Department of Transportation had a rare opportunity to investigate how pavement type affects the quality of stormwater runoff, something that is often difficult to address in the limited space available in highway rights-of-way. The research showed that roadways paved with permeable friction course/open-graded friction course (PFC/OGFC) produced runoff with substantially reduced concentr...

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted transportation agencies across the U.S. in a variety of ways. On July 15, 2020, TRB's Transportation Asset Management Committee hosted a webinar that featured executives and CEOs from state, regional, and transit agencies. Transportation Research Circular E-C266: Transportation Asset Management in a COVID-19 World captures the details of the discussion on how the...

Satisfactory pavement performance can only be assured with appropriate process controls to ensure compacted materials meet proper density and stiffness requirements. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 933: Evaluating Mechanical Properties of Earth Material During Intelligent Compaction details the development of procedures to estimate the mechanical prope...

TRB hosted the Transportation Resilience 2019: 2nd International Conference on Transportation Resilience to Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather Events (TR2019) at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C., November 13–15, 2019. The primary purpose of TR2019 program was to present advancements made in transportation systems resilience to natural hazards, climate change, and impa...

The Alabama Department of Transportation (DOT) incorporated post-construction stormwater management design into the overall roadway design process. The Texas DOT developed the approval process for products used in the construction of a roadway to promote vegetation. And the Virginia DOT improved the management of data associated with stormwater infrastructure best management practices to effective...

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and equity issues will be included soon in   Critical Issues in Transportation 2019 . In this report, which is updated periodically by the TRB Executive Committee, a series of challenging questions are posed to explore issues and opportunities that may arise 10 to 20 years into the future. These questions, 63 in all, have been organized into 12 topic areas ...

New definitions will help pavement cracking survey providers and pavement engineers at state highway administrations conduct objective cracking measurements and encourage continuing technological innovations by researchers and vendors. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 288: Standard Definitions for Common Types of Pavement Cracking helps develop standa...

Issue 326 of TRB's magazine dives into details from the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, which had a record crowd of nearly 14,000 attendees gathered January 12–16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. The March–April 2020 TR News features photo highlights from the Annual Meeting along with more coverage of the conference. TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-a...

Rutting and fatigue damage are two major forms of distress that cause the most concern in asphalt concrete pavements, as they affect both serviceability and safety over the performance life of asphalt pavements. Rutting—permanent deformation under the wheels’ path—is more dominant at high temperatures, and fatigue damage—evolution of micro-cracks and micro-voids—generally is more problematic at lo...

Pavement warranties have been common in the United States at various points in time, coming back into favor during the 1990s. While there is no national pavement warranty standard, agencies have developed their own specifications with varying criteria. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 553: Performance-Based Pavement Warranty Practices documents highway agency...

Different choices in the budget assigned to road preservation and repair should be considered to find the optimal contribution of the road network to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation and to meet targets set in the Paris Agreement on climate change. "Potential Contribution of Deflection-Induced Fuel Consumption to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions,"  by Hassam Azarijafari, Jeremy Gregory,...

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 th...

Performance testing of asphalt mixtures is becoming more widespread for a variety of reasons and with a variety of testing devices. The tests results are sensitive to the procedures used in preparation of the specimens. Guidelines exist for conducting the tests; however, they do not all provide uniform or comprehensive direction for fabricating test specimens. The TRB National Cooperative Highway ...

Issue Number 326 of TR News magazine is available in full to subscribers. Here is a sample from the issue: a 14-page photo collage of the 99th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting from January 12–16, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Do you see yourself in any of the photos?

Topics in the November–December 2019 issue of TR News include an analysis of the #TRBAM Annual Meeting Twitter hashtag to understand communication dynamics; climate change, a critical transportation issue; assessing, marking, and coding highway structures in emergencies; and more. This issue also kicks off the magazine’s yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of TRB, which will include them...