Extreme weather events and a changing climate increasingly boost costs to transportation agencies and to the traveling public. While Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are taking into account changing climate and extreme weather when making infrastructure decisions, they typically are not using a formal set of tools or cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) to address climate resilience because they may be too time-consuming and expensive to conduct routinely. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Progra...

With increased connectivity between vehicles, sensors, systems, shared-use transportation, and mobile devices, unexpected and unparalleled amounts of data are being added to the transportation domain at a rapid rate, and these data are too large, too varied in nature, and will change too quickly to be handled by the traditional database management systems of most transportation agencies. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 952: Guidebook for Managing Data from Em...

The findings of this survey report show that providing light beyond the limits of the roadway travel lanes benefits drivers’ visual performance and that the spectral content of light-emitting diode (LED) sources should be a design consideration. The study also found that, at present, there are no health impacts from properly designed roadway lighting. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's  NCHRP Research Report 940: Solid-State Roadway Lighting Design Guide: Volume 2: Research Over...

The lighting industry has changed dramatically over the past decade. The optical system design of legacy high-intensity discharge (HID) luminaires was restricted to the lamp, refractor, and reflector design, which had limits in the distribution of the light, controls, and adaptability. Roadway luminaires have moved beyond this design methodology to include the vast possibilities presented by solid-state lighting (SSL). At present, in the form of light emitting diodes (LED), SSL uses lower energy, reduces...

The transportation industry has a need for contract administration guidance. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 1: Design–Build Delivery provides a practitioner’s guide for construction administration on Design – Build (D-B) projects. Whether an agency is using the D-B contracting method for the first time or has significant experie...

The transportation industry has a need for contract administration guidance. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 2: Construction Manager–General Contractor Delivery provides a practitioner’s guide for construction administration on construction manager–general contractor (CM-GC) projects. Vol. 1, on  design-build delivery , and ...

The use of alternative contracting methods (ACMs) has accelerated the delivery of highway design and construction projects. These changes came about through efforts of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state agencies over the last 30 years. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview provides the necessary me...

Roadsides provide promising monarch habitat as they frequently contain nectar and host plants; however, they also present a range of risks, including pesticide spillover, vehicle collisions, contaminant runoff, and non-native vegetation. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 942: Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies provides guidance for roadside managers to determine the potential of their roadway corridors as habitat for ...

In the development of a quality assurance program, a state highway agency (SHA) incorporates policies and procedures for assessing how well the materials and construction used by a contractor on a construction project satisfy the agency's specifications. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 946: Procedures and Guidelines for Validating Contractor Test Data reviews and evaluates the procedures and practices used in the acceptance of construction materials. The repo...

A central role of a state Department of Transportation (DOT) fleet manager is to maintain a clear understanding of the fleet’s costs. This helps in tracking activities over time, comparing costs with other fleets, communicating with stakeholders, and effectively managing fleet assets. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's  NCHRP Research Report 944: Guide to Calculating Ownership and Operating Costs of Department of Transportation Vehicles and Equipment: An Accounting Perspective p...