Building information modeling (BIM) has been used in the vertical construction industry since the 1970s. In the last decade, the worldwide transportation industry has been pushing for the implementation of BIM for bridges and infrastructures. This process revolutionizes the way projects are delivered and, to be successful, it requires the cooperation of all parties involved in the realization of t...

An important operational characteristic of an airport is the length of its longest runway. The longest runway determines the types of aircraft that can use the airport and dictates the operational limitations at the airport. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Web-Only Document 54: Development of a Small Aircraft Runway Length Analysis Tool provides a user-friendly computer tool to...

Dynamic curbside management has been the purview of cities, with much of the relevant research and guidance directed toward local transportation agencies. However, state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and other regional agencies can be important partners for these local entities because, in many cases, roadways and other curb zone elements are part of the regio...

The November-December 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on collaboration and innovation at the MnROAD Research Facility—is available in full online. Other feature articles in the issue include Airport Cooperative Research Program guidance on best design practices for service animal relief areas, worship spaces, lactation areas, and more; developing the transportation workforce; and infra...

Many technical and institutional issues related to estimating and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) lie across a wide spectrum of the activities undertaken by state departments of transportation (DOTs). The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 308: Methods for State DOTs to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Transportation Sector documents the re...

The September-October 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on what the transportation industry learned from 9/11—is available in full online.  Other feature articles in the issue focus on how, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11), transportation has broadened its role to include response and operations—from traffic incident management as a multiagency function to av...

The 2021 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 the year. TRB provides leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transporta...

The July-August 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on research needs for the marine transportation system of the future—is available in full online.  Other feature articles in the issue include members of the Marine Board and TRB’s Marine Group standing committees investigating critically important topics for innovation and research in, and transformation of, the marine transportatio...

Although the need for a more effective set of short- and long-term transportation resilience strategies is increasingly obvious and urgent, many knowledge gaps and institutional barriers still exist. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 975: Transportation System Resilience: Research Roadmap and White Papers highlights significant knowledge gaps within AASH...

The March - April 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on TRB's 100th Annual Meeting—is available in full online.  Other articles in the issue explore mobility and human trafficking, near-road air quality, and how to make safer roadway crossings for small wildlife. This is Issue 332. To subscribe to TR News, sign up through MyTRB.org. Subscription rates include postage. Subscribe based...

Significant progress has been made over the last decade in integrating resilience criteria into transportation decision-making. A compelling case remains for investing in making transportation projects more resilient in the face of increasing and intensifying storms, floods, droughts, and other natural hazards that are combining with sea-level rise, new temperature and precipitation norms, and oth...

The May - June 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the transportation profession—is available in full online. Other articles in the issue highlight TRB’s initiatives addressing DE&I, along with programs within the larger transportation community, from the federal government to states to universities. This is Issue 333. To subscribe to T...

Racism has been overt in transportation. For example, the segregation of races on intercity trains led to the infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” Supreme Court doctrine that stood for more than half a century. While many discriminatory policies have been reversed by the courts and in constitutional amendments, their impacts on society have not been fully remedied and persist. TRB...

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has not been transported to any significant degree by freight railroads in the United States. When the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 was enacted, it directed the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to convene a committee of i...

Understanding pandemics, their impacts to transportation, and potential effective response has become more important, not only for the response to COVID-19, but also if, as the World Health Organization warns, we are now “living in a time of viruses.” TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued  NCHRP Research Report 963/TCR...

Understanding pandemics, their impacts to transportation, and potential effective response has become more important, not only for the response to COVID-19, but also if, as the World Health Organization warns, we are now “living in a time of viruses.” TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued  NCHRP Research Report 963/TCR...

Safety technologies and programs aimed at reducing or eliminating risky driving behaviors may prevent a large number of crashes. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 88: Evaluation of an Automatic, Individual Computer-Based Driver Education and Training Program analyzes a software program that uses onboard safety monitoring data to monitor d...

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...

Today, transit agencies gather and manage more data than ever. However, data processing, exploration, the development of performance metrics, and communicating decisions are often fragmented and scattered across many departments. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 153: The Transit Analyst Toolbox: Analysis and Approaches for Reporting, Communicating, and Examining Transi...

Effective transportation asset management (TAM) depends on having good data about the assets under management, their descriptions, current condition and history, functional performance, and the activities conducted to develop, maintain, improve, and rehabilitate them during the course of their service lives. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 956: Guidebo...

Over the last decade, state departments of transportation (DOTs) have begun to use vehicle probe and cellular GPS data for a variety of purposes, including real-time traffic and incident monitoring, highway condition, and travel demand management. DOTs are also using vehicle probe and cellular GPS data to inform system planning and investment decisions. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Researc...

Digital terrain models (DTMs) are three-dimensional (3D) models of the ground surface showing natural features such as ridges and breaklines. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 560: Practices for Construction-Ready Digital Terrain Models documents processes and strategies used by state departments of transportation (DOTs) for the use and transfer of DTMs from d...

Active Traffic Management (ATM) strategies have become more common in the United States as state departments of transportation grapple with increasing congestion and fewer dollars available to add capacity to keep pace. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 286: Principles and Guidance for Presenting Active Traffic Management Information to Drivers develop...

Distracted driving is a complex and ever-increasing risk to public safety on roadways. Drivers’ use of electronic devices significantly diverts human attention resources away from the driving task. The enforcement community faces significant challenges as electronic device use has expanded beyond simply texting or talking. Legislation regulating electronic device use while driving is inconsistent ...

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...

Interest in driverless vehicles, including low-speed automated vehicles (LSAVs), continues to expand globally and in the United States. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Research Report 220: Low-Speed Automated Vehicles (LSAVs) in Public Transportation presents current use cases for LSAVs and provides a practitioner guide for planning and implementing LSAV services as a new publi...

If combined with public transit and increased in scale, shared modes of transportation, such as ride-hailing, scooter sharing and bike sharing, can enhance mobility, equity, and sustainability in metropolitan areas. Cities, transit agencies, and shared mobility providers should collaborate in goal-setting, experimentation, testing, and implementation. These are among the findings in TRB Special Re...

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...