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 TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Web-Only Document 74: Recent Decline in Public Transportation Ridership: Hypotheses, Methodologies, and Detailed City-by-City Results provides supplemental information to TCRP Research Report 231: Recent Decline in Public Transportation Ridership: Analysis, Causes, and Responses , which delves into exploring ridership losses already being experie...

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...

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...

Nearly all state departments of transportation (DOTs) have some level of oversight over local bridges, and different funding mechanisms and approaches are in use in the states. These are among the key takeaways from a best-practices panel sessions in conjunction with the 12th TRB International Conference on Low-Volume Roads. TRB's Transportation Research Circular E-C272: Technology Exchange on Loc...

A public-private partnership (P3) can be a dynamic tool to help infrastructure owners achieve a range of objectives on projects, such as incorporating lifecycle project costs into decision-making, benefiting from innovation in design and construction techniques, or sharing certain performance risks. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 227: Evaluating and Implementin...

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...

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...

Ongoing and emerging shifts in customer ground access behavior, resulting from the growing use of transportation network companies (TNCs) and the eventual adoption of emerging technologies, are posing a significant challenge to the reliance of airports on parking revenue. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 225: Rethinking Airport Parking Facilities to Protect and E...

Airport attorneys spend considerable time drafting and negotiating airport contracts that involve specialized legal and business issues. Some are general commercial issues, while others are unique to airports. As governmental entities, airports are subject to a variety of governmental law principles that can affect their contracts for commercial services. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Progr...

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...

In times of financial uncertainties, green bonds can provide an extra source of revenue. With a green bond issuance, a transit agency can generate positive environmental impacts, attract investors for transit projects, and generate financial benefits. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Research Report 222: Analysis of Green Bond Financing in the Public Transportation Industry prov...

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...

In the airport industry, potential applications for blockchain include security and identification, flight data management, safety and maintenance, baggage and cargo tracking, regulatory compliance, and more. Promising blockchain applications specific to COVID-19 include passenger health verification and contact tracing, facilitating a contactless passenger experience, and tracking the movement of...

Understanding the permissible use of airport revenue is one of the most common legal issues faced by airport management. While there are some clear lines, there are several categories (such as utility fees) of potential expenditures of airport revenue that are not as clearly defined. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Legal Research Digest 40: Permissible Uses of Airport Property ...

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a public financing method that some local governments and transportation agencies may use to capture a portion of additional property (or sales) tax revenues that result when public investments cause property values (or total sales revenues) to increase. TIF is an increasingly important source of funds for transportation projects, and it has the potential to be a k...

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...