Traditional shoreline protection structures like seawalls do not dissipate wave energy. They reflect waves creating more turbulent conditions which make sites and their surroundings more susceptible to damage. Moreover, they typically do not provide a hospitable environment for biodiversity. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's  NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 213:  SEAHIVE - Sustainable Estuarine and Marine Revetment  details the engineered marine and es...

The mechanical properties of shape memory alloys (SMAs) have made them one of the most desirable smart materials applied in bridges. The supereleastic effect (SE) is particularly advantageous for dissipating seismic energy and protecting bridges in earthquake-prone regions. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's  NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 210:  Material Characteristics of Cu-Based Superelastic Alloys for Applications in Bridge Columns to Improve Seismic Pe...

Fatigue cracking is one of the dominant distress types that a pavement structure experiences throughout its service life. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 218: Development of Three Point Bending Cylinder (3PBC) Asphalt Mixture Fatigue Test System developed a new test method called the "three-point bending cylinder (3PBC) test." The primary benefit of this test method is that sample preparation and testing times are shorter than typica...

Bridges can have deep subsurface concrete damage and it can be difficult to measure and analyze the damage. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's NCHRP IDEA Final Report for Project 205-A: Bio-Inspired "MRI" of Concrete Bridges using Waveform-Based Ultrasonic Tomography details the development of an innovative measurement and data processing approach of waveform-based ultrasonic tomography to generate tomographic images of sub-surface defects in structural concrete using a s...

Prioritized improving pedestrian facility inventory, particularly concerning crosswalks and sidewalks, is an important action item in state departments of transportation Strategic Highway Safety Plans. However, such information is not widely available at the state level. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Highway IDEA Final Report 209: An Automated System for Pedestrian Facility Data Collection from Aerial Images details the development of an innovative system using convo...

A disproportionally high number of serious vehicle crashes (25% of fatal crashes) occur on horizontal curves, even though curves represent only a fraction of the roadway network (5% of U.S. highway miles). The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's An Enhanced Network-Level Curve Safety Assessment and Monitoring Using Mobile Devices seeks to develop an enhanced method to collect and extract in-service curve characteristics, acquire Ball Bank Indicator (BBI) values using s...

The use of sealers to prevent corrosion damage and extend the life of bridge decks is increasingly implemented as a bridge preservation tool to help ensure the state of good repair for bridge decks. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Bridge Deck Sealer Monitor: Thermal Sealcheck presents a new nondestructive technology to evaluate the effectiveness of sealers applied to concrete bridge decks. The concept uses time-lapse thermography to measure water absorption/eva...

To operate existing roadways and construct new ones, Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies must meet increasingly stringent regulations for stormwater runoff. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Reducing Stormwater Runoff with Biochar Addition to Roadway Soils proposes an entirely new green technology is proposed that has the potential to dramatically reduce stormwater runoff volume on roadways.

Crash cushions are intended to shield motorists from a stiff, hazardous fixed object that cannot be removed and where space is limited leading up to the hazard. Most crash cushions are designed to stop a pickup truck in under 20 feet, from a speed in excess of 60 mph. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's SaferCushion  details the development of a new type of crash cushion.

Structural supports of signs, luminaires, and traffic signals are an integral part of the transportation system. The promising results in this analysis present an opportunity to address the longstanding issue of fatigue-related failures in traffic signal structures. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Development of a Novel Aerodynamic Solution to Mitigate Large Vibrations in Traffic Signal Structures considers “aerodynamic damping” as an active means to mitigate t...