The condition of the transportation infrastructure in the United States is an issue of national importance. State departments of transportation and transit agencies face tough choices as they make decisions about how and when to keep their assets safely open to the public. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program and National Cooperative Highway Research Program's  TCRP Legal Research Digest 57/NCHRP Legal Research Digest 84: Fix It, Sign It or Close It: State of Good Repair in an Era of Budget ...

In the legal system, transportation engineering documents drafted by the transportation industry include manuals, studies, research documents, memoranda, and email. These documents are frequently used by litigants and courts as evidence bearing on the standard of care or duties for transportation agencies sued for alleged negligence in operation of transportation facilities. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 83: Guidelines for Drafting Liability Neutral T...

Utility companies are seeking to locate communications facilities and evolving wireless communication technology and its infrastructure in state right-of-way. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 81: Legal Issues Concerning the Use of Transportation Facilities to Generate Revenue for State DOTs summarizes and provides a legal analysis of the legal issues related to a state DOT’s obligation to provide access to the state right-of-way for communication utilities, and a DOT’s op...

Slope failures pose serious risks for state transportation agencies and federal agencies that own or maintain roads, highways, and/or adjacent property. Many transportation agencies have adopted unstable slope management programs and standards as part of a larger effort to provide an efficient and effective methodology to prevent or control landslides or rockfalls. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 82: Potential Liability Associated with Unstable Slope Management Programs ...

The Federal Highway Administration's “Buy America Act” requires federally funded highway projects to use only steel, iron, and manufactured products produced in the United States. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP LRD 80: Buy America Requirements for Federal Highway Projects summarizes the intent and application of the provision. It also summarizes the procedure that FHWA has implemented for granting waivers and the impact that court interpretation of such waivers has had on t...

For more than 150 years, the Federal False Claims Act has served to prevent false claims for federal government funds. In recent years, a number of state legislatures have enacted state false claims acts modeled after the Federal FCA, to prevent false claims for state government funds. State highway departments and transportation agencies have a continuing need to keep abreast of operating practices and legal elements of specific problems in highway law. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Prog...

State transportation departments appear to have sufficient authority to take public-use property for their highway and other transportation projects. However, there are some kinds of public-use property, such as parks and recreational areas, for which a transportation department may need specific statutory authority or legislative approval and/or must comply with statutory conditions and requirements before taking the public-use property. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Lega...

Federal laws and regulations affect transportation agencies in their business practices, construction of facilities, hiring, and services provided to the public. TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 77: Update of Selected Studies in Transportation Law, Volume 8, Section 1: Civil Rights and Transportation Agencies is designed to help state highway departments and transportation agencies keep abreast of operating practices and legal elements of specific problems...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest (LRD) 76 examines the intersection of transportation law and Indian law as it relates to federal, state, and local transportation agencies. The LRD provides background information on Indians, tribes, and the history of the federal government’s Indian policy and Indian law and explores jurisdiction in Indian country beginning with three basic concepts (inherent tribal sovereignty, Indians and tribal membership, and Indian co...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 75: Legal Requirements for State Departments of Transportation Agency Participation in Conservation Plans describes Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and their relation to wetland mitigation banking, regional planning, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Purchase and sale of wetland banks, habitat, and stream credits may be characterized as real property or personal property transactions. This digest covers me...