Historically, state departments of transportation (DOTs) have employed on-site workforces to execute infrastructure inspection using traditional inspection methods. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 582: Highway Infrastructure Inspection Practices for the Digital Age documents the various technologies - such as unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), embedded and remote sensors, intelligent machines, mobile devices, and new software applications - used by DOTs to inspect h...

While it is recognized to be in the public interest to permit the installation of utility infrastructure in roadway rights-of-way, the practice has contributed to utility-related issues being one of the leading causes of delays for transportation projects. Subsurface utility engineering (SUE) is an approach state departments of transportation (DOTs) have implemented to locate utilities and assist their project-development teams with avoiding these issues. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Pro...

Departments of transportation (DOTs) are increasing employment of asset management strategies in response to federal and state initiatives. Low-cost and effective treatments applied throughout the life of the asset can be employed prior to significant asset degradation, which otherwise would likely require a high-cost reactionary treatment. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 581: Rehabilitation of Culverts and Buried Storm Drain Pipes collects and summarizes rehabilit...

Subsurface drainage is known to pavement professionals to be an important factor affecting pavement performance and preservation of public investment, and numerous studies have emphasized its importance. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 579: Subsurface Drainage Practices in Pavement Design, Construction, and Maintenance documents the current state of practice by departments of transportation (DOTs) for subsurface drainage, which is not always considered as a critica...

Rough bridge surfaces can increase user costs by accumulative wear and tear on vehicles, increase freight costs resulting from damage to goods or packaging, add to potential safety concerns with nonuniform tire loads, decrease the life of a structure by increasing dynamic loads, and reduce user satisfaction. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 580: Practices for Ensuring the Smoothness of Concrete Bridge Decks documents state departments of transportation (DOTs) practi...

In the last decade, new technologies have transformed all stages of highway construction as more industry stakeholders have begun incorporating new technologies into their daily construction activities. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 578: Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Highway Construction documents the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) by state departments of transportation (DOTs) during highway construction, identifies potential benefits and obstacles D...

Load ratings are used in part to allocate federal funding to agencies and to plan for repairing, replacing, and rehabilitating bridges. Therefore, load ratings can affect the movement of goods throughout a region and are vitally important to the continued safe and efficient operation of the highway system. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 571: Load Rating of Bridges and Culverts with Missing or Incomplete As-Built Information gathers and synthesizes information on t...

Roadway lighting is a widely recognized intervention for reducing nighttime crashes and isolated rural intersection lighting appears to be beneficial overall, but predicting the benefits likely at a specific location is very difficult. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 575: Lighting Practices for Isolated Rural Intersections is designed to help provide a foundation for transportation departments considering if, when, and where to install lighting at isolated rural in...

Pavement preservation is broadly acknowledged to provide network-wide benefits such as extending pavement life, enhancing system performance, reducing operation and maintenance costs, and improving safety. However, the performance of each pavement preservation project hinges on many factors. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 565: Maintenance and Surface Preparation Activities Prior to Pavement Preservation Treatments documents the types of maintenance and surface pre...

The nature of the transportation project-level air quality arena is evolving, and there are potentially significant impacts to project schedules and budgets should air quality issues arise. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 576: Practices for Project-Level Analyses for Air Quality compiles and documents information regarding existing practices related to project-level air quality analysis by state departments of transportation (DOTs). Also included as part of the rep...