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...

Partly in response to a 2015 cargo ship sinking, the U.S. Coast Guard has put in place and proceeded to implement a well-conceived organizational and procedural framework for supporting and overseeing “recognized organizations,” particularly those in the Coast Guard’s Alternative Compliance Program. TRB Special Report 343: Strengthening U.S. Coast Guard Oversight and Support of Recognized Organiza...

The November-December 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on collaboration and innovation at the MnROAD Research Facility—is available in hard copy and digital copy for subscribers. For those who are not subscribers, the table of contents is available. Other feature articles in the issue include Airport Cooperative Research Program guidance on best design practices for service animal relie...

In the past 20 years, assessments of 9/11's impacts on supply chains have informed responses and transformed the movement of goods. Some of the key changes and effective practices that have emerged are highlighted in this article, along with the ways in which this tragic event has influenced planning and responses to major disruptions. The article appears in the September-October  2021 issue ...

There appear to be, in this preliminary assessment, no formidable issues that present design and engineering challenges for installing in-cabin wheelchair securement systems in airplanes. While equipping enough airplanes with securement systems to provide meaningful levels of airline service would require substantial effort, the types of cabin modifications required to provide the needed space and...

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...

Over the past 15 years, the nation’s transportation systems have experienced numerous significant disruptions that have resulted in economic loss and loss of human life. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is a recent example of how unexpected events can affect the performance and role of transportation systems. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 293: Deploying ...

Transportation officials recognize that a reliable and sustainable transportation system is needed to fulfill their agency’s mission and goals. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 970: Mainstreaming System Resilience Concepts into Transportation Agencies: A Guide provides transportation officials with a self-assessment tool to assess the current status of ...

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...

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...

The January-February 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on the challenges of truck size and weight—is available in hard copy and digital copy for subscribers. For those who are not subscribers, the table of contents is available. Other feature articles in the issue include "Way of the Future: Airports at the Horizon of 2040 and 2070," by Gaël Le Bris; "Strengthening Post-Hurricane Supply ...

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), in seeking to augment and improve its offshore oil and gas inspection program, should focus less on inspecting all oil platforms and become more outcome-based by focusing on the riskiest entities. These are among the findings in TRB Special Report 338: Modernizing the U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas Inspection Program for Increased Agility and S...

Airport collaborative decision making (ACDM) is a process in which the stakeholders of operations—airport operators, the air traffic control tower staff, flight operators, ground handlers, fixed-base operators, and others—share information to improve policies, planning, real-time coordination, and decisions regarding operations. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 2...

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...

An airport emergency plan (AEP) is meant to support airports in defining roles and responsibilities of stakeholders during emergencies, identifying specific threats that could affect airports, and establishing communication protocols for the airport community. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 115: Practices in Airport Emergency Plans gathers relevant data specific to A...

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...

The availability of transportation influences the ability of individuals to access health care, whether in urban, suburban or rural areas. Those lacking appropriate or available transportation miss health care appointments, resulting in delays in receiving medical interventions that can lead to poorer health outcomes. This in turn contributes to the rising cost of health care. The TRB Transit Coop...

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...

As unmanned systems (UxS) continue to develop and be used by other military services and federal agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard should proceed more aggressively and deliberately in taking advantage of UxS advancements, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Coast Guard should also produce a high-level strategy with critica...

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...

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP WebResource 9: Airport Emergency Plan Development Tool is an online tool that produces airport-specific airport emergency plans (AEPs) in a format consistent with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Advisory Circular 150/5200-31C. The tool provides a user-friendly, sequential, and interactive format to create the plan, and includes introductory...

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...

This report summarizes an event focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response and its impact on the operational and economic recovery of airports. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's Conference Proceedings on the Web 27: Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports for the Return of the Traveling Public includes presentations from airport industry leaders who discussed current and on...