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Editor's
Notes
We turn over the Editor's Notes column for this issue
to Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle.
In Search of a "Quality" Highway
Today's consumers demand and receive better quality
goods and services than ever before. In fact, the very word "quality"
has become a mantra in many a corporate boardroom.
We in government highway agencies are not immune to
this insistence on excellence. Once, citizens just waited for their highway
department to develop new solutions to traffic problems. Now, they are
actively involved with those decisions from the onset. These days, a public
hearing is more often a case of "public talking," with those of us in
government doing a lot more of the "hearing." Our customers want roads
that are less costly, safer, better built, and longer lasting. In short,
they want quality highways.
This public demand for quality is exemplified in a national
survey of drivers completed four years ago. When asked what their key
concerns were, those drivers said their No. 1 issue at that time was pavement
conditions. They rated that item higher than the environment; higher than
traffic flow; and yes, even higher than safety.
"It is clear that the [public's] top priority for improving
the nation's highways is to focus on the quality of the roadway surface.
This is the factor that will most significantly increase public satisfaction
with the highway system," reported the National Highway User Survey,
completed for the National Quality Initiative by Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
in 1995.
There's that term again -- quality. But how, exactly,
does one get a quality highway? With the higher standards demanded by
today's consumer, it cannot mean merely filling in potholes. A quality
highway is not just without cracks or bumps; it must be smooth, quiet,
and last longer.
To respond to that call for quality, the Federal Highway
Administration began working with other groups in the highway industry
to "raise the bar" on highway quality. Largely through the efforts of
state and local groups, construction contractors are finding innovative
ways of getting smoother road surfaces.
For example, several state transportation departments
have developed programs that pay incentives to the contractor for building
roadways to higher standards of smoothness. The smoother the final pavement,
the greater the incentive. These incentives have stimulated contractors
to be more aggressive in finding equipment and techniques that help them
to meet the higher standards.
Highway contractors have been so successful in building
smoother pavements that more precise and repeatable smoothness-measuring
equipment and procedures were developed.
We've also discovered that the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix
it" isn't very appropriate for highway maintenance. Done at the right
time, minor treatments can extend the life of a pavement significantly
and at a fraction of the cost and disruption of waiting to rebuild the
road when it's "broke."
Surprisingly, these "new generation" highways are no more costly than
their rougher predecessors because contractors typically anticipate the
incentives and reduce their initial construction bids. Studies have shown
that roads that start out smoother stay that way longer, resulting in
a cheaper road in the long run and one that causes less damage to the
cars and trucks that ride over them. This also reduces construction delays
because the roads are rebuilt less frequently.
Others in the highway-building industry, hearing about these innovations
and wanting to provide such highways for their customers, have requested
details. So we've developed some "how-to" kits that include videotapes,
brochures, and other materials. The demand for these "toolkits" has been
overwhelming.
The public's demand for a better product is resulting in highways that
are better in every way -- true "quality" highways.
Kenneth R. Wykle
Federal Highway Administrator
Editor's note: See "Pavement Preservation: Preserving the Investment
in our Highways" in this issue.
Articles & Departments
The
Customer Driven Development of Human Factors Design Guidelines
A More
Precise Sense of Where We Are
The 1999
National Quality Initiative (NQI) Achievement Awards
DOT
Vision for Transportation Research
Recent
Developments in Federal Project Finance
Western
Federal Lands Highway Division Responds to Northwest Emergencies
Pavement
Preservation: Preserving Our Investment in Highways
MUTCD
- The Millenium Edition
Developing
NDE Technologies for Infrastructure Assessment
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