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TFHRC Home > FHWA R&T Now - Home > July 2009 Issue
FHWA R&T Now - July 2009
A news update of research, technology, and development from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
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GENERAL/ADMINSTRATIVE
- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: Overall Traffic Fatalities Reach Record Low
The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that the number of overall traffic fatalities
reported in 2008 hit their lowest level since 1961 and that fatalities in the
first three months of 2009 continue to decrease.
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot9309.htm
- Mendez Confirmed as Federal Highway Administrator
Former Arizona state transportation official Victor Mendez has been
confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Administrator of the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA)."Victor's lengthy record of delivering major
infrastructure projects on time and his enthusiasm for innovative solutions to
complex transportation problems make him an excellent addition to the
team," said Jeff Paniati, FHWA's Executive Director, who had been serving
as Acting Administrator since January 20. "His leadership and experience
are exactly what the nation's highways need right now. "Mendez, the former
director of Arizona's Department of Transportation, will begin on July 20th and
will deal with critical and timely issues in his role as the nation's top
federal highway official, including implementing the American Reinvestment and
Recovery Act, the largest new investment in the nation's infrastructure in
years, and the reauthorization of the surface transportation law, which will
guide federal investment in the nation's network of roads and bridges for years
to come.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/mendez090713.htm
- Annual Study on Nationwide Traffic Congestion Released July '08
The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) distributed the findings of its annual Urban Mobility Report on July 8, 2009. Sponsors of the study, established in 1982, include the University Transportation Center for Mobility, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation and the American Public Transportation Association. The study's findings are intended to provide a collection of easily understood measures to support national and local decision-making
related to understanding the congestion problem and identifying solutions.
http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums
t-lomax@tamu.edu 979-845-9960 or,
d-schrank@tamu.edu 979-845-7323
- Diverging Diamond Interchange - Springfield Missouri
The first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) in the
United States was opened to traffic on June 22, 2009 in Springfield, Missouri. The Missouri Division began promoting the DDI concept
in 2004, and the Missouri DOT took the lead in embracing the concept. The Office
of Research and Development at Turner-Fairbank worked closely with MoDOT, building
a model of a DDI in the Highway Driving Simulator. The DDI design improves both
safety and mobility by minimizing signal phases and more effectively serving
left turning motorists. Additionally, the design eliminates the need for
exclusive left turn lanes on the bridge, significantly reducing project cost.
MoDOT is planning a similar Diverging Diamond project at another location in Springfield, and similar projects are underway in Kansas City and St.
Louis. Following
Missouri's lead, a number of other states are on track to
build Diverging Diamond Interchanges. For additional information about this
project, please contact Felix Gonzalez or Brian Chandler at the FHWA
Missouri Division, 573-636-7104.
ADVANCED RESEARCH
- FHWA Received
Exploratory Advanced Research Proposals; Solicitation Remains Open until September
23
The FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program
received and is reviewing proposals in response to a Broad Agency Announcement
on 12 topics in the four focus areas: nanoscale research, concepts for
integrated highway safety and systems operations, new technologies and advanced
policies for energy and resource conservation systems, and maco, mega-regional
and national scale modeling systems.
June 24, 2009, was the deadline for proposals that could be funded in FY
2009. The solicitation remains open
until September 23, 2009, for awards funded in FY 2010. The EAR Program plans to award around $11.6
million to proposals responding to the solicitation. For more information, please see http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/index.cfm or contact:
terry.halkyard@dot.gov 202-493-3467
david.kuehn@dot.gov 202-493-3414
- Exploratory
Advanced Research at CUTC Meeting
At the recent Council of University Transportation
Centers (CUTC) meeting hosted by the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, David Kuehn, the FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research
(EAR) Program Manager, discussed the role of EAR in preparing for the future of
transportation with three university researchers. The panel consisted of Dr. Avanash
Unnikrishna who has done research on "Intersection Control for Autonomous
Vehicles" at the University of Texas Austin (and will be starting at the
University of West Virginia in the fall); Dr. Zachary C. Grasley, who is
researching "High Performance, Stress Relaxing Cementitious Composites for
Crack Free Pavements and Transportation Structures" at Texas A&M; and Dr.
Steven E. Shladover, who is researching "Development and Evaluation of Selected
Mobility Applications for VII" at University of California, Berkeley. The EAR Program funds exploratory advanced
research across the range of issues that are critical to the transportation
industry. FHWA awarded 17 projects through
the EAR Program based on full and open competitions during FY 2007 and FY 2008
involving 15 different universities and colleges. For more information, see:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/index.cfm
- FHWA Investigates Smart Particles
The FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) program
and Office of Infrastructure R&D hosted a market research meeting on June
18 titled "Smart sensors for hydraulic research." The purpose of the meeting was to discuss
the applicability and feasibility of using smart particle sensors to perform
in-situ hydraulic research, with the focus being on measuring evolving scour
conditions at bridges in real time, and during extreme storm events. Representatives from industry and academia
presented their ideas to the other meeting attendees and government review
panel composed of experts from the US Army Corps of Engineers, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, US Geological Survey, US Naval Academy,
and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The
presentations were followed with productive discussion and brainstorming
sessions, and a follow-up meeting is being planned for this fall. For more information, please see:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=5829f8f336c4d4ce108d583400b0a52e&tab=core&_cview=0
kornel.kerenyi@dot.gov 202-493-3142
- Technology Makes Research Easier
The FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program sponsored a second in an occasional series of workshops
on reference skills for researchers. The
workshop held on Thursday, June 25, 2009, provided information on "Leveraging
the Power of the Internet: Research Scanning Using RSS." Using RSS can save time and effort staying
current with ongoing research. For more
information or suggestions about other topics on research reference skills,
contact:
lance.warren@dot.gov 202-493-3123
- Fact Sheet: Increasing
Highway Throughput Communications and Control Technologies to Improve Traffic
Flow
How can the new
capabilities of intelligent vehicles and highway infrastructure be used to
reduce congestion and effectively increase highway capacity? This question is
the focus of "Development and Evaluation of Selected Mobility Applications
for VII," an Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program project launched
by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2007. Researchers at the
Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) program of the University of California, Berkeley, are conducting the 3-year project in
cooperation with Caltrans.
robert.ferlis@dot.gov 202-493-3268
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/inchwyfact.cfm
- Fact Sheet: Seeing in the Dark Improving Understanding of Driver Visibility Requirements at Night
What visual cues aid drivers the most as they drive at night? Advancing knowledge and understanding of how drivers acquire and act on visual information while driving at night is the goal of "Increased Understanding of Driver Visibility Requirements," an Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program project launched by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2008.
carl.andersen@dot.gov 202-493-3366
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/seedarkear.cfm
INFRASTRUCTURE
- TFHRC Chemistry Laboratory Develops New Method for Detecting REOB in Asphalt
The chemistry laboratory at the Turner Fairbank
Highway Research Center (TFHRC) has developed a method for detecting recycled
engine oil bottoms (REOB) in asphalt.
These are residues from recycling of used engine oils. Their use in asphalt has become
widespread. Conventional analysis might
indicate incorrectly that the asphalt was modified with phosphoric acid. The new method is able to distinguish between
phosphoric acid and REOB.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/asphalt/labs/binder/colorimetric.cfm
terry.arnold@dot.gov 202-493-3305
- Hydrodynamic Forces on Inundated Bridge Decks
When a bridge crossing a waterway is
partially or entirely submerged during a flood event, its deck may be subjected
to significant hydrodynamic loading. The proper estimation of loading exerted
by the flow on the structure is important for design and evaluation of
vulnerability. This report uses a combination of reduced scale experiments and
computer modeling to investigate the forces on inundated bridges.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/structur/pubs/09028/index.htm
kornel.kerenyi@dot.gov 202-493-3142
- Corrosion Resistant Alloys for Reinforced Concrete
Deterioration of concrete bridges because of reinforcing steel corrosion has been recognized for 4-plus decades as a
major technical and economic challenge for the United States. As an option for addressing this
problem, renewed interest has focused on corrosion resistant reinforcements,
stainless steels in particular.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/structur/pubs/09020/index.htm
paul.virmani@dot.gov 202-493-3052
SAFETY
- Techbrief: Safety Evaluation of Lane and Shoulder Width Combinations on Rural,
Two-Lane, Undivided Roads
This document is a technical summary of the Federal Highway Administration report Safety
Evaluation of Lane and Shoulder Width Combinations on Rural, Two-Lane, Undivided Roads (FHWA-HRT-09-031).
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/09032/index.htm
roya.amjadi@dot.gov 202-493-3383
- Safety Evaluation of Lane and Shoulder Width Combinations on Rural, Two-Lane,
Undivided Roads
The goal of this research was to estimate
the safety effectiveness of various lane and shoulder width combinations on
rural, two-lane, undivided roads in the Evaluation of Low-Cost Safety
Improvements Pooled Fund Study (ELCSI-PFS) Phase II. This evaluation intends to
identify optimal lane and shoulder width combinations for fixed total paved
widths as a countermeasure for roadway departure crashes.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/09031/index.htm
roya.amjadi@dot.gov 202-493-3383
- Techbrief: Safety Evaluation of Advance
Street Name Signs
The general conclusion
from this research is that advance street name signs have a minimal effect on
the total number of crashes at signalized intersections.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/09030/index.htm
roya.amjadi@dot.gov 202-493-3383
- Safety Evaluation of Advance
Street Name Signs
The goal of this
research was to evaluate and estimate the safety effectiveness of advance
street name signs at signalized intersections in the Evaluation of Low-Cost
Safety Improvements Pooled Fund Study (ELCSI-PFS), Phase II. This strategy is
intended to reduce the frequency of older driver crashes and crashes related to
way-finding (i.e., rear-end and sideswipe crashes) at signalized intersections.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/09029/index.htm
roya.amjadi@dot.gov 202-493-3383
- Techbrief: Safety Evaluation of Offset
Improvements for Left-Turn Lanes
This document is
a technical summary of the Federal Highway Administration report, Safety
Evaluation of Offset Improvements for Left-Turn Lanes (FHWA-HRT-09-035).
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/09036/index.htm
roya.amjadi@dot.gov 202-493-3383
- Safety Evaluation of Offset Improvements for Left-Turn Lanes
The goal of this research was to evaluate and estimate the safety effectiveness of offset
improvements for left-turn lanes in the Evaluation of Low-Cost Safety
Improvements Pooled Fund Study (ELCSI-PFS) Phase II. This strategy is intended
to reduce the frequency of crashes by providing better visibility for drivers
that are turning left.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/09035/index.htm
roya.amjadi@dot.gov 202-493-3383
OPPORTUNITIES
- Federal Highway Administration to Provide $2 Million to Spur Highway Innovations that Reduce Congestion and
Improve Safety
Two million dollars in Federal funding will be
available to test new technologies that can reduce congestion from construction
and improve safety and quality. The FHWA
will award $2 million through a third solicitation under the Highways for LIFE
Program in addition to the $2,373,000 previously awarded. The funds promote testing and evaluation of
emerging technologies to move them closer to implementation. A solicitation for proposals will be issued in
the latter part of August 2009. Both
for-profit, private companies and industries, and non-profit domestic and international
organizations can apply. FHWA encourages
partnership with State and local governments and academic institutions. For more information on previous awardees,
see:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/tech.cfm
To sign up to receive an email notification when the 2009 solicitation is published, go to:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/partnerships/notify.cfm
RECENT PERIODICALS
- FOCUS Newsletter
– June 2009
This issue includes: A State of the Practice Guide to Prefabricated Bridge Elements and
Systems; Highways for LIFE Extends 2009 Project Solicitation; State Experiences
with FHWA RealCost Software Showcased at Technical Forum; Excellence in Utility
Relocation and Accommodation 2009; FHWA Offers Training Course on Bridge Safety
Inspections; and, Highway Technology Calendar.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/focus/june09/index.htm
lgpope@woodward.com
- FOCUS Newsletter - May 2009
This issue includes:
Bridge Preservation: The Time Is
Now; FHWA Webinar Spotlights Advancements in Bridge Inspection; The
Fundamentals of Life Cycle Cost Analysis; Highway Technology Calendar; Rapid
Repair with Precast Concrete Pavement Technology, and, ARRA Updates Available
Online.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/focus/may09/index.htm
lgpope@woodward.com
- Public Roads - July/August 2009
This issue includes: 1. Safe Routes to School—Making a Big Difference Via Small Steps. 2. The Color of Safety. 3. Reconstructing Snoqualmie Pass. 4. A New Left Turn. 5. Retaining Walls Are Assets Too!
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/09julaug/index.htm
martha.soneira@dot.gov
- Public Roads - May/June 2009
This issue includes: 1. Peering Into the Unknown. 2. A Mix of Innovations Succeeds in Minnesota. 3. Exploring Vehicle Size and Weight Solutions. 4. Using
CRFs to Improve Highway Safety. 5. Traffic Safety Education for Nonengineers.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/09june/index.htm
martha.soneira@dot.gov
- LTPP Newsletter- Spring 2009
This issue includes: LTPP is Moving Forward with the Collection of Traffic Data; LTPP Database Tips; In Brief: Relationships Between Laboratory-Measured and Field-Derived Properties of Pavement Layers; and, New Publications.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp/news.cfm
- Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter - June
2009
This issue includes: Transportation Legislation Introduced; House Passes Climate Change Legislation; Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States Report Released; DOT, HUD, and EPA Announce Partnership for Sustainable Communities; EPA Grants Available to Develop Local and Tribal Government "Climate Showcase Communities"; CCAP Releases Two Climate Change Studies; EPA Grants Waiver to California; Washington Governor Directs State Agencies to Lead on Climate Change; and, 2009 Transportation, Planning, Land Use and Air Quality Conference to Focus on Climate Change.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climatechange/newsletter/ccnews0609.htm
- Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter - May 2009
This issue includes: House Energy and Commerce Committee Approves HRT 2454; EPA and DOT to
Conduct Joint Rulemaking on GHG and CAFÉ Standards; EPA Announces 2008 Clean
Air Excellence Awards; Robert Ritter Named FHWA Sustainable Transport and
Climate Change Team Leader; New York City Climate Change Risk; Impacts of
Climate Change in Washington State; DOE Funding Available for Transportation
Projects that Conserve Energy; and, 2009 Transportation, Planning, Land Use and
Air Quality Conference to focus on Climate Change.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climatechange/newsletter/ccnews0509.htm
Links:
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center: www.tfhrc.gov
Resource Center: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/
National Highway Institute: http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx
Please forward this newsletter to others you think might find it interesting and/or useful.
Suggestions may be submitted to: FHWA_Now@fhwa.dot.gov
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