TRB is cosponsoring the 1st International Symposium on Freeway Operations on June 4-7, 2006, in Athens, Greece.  The objectives of the symposium are to identify the state of the practice in freeway and tollway operations, identify innovative strategies and techniques to improve the proactive management and control of traffic, and explore the potential benefits of using managed lane, tolling/pricing, and other strategies to improve traffic operation on congested freeways.  [More]

The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Oversight Committee (AOC) met on January 30 and 31 to select studies for the ACRP's first research agenda.  An announcement on the projects selected is now available.  The AOC considered 118 candidates for ACRP funding and selected 24 projects for the fiscal year 2005-2006 program.  Detailed project statements, formally soliciting proposals for most of these projects, are expected to be released starting in June 2006.  ACRP is an applied contract research program managed by TRB that develops near-term, practical solutions to airport problems.  [More]

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) of the National Academies has elected 76 new members and nine foreign associates. The newly elected members include Adrian R. Chamberlain, Manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Denver, Colorado (for innovations in the mobility, aesthetic, safety, and environmental aspects of transportation systems); Robert A. Dalrymple, Willard and Lillian Hackerman Professor of Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (for contributions to theories and their application to coastal and ocean engineering); John M. Kulicki, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chief Engineer, Modjeski and Masters Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (for the design of major bridges and for leadership in the development of load and resistance factor design specifications); and Surendra P. Shah, Walter P. Murphy Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Center for Advanced Cement-Based Materials, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (for work on advanced cement-based materials and for promoting interdisciplinary research and education on concrete materials).   [More]

The National Academies are accepting nominations for the 2006 National Academies Communication Awards, which recognize excellence in reporting and communicating science, engineering, and medicine to the public during 2005. Three $20,000 prizes will be awarded to a book author; print or online journalist; and a producer or reporter in television or radio. Nominations must be completed online no later than April 7, 2006.  [More]

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), is developing a series of tests to certify transit bus mechanics.  Funding for the development of the tests is being provided by the Transit Cooperative Research Program.  The tests will be similar to those offered by ASE for the automotive, medium- and heavy-duty truck, and school bus industries.  The first tests will be offered on May 9, 2006, and will focus on brakes and electrical/electronic systems.  These are the first of eleven subject areas that have been identified for certification testing under the program.  Registration for the initial Transit Bus Mechanic certification testing is taking place until March 31, 2006.  [More]

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Web-Only Document 32: Elements Needed to Create High-Ridership Transit Systems: Interim Guidebook examines types of actions, initiatives, and special projects that offer the potential to improve transit ridership and provides examples of their effective use and impacts.  The report is designed to assist transit managers and their staff, policymakers, and key regional stakeholders by describing strategies that have proven successful at producing ridership increases.  [More]

Under the aegis of Division on Earth and Life Studies’ (DELS’) Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board and the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the Committee on Transportation of Radioactive Waste has released a report that examines the risks and identifies key current and future technical and societal concerns for the transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.  The report also assesses how the U.S. Department of Energy currently selects routes for shipping spent fuel from research reactors between its facilities in the United States.  DELS and TRB are divisions of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.  A press release on the report is also available.  [More]

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Results Digest 72: Guidelines for an Alternative Transit Switch Design includes design guidelines for a new transit switch based partially on longer-lasting, better-performing switches that were developed in the early 20th century, some of which are still in operation today.  The design guidelines described in the report build on technical analyses conducted and published as TCRP Report 71, Volume 2: Transit Switch Design Analysis (Phase I).  [More]

The latest issue of Ignition, a quarterly news magazine from TRB's Special Programs Division, examines innovations sponsored by the IDEA program on electric motor technology for railroad locomotives, a formula for reinforcing steel, railroad at grade crossing safety, low-temperature limits of asphalt binders, and video and data recorders for vehicles.  In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Interstate System, this issue also explores highway research needs for the next 50 years.  [More]

TRB’s Transportation Research Circular E-C092, Maintenance and Operations of Transportation Facilities: 2005 Strategic Vision explores the major trends that affect maintenance; cites current and emerging innovations in management systems, technology, and intelligent transportation systems; and examines some of the key maintenance challenges of this century.  [More]

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the online version of its operations research guide.  The guide includes a listing of more than 400 documents, websites, training courses, software tools, and points of contact related to intelligent transportation systems.  [More]

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of its periodic newsletter that provides updates on new products and research findings emerging from studies conducted as part of the Concrete Pavement Technology Program.  [More]

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration and a number of other federal agencies have released a report that encourages federal, state, tribal, and local partners involved in infrastructure planning, design, review, and construction to use flexibility in regulatory processes. Specifically, Eco-Logical puts forth a conceptual groundwork for integrating plans across agency boundaries, and endorses ecosystem-based mitigation - a method of mitigating infrastructure impacts that cannot be avoided.  In addition, Eco-Logical recommends an eight-step, nonprescriptive process that can serve as a starting point from which ecosystem-based mitigation decisions can be considered and made.  The Eco-Logical authors include representatives from the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Highway Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority, and several state departments of transportation (DOTs) including North Carolina DOT, Vermont Agency of Transportation, and Washington DOT.  [More]

Articles in this issue of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Research and Technology Transporter magazine include
* FHWA Researchers Study Segway Riders
* Managing Traffic at Special Events
* "Rock and Road" Conference Focuses on Enhancing Scenic Byways
* Neutron Scattering Gathers Important Data on Cement Hydration
* FHWA Promotes Planning and Operations Linkage
* Atlanta Motorists Switch to Clean Air Commuting
* Florida Expands 511 System as Part of ITS Deployment
* Meeting the Transportation Challenges of the 21st Century  [More]

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a report that examines real-time field measurements of bridge scour.  The report describes the results of the second U.S. Geological Survey national field-data collection and analysis study on scour at bridges.  [More]

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a report that is designed to help decision makers determine whether a prefabricated bridge is achievable and effective for a specific bridge location.  [More]

The Federal Transit Administration has released a report that examines the ability of the U.S. bus manufacturing industry to meet the demand for fixed-route transit buses. The report includes background and an overview of the current U.S. transit bus industry as well as trends that affect the bus market.  The report also includes results from surveys, questionnaires, and interviews with nine representative U.S. transit agencies and four U.S. bus manufacturers.  [More]

The latest issue of the Federal Highway Administration's Public Roads magazine includes the following articles:
* The Year of the Interstate
* Financing Megaprojects
* Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility
* The Older Driver Comes of Age
* Mimicking Mother Nature
* Improving Freight Transportation
* Energy Losses in Storm Drain Access Holes  [More]

The U.S. Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA’s) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has released a report that presents a statistical profile of transportation in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.  The report presents transportation information from RITA and BTS, other federal government agencies, and other United States sources.  Through the use of tables, the report includes information about each state’s infrastructure, freight movement, passenger travel, safety, and more.  [More]

The Federal Transit Administration has released a report that explores the feasibility of providing passengers on the Washington State Ferries system continuous high-speed internet access while at the dock and onboard the ferries.  [More]

The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that examines how the offset distance between driveway exits and downstream median openings or signalized intersections impacts traffic operational and safety performance.  The report explores the optimum offset distances to facilitate driver use of right turn followed by a U-turn based on traffic operational performance and safety performance.  [More]

The Arizona Department of Transportation has released a report that explores the methods and expenditures that other states use for overweight vehicle issues and mobile enforcement units.  The report also examines a truck lane design to aid mobile enforcement agents and minimize pavement damage.  [More]

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has released a report that examines performance of previous asphalt overlays over existing concrete and asphalt pavements.  The report provides guidelines to determine the amount and methods of surface preparation prior to asphalt overlay.  [More]

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has released a report that examines the soil stiffness gauge (SSG) and dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) for earthwork property evaluation.  [More]

The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that examines the Federal Highway Administration’s Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program (IBRC) projects that utilized corrosion-resistant reinforcement.  The report summarizes the different alternative reinforcements available for use in bridge construction and highlights representative IBRC projects that have employed corrosion-resistant reinforcements.  [More]

The Arizona Department of Transportation has released a report that examines automated testing techniques and vision screening measures other than standard visual acuity testing for assessing all drivers with particular attention to at-risk drivers and older drivers.  [More]

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has released a report that examines a methodology to help identify the best placement of utility facilities during the development stages for new transportation corridors and during planning for modification of corridors.  [More]

The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that examines the benefits and costs of the Road Ranger service patrol.  [More]

The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) has released the latest issue of its online newsletter.  This issue of Directions includes articles on a new center to address the safety of young drivers, HSRC research to develop improved crash reduction factors, contributions of researchers at HSRC to safety guidelines for U.S. states, and more.  [More]

The National ITS Implementation Research Center, a consortium of George Mason, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech, has released a report that examines a stochastic traffic signal optimization method that consists of a heuristic simulation model and the microscopic simulation model CORSIM.  [More]

The Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) at Iowa State University has released a report that highlights the findings of recently completed research conducted to quantify the impact of weather on traffic flow.  [More]

The Conference of European Directors of Roads, the European Commission, and the European Road Transport Advisory Council are sponsoring the first Transport Research Arena Europe 2006 on June 12-15, 2006, in Gotenborg, Sweden.  The theme of the event is the implementation of the European Research Area on road transport.  The conference is designed to support the alignment of European, national, regional, and private research and development actions on road transport by enhancing the networking and clustering of Europe's research and development capacity based on a shared strategic research agenda.  [More]

The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has released what it describes as a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.  The plan identifies both broad and specific policies, combining recommendations on economy-wide mandatory emissions cuts, technology development, scientific research, energy supply, and adaptation with critical steps that can be taken in key sectors.  [More]

The National Conference of State Legislatures has released a report that examines state crash data, academic studies of risks, and public opinion associated with cell phone use and other driver distraction issues.  The report also includes a summary of state, federal, and international legislation in the area of driver distraction.  The effectiveness of enforcement and driver education activities is also examined, as are legal liability issues.  Appendices to the report include a listing of existing state laws regarding mobile phone use and the use of televisions and video monitors while driving and state legislation on the issues concerned during 2005.  [More]

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has created a website devoted to the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways on its 50th anniversary.  The website contains information about the history of the Eisenhower Interstate System and its effects on the daily lives of Americans today.  [More]

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) has released a framework for state and local agencies to develop and implement pedestrian safety action plans. The guide is designed to help agencies enhance their existing pedestrian safety programs and activities, including identifying safety problems, analyzing information, and selecting optimal solutions. The guide also contains information on how to involve stakeholders, potential sources of funding for implementing projects, and how to evaluate projects.  [More]