Long-Term Infrastructure Program Letter Report: January 30, 2019

TRB's Committee for the Review of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Infrastructure R&D Program has issued its annual letter report on FHWA’s Long-Term Infrastructure Program (LTIP). The LTIP includes FHWA’s Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) and Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Programs. In this report, the committee notes important accomplishments of the LTIP during 2018, including the development of a strategic plan for the LTIP, re-initiation of LTPP data collection, and development of an enhanced portal to FHWA’s bridge data, InfoBridge™. The committee’s report stresses the importance of LTPP and LTBP data for developing improved deterioration models that state Departments of Transportation need to meet federal asset management requirements. The committee’s findings and recommendations urge the LTIP to accelerate collection of bridge deck condition data from the field and to begin planning for collection of data on other bridge components, including through accelerated laboratory testing. The committee also recommends actions to strengthen awareness of, and support for, the LTIP moving forward.

The charge to the committee is to “advise the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Infrastructure R&D Program regarding priorities in terms of the technical tools and products that state departments of transportation need to maintain and improve the performance of their pavements, bridges, and other structures.” The committee was established to provide an ongoing review of the LTIP based on annual meetings with FHWA staff and stakeholders.