Implementing the Results of the Second Strategic Highway Research Program Saving Lives, Reducing Congestion, Improving Quality of Life - Special Report 296 (2009) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 13-27
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From page 13... ...
Many of the goods Americans purchase, from clothing and food to furniture and the latest electronic gadgets, have traveled some distance in a truck on the highway system. The system's presence and functioning are generally taken for granted, but doing so is becoming increasingly difficult as highway facilities age and the impacts of exceeded designs and suboptimal operation take their toll.
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From page 14... ...
The magnitude of the infrastructure renewal and congestion problem increases significantly when one considers growth predictions for the next 1 These terms are defined as follows by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA 2004) : "Bridges are considered structurally deficient if significant load carrying elements are found to be in poor or worse condition due to deterioration and/or damage, or the adequacy of the waterway opening provided by the bridge is determined to be extremely insufficient to the point of causing intolerable traffic interruptions" (Chapter 15, at www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2004cpr/chap15c.htm#body)
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From page 15... ...
There will be a need for additional highway capacity in selected locations to move motorists and freight, as well as additional capacity in public transit, freight rail, and waterborne transportation. One estimate indicates that an additional 173,000 lane miles of Interstate highway will be needed by 2035 just to maintain the current level of highway performance (PB Consult et al.
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From page 16... ...
Highway and safety professionals implement safety countermeasures across the spectrum of engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services -- the "4 E's" of safety. While such efforts are producing continuing improvements in vehicle and roadway design, enforcement, and education, safety professionals are increasingly convinced that substantial future advances in highway safety must be based on a better understanding of the most critical and least understood component of the driving system -- the driver.
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From page 17... ...
The methods and results of SHRP 1 implementation, as well as principles derived from that experience, are discussed in Chapter 2. 5 In 1973, the organization's name was changed to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials as state DOTs increasingly assumed broader transportation responsibilities.
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From page 18... ...
For example, Reliability and Capacity both address highway capacity, but from two different perspectives: Reliability focuses on increasing the effective capacity available on existing roadways by managing incidents to improve travel time reliability; Capacity focuses on providing new capacity, where appropriate, in a manner that addresses environmental and community issues. Renewal is also connected to Reliability: while Reliability looks at 7 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Public Law 105-178, Section 5112, "Study of a Future Strategic Highway Research Program."
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From page 19... ...
These focus areas were developed through almost 3 years of study and consultation with a broad array of stakeholders to ensure that the most critical needs would be addressed. As reflected in the overarching theme of providing outstanding customer service for the 21st century, the committee that authored Special Report 260 focused on goals that were meaningful to highway users, such as increasing safety, reducing congestion, minimizing disruption to users when roads are being rehabilitated, and providing new capacity that enhances neighborhoods and avoids environmental harm.
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From page 20... ...
The four research focus areas recommended in Special Report 260 and developed in NCHRP Report 510 were 8 The original research plans are still available at www.trb.org/shrp2/SHRPII_Background.asp.
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From page 21... ...
In March 2006, SHRP 2 was officially inaugurated when funding was made available through a cooperative agreement between FHWA and NRC. The governance structure laid out in the MOU is essentially the threetiered approach outlined in NCHRP Report 510: • An Oversight Committee is responsible for the overall program.
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From page 22... ...
The TCCs, in consultation with FHWA staff and with the contractors and volunteers involved in the development of the original research plan, rescoped the plans for the four focus areas using the following process and criteria: 1. The first step was to review current plans to identify – Relevant research completed or initiated since the original plan was developed, – Projects to be deferred until the implementation phase, – Projects out of scale with the budget or the time frame, – Overlapping projects (within SHRP 2)
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From page 23... ...
Ongoing coordination with other research programs of FHWA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) , NCHRP, state DOTs, universities, and other countries will help avoid unnecessary duplication and leverage the efforts of these other programs.
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As research results are produced, appropriate dissemination mechanisms are considered, including printed or web publication, CD, DVD, or other media. A special series called First Fruits publishes early products and results from projects not yet completed so that outcomes can be made available to potential users as soon as possible.
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From page 25... ...
The committee also invited representatives from key stakeholder groups -- state DOTs, county transportation agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, construction and materials suppliers, engineering design firms, universities, and technology transfer agents -- to comment on the potential usefulness of anticipated SHRP 2 products and methods of implementation and technology transfer preferred by their constituencies. In addition, the committee requested that each TCC dedicate a portion of its spring 2008 meeting to discussing the issues to be addressed in this report -- promising results; potential users; implementation incentives, impediments, costs, and mechanisms -- and to provide the committee with results of their deliberations.
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From page 26... ...
references Abbreviations CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention FHWA Federal Highway Administration TRB Transportation Research Board TTI Texas Transportation Institute Blincoe, L., A
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From page 27... ...
2003. NCHRP Report 510: Summary Report: Interim Planning for a Future Strategic Highway Research Program.
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