The Essential Federal Role in Highway Research and Innovation (2015) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 Highway Research
2 Highway Research
Pages 12-21
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From page 12... ...
Thirty years ago, a driver crossing narrow medians of an Interstate highway had a good chance of avoiding conflict with vehicles in the opposing lanes because of light traffic, but today, chances are high that a collision with another vehicle would result. Experience in Missouri has demonstrated the effectiveness of median cable barriers, which catch and decelerate a vehicle and prevent it from entering the opposing lanes.
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From page 13... ...
to reduce considerably the overall duration of major construction projects without compromising the quality of the final product and allowed private contractors more opportunities to introduce innovative processes and products. A better understanding of the behavior of travelers in general, and highway users in particular, has informed the development of transportation policies and helped make more effective use of the most congested parts of the nation's highway network.
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From page 14... ...
| highway innovations fostered by fhwa Doing More with Less: Stronger Bridge Materials Result in Major Cost Savings When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, 2005, the accompanying storm surge severely damaged the I-10 Twin Span Bridge across Lake Pontchartrain, which links New Orleans and Slidell. Rising water and battering waves shifted a number of the bridge's 255-ton concrete spans off their piers and misaligned others, leaving the 5½-mile structure impassable.
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From page 15... ...
The extended service life will provide savings in life-cycle costs over and above the savings in construction costs. Diverging Diamond Interchange: Quicker, Cheaper, Safer With increasing traffic volumes, congestion has worsened at many highway junctions.
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From page 16... ...
Mindful not only of the high-profile Olympic deadline but also of the public's desire to minimize the period of severe traffic congestion accompanying the construction work, the Utah DOT decided to use a contracting method known as design–build (DB) to expedite the project and speed construction.
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From page 17... ...
In addition, use of a best-value criterion for contract award allows state and local agencies to consider a range of factors, including social and economic impact, safety, public perception, and life-cycle costs. The Utah DOT's I-15 project was one of about 300 transportation projects proposed for DB contracting under SEP-14; located in 32 states, the projects were worth nearly $14 billion.
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From page 18... ...
The knowledge gained from SEP-14 projects has helped institutionalize the DB contracting process, which was rarely used by state DOTs 15 years ago but is now a common approach for saving time on large highway construction projects. Road Pricing Offers Opportunities to Manage Congestion Congestion in many major metropolitan areas of the United States has become a growing source of frustration for motorists, with those traveling at peak times sometimes needing to allow 60 minutes for trips that take only 20 minutes in lighter traffic (TRB 2013)
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From page 19... ...
As part of this program, FHWA entered into agreements with states and cities to explore strategies for managing congestion, including tolling demonstrations. Between 2008 and 2012, approximately $65 million in federal funding supported value pricing projects in 12 states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington)
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From page 20... ...
. Road pricing proposals have frequently raised equity concerns because of the fear that low-income drivers may be priced off the road.
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From page 21... ...
Nonetheless, it appears highly likely that FHWA, if provided with the appropriate resources, can continue to play a vital role in fostering the innovations needed in meeting the challenges of the highway system of the 21st century. The various organizations conducting highway RD&T are described in Chapter 3, and some of the innovations, and FHWA's anticipated role in their development and implementation, are described in Chapter 4.
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