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From page 38... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 38 CHAPTER 4: IN-DEPTH CASE STUDY ANALYSIS Introduction This chapter describes in detail the seven case studies that were selected in Task 3. Each case study represents a "whole" study, in which facts were gathered from various sources during the entire lifecycle of the transportation research project. Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 39 Case Study 1: Adaptive Control Software (ACS) Lite Overview The ACS project, especially the development of ACS Lite, shows how a research project can overcome barriers and reach deployment. Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 40 "ACS Lite is a wonderful example of working with industry to put a new technology into practice." According to Turner-Fairbank research, poor signal timing accounted for 5-30 percent of arterial congestion. Using ACS, traffic-signal timing is updated continually as real time traffic conditions change throughout the day, and in response to special circumstances. Read the entire page →
From page 41... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 41 major industry players: they could have the ACS-Lite software free, and FHWA would pay half of the development costs for the ‘bridging' software (called an application program interface) for each participating manufacturer. Read the entire page →
From page 42... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 42 is part of a larger CLS maintained by the state of Texas. The system was last retimed in the fall of 2004. Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 43 Ill-83 Bridge, Lake Villa, Illinois Case Study 2: Northwestern University New Bridge Steel Overview and Background In October of 2006, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) completed a highway bridge carrying State Route 83 over a Canadian National Railroad line near Lake Villa, Illinois. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 44 toughness -- but too much strength is not desirable because reducing plate size to benefit from higher strength can lead to structures that were too light and flexible. They achieved the properties of weldability, toughness, and atmospheric corrosion resistance by adjusting the composition of the steel, particularly by lowering carbon content and adding copper and nickel. Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 45 and contributed to the underlying science, and he embraced the advantages that this new steel promised to bring. He was also excited about innovation in materials. Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 46 have NUCu classified as a standard structural steel, and it was subsequently classified as ASTM A 710 Grade B Engineers in the district office where the target bridge was located also had a role in the decision, as did engineers in the IDOT Bureau of Bridges The consulting headquarters office. Read the entire page →
From page 47... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 47 bridges."16 Other steels can be used in bridges, but A709 is the standard ASTM classification, and designers prefer to specify steel from this classification. Currently, NUCu steel is classified as A710 Grade B structural steel,17 Communications Channels to Support Implementation which makes it eligible for use in bridges. Read the entire page →
From page 48... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 48  Feasibility – the fact that this new material could be produced, fabricated and installed in the field.  Proof of performance – that the new steel provided both desired and promised improvements in performance. Read the entire page →
From page 49... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 49 Case Study 3: California Seismic Bridge Retrofit Program Overview and Background The story of Caltrans' seismic retrofit research might be simply described as one minute of research-confirming events (earthquakes) that followed years of investigation, testing and deployment. Read the entire page →
From page 50... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 50 specifications and confinement details performed well. Pre-1971 column designs were found to be inadequate. Read the entire page →
From page 51... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 51 Figure 4-1: Relationship Between Earthquakes and Responses Note: Earthquakes represent very high levels of activity for a short time. The retrofit program tailed off before the 1986 Whittier quake, increased after the 1989 quake and declined only slightly through the 1990s. Read the entire page →
From page 52... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 52 research program and targeting substantial investments in research and testing, but also provided the basis for decision maker actions. This represented a tremendous amount of "immediate leveraging" of expertise that had been accumulated over many years. Read the entire page →
From page 53... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 53 Allocating Funds to Seismic Retrofit and New Capacity Projects After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, the Legislature enacted a statute declaring seismic retrofit to be the highest priority use for state highway funds. At the same time, they enacted a temporary 1/4-cent sales tax for seismic retrofit work that raised about $700 million. Read the entire page →
From page 54... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 54 Examples included:  Conducting meetings between researchers and Caltrans staff immediately after the Loma Prieta quake to outline short-term research efforts to structurally test a remaining portion of the Cypress (I-880) structure. Read the entire page →
From page 55... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 55 Figure 4-2: Expertise Differences that Define Communication Needs High Low Legislative & Executive Decision Makers Earthquake Researchers Profession Make decisions across a range of subjects or topics Requires expertise in a specific topic Emphasis of Skill Set Required by Profession Read the entire page →
From page 56... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 56 Figure 4-3 is a good example of this approach. The diagram was an initial depiction of the range of variation in the data related to ground motion forces on structures at different distances from the earthquake epicenter. Read the entire page →
From page 57... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 57 Outcomes The seismic retrofit research program has been cyclical but much higher since the early 1990s, with earthquake events providing both the confirmation that past changes were effective and providing impetus and direction to the next round of improvements. Caltrans researchers and designers as well as University researchers have obtained funding from a variety of sources, pursued a number of collaborative research arrangements and assisted in changing resource allocations to address substantial construction needs. Read the entire page →
From page 58... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 58  Right research – Must be credible and at least some of the products must lead to implementation. A combination of "sizzle" or "wow factor" projects and "work" projects is appropriate. Read the entire page →
From page 59... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 59 Bibliography 1996 State Hazard Map. http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/earthquake_engineering/seismology/seismicmap.html, accessed September 24, 2007. Read the entire page →
From page 60... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 60 Case Study 4: Virginia Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bridge Deck Overview In 2006, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) employed an innovative material, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) Read the entire page →
From page 61... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 61 Of these aging structures, bridge deck rehabilitation is the most prevalent issue in need of attention. Almost half of the 600,000 bridges nationwide were built before 1940. Read the entire page →
From page 62... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 62 "Once again, this is a great example of VDOT's teamwork and our engineering expertise that is recognized nationally, as well as our collaborative work with Virginia Tech." Research Council through years of planning, research and testing. In 1997, engineers at Virginia Tech and VTRC, in collaboration with FRP manufacturer Strongwell Corporation, began researching and testing the usability of a fiber-reinforced polymer material for highway structures. Read the entire page →
From page 63... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 63 "These federal grants reflect on the great reputation of the Virginia Transportation Research Council and the cooperative relationship among VDOT's Structure and Bridge Division, FHWA and the Council." success of the project and illustrates the respect VDOT has for the Research Council's reputation and the trust it holds for VTRC's research and engineering skills. In this case, the Hawthorne Street Bridge was selected as the perfect rehabilitation candidate for using the newly designed FRP deck. Read the entire page →
From page 64... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 64 "VDOT's corporate tenets recognize RESEARCH as one of its core businesses." a result, both teams needed to be on the same page and organize a timeline that worked for both teams. Additionally, interjecting a new experimental technology into the hands of general contractors and construction engineers who are unfamiliar with the new material can present different challenges. Read the entire page →
From page 65... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 65 officials and members of the historic society, as well as the general public. By increasing awareness of this innovative restoration project, the Research Council brought the project's accomplishments to attention of both the public and the government. Read the entire page →
From page 66... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 66 Case Study 5: Missouri Statewide Installation of Median Cable Barriers Overview and Background Research using the state's database of crash sites and crash types led to the conclusion that cross-median crashes were a major source of fatalities and severe injuries in the state of Missouri. Because these types of crashes usually involve high speeds, headon crashes and multiple fatalities they are highly visible to the public. Read the entire page →
From page 67... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 67 Missouri has over 32,000 miles of road maintained at the state DOT level. Approximately 5,000 miles are major roads, which account for 80percent of miles traveled and 45 percent of fatalities. Read the entire page →
From page 68... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 68 With the significant number of cable repairs routinely required, MoDOT's maintenance personnel had to be convinced that more barrier cable was a good idea even though it would add to the already heavy maintenance workload and strained budget. Open communication with MoDOT's maintenance leadership acknowledged the issues of increased costs to maintain the cable barriers, but also that doing so was worth the effort through reduced fatalities. Read the entire page →
From page 69... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 69 and non-interstate, to determine the benefit of adding cable barriers in additional locations. Communication must occur in a variety of ways. Read the entire page →
From page 70... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 70 presentation, and 70 percent for questions and discussion.  Keep in mind that senior management's backgrounds will lead to differences in areas of interest and concerns. Read the entire page →
From page 71... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 71 Bibliography Chandler, Brian, "Eliminating Cross-Median Fatalities: Statewide Installation of Median Cable Barrier in Missouri." Research Pays Off, TR News 248 January – February 2007, p29 – 31. Murphy, Kevin, "Missouri Strings Cable Barriers Along I-70 Median," The Kansas City Star, August 26, 2005. Read the entire page →
From page 72... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 72 Case Study 6: Oregon Mileage Fee Concept and Road User Fee Pilot Program Overview and Background In 2001, the Oregon legislature began its legislative session with an educational hearing on future fuel-efficient vehicles (i.e., hybrids, national gas, biofuel, etc.) The chairman of the house committee on transportation, Bruce Starr, left that session concerned that the fuel tax might become a declining revenue source for Oregon's road system. Read the entire page →
From page 73... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 73 Facts about the Case The mission of the Task Force was to develop a revenue-collection design funded through user pay methods, acceptable and visible to the public, that ensured a flow of revenue sufficient to annually maintain, preserve, and improve Oregon's state, county, and city highway and road system. Conceptual Phase Representing the Task Force and ODOT, Mr. Read the entire page →
From page 74... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 74 odometer for mileage data collection; radio frequency technology for summary mileage data transmission; and related technology to support a mileage fee. The second step involved using the same technology for largescale testing of the behavioral elements of a time-of-day component to a mileage fee (congestion pricing) Read the entire page →
From page 75... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 75 Challenges Encountered The Road User Fee Task Force was a small, but high profile program. Read the entire page →
From page 76... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 76 legislative panels. Presentations to the public and other groups started with a simple PowerPoint presentation about the Task Force. Read the entire page →
From page 77... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 77  Teach potential allies. There were natural allies for their approach. Read the entire page →
From page 78... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 78 Case Study 7: Legislative Advocacy for Programmatic Research - The National Cooperative Freight Research Program Overview and Background The National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) was mandated in the most recent surface transportation authorization act, Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) Read the entire page →
From page 79... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 79 research results often lead to more money for projects, investments that can improve capacity, increase reliability, reduce costs, etc. Research problem statements were generated by TRB freight committees, but these did not produce financial support for research, and there was some belief that these statements were too strongly focused on highway issues. Read the entire page →
From page 80... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 80 Associations advocated the NCFRP as a part of their separate agendas for the reauthorization bill that became SAFETEA-LU.26 While FSC provided general support for the freight cooperative research program, formally it only advocated one specific research area, the annual collection of freight origindestination data to support research and policy studies. To secure support for NCFRP, it was not only necessary to convince the Congress; prior to that it was essential to get the backing of the advocacy groups themselves. Read the entire page →
From page 81... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 81 As one AASHTO staffer put it: "...you can't start this (advocacy) in the 11th hour - that gets peoples' [negative] Read the entire page →
From page 82... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 82 ensured by the requirement for a program Oversight Committee representing both private and public sector interest.29 A Champion for Freight Research Its relatively modest investment level -- about 0.04 percent of the SAFETEA-LU package -- meant that NCFRP was not a major threat to other favored projects. AASHTO, alone and in conjunction with the Freight Stakeholders Coalition, appears to have been the ultimate champion for the NCFRP. Read the entire page →
From page 83... ... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 83 Persons Interviewed Christina Casgar (at the time Federal Highway Administration, currently, Goods Movement policy Manager, San Diego Council of Governments) , telephone interview, July 6, 2007 and follow-up in August 2007. Read the entire page →

From page 38...

... NCHRP 20-78: Final Report Page 38 CHAPTER 4: IN-DEPTH CASE STUDY ANALYSIS Introduction This chapter describes in detail the seven case studies that were selected in Task 3. Each case study represents a "whole" study, in which facts were gathered from various sources during the entire lifecycle of the transportation research project.