Featured Articles

This section provides a list of published articles relating to Federal Lands Highway.
Forty Years of the Federal Lands Highway Program by Doug Hecox and Scott Johnson Connecting the world to America s most beautiful places. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
Relationship Building and How to Leverage Expertise Across Agencies The common bond of these partnerships is the mission to serve American travelers by providing the world s premier and safest transportation network. Like on a seesaw, and as with any relationship, there is a time when either party must pivot to find a balance. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
Improving visitor experience on Scenic Loop Drive, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada Delivery of transportation safety improvements requires delicate balance with the sensitive environmental conditions in this area of the Mojave Desert, known as a top tourist destination. Read the article in Roads & Bridges
Replacing a Key Bridge on the Glenn Highway Corridor in Alaska To accomplish the daunting task of building a new bridge during the weather constraints found in Alaska, FLH worked an extremely aggressive schedule, relying on exceptional planning skills and leadership to achieve the rapid completion date. See how we outraced the approaching winter
McFee Tunnel on the Spruce Railroad Trail in Port Angeles, Washington In 1918, during World War I, the U.S. Army Signal Corp built the Spruce Railroad Trail to haul Sitka Spruce to mills for the manufacture of airplanes. Nearly 70 years after blasting the tunnel mouth shut in the early 1950s, the FLH reopened this tunnel for the enjoyment of the public. Read about how we resurrected this tunnel from its past
A New Bridge for Manning Crevice In 1934, members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Manning Crevice Bridge as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt s efforts to create jobs during the Great Depression. Fast forward 83 years. FLH is nearing completion on the construction of a safer and stronger replacement bridge which will provide vital access to tourism and recreation in the Riggins, Idaho area. Read about the unique challenges and opportunities of this project
Wondrous Rides Through Nature's Wonders 2016 marked the 100-year long partnership between the National Park Service and FHWA. This partnership has created highway landmarks throughout the country. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
The Road Is a Park, and the Park Is a Road The Natchez Trace Parkway is one of the few roadways that is itself a national park, and its northern end starts off with a bang the award-winning Double Arch Bridge. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
Blue-tiful: Remote, Mountainous Location Recycles in Place with Great Results The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic highway set high in the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. Unlike a standard highway that is optimized to carry the maximum number of vehicles from here to there, directly as possible and at high speeds, the Parkway was designed to showcase the beauty of its surroundings. Read the Roads & Bridges Magazine article
Gila River Indian Community Bridge Replacement The purpose of the project was to replace the existing Sacaton Road (Route 7) Bridge over the Gila River to improve roadway safety and hydraulic capacity. The previous 140-ft-long bridge was built in 1961 with a cast-in-place concrete slab on precast concrete rectangular beams, over a mostly dry river channel... Read the article in Aspire Magazine
Introducing the Latest Edition of the FP-14 Every few years, FHWA's Office of Federal Lands Highway updates the specs for building roads and bridges to access Federal and tribal lands. Here's the news. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
Davey's Bridge Recognized for Innovative Design Davey's Bridge is located on the Banks-Lowman Highway, part of the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway in Boise County, Idaho. It was recognized in the fall 2014 issue of Aspire, The Concrete Bridge Magazine. Read the full article
Engineering Scenic Highways This spotlight on the work of FHWA's Office of Federal Lands Highway illustrates the challenges and rewards of providing safe and innovative roadways on public lands. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
Road with a View: The Blue Ridge Parkway The view from Craggy Gardens (left) is one of many vistas that the parkway made accessible to the public. Where rock cuts were necessary, crews typically reduced the gradient of the back slope for a more natural contour. Read the Civil Engineering Magazine article
A Crowning Achievement The Oregon DOT and its partners used innovative solutions to protect and restore a historic viaduct. Read the article in Public Roads Magazine
FLH Highlighted in Aspire Magazine Over the years, FLH has often been tasked with building bridges in sensitive sites where aesthetic and environmental considerations greatly influence the choice of structure type and construction method... Read the article in Aspire Magazine
Foothills Parkway Bridge Receives 2014 PCI Award Located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee, Bridge 2 of the Foothills Parkway has received the 2014 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Award for Best Bridge with Span Over 150 Feet. Read more
Lamar River Bridge Featured in Magazine Articles The New Lamar River Bridge in Yellowstone National Park was selected as one of the winners of the 2014 International Bridge Conference Photographic Contest Bridges of the U.S. Federal Lands. The bridge is a three-span 420 foot long, haunched steel plate girder. Read the full article