Research Heightened Utility and Deployment (rHUD)
The rHUD is a staff-level working committee that supports the Innovation and Research Council's (IRC) Biennial Research Program. The rHUD gathers research and researchers from across Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA) Partners, Federal Lands Highway (FLH) Discipline Champions, and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Research Development and Technology (RD&T). The objective of the rHUD is to define research roadmaps and consequential steps that benefit owners and operators of networks that provide access to and within Public Lands. The rHUD is a venue to share research resources amongst FLMAs so allocated funding is leveraged wisely toward the unique needs of Partners.
The allocation of RD&T funding represents collaborative investment into value-adding projects that align with the mission of the FLMAs and which address problems that FLMAs face, such as transportation networks that are characteristically less traveled than Interstate highways. Agency Research Programs, Laboratories, and Research Libraries are additional sources of information.
The major roles of the rHUD are to:
- Review and provide input on future research proposals to inform IRC decision making
- Assist with the deployment of completed research, when applicable
- Convey subject matter expertise
Research Program
The IRC Research Program webpage has information about the application process, including who is eligible for funding and how to apply or nominate a project. Only nominations from rHUD charter member agencies are eligible.
Federal Research Libraries
The links below lead to various U.S. DOT, FHWA, and FLMA research libraries that are repositories for research activities and reports that relate to transportation and public lands.
- U.S. DOT Research Hub
- Transportation Research Information Database (TRID)
- FHWA
- FLMAs
- Bureau of Land Management Library
- Bureau of Reclamation Library
- Department of the Interior Library
- National Park Service Research Databases and Collections
- Presidio Trust Library
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Library
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Library
- U.S. Forest Service Library
Other Research Programs/Laboratories
These additional FLMA research repositories may include transportation research.
- Bureau of Land Management Scientific Research
- Bureau of Reclamation Research & Development Office
- National Park Service Science and Research
- National Technical Reports Library (NTIS)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Science Applications
- U.S. Forest Service Research & Development
IRC Research Program: Project Profiles
You can review Project Profiles for current IRC Research Projects by clicking on the project name in the list below, organized by research category.
- Risk-Based Asset Management
- Development of Geospatial Tools
- Alternative Approaches to Inspections for Federal Land Management Agencies Roads
- Evaluating the Use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Inspection of In-Service Steel Bridges
- Utilizing Emerging Data-Collecting Bicycle Technology to Efficiently Conduct Trail Condition Assessments
- Automated Geospatial Model-based Decision Support Tool for Assessing Road Culvert Vulnerability
- Flood Potential Model Using Machine Learning
- Low Speed W-Beam Guardrail Terminal
- Bridge Curb-Railing and Approach Treatment for Extremely Low Volume Roads
- Development of Safety and Traffic Data Collection System and Analysis Framework for Federal Lands Highway
- Edge Lane Roads on Public Lands
- Speed Management Safety Strategies at FLMA Gateway Locations
- Targeted Maintenance on Low Volume Roads and Applying FHWA’s Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Framework to Tribal Communities
- Systemic Pedestrian Safety for Rural Tribal Areas
- Ice Roads Establishment and Management Design Manual
- A Guide for Developing, Revising, and Removing ANCSA 17b Easements
Program Contact Information
Brandon Strohl
National Program Manager
brandon.strohl@dot.gov
Last updated: Tuesday, July 29, 2025