TFHRC Web Site: What's New?

It's a new year, so let's take a look at what's new on the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) Web site. Since the Web site was redesigned more than a year ago, new content has been added or updated.

How It's Organized

The site is organized into eight main sub categories: What's New, About TFHRC, Our Products, Our Research, Support Services, Library, Periodicals, and Other Resources. Links to these areas are located on the left-hand side navigation bar on the homepage. Many links are listed directly on the homepage to allow quick and easy access to information on the site. On the right-hand side navigation bar on the homepage are links to the eight research areas, our periodicals, contacts, and the TFHRC labs and research sites hosted on the site. These sites are also listed on these pages along with contacts for each area. You will also find a link just below the TFHRC header to Research, Development, and Technology's FY 2002/2003 Performance Plan. This report is available in both HTML and in downloadable PDF formats by visiting www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/general/perfplan/home.cfm.

Visit our What's New page (www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/whatsnew/) to find out what has been added to the site most recently. This page lists everything that has been added or updated on the TFHRC site with direct links

Public Roads, Transporter, Focus, and Innovation Connection are also available online. The new issues are often available online before they come out in print, and are full text — everything in the print edition is available online. The publications are also archived online. Guidelines for submitting articles are also provided on the site for each of the periodicals. Look for those new and archived issues at the following addresses:

• Public Roads — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/index.cfm (1993 to present)
• Transporter — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/transporter/index.cfm (1996 to present)
• Focus — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/focus/index.cfm (1996 to present)

Many published research publications can also be found online. For a complete listing of online publications, refer to the online TFHRC library www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/publications/technical/index.cfm.

How It's New

New sites have also been added to the TFHRC site over the past few months. They include:

• Automated Geotechnical Information and Design System (AGIDS) — www.tfhrc.gov/structur/agids/agids.htm — AGIDS is an effort underway to integrate all of the FHWA research-quality databases, geotechnical databases, and recently developed geotechnical design improvements into a comprehensive system to aid in design. This centrally located system will allow bridge engineers to quickly and economically obtain information to evaluate design alternatives. The site provides information and access to some of these databases.
• Hydraulics and Hydrology — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/labs/hydraulics/ — The Hydraulics and Hydrology site provides information about hydraulics research. The main focus of the site is the Hydraulics Laboratory. This lab provides a means of testing the hydraulic performance of highway drainage structures and stream crossings, solves hydraulic and stream stability problems found on highways, and supports operational engineers with design guidance and tools.
• Asphalt Pavement — This site is just another step the team has taken to fulfill their team objective: "To increase pavement life by developing a better understanding of asphalt pavement systems and by developing better predictive tools for the laboratory and roadway." Information about asphalt pavement research, labs, and publications can be found on this site.
• Centers of Excellence in Finite Element Crash Analysis — www.tfhrc.gov/safety/crash/index.htm — Finite element analysis (FEA) is an extremely efficient and cost-effective tool to assist in the design of safer roadside structures. FEA, which can be used to predict the outcome of a crash test, has the potential to prevent some of the human injuries and premature deaths resulting when motor vehicles run off the road and either rollover or are involved in collisions with a roadside object or feature.

How to Find Things

Can't find the information you are looking for on the site? Use the DOTBOT search engine — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/. This search engine retrieves pages from the National Transportation Library's online resources, which include the FHWA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and many more Web sites. If you are unable to locate a particular report, this search engine can be particularly helpful in locating that report and/or other information related to the topic. If you're still having trouble, feel free to contact me by e-mail.

Betsy Joyce is the webmaster for the Federal Highway Administration's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Va. She is employed by Avalon Integrated Services Corp. of Arlington, Va.