The National Highway Institute (NHI)

901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 300

Arlington, VA 22203

www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Software Acquisition Course Receives High Praise

"Best ITS course I've seen."

"One of the few courses that exceeded our expectations."

"It has a direct impact on my job responsibilities."

These are just a few of the comments that previous attendees have said about ITS Software Acquisition (#13619), a new ITS course that started this spring. The two-day class provides a general understanding of the many issues involved in the ITS software acquisition process. This free course is primarily intended for highway and transit state and local personnel, such as project leaders, who will be involved in ITS projects that have a significant software component to them. FHWA Resource Center and division personnel, as well as Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regional ITS specialists who are involved in coordinating these projects would also benefit. This is a unique opportunity to obtain free state-of-the-art training on this topic. The sponsoring organization only needs to arrange for the participants to attend and provide the training facilities (or opt to use the NHI training facilities at the FHWA Learning Center in Arlington, Va.); NHI will provide the instructor, the reference materials, and the student notebooks. For more information, call Tom Humphrey at (202) 366-2211.

New Courses Available

Public Involvement in NEPA and the Transportation Decision-Making Process (#14236) offers information on and practical application of required and public involvement processes and techniques. With the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as a backdrop - in addition to related laws, regulations, and policies - classroom exercises provide participants with the opportunity to design public education, public involvement, advisory, and joint planning activities. In addition, there is a focus on interagency coordination and decision-making forums, as well as implementation and evaluation plans. The tools used include consensus building, conflict resolution, problem solving, and process improvement, among others.

Design Details for PCC Pavements (#13160) provides participants with current guidelines on design and construction details for concrete pavements. The objective of this course is to highlight the importance of approaching, designing, and constructing concrete pavement as a system and not as a series of independent design features. The course explains how to select the proper details to enhance structural performance. Topics covered include: important design details of concrete pavement, including subgrade preparation, base selection, drainage design, thickness design, joint design, and shoulder characteriza-tion.

Please consult the NHI Web site for a course location nearest you, or call course coordinator Lynn Cadarr at (703) 235-0528.

Check every issue of Public Roads for the latest training and educational activities of NHI.