Public Roads - Spring 2021

Download Public Roads Spring-2021.pdf (12.8MB)

A Modern Tool for Noise Analysis

Highway traffic creates noise—and sometimes the negative impacts of noise in an area need to be mitigated or minimized. To do so, a project team must first conduct a highway traffic noise analysis to determine whether noise impacts exist and to consider and design potential mitigation measures—noise abatement—to reduce those impacts. Designing noise abatement requires understanding basic acoustic principles, regulatory requirements, public expectations, and some engineering considerations.

Looking to The Sky for Geotechnical Data

States are using data from unmanned aerial systems to help predict geological threats, prioritize mitigation efforts, and aid recovery after an event occurs—with reduced costs and improved safety.

Transportation projects use unmanned aerial systems (UAS)—often referred to as drones—for many purposes, such as aerial photography, reconnaissance, surveying, structural inspection, and monitoring for documentation, safety, and security. The benefits of using UAS include improved access, better quality, increased safety, greater speed, and improved efficiency.

Communication Product Updates

Below are brief descriptions of communications products recently developed by the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Research, Development, and Technology. All of the reports are or will soon be available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies of the communications products are available from FHWA's Research and Technology (R&T) Product Distribution Center (PDC).

Compiled by Lisa A. Shuler of FHWA's Office of Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management

Magnetic Flux Methods: Detecting Corrosion in Post-Tensioned Bridges

FHWA developed and evaluated a proof-of-concept prototype for the magnetic-based, nondestructive evaluation technique called the return flux method. Laboratory test results prove encouraging in identifying corrosion damage in post-tensioned bridges.

May/June 2010 508 Captions

Line Graph. This graph compares temperature data recorded at the Maxwell Street Market. The graph is titled "Temperature Data from Maxwell Street Market." The x-axis shows biweekly dates from August 2008-February 2009. The y-axis measures temperature in degrees Fahrenheit from -20 to 100, in...

March/April 508 Captions

This rectangular relief map, about twice as long horizontally (east-west) as it is vertical (north-south), calls out the major features of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. The Colorado River, in blue, appears in a crescent shape about one-third of the way from the right-hand side of the map,...

Centerline Rumble Strip Study Test Sites

Summary of Fatal/Serious Injury Crashes

Bicyclist- and Pedestrian-Only Roundabouts 508 Caption

Bicyclist- and Pedestrian-Only Roundabouts

Diagram. This diagram depicts a bicycle-pedestrian roundabout on the Minneapolis trail system. A circle is drawn with a thin white rim around it, labeled pedestrian path, which goes around the...