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Along the Road is the place to look for information about current and upcoming activities, developments, trends, and items of general interest to the highway community. This information comes from U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) sources unless otherwise indicated. Your suggestions and input are welcome. Let’s meet along the road.
Work zones are a necessary part of maintaining and upgrading the Nation’s highway systems. They are characterized by deviations from normal traffic patterns, narrowed rights-of-way, construction workers in close proximity to traffic, and work vehicles negotiating busy roads on the way to and from construction areas. This combination of factors presents challenges to worker and driver safety, traffic mobility, and project constructability. To help manage these challenges, agencies are increasingly implementing intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in work zones.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently adopted a new strut-and-tie modeling (STM) specification and is strongly encouraging bridge engineers to adopt the STM method. Unfortunately, guidance in deploying STM technology, and more specifically, guidance that follows the AASHTO LRFD [Load and Resistance Factor Design] Bridge Design Specifications, can be difficult for bridge practitioners to come by. Additionally, very few U.S. colleges include STM in their structural engineering curriculum, further widening the knowledge gap.
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).
FHWA has developed a comprehensive set of programs, strategies, and tools for the management of safer and more efficient temporary traffic control.
Native American and Alaska Native Tribes now have access to a plan with strategies and resources they can use to help save lives.
First-person vision goggles are poised to become the next evolution in drone use for inspecting superstructures.
As the magazine celebrates its anniversary, let’s take a look back at its evolution.
PUBLIC ROADS is celebrating a milestone, and this issue features a look back at the history and evolution of the magazine. See “A Journey to Better Highways: 100 Years of PUBLIC ROADS” on page 24 in this issue.
This is a special year for the Federal Highway Administration’s Resource Center. 2018 marks 20 years of solving transportation challenges through technical assistance and support. First established in October 1998, the Resource Center was initially four independent centers. Later, in 2003, the four centers were integrated into one organization as we know it today.