TRB’s Technical Activities Division has an opening for a Senior Program Officer (SPO) to work in the areas of preservation and maintenance of transportation facilities, with an emphasis on highways. Specifically, the SPO will work in the areas of management, personnel, equipment, and materials for preservation and maintenance; preservation and maintenance of structures, bridges, pavements, roadsides, and signs/markings; corrosion; work zone traffic control; and winter maintenance.

Responsibilities include keeping abreast of issues and technical developments affecting the preservation and maintenance areas, providing staff support to TRB standing committees and the Operations and Preservation Group Executive Board; planning and delivering sessions and events for the TRB Annual Meeting program; planning and managing conferences; reviewing and processing reports and papers; traveling to state, local, and federal transportation departments, transportation-related industries, and universities to exchange information about problems and potential solutions and about current and proposed research programs; maintaining ongoing relationships with major TRB sponsors (including the state Departments of Transportation); developing new program areas; serving as liaison to TRB Cooperative Research Programs; responding to inquiries; and performing other related duties as assigned. Supervises work of support and other program staff associated with the projects.

A listing of minimum requirements, full job duties, and application information are available on the National Academies’ Office of Human Resources webpage.

Now that I’ve returned to my office after a week long transportation nerdery (is that a word??) in Washington, DC, I thought of quickly registering a few observations I made during the week.  What I call the TRB Week has three back-to-back transportation events that happen in a week:  it all began with the 3rd Transportation Camp (Jan 12) then followed by the 2013 TRB Annual Meeting (Jan 13-17) and concluded with the Transforming Transportation (Jan 17-18).  As I stated earlier, these are mere observations and shared with the hope that it benefits the attendees heading to DC for future Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting and events planned around that conference.

1. Transportation Camp: My TRB Week began at Transportation Camp here in DC (awesome facility support provided by co-host George Mason University’s Transportation Policy Program) and offered a glimpse of things to come.  This annual unconference is one of my favorite events in the Transportation Calendar for many reasons and continues to remain on the “MUST Attend” category.  As usual, I learned a lot about how much interest there is for biking among the Transportation planning community. Yes! A lot of bike-related sessions.  And the organizers, esp. OpenPlans, did a fantastic job keeping the event pace along.  For some odd reason, there are fewer sessions involving technology, technologists and hacks and more attendance from Transportation planners. My favorite session at this event featured a discussion on safety and security for women riders on Delhi’s Metro rail.
2. 2013 TRB Annual Meeting:  Like in the years before, this conference continues to be at the center stage  for many of us in the Transportation Community and its importance has only continued to grow with more and more participants and innovative programming ideas tested by the organizer (Transportation Research Board).  This event offers a great chance to meet, learn and network with fellow researchers from around the world.  It is also an opportunity for me to catch up with many of my friends and colleagues whom I’ve known for years when they arrive in town.   Coffee breaks, lunch hour and dinner are always booked for me during this conference.  A few notable nuggets from TRB this year:
   • TRB smartphone app –  This was an awesome addition to the slate of conference planning tools, despite having some glitches/difficulties syncing the sesssion information across the platforms (phone/tablet/PC).  I’m hoping this app will be better and much more user-friendly as TRB continues to fine-tune the product in the months ahead.
   • Wifi access –  Internet connectivity during the conference continues to be a big pain but TRB staff noted that relief is on the way when the conference moves from the hotels (Marriott, Omni and Hilton) to the Convention Center in 2015.  This also would render more opportunities to attend sessions that are currently not accessible to many of us due to the logistics involved (riding shuttle buses between hotels is a big deterrent when it comes to planning my sessions at the different hotels though it doesn’t take much time to travel between them).  Thanks to my employer (Citizant, Inc) I was lucky to have had a Verizon MiFi hotspot that allowed me to stay connected to the web at 4G speeds and allowed for a seamless support for my clients throughout the conference.
   • Food – Continues to remain a major sore point as all the eateries around the conference hotels, esp. Marriott, get jammed up quickly with conference goers during lunch times.   The Lobby bar at Marriott continues to be a major attraction for coffee breaks and post-dinner drinks as it can be a great venue to schedule meetings.
   • My first audio podcast interview – Got interviewed for an Audio Podcast by Andy Boenau, a Transportation planner who also does very interesting podcasts with experts engaged in transportation. We discussed various issues randing from social media  in transportation to the evolution of driver-less cars (vehicle automation).   Yet to see the final product and I’m hoping to see it available on Andy Boenau’s website soon (urbanismspeakeasy.com)
   • Social Media – I cannot stress enough the role of Social Media in bringing people together during such large gatherings of people.  The presence of twitter is undeniable as the volume of tweets continue to swell year after year during the conference (and also in the weeks leading up to the conference). Don’t believe me? I recommend you check the hashtag #TRBAM and you will know what I am talking about.   And this shows you how popular Twitter is:  tweet from @TRBofNA today says “3,968 tweets using #TRBAMSun. Jan. 13-Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. In 2012, we had 2,830 during the same#TRBAM timeframe”. One of the major highlights of the TRB Annual Meeting is the impromptu tweetup I planned with a few fellow Twitterti. This tweetup held at Open City Cafe on Jan 16th  was conceived, planned and executed via Twitter.  We had a great turnout (about 85 people) and full sponsorship from @Uber_DC, the best hi-tech Taxi service at your fingertip.
   • Innovative Programming: TRB staff are testing different formats to keep the audience engaged.  One such effort was the Pecha Kucha style presentation, a 1st for TRB, that I happened to be a part of.  Though the event was slated at the tail end of the conference (Yeah. Wednesday evening 7:30PM start), we had a great turn out.  The moderator (and friend Shin Pei-Tsay) did an awesome job mixing up the line up, alternating between U.S. and European presenters to keep up the tempo.  Each presenter had 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide to tell their story, mostly with visuals (and a sprinkling of text).  I couldn’t have imagined a better format for a tired audience who have endured death by powerpoint all through the week.
   • Networking: I cannot stress enough the importance of networking during the TRBAM Week.  Here are a few words of wisdom for the new and young attendees:
     • Stuff a ton of business cards in your coat/jacket when you arrive at TRB.
     •  Always be willing and ready to tell your story. If it is not too much work, I recommend that you prepare a two minute “elevato r pitch” that tells your story. You never know who will be in that hypothetical elevator with you.
     • Looking for a job? Prepare and print a few copies of your resume and keep it ready for sharing with people interested in your story.
     • Attend as many networking events as possible.  Often you will see many Happy Hours, Receptions, Sponsored Events, etc held along the sidelines of the Annual Meeting. These are great venues for meeting and interacting with cool people.
     • Get a lot of sleep if you can can. That’s one of the toughest things to do when you are in town for just a few days catching up with people and attending sessions.
     • And stay connected on Social Media:  Are you the shy one?  No worries. If you are not so social in person, you may want to start by chatting with your target audience on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This virtual interaction should definitely give you the confidence to interact with them in person when you are at the event.  Also, from a civic sense, the conversations in the community will only get better when more people start talking. So, don’t hesitate to send out a tweet or post a note on LinkedIn.
     • Do not hesitate to signup for volunteer opportunities, especially at the TRB Committees. If you are under 25yrs old, the committees would be glad to have you added as a Young Member.  Also, a few notable forums that you should consider checking out during the Annual Meeting – Young Professionals in Transportation (they host an awesome reception every year. MUST ATTEND for us transportation professionals), Young Members Council, Womens Transportation Seminar, etc
3. Transforming Transportation – Right on the heels of TRB Annual Meeting, the World Bank and World Resource Institute’s EMBARQ hold this annual event, Transforming Transportation, at the World Bank building, bringing together experts from around the world to discuss sustainable transportation issues.  This year was a bit more special than previous years with the addition of a Keynote by New York City Mayor Mr. Michael Bloomberg, who has a great interest in supporting sustainable transportation initiatives not just in his city but also across the globe. The amount of knowledge sharing that happens in this event is unparalleled and I always walk away with a ton of new ideas that I could easily implement in my world of transportation and communications.  This event also serves as a reminder for me as a professionals practicing the craft in the Developed world, that there are so many challenges that remain unsolved in transportation domain in the developing world.

There are so many more things I’d like to write about but in the essence of time, I’m going to stop here.  Should I find the time and energy in the next couple of days, I’ll do a follow-up post.  If you think I have missed something or should have addressed a few more points, do not hesitate to drop me a note in the comments sections.  I’ll be happy to respond to your comments/suggestions/etc.  Also, do not hesitate to share this article with your fellow Transportation professionals if it will help prepare them for the next year’s event.

Related articles

• TRB 2013 Annual Meeting News: Revolutionary Change Cometh – Transportation Practitioners See Industry Transformation with Mobility Data from AirSage(TM)

Cross-posted on YPTVoice, the blog for Young Professional in Transportation (YPT)

TRB Annual Meeting Tips from Ananda Palanisamy on Vimeo.

YPT Voice is pleased to present the sixth in a 10-week series of blog posts to introduce YPTers to the TRB Annual Meeting (#TRBAM) and to help them prepare for the annual conference in January 2012.  A complete summary of YPT-recommended TRBAM events will be available before and during the conference.

Dear YPT-ers,

When I was approached by YPT to share some tips for fellow-YPT-ers in terms of maximizing their benefit while attending the upcoming TRB, I chose to take a different route and opt for a video blog post rather than the the usual text-laden post. Thanks to my wife Chithra Jeyaram (@RealTalkies), a skilled film-maker from Univ. of Texas, I managed to get a quick video post done. Let us know what you think.

Oh, please remember this video only offers some random thoughts and by no means should be considered as a comprehensive tool when you are preparing to attend the TRB Annual Meeting. One item left out in this above video is the possibility of running into poor internet connectivity. Though the lobby at conference hotels offer free internet, it is often slow and not secure. The situation gets even worse when you are holed up in many of the conference rooms during the event. So my advice is to you, if possible, is to bring an aircard that can help you connect to the internet when you are attending the event.

Also, one more item I forgot to mention in the above video is the busy lunch/dinner times in the nearby eateries around the conference hotels, esp. around Marriott and Omni Shoreham. Yes! Trust me it gets very busy and sometimes meetings attendees have to skip lunch in order to make it to the next session on time. So, do not hesitate to hop on the metro Redline and get to the adjacent stops – Cleveland Park & Dupont Circle are located on either side of the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro station. There are plenty of eateries around Dupont Circle and Cleveland Park stations and can help save you considerable amount of time, which you otherwise would have spent waiting in line at the eateries around Woodley Park station.

Finally, do check out the TRB Facebook page and follow the daily updates shared on the feed wall. If you find anything interesting or worth sharing, please do not hesitate to share with fellow attendees.

Looking forward to meeting you all at the YPT Reception.

Previous posts in the #TRBAM  2012 series:

• TRB Annual Meeting Session Spotlight – Choose Your Acronym: Credentials for Transportation Professionals
• TRB Annual Meeting Session Spotlight: Young Members Council Meeting
• My First TRB Annual Meeting: Some Tips for Newbs
• Looking Back: TRBAM 2011
• TRB Annual Meeting: What you need to know

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has an opening for a Senior Program Officer with knowledge in highway operations and/or traffic management and experience related to the implementation of innovative technologies or practices within transportation-related agencies or enterprises. Experience in research management is also desired. SHRP 2 is a congressionally authorized research program that addresses critically needed research in highway transportation including highway safety, infrastructure renewal, and congestion relief. This Senior Program Officer will be responsible for managing multiple and/or highly complex research and innovation programs and projects. They will develop program and project strategies, budgets, and resource requirements; and ensure that programs and projects meet their stated objectives. They will also act as a liaison between and coordinate with internal and external groups, organizations, and agencies. A listing of minimum requirements, full job duties, and application information for the opening is available on the National Academies’ Office of Human Resources Web page.

Click here to learn more about the organization and the position.

Early Registration deadline extended to April 30!

This conference brings together more than a dozen TRB Energy and Environmental committees meeting jointly with the AASHTO Standing Committee on the Environment and serves as a platform to develop better transportation solutions through the integration of diverse environmental (human and natural) and transportation perspectives.

Join nationally recognized experts in transportation along with forward-thinking professionals in environmental, planning, community and economic analysis, environmental justice, land use, sustainability, climate change, and transportation fields in a frank and open discussion aimed at sharing experiences, examining the realities of major complex issues, and developing common sense approaches to environmental and transportation challenges.

A preconference workshop on Sunday, June 6, will provide participants with the opportunity to identify critical environmental research needs.

The Conference will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center, a beautiful new facility, centrally located in downtown Raleigh, NC.

Registration

• Early Registration has been extended!
• The conference registration fee of $350 will be in effect until April 30.
• After April 30, the fee will increase to $425.  Conference Participants should register now to save!

Conference Hotel

• A block of rooms will be reserved at the new Raleigh Marriott Hotel City-Center adjacent to the convention center. A conference rate of $92/night plus tax has been established but you must reserve your room by May 8, 2010.

Be a Sponsor

• Overall conference sponsorship provides significant opportunities for relationship building among agency, university, corporate, and non-governmental professionals. Let participants know who you are by getting your information prominently displayed. Find out how you can be a sponsor!

Click here to access the event website for preliminary program and other event related details.

Monday, April 19, 2010 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT

Learn how to conduct transportation research more efficiently and effectively.  TRB will host a free webinar that provides practical tips for using the Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS), Research in Progress (RiP), and Research Needs Statements (RNS) databases.  Panelists will provide an overview of each database, offer tips on how to refine searches, and demonstrate advanced features added to the databases last year.  Learn how to enter records into the RiP Website and find out how agency publications are entered into TRIS.  Panelists from the University of California, Berkeley and the Montana Department of Transportation will discuss ways that they use TRB databases to enhance their research programs.

Presenters for this session include:

• Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
• Rita Evans and Kendra L Levine, Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley
• Susan Sillick, Montana Department of Transportation

Moderated by: Ken Winter, Virginia Department of Transportation

Questions may be posed any time during the webinar, and are answered at the end of the session.

Registration:  Participants must register 24 hours in advance of the Webinar.  This webinar is free for all participants.

There may be situations where a webinar may need to be rescheduled, due to interruptions in GoToWebinar servers or other unforseen events.  If a webinar needs to be rescheduled, TRB will contact you via email to discuss the situation and will provide information about rescheduling the session.

Click here to register. Problems signing in? Contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu or 202-334-2382

When

Thursday, November 12, 2009 – Friday, November 13, 2009

Add to Calendar

Where

Keck Center The National Academies 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, District of Columbia 20001 202-334-2003

Get Location Map

Supported by U.S. DOT Research Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)

Many elements of the U.S. surface transportation infrastructure are in deteriorating condition. Facilities are aging, and some are stressed more heavily than ever expected. Traffic volumes have exceeded forecasts, trucks and rail cars are heavier and operate in greater numbers than ever before, and control systems have outlived their functional lives. The burdens of preservation and rehabilitation are growing at a time when revenues from user fees are rising only slowly, and the costs of energy and materials are increasing rapidly.

Because major failures are rare, transportation infrastructure preservation is easily overlooked. But infrastructure components require regular monitoring and management; continuing, fact-driven reinvestment to maintain condition and assure performance, safety, and security; development and application of effective and efficient materials, technologies and tools to meet cost-effectiveness and sustainability goals; and targeted capacity expansion. This conference will bring public and private infrastructure owners and managers together with researchers to discuss infrastructure preservation problems, needs, and achievements, and to identify priority opportunities for both basic and applied research. The conference will encompass a broad range of topics focused on aspects of surface transportation infrastructure preservation. Presentations and posters are invited in these and related areas:

a.      Infrastructure condition assessment, including technologies for intelligent structure health monitoring, remote, automated sensing and reporting, and advanced models of infrastructure deterioration processes.

b.      New materials and methods for preservation, restoration, and construction of transportation infrastructure.

c.       Methods to identify and secure critical transportation infrastructure components.

d.      Strategies for rapid repair and rehabilitation, including contracting, new materials, incentives, and project management.

e.      Methods to estimate costs and benefits of infrastructure preservation and models of deterioration processes.

¹ For TRB Sponsors only (including State DOTs). You must be a Sponsor prior to conference registration. To see if your organization is a TRB Sponsor, you may view a listing of all TRB Sponsors.² Full time students, age 35 or under.  Must present Student ID onsite.

Refunds will be issued, less a $50 cancellation fee, for all cancellations received in writing three weeks prior to the conference start date. No refunds will be issued thereafter.

Click here to register and learn more about the event. (PDF of Final Program for the conference below, courtesy of TRB)

This webinar will explore the findings of Transportation Research Board Special Report 298: Driving and the Built Environment:  Effects of Compact Development on Motorized Travel, Energy Use, and CO2 Emissions.  This congressionally mandated study examines the relationship between land development patterns and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the United States to assess whether petroleum use, and by extension greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, could be reduced by changes in the design of development patterns.   The study estimates the contributions that changes in residential and mixed-use development patterns and transit investments could make in reducing VMT by 2030 and 2050, and the impact this could have in meeting future transportation-related GHG reduction goals.

Commissioned papers used by the committee to help develop Special Report 298 are available online.  A four page summary of and a press release on the report is also available online.

Image Courtesy: TRB - Click the image to access the report

The committee chair, José A. Gómez-Ibáñez, Derek C. Bok Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy of Harvard University, will present the study findings.   The report estimates the contributions that changes in residential and mixed-use development patterns and transit investments could make in reducing VMT by 2030 and 2050, and the impact this could have in meeting future transportation-related GHG reduction goals.

Questions from the audience will be addressed by Dr. Gómez-Ibáñez and two committee members who also contributed to the report:

• Dr. Marlon Boarnet, University of California, Irvine
• Mr. Andrew Cotugno, Portland METRO

Questions may be posed any time during the webinar, and will be answered at the end of the session.
Registration:  There is no fee to join this webinar. Space is limited, so we encourage participants to register 24 hours prior to the start of the webinar.

For questions about using this software, including webinar audio or visual complications, please contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu or 202-334-2382.

(Source: Transportation Research Board E-Newsletter)

TRB News

2010 TRB 89th Annual Meeting: Meeting Registration and Hotel Reservations Now Open

The registration and hotel reservations processes are now open for the TRB 89th Annual Meeting, January 10-14, 2010. Registration is required for all Annual Meeting attendees, including those who register to attend any workshop or take advantage of services provided onsite such as the Employment Opportunities room. [More]

TRB Webinar: Asphalt Emulsions: Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Applications

TRB will conduct a web briefing or “Webinar” on Tuesday October 13, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT that will explore the ability of asphalt emulsion technology to provide a low-temperature, low-energy, and volatile organic compound-free solution for constructing, maintaining, and rehabilitating pavement. Participants must register at least 24 hours in advance of the start of the Webinar, space is limited, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. [More]

2009 Transportation Policy and Finance Summit

Washington, D.C.
TRB is cosponsoring the 2009 Transportation Policy and Finance Summit on December 13-15, 2009, in Washington, D.C. The summit is designed to explore potential solutions to the transportation funding challenges faced by all levels of government and the private sector. [More]

Safety and Mobility of Vulnerable Road Users: Pedestrians, Motorcyclists, and Bicyclists
Jerusalem, Israel

TRB is cosponsoring conference on Safety and Mobility of Vulnerable Road Users: Pedestrians, Motorcyclists, and Bicyclists on May 30 – June 2, 2010, in Jerusalem, Israel. The conference will explore scientific information, best practices, and policies from different countries designed to improve the safety of vulnerable road users.  Interested individuals or groups are encouraged to submit abstracts to be considered for presentation at the conference by October 31, 2009. [More]

Transit IDEA Project Proposal Solicitation
TRB’s Transit IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program has issued a request for proposals for start-up funding for promising, but unproven, innovations in transit. The Federal Transit Administration sponsors the Transit IDEA Program, which promotes innovation beyond the scope of traditional research programs in the area of transit. The program’s goal is to seek out and support new transportation solutions that are unlikely to be funded through traditional programs. Proposals are encouraged in one of the program’s high-priority focus areas-improving transit safety or security, increasing transit ridership, improving transit capital or operating efficiencies, and protecting the environment or promoting energy independence.  Instructions for preparing IDEA proposals and the proposal submission form are available online. Questions about preparing Transit IDEA proposals should be addressed to Harvey Berlin at HBerlin@nas.edu or (202) 334-2441. To be considered during the current award cycle, proposals must be submitted by October 1, 2009. [More]

Comprehensive Analysis Framework for Safety Investment Decisions
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive analysis framework for safety investment decisions across engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services that are transferable across federal, state, and local governments. Proposals are due October 28, 2009. [More]

Methodologies to Estimate the Economic Impacts of Disruptions to the Goods Movement System
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to develop and apply one or more conceptual methodologies for identifying and estimating short- and long-term economic impacts due to disruptions to the goods movement system. Proposals are due October 30, 2009. [More]

FY 2010 Airport Cooperative Research Program Synthesis Topics Sought
TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) is soliciting ideas for candidate topics for the fiscal year 2010 ACRP Synthesis Program. The ACRP Synthesis Program initiates approximately seven synthesis studies annually that address concerns of airport operators. A synthesis report is a relatively short document that summarizes existing practice in a specific technical area, typically based on a literature review and a survey of relevant organizations. Potential synthesis topics may be submitted by anyone at any time; however, the closing date for consideration of synthesis topics for FY 2010 is October 30, 2009. [More]

Renewable Energy Guide for Highway Maintenance Facilities
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to identify best practices for the planning, design, and operation of new and retrofitted highway maintenance facilities that are sustainable and energy efficient over their service lives through the use of energy capture technologies. Proposals are due November 5, 2009. [More]

Recent Publications

Precision Estimates of AASHTO T 242
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 142: Precision Estimates of AASHTO T 242 examines precision estimates for AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) T 242, “Frictional Properties of Paved Surfaces Using a Full-Scale Tire.” [More]

Marine Transportation and Port Operations 2009
TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2100 includes the 2009 Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lecture by Geraldine Knatz, which explores the evolution of U.S. seaports and the environmental initiatives enabling them to modernize and expand. This TRR also includes 10 additional papers that examine the impacts of climate change at U.S. ports, container terminal berth planning, the Lean Enterprise for improving seaport operations, performance indicators for roll-on/roll-off terminals, truck turn time at marine terminals, marine container terminal gate congestion modeling, modeling collision risks in port fairways, operational development of U.S. Pacific Coast marine highways, inland waterway transportation performance assessment, and simulation-based network maintenance planning and scheduling for the U.S. inland waterway system. [More]

Protocols for Collecting and Using Traffic Data in Bridge Design
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 132: Protocols for Collecting and Using Traffic Data in Bridge Design explores a set of protocols and methodologies for using available recent truck traffic data to develop and calibrate live load models for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) bridge design. [More]

Procedures Guide for Right-of-Way Cost Estimation and Cost Management
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 625: Procedures Guide for Right-of-Way Cost Estimation and Cost Management explores approaches for developing right-of-way (ROW) cost estimates. The report also examines ways to track and manage ROW cost during all phases of project development, including planning, programming, and preliminary and final design. [More]

Influence of Roadway Surface Discontinuities on Safety

TRB’s Transportation Research Circular E-C134: Influence of Roadway Surface Discontinuities on Safety is designed to help highway engineers evaluate roadway maintenance guidelines and priorities. The report addresses safety issues related to roadway roughness, holes, and bumps; the positive effects of road surface discontinuities; pavement edges; friction variations; water accumulations; surface contaminants; and small and large vehicles. [More]

Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation 2009, Volume 2

TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2103 includes 13 papers that explore calibration of the Highway Safety Manual’s accident prediction model for a secondary road network, speed and safety, accident modification functions, elementary units of exposure, identifying crash hot spots, and safety of lane and shoulder width combinations on rural roads. This issue of the TRR also examines the effects of pavement marking retroreflectivity on traffic crash frequency, road data aggregation and sectioning for crash analysis, safety evaluation of curve delineation improvements, microsimulation to study a traffic signal incident reduction function, comparison of simulated freeway safety performance with observed crashes, traffic operation measures in the safety analysis of signalized intersections, and different parameterizations of the varying dispersion parameter as a function of segment length. [More]

Implementable Strategies for Shifting to Direct Usage-Based Charges for Transportation Funding
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 143: Implementable Strategies for Shifting to Direct Usage-Based Charges for Transportation Funding explores ways that direct charges to road users, based on vehicle-miles of travel (VMT), could be implemented within approximately the next 5 years. [More]

Federal Research News

Review of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
The Government Accountability Office has released a report that examines the responsibilities of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and the efforts made by the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide oversight to MPOs to improve transportation planning. [More]

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council Framework for Dealing with Disasters and Related Interdependencies: Final Report and Recommendations
The National Infrastructure Advisory Council has released a report that explores the United States’ ability to respond to and recover from a major disaster that results in a prolonged loss of infrastructure services expanding beyond a local area. Through the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, NIAC provides the President with advice on the security of the 18 critical infrastructure and key resource sectors and their information systems. [More]

University Research News

Horizontal Cracking Mechanism in CRCP
The Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas-Austin has released a report that explores the mechanism of horizontal cracking in continuously reinforced concrete pavement. [More]

Guide to the Economic Value of Texas Ports

The Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas-Austin has released a report that examines the local, regional, and national economic impacts of various Texas seaports. [More]

Evaluation of Smart Video for Transit Event Detection
The National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida has released a report that examines commercial video analytics systems used to fight crime and terrorism in transit environments. [More]

SORT Clearinghouse Newsletter: August 2009
The Institute of Transport Studies at Monash University, Australia, has released the latest issue of its bimonthly newsletter that highlights new additions to the Social Research in Transport (SORT) clearinghouse research database. [More]

International Research

The Effect of Milled Rumble Strips Versus Virtual Rumble Strips on Sleepy Drivers: A Driving Simulator Study
The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) has released a report that explores in-vehicle warning systems compared to modified infrastructure elements, such as rumble strips, to determine the most effective way to alert sleepy drivers. The report is written in English. [More]

In The Know

Transportation Biofuels in the United States
The Minnesota Project has released a report that examines the status of major developments in the biofuels industry. [More]

Hearing on Hazardous Materials Safety in the United States
On Thursday, September 10, 2009, the U.S. House of Representative Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing to explore concerns with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s oversight and management of hazardous materials safety in the United States. Additional background about the hearing, submitted testimony of witnesses, and a video are available online. [More]

School Bicycling and Walking Policies: Addressing Policies that Hinder and Implementing Policies that Help
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has released a tip sheet that explores ways to approach school policies that prohibit walking or bicycling to school. [More]

National Transportation Operations Coalition Newsletter: September 9, 2009
The National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) has released the latest issue of its semi-monthly newsletter that highlights available information and resources designed to help improve management and operation of the nation’s existing transportation system. NTOC is an informal alliance of organizations that are stakeholders in operations, planning, and public safety. Organizations involved in NTOC include the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Federal Transit Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Public Transportation Association, and TRB. [More]

Note: TransportGooru considers the TRB e-newsletter one of the most comprehensive sources of transportation research information.  The opinions expressed in reports highlighted in TRB’s Transportation Research E-Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Transportation Research Board.