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Focus

Federal Highway Administration / Publications / Focus / March 2001

Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations

Publication Number: FHWA-RD-01-062
Date: March 2001

Articles in this Issue

In Brief

Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) brought States the Superpave mix design system, long-term pavement performance program, and improved pavement maintenance techniques, among other successes. What will the Future SHRP (F-SHRP) bring? The F-SHRP Committee, formed in 1999, is scheduled to issue its report this fall. After extensive outreach to the transportation community, the committee is focusing on a number of potential research areas.

Work Zone Innovations: Get the Facts

A new series of fact sheets available from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) describes how State highway agencies are using a lot more than flaggers and traffic cones to improve their work zones. Oregon's Quick Fax Service (Publication No. FHWA-OP-00-022), for example, details how the Oregon Department of Transportation (DOT) relies on a broadcast fax system to relay up-to-the-minute information on road closures and traffic delays to commercial truckers. Approximately 154 trucking companies and 30 truck stops, including those as far away as Virginia, Nebraska, and Wyoming, are on the notification list. The broadcast fax system can deliver 50 faxes at once, which has cut notification time from 3 hours to 20 minutes. For more information, contact Dave Davis at Oregon DOT, 503-986-5845 (fax: 503-986-5847; email: david.u.davis@odot.state.or.us).

A QuickZone Tailor-Made for Maryland

The prototype version of QuickZone, a new work zone delay estimation software developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Mitretek Systems, is now available for use and assessment by highway agencies. One State getting ready to give it a real-world tryout is Maryland.

Working Together for Work Zone Safety

"Slow Down. It Won't Kill You." That's the message motorists in Georgia are getting as they travel through work zones, thanks to a new campaign by the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT). Drivers approaching work zones in Alabama, meanwhile, are being reminded that "People Work There." These and other efforts to promote safety and mobility in work zones will be spotlighted during the second annual National Work Zone Awareness Week, to be held April 9-12, 2001. The week is being jointly sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Lessons Learned from European Work Zones

With work zone fatalities increasing from 658 in 1997 to 868 in 1999, the need for improved work zone safety is more evident than ever. To get a first-hand look at how other countries manage the flow of traffic through work zones, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) organized a May 1999 scanning tour of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, and France. The knowledge gained on this trip is highlighted in a new report available from FHWA, Methods and Procedures to Reduce Motorist Delays in European Work Zones (Publication No. FHWA-PL-01-001).

Highway Technology Calendar

Updated: 06/27/2017
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