Publication Number: FHWA-RD-03-017
Date: May 2003

Articles in this Issue

Value Engineering: Saving Money Through Innovation

For more and more State highway agencies, value engineering (VE) is definitely value added. In 2002, highway agencies saved more than $1 billion by applying VE methods and techniques. Under the VE process, the highway agency reviews a project's features and looks for ways to improve quality, foster innovation, and lower life-cycle costs.

New FWD Calibration Center Opens in Colorado

A new Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) Calibration Center will debut this month in Denver, Colorado. Hosted by the Colorado Department of Transportation, the new center replaces the previous Reno, Nevada, facility and will serve the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Program's Western Region.

Pavement Preservation: A Call to Action

Ensuring that roads that are in good condition stay that way is the goal behind pavement preservation efforts nationwide. These efforts are paying off, but highway agency resources are often limited, slowing progress, and there is still much to be done. Recent surveys of road conditions show that 32 percent of major U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Driving on roads in need of repair, meanwhile, costs U.S. motorists $49 billion a year in vehicle repair and operating expenses.

FHWA Technical Service Teams Debut

To better serve its customers and support technology deployment, FHWA has created ten new specialized Technical Service Teams, which will operate out of the agency's four resource center locations in Atlanta, Georgia; Olympia Fields, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; and San Francisco, California. Each team will also have technical specialists located across the country in all of the resource center offices. The new structure will allow the teams to provide unified and coordinated assistance nationwide.

All Aboard for the Fourth International LTPP Data Analysis Contest

Get on board now for the Fourth Annual International Contest on LTPP Data Analysis. Cosponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the contest is designed to encourage university students, professors, and highway engineers from around the world to use the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Program database. Opportunities for using the database range from research and class projects to Master's and Doctoral theses.

In Brief

Innovative Applications of Finite Element Modeling in Highway Structures will be the focus of a national workshop to be held August 20-21, 2003, in New York City. The workshop's goal is to advance the use of finite element analysis throughout the highway community. The finite element method involves simulating the structure's behavior by building a computer model and breaking down the structure into an assembly of finite-sized elements.

Highway Technology Calendar