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Focus

Federal Highway Administration / Publications / Focus / August 2004

Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations

Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-04-028
Date: August 2004

Articles in this Issue

Launching the Iowa River Bridge to Success

Rich in historical, ecological, and archaeological significance, the Iowa River Greenbelt is a rare, remaining piece of old-growth woodland in Iowa. Less than a mile wide in most places, this haven for bald eagles is also home to the rare Northern Monkshood plant and three threatened species of freshwater mussel. To protect this environmentally sensitive river valley and habitat while constructing a much needed new bridge over the Iowa River on U.S. 20, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) chose to employ a unique construction method known as incremental launching.

Geotech & Hydraulics Team: Advancing the State of the Art

From high-profile projects such as Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel to the everyday design and construction of bridges and pavements, geotechnical and hydraulics engineering has a critical role to play in maintaining the Nation's highway infrastructure. The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) new Geotechnical and Hydraulics Technical Service team brings together specialists from throughout the agency to provide guidance and assistance to State and local highway agencies and others.

Partnering for a Better Transportation Workforce

A coordinated national effort to improve training opportunities for transportation infrastructure workers is now starting to pay dividends, with the development of a proposed core curriculum for training transportation personnel that all highway agencies can use, as well as new training courses and partnership opportunities.

FHWA Course Provides Intensive Introduction to Highway Materials Engineering

Applications are now being accepted for the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) annual 6-week Highway Materials Engineering course. The course was developed primarily for State highway agency engineers who require a basic knowledge of highway materials. In Selecting participants, first priority is given to employees of State, local, and Federal agencies involved in highway construction. The course will be held January 31-March 18, 2005, at the University of Nevada, Reno, with a 1-week break from February 21-25.

Putting the Power of PMS Data to Work for You

Many States have been using pavement management systems (PMS) for the last 15 to 20 years, but until now they have primarily been employed for planning and programming purposes or as a budgeting tool. However, the years of historical pavement condition data stored in a PMS database can also be used for engineering analysis to evaluate the performance of pavements. A newly updated 2-day course available from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NHI), Analysis of PMS Data for Engineering Applications (Course no. 131105A), outlines how PMS data can be a powerful and valuable analysis tool.

Highway Technology Calendar

Updated: 06/27/2017
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