In Brief

Tap into the latest edition of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program database. The LTPP program’s Standard Data Release Number 19 is available in Microsoft Access® format on a five CD-ROM set or on a single DVD-ROM. The release also includes a user reference guide, tutorial, and details about the database, such as changes and updates made since the last release. For more information or to obtain a copy, contact LTPP Customer Support Services at 865-481-2967 (email: ltppinfo@fhwa.dot.gov).

LTPP Year in Review 2004 highlights the LTPP program’s recent accomplishments, including the important role that LTPP data has played in the development of the new Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. Also highlighted are the program’s continuing data collection efforts and improvements that have been made to the LTPP database. New reports published include the Researcher’s Guide to the Long-Term Pavement Performance Layer Thickness Data and Evaluation and Analysis of LTPP Pavement Layer Thickness. The LTPP Year in Review 2004 is available online at www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/reports/04125/. Printed copies can be ordered from Mary Deeney at FHWA (email: mary.deeney@fhwa.dot.gov).

From streamlined construction schedules to the adoption of innovative technologies, the successes of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ and FHWA’s Accelerated Construction Technology Transfer (ACTT) Program are highlighted in the new report, ACTT II (Publication No. FHWA-IF-05-015). Over the past 2 years, the ACTT Program has sponsored 14 workshops, with more in the planning stage. Each workshop teams national transportation experts with colleagues from the host States to examine a planned highway project and spotlight ways to better serve customers by shortening project construction time, curbing work zone congestion, and improving quality. The ACTT II report highlights the “best of” the ACTT workshops by describing recurring recommendations that have emerged in the workshops and solutions that can be applied to other highway projects across the country. The report also contains information on how the workshops are structured, the skill sets that are used in examining the projects, and summaries of results from the workshops to date. Printed copies of the report will be available in April through the Federal Highway Administration R&T Product Distribution Center, HRTM-03 (email: report.center@dot.gov). To learn more about ACTT or to view the report online, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/accelerated/.

Live Online: FHWA’s Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide Workshop

The Connecticut Department of Transportation will broadcast an online Webcast of FHWA’s March 30–31, 2005, “Obtaining Materials Inputs for Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design” workshop in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The workshop will help pavement design engineers and material engineers better understand materials testing and characterization as it has been incorporated into the new Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide software. The main objective of the workshop is for materials engineers to learn about the various data inputs that are being requested by the guide and for pavement designers to understand what goes into obtaining the data being requested. Because rehabilitation design and obtaining data inputs for existing pavements will be covered as well, the event will also be of interest to pavement management engineers. The workshop will include laboratory demonstrations that can be viewed online.

To register for the Webcast, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/dgit.cfm?workshop-ctwc. For more information, send an email to DGIT@fhwa.dot.gov or contact one of FHWA’s Design Guide Implementation Team members listed below.

FHWA Design Guide Implementation Team

Katherine Petros, 202-493-3154

Leslie Myers, 202-366-1198

Chris Wagner, 404-562-3693

Gary Crawford, 202-366-1286

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