New Committee to Advise on LTPP Studies

A new committee-the TRB-Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Committee-has been formed to provide advice and guidance on the conduct of the ongoing LTPP studies. The committee, which met last month in Washington, D.C., is composed of top-level managers from State highway departments and industry, as well as academia and consulting (see sidebar). It replaces the recently retired Transportation Research Board (TRB) Pavement Performance Advisory Committee.

With its focus on the LTPP research, the new committee complements the TRB-SHRP Committee, which focuses on the implementation of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) products, including those developed by the LTPP studies. The TRB-LTPP Committee will be assisted by expert task groups (ETGs) on data analysis, automated distress identification, and traffic data collection and analysis. Allan Abbott, director and State engineer with the Nebraska Department of Roads, has been appointed to chair the TRB-LTPP committee.

"Everybody realizes there will be a limited amount of funds available for research. Research is going to have to fight for its funding even more than it has in the past," Abbott says. "The committee will help the LTPP studies stay on course, will develop recommendations on the best use of the LTPP data, and will determine who needs to be involved to make sure the results are most beneficially implemented."

With half of its members coming from States, the TRB-LTPP Committee will help ensure that the LTPP studies yield data that States can and will use, Abbott says. "Highway agencies need to balance the costs versus the benefits. A pavement that lasts longer but that costs five times as much is not acceptable. There has to be a balance between what we technically can accomplish and what we can afford."

For more information, contact Robert Raab at TRB (telephone: 202-334-1430; fax: 202-334-3471; email: rraab@nas.edu).

TRB-LTPP Committee

Allan Abbott, director and State engineer, Nebraska Department of Roads (chairman)

Roger Almond, deputy director/chief engineer, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department

Gary Carver, assistant chief engineer, Wyoming Department of Transportation

Ronald Collins, president, Pavement Technology Incorporated

Charles Dougan, director of research and materials, Connecticut Department of Transportation

Theodore Ferragut, vice president, government affairs, American Concrete Pavement Association

John Hosang, assistant deputy minister, Manitoba Department of Highways and Transportation

William MacCreery, highway consulting engineer

Raymond Moore, professor of civil engineering, University of Kansas

Richard Morgan, vice president, National Asphalt Pavement Association

Olga Pendleton, research statistician, Pen-Hock Statistical Consultants

Charles Pryor, Jr., vice president, engineering, National Stone Association

Ted Scott, director, highway policy, American Trucking Associations

Gary Taylor, deputy director, Michigan Department of Transportation

Michael Walton, professor of civil engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Liaisons

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials: Brian McWaters, Iowa Department of Transportation

Canada-SHRP: Luc Frechette, Transportation Association of Canada

International: Govert Sweere, SHRP-The Netherlands, Ministry of Transport, Public Works, and Water Management

Federal Highway Administration: Thomas Ptak

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