Publication Number: FHWA-RD-99-106
Date: August 1999

TRB Establishes Committee for Research on Improved Concrete Pavement

A new, broad-based committee established by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) will provide guidance to, and oversight of, a new program of concrete pavement research. The Committee for Research on Improved Concrete Pavement for Federal-Aid Highways was formed as a result of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which authorized a 6-year program "to carry out research on improved methods of using concrete pavement in the construction, reconstruction, and repair of Federal-aid Highways."

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation (IPRF), a concrete paving industry research consortium, have teamed up to jointly administer this research program. Federal funding for the program totals $5 million a year over 6 years, with a 20 percent match from IPRF.

Formed at the request of FHWA and IPRF, the new committee is modeled on the TRB Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) Committee. It will review and advise on the program's long-range work plan and component tasks, including objectives and appropriateness and likelihood of success. It will also conduct progress reviews and advise on course corrections, opportunities, and findings.

Using the National Cooperative Highway Research Program as a model, research projects will be overseen by technical committees representing government and industry. The research will be performed both in-house at FHWA and by outside contractors selected by FHWA and IPRF in open competition.

At its first meeting in June, the committee (see sidebar) discussed the research program and general research needs. The committee will meet twice yearly, and throughout the year its members will meet informally with program managers and potential end-users. To represent the spectrum of disciplines involved in the program, members come from the executive and professional ranks of industry, associations, academia, and the States, as well as related fields of study. As needed, the committee will also draw upon outside expertise.

Says committee chair Joseph Deneault of the West Virginia Department of Transportation, "Bringing together the perspectives of industry, the States, and other end-users means that the research will yield practical results that can be put into use quickly."

The overall goal of the committee is to ensure that the new research program yields more durable pavements; better, less expensive, and more accurate methods of testing and evaluation; and improved materials. Says Inam Jawed of TRB, "It is hoped that this will serve as a model for other partnerships between industry and government."

For more information on the committee, contact Inam Jawed at TRB (telephone: 202-334-1430; fax: 202-334-3471; email: ijawed@nas.edu).

Committee for Research on Improved Concrete Pavement

Joseph T. Deneault, West Virginia DOT, chair

Ernest J. Barenberg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

John E. Breen, University of Texas-Austin

William R. Cape, James Cape and Sons, Co.

Robert H. Coleman, California DOT

Leet E. Denton, Denton Enterprises, Inc.

James A. Duit, Duit Construction Co.

Gary L. Godbersen, GOMACO Corp.

Gary L. Hoffman, Pennsylvania DOT

David L. Huft, South Dakota DOT

Donald Janke, City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Colin Ian MacGillivray, Iowa DOT

Norman R. Nelson, Lyman-Richey Corp.

M. Lee Powell, III, APAC-Georgia, Inc.

Della M. Roy, Pennsylvania State University

Liaisons: Robert J. Betsold, IPRF

Ken F. Kobetsky, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

Vincent F. Schimmoller, FHWA

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