Our services are designed to meet the present-day needs of our partners and customers while laying the foundation to address the future transportation needs of our Nation.

We, the employees of the FHWA, are committed to adding value to our services and products at every level of our agency. Today, more than ever, we have made quality and performance the focus of our organization.

Technical Expertise

The FHWA provides technical expertise to its partners and customers in areas such as:

Roadway and bridge design, construction, and maintenance Value engineering and other project and program evaluation tools Policy and planning Highway safety Intelligent transportation systems Environmental protection and enhancement Innovative financing Land acquisition Research, development, and technology transfer

Sharing our expertise with state and local transportation agencies across the country, and technical exchanges with countries worldwide, the FHWA ensures that together, we keep America moving--safely, efficiently, economically, and without harm to our environment.

Delivering Our Programs -- Our Investment in Transportation Infrastructure

We develop regulations, policies, and guidelines to achieve safety, access, economic development, and other goals of FHWA programs. In providing federal funds, we apply the most efficient administrative processes and the most flexible and innovative financing techniques permissible under the law, such as State Infrastructure Banks, advanced construction, revolving funds, and the use of bond proceeds.

By using innovative financing techniques, roads, bridges, and transportation facilities are being built two to three years sooner than average; local economies are supported; and new jobs are created at no additional cost to the government.

Technical Assistance and Education

We deliver technical training, education, and assistance to state and local transportation agency managers and staff, our own staff, and partner agency employees. Through outreach activities we strive to attract youth and other individuals with diverse skills and talents to careers in transportation.

Each year, the FHWA delivers training to thousands of individual partners and customers. Courses range in subject from "Snow and Ice Technologies" to "Civil Rights Contract Compliance." One example of FHWA's training initiatives is our national training project on seismic bridge design to give engineers information on how to help bridges better withstand earthquakes.

Safety

We promote the best available safety practices and technologies in all phases of highway design and operations.

Safety promotion includes public information and education campaigns like our Stop Red Light Running (SRLR) program, which we developed in response to the growing disregard for traffic control devices and the tragic consequences. We produced printed, audio, and video public service announcements nationwide and offered technical assistance, and "seed" money grants to reduce red light running.

Emergency Relief

We provide funds to help states in conducting emergency and permanent repairs on Federal-aid routes and federally owned roads damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic failures.

Restoring damaged roads and bridges is critical in the recovery from natural disasters. That is why, in immediate response to events like the Northridge earthquake that severely struck southern California and the floods that ravaged the Midwest, federal and state highway officials worked hand-in-hand to restore access to damaged roads and bridges as quickly as possible. By using the FHWA's electronic funds transfer system, the states affected could seek daily reimbursements from FHWA to cover their emergency work.

Advancement of State-of-the-Art Quality in Transportation Systems

We work with our government, industry, and research community partners to develop, test, and implement the latest technological advancements in transportation systems -- including Intelligent Transportation Systems, a transportation program designed to integrate technology applications to move people and goods even more smoothly, safely, and swiftly.

Automated toll systems that collect fees quickly and accurately, in-vehicle information systems that put route guidance at your fingertips, advanced traffic management systems that rapidly identify highway accidents and incidents are examples of the kinds of state-of-the-art systems being implemented nationwide.

Protection and Enhancement of the Environment

We work cooperatively with our partners to ensure that transportation system plans and improvements take full account of the impacts on the human and natural environment.

"Aesthetic, Historic, and Cultural Resources Considerations in Highway Design" is an example of the type of guidance developed by FHWA to help highway system designers be environmentally sensitive. Besides protecting the environment, FHWA funding programs, like the National Recreational Trail Programs, enable states to provide and maintain the environment and give people an opportunity to enjoy nature and gain access to scenic and historical attractions.

Transportation Engineering Services for Federally Owned Land and Indian Reservations

In cooperation with Federal lands managing agencies, we perform services for roads on or providing access to federally owned lands and Indian reservations. We plan, locate, and design highway projects; award contracts; and provide full-time oversight at the construction site.

On April 12, 1995, a major landslide blocked the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park causing a washout of a major section of the primary access road to the park lodge and campground. The washout was causing an economic loss of $1 million per day to the surrounding region. By streamlining its design and procurement procedures, the Federal Lands Highway program made it possible to reopen the road on May 27, 1995, giving tourists access to the park in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

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