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Focus

Federal Highway Administration / Publications / Focus / June 2006

Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations

Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-06-026
Date: June 2006

Articles in this Issue

Accelerating Urban Highway Rehabilitation with Construction Analysis Software

Getting in, getting out, and staying out just got easier. As transportation departments increasingly turn their focus from new construction to rehabilitating and reconstructing existing highways, accelerating construction is key to reducing problems with congestion, safety, and user delays, particularly in heavily traveled urban areas. As part of its overall traffic management plan, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is using a new software tool aimed at reducing highway construction time and the resulting impact on traffic. CA4PRS (Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies) is designed to help planners and engineers select economical rehabilitation strategies while minimizing disruption to drivers and the surrounding community.

New SAFETEA-LU Initiatives Address Today's Transportation Challenges

What can SAFETEA-LU do for you? The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) features a range of initiatives designed to maintain and enhance the Nation's transportation infrastructure and address today's transportation challenges, including improving roadway safety and quality and reducing traffic congestion. The following are among the new Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) programs being launched under SAFETEA-LU. As these programs develop, Focus will continue to provide regular updates and information.

New Training for Road Weather Management

Throughout all seasons of the year, snow, ice, rain, wind, fog, and other weather conditions present daily challenges to State and local departments of transportation as they seek to maintain safety and mobility on the roads. Principles and Tools for Road Weather Management (Course No. FHWA-NHI-137030), a new 1-day course available from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NHI), provides transportation agency staff with training on tools and strategies for avoiding or minimizing the impact of these adverse weather conditions.

Green Highways Partnership: Bringing Together Transportation and the Environment

Combining safe and efficient transportation systems with environmental stewardship and sustainability is the goal of the recently launched Green Highways Partnership (GHP). The partnership builds on the success of the Green Highway Forum, held in November 2005 in College Park, Maryland. Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the event brought together more than 400 transportation and environmental professionals involved in the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and regulation of transportation projects. "We realized that FHWA and EPA had been pursuing parallel agendas to combine transportation and environmental goals, and decided to join efforts,"says Jason Harrington of FHWA's Office of Pavement Technology.

Highway Technology Calendar

Updated: 06/27/2017
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