Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-07-017
Date: September 2007

Articles in this Issue

Scanning for Preservation

For the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), a technology scanning tour to the mainland resulted in a new approach to managing and preserving Hawaii's pavements. The idea for the scanning tour came from a new Pavement Preservation Task Force formed in May 2005 that was charged with identifying improved methods to manage pavements in Hawaii. The task force includes representatives from HDOT, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Hawaii Asphalt Paving Industry (HAPI), and the Cement and Concrete Products Industry of Hawaii. In September 2006, members of the task force launched the scanning tour to visit four State highway agencies over a period of 10 days.

FHWA Launches Steel Bridge Testing Program

A new steel bridge testing initiative launched by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) aims to improve the safety of the Nation's steel bridges by using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technology to detect growing cracks in bridges, including subsurface flaws as small as 0.025 cm (0.010 in) in length or depth. With steel bridges representing approximately 34 percent of the nearly 600,000 highway bridges in the United States, reliable inspection, condition assessment, and early detection and isolation of any pertinent deterioration are vital to improving the safety of these structures.

A New Look at Pavement Warranties

Is your agency looking to learn more about implementing or expanding the use of pavement warranties? A new 1-day workshop offered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), "Basic Warranties," provides an introduction to pavement warranty best practices used both across the country and internationally. Also highlighted are research news and input from industry.

International Partnering for Asphalt Technology

Over the past year, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Fundamental Properties and Advanced Models Expert Task Group (ETG) has partnered with the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials and Systems (RILEM) to foster international collaboration on asphalt technology. The ETG was formed in 2005 to meet emerging challenges following the conclusion of work by previous ETGs on Superpave implementation. In October 2006, the ETG and RILEM held overlapping meetings at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "The collaboration allowed for an international exchange on numerous aspects of asphalt pavement technology," said ETG secretary Katherine Petros of FHWA.

SHRP 2 Safety Symposium Presentations Available Online

Presentations from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) 2 Safety Symposium are now available online at www.trb.org/shrp2/SHRPII_SymposiumPresentations.asp. Held July 26-27, 2007, in Washington, DC, the symposium drew more than 100 attendees to discuss SHRP 2 safety projects, focusing on work in progress.

NPHQ 2007: The Quest for Highway Quality

Partnerships, programs, and proven results will be the theme at the National Partnership for Highway Quality's (NPHQ) 2007 Highway Quality Conference. Scheduled for November 13-14, 2007, in San Diego, California, the conference will highlight innovations, advanced tools and techniques, and best practices. NPHQ brings together State, Federal, local, and highway industry leaders to encourage the use of quality practices that will improve safety and service for highway users.

Highway Technology Calendar