U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Focus
| Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-08-013
Date: May 2008
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2008: Slow for the Cone Zone
Drivers were reminded to "Slow for the Cone Zone" as State transportation departments, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and many others observed National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) 2008 from April 7-11. Work zone fatalities nationwide have increased over the last decade by nearly 50 percent. In 2006, 1,010 workers and motorists were killed in work zones.
Rolling Wheel Deflectometer: A High-Speed Deflection Device to Improve Asset Management
Achieve high-speed structural evaluations of highway pavements using the rolling wheel deflectometer (RWD). Traditionally, engineers have used visual distress surveys to make roadway management decisions, such as which roads to schedule for improvement and the types of improvements to make. While such visual distress surveys can provide valuable information about a road's condition, including types of cracking and potential causes for the cracking, they lack a direct measure of the pavement's structural condition. The RWD is designed to collect continuous deflection profiles at normal highway speeds, without the need for lane closures, providing an innovative and improved method of evaluating pavements for pavement management purposes.
Advancing the Future of Long-Term Bridge Performance
Step into the future of bridge performance with the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) new Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program. Designated under the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the 20-year research effort will inspect, evaluate, and periodically monitor a representative sample of bridges nationwide. These bridges will represent many structural types and materials and a variety of conditions, exposures, and locations. With the contract for the program recently awarded to the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, program activities are now getting underway.
New Course Introduces Strategies for Achieving More Effective Pavement Management Programs
Learn how to get the most out of your agency's pavement management program with a new 1-day course available from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NHI). The free course, Pavement Management Systems: Characteristics of an Effective Program (Course No. FHWA-NHI-131116), highlights the basic components of an effective pavement management program and illustrates the use of pavement management information. Course participants will also have the opportunity to identify strategies to enhance the existing capabilities of their own programs.
From studying the complex interaction between wind and bridges to simulating traffic loading on pavement test lanes, the many laboratories at the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, Virginia, carry out a diverse program of innovative technology research and development to address the safety, infrastructure, and operational needs of the Nation's highway system. With laboratories addressing topics from structures and pavements to hydraulics and geotechnical systems, the FHWA research plays a vital role in advancing the durability, efficiency, and effectiveness of roads and bridges across the country.
