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-08-017
Date: September 2008
Performance Contracting: A New Way of Doing Business
Faced with the daunting combination of aging highway infrastructure, rising congestion, and shrinking budgets, transportation departments nationwide are looking for new methods to meet these challenges and reconstruct and rehabilitate roads and bridges better, faster, safer, and more cost effectively. Innovations that are transforming today's project development and delivery process include alternative contracting methods such as warranty contracting, design-build, and performance contracting for construction. Using the performance contracting approach, a transportation agency defines a desired project outcome and then allows the contractor to determine how to carry out the work to meet the performance goals, following the acceptance methods and criteria, rather than specifying the methods to be used.
New resources available on the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2) Web site (www.trb.org/SHRP2) provide visitors with updates on SHRP 2 projects and progress, as well as opportunities for State transportation agencies to participate in the program's various research initiatives.
New Resources for Training the Transportation Workforce
Improving training opportunities for transportation infrastructure workers nationwide is the ongoing goal of the Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TCCC). The TCCC is introducing anarray of new Web-based courses this fall and launching the online National Transportation Training Resource (NTTR) to serve as a central repository of training information.
An Interactive Road Map to the Future of Concrete Pavement
Help shape the future of concrete pavement by participating in the research, technology transfer, and other activities offered through the Concrete Pavement (CP) Road Map initiative. The goal of the Road Map is to achieve by 2015 a comprehensive, integrated, and fully functional system of concrete pavement technologies that provides innovative solutions for customer-driven performance requirements.
FHWA to Offer Highway Materials Course
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has awarded a contract to Pennsylvania State University to conduct a 6-week course on highway materials, mix design procedures, and quality assurance this winter in University Park, Pennsylvania. Designed for State transportation department engineers who require a basic knowledge of highway materials, the course will include both classroom time and laboratory work. The curriculum will cover materials control and acceptance; soils and foundations; steels, welding, and coatings; aggregates and unbound bases; asphalt materials and paving mixtures; recycled materials; and portland cement concrete. The course will be offered once a year and has a limit of 30 participants.
