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Focus

Federal Highway Administration / Publications / Focus / August 1999

Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations

Publication Number: FHWA-RD-99-106
Date: August 1999

In Brief

Over the past 2 years, the Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT) has been tracking the field performance of its Superpave pavements, measuring friction, roughness, rut depth, and pavement condition. The DOT randomly selected 14 Interstate projects, with half designed with the Marshall procedures and half with the Superpave system. The 1997 data indicate that the Superpave pavements have higher friction and pavement condition ratings than do the Marshall mixes. There are no significant differences in rutting or roughness. Results from 1998 are still being compiled, but preliminary data show similar performance trends. The performance tracking is expected to continue for the next 10-12 years. For more information, contact Richard Smutzer at Indiana DOT, 317-232-5280, x204 (fax: 317-356-9351; email: rsmutzer@indot.state.in.us).

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Task Force on SHRP Implementation and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host the fourth annual Lead States Workshop on August 30-31, 1999, in St. Louis, Missouri. The workshop will provide members of the seven Lead States teams with the opportunity to review their team's performance and accomplishments over the past year. Representatives of various AASHTO subcommittees will also participate in the meeting, working with the teams to plan the transition of Lead State team activities to AASHTO subcommittees in 2000. For more information, contact Haleem Tahir at AASHTO, 301-975-5275 (fax: 301-330-1956; email: haleem.tahir@nist.gov).

The AASHTO Subcommittee on Maintenance and FHWA joined forces in March to hold a forum on Maintenance Management for the 21st Century. Hosted by the Texas DOT, the 75 participants represented 31 State DOTs and 11 private firms.

Forum participants identified current maintenance practices and then discussed state-of-the-art maintenance management technology systems. Results from the forum will be documented in a report that is scheduled to be presented to the AASHTO Subcommittee on Maintenance. The lessons learned will also be incorporated into a new National Highway Institute short course on the principles and practices of cost-effective maintenance management systems and technologies for State and local governments.

The Pavement Smoothness Expert Task Group (ETG) will hold its second meeting on August 25-26, 1999, in Arlington, Virginia. Meeting participants will discuss the new AASHTO guide specification for pavement smoothness, which focuses on using lightweight profilers to measure smoothness. The ETG will also discuss its ongoing pavement study, which includes demonstrating and evaluating lightweight profilers and developing guidance for best paving practices. For more information, contact George Jones at FHWA, 202-366-1554 (fax: 202-366-9981; email: george.jones@fhwa.dot.gov).

The long-term pavement performance (LTPP) program's progress and accomplishments from last year are detailed in a new publication, LTPP 1998 Year in Review (Publication No. FHWA-RD-99-111). The report contains updates on the LTPP program's data collection and analysis efforts, as well as information on new products, publications, and workshops. Plans for the future are also outlined. To obtain a copy, contact Mary Taylor-Mattox at FHWA, 202-493-3155 (fax: 202-493-3161; email: mary.taylor-mattox@fhwa.dot.gov).

To supplement the $10 million in annual funding for the LTPP program provided by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), AASHTO has committed $5.025 million to the program for fiscal year (FY) 2000. AASHTO provided 4.7 million in FY 1999. The additional funds will be used for LTPP product development activities.

The Value of Information and Information Services report (Publication No. FHWA-SA-99-038), which discusses how accurate, timely, and up-to-date information can save transportation agencies both time and money (reported in the December 1998 issue of Focus), is now available from the FHWA Report Center. To order, call 301-577-0906 (fax: 301-577-1421).

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Updated: 06/27/2017
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