LTPP Newsletter

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LTPP Customer Support Service Center Relocates

Effective January 1, 2006, the Long-Term Pavement Program (LTPP) Customer Support Service Center (CSSC) is now located at the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, VA. The LTPP CSSC was established in Oak Ridge, TN, in December 1997, to provide a single point of contact for LTPP data and information requests. The LTPP program office decided to move the service center to TFHRC as part of the LTPP Program Operational Plan developed in 2005.

Although there are many advantages to having the service center onsite, a primary benefit is that it helps the LTPP program office gain an immediate sense of customer needs and determine possible tools that can be developed to assist users in their analyses.

LTPP data users can expect to receive the same services in the new location as they received from the Oak Ridge location. The LTPP CSSC provides access to the world's largest pavement performance database. The CSSC also provides technical assistance and guides users to the information they need.

New Contact Information for the LTPP CSSC:

Federal Highway Administration
LTPP Customer Support Service Center
6300 Georgetown Pike, HRDI-13
McLean, VA 22101-2296
202-493-3035
ltppinfo@fhwa.dot.gov

Data Collected and Available for Use

The LTPP Program collects monitoring (such as profile and distress), climatic, traffic, materials, and rehabilitation data from more than 2,400 asphalt and portland cement concrete pavement test sections across the United States and Canada.

The Pavement Performance Database (PPDB) was designed to efficiently store these data and is divided into 12 modules that contain tables related to one another through key elements. Some tables contain more than one million records.

The Central Traffic Database contains a large quantity of raw traffic data collected by the States and Canadian Provinces that supplement the load, classification, and volume data available in the PPDB.

Ancillary Data and Information, not stored in the PPDB but available through the CSSC, includes point-by-point road profiles, falling-weight deflectometer time-history waveforms, distress maps and photographs, drainage videos, construction reports, resource documents, and other data that are memory intensive and costly to distribute. Although requests for these data may be processed free of cost, there may be some limitations, depending on the level of effort required to complete the request. For more information, contact the CSSC at ltppinfo@fhwa.dot.gov or 202-493-3035.

Committed to Quality and Customer Satisfaction

LTPP is committed to high-quality data, the concept of truth in data, and data availability. The LTPP CSSC meets these goals by:

• Ensuring users are guided in the selection of appropriate data.
• Preparing and disseminating data.
• Explaining the database structure and tools to users.
• Providing explanations of data collection methods and data files.
• Listening to customer feedback and providing follow-up assistance.

Customer feedback can be submitted to the CSSC using a Data Analysis/Operations Feedback Report, a mechanism used to report suspected data errors or anomalies. The LTPP team investigates the reports and posts information on problems and resolutions at www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp/feedback.cfm.

LTPP data users and other customers also are encouraged to complete the Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire at www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp/survey2.cfm.

The LTPP Customer Support Service Center is your source for comprehensive, high-quality pavement performance data and information.

LTPP Standard Data Release #20
CD-ROM Set or Single DVD
Includes Data & Supporting Information

The Standard Data Release (SDR), updated annually and distributed on CDs or DVDs, contains current pavement performance data in zipped Microsoft^® Access 2000 databases. The Table Navigator application, which enables users to expand, collapse, and search the LTPP database structure, is included with the SDR. New with this SDR is a Reference Library CD, which gives users the ability to search for software utilities, resource documents, and reports that support the database. Other tools such as Quick Start instructions and an electronic copy of the Data User Reference Manual also are included. For a copy of the current SDR, contact the CSSC at ltppinfo@fhwa.dot.gov or 202-493-3035.

DATA RELEASE POLICY

• All LTPP data are available for analysis. Appropriate use of the data is the responsibility of the user. Contact the CSSC early in your project for guidance on the most appropriate use of data.
• Offline data or ancillary requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• LTPP data users are strongly encouraged to identify the release of the LTPP data they use, especially in publications.
• CSSC can provide technical assistance on formulating queries to extract data.

DATA USER RESOURCES

• The LTPP Information Management System Pavement Performance Database User Reference Guide (FHWA-RD-03-088) provides information on using the LTPP Pavement Performance Database.
• The LTPP 2006 Reference Library CD allows users to search for software utilities, documents, and research reports that support the database.
• The Table Navigator software describes the LTPP database structure and includes definitions of the data elements and codes.
• Accessing LTPP Data tutorial.
• Quick Start guide and tips.

DATAPAVE ONLINE

LTPP data in the PPDB also are available online by visiting www.datapave.com. DataPave is a simple, visual Web application that provides a user-friendly format for exploring, extracting, and organizing the extensive LTPP data for analysis. For large downloads, users can save time by using the SDR. Questions pertaining to data should be sent to ltppinfo@fhwa.dot.gov. Send questions about the DataPave Web site to Antonio Nieves Torres at antonio.nieves@fhwa.dot.gov.

In Brief

LTPP 2005 Year in Review, (FHWA-HRT-06-086). In 2005, LTPP worked diligently to develop a new operational plan for the future under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). In addition, the LTPP program continued to focus on improving the quality and increasing the quantity of data in the LTPP database and on addressing gaps in the materials and traffic data through the materials data action plan and the Specific Pavement Study (SPS) Traffic Data Collection Pooled Fund Study. This report outlines these and other 2005 program accomplishments.

Rehabilitation of Jointed Portland Cement Concrete Pavements: SPS-6, Initial Evaluation and Analysis, (FHWA-RD-01-169). This report documents the first comprehensive review and evaluation of the SPS-6 experiment, which was designed as a controlled field experiment that focuses on the study of specific rehabilitation design features of jointed plain concrete pavements and jointed reinforced concrete pavements. The experiment examines the effects of climatic regions, type of concrete pavement, condition of pavement prior to rehabilitation, and traffic rate, incorporating the different methods of rehabilitation with and without asphalt concrete overlays.

For more information on LTPP publications and products, visit the LTPP Library and Products Web sites at www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp/library.cfm and www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp/product.cfm.

For more information about LTPP, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp.

Coming in our May/June 2006 Issue:

The next issue of the LTPP Newsletter will feature an update on the progress of the LTPP Program Operational Plan for the future under SAFETEA-LU.