Strategic Plan for The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

Appendix: FHWA's Research Portfolio in Brief

FHWA's R&T portfolio comprises five topical areas and three crosscutting programs that together support the full range of FHWA's mission and functions and bolster the far-reaching national highway enterprise, as shown in table 2. Research under the direction of TFHRC is described in detail at TFHRC Research and Development Programs Web page.⁽⁸⁾ The entire FHWA research agenda is detailed at the FHWA Research and Technology Agenda Web page.⁽⁹⁾

Assisted by staff throughout FHWA and partner entities, the R&T Leadership Team assures continuous and comprehensive interaction and productive collaboration among these research components. For example, the Leadership Team encourages joint projects addressing crosscutting issues and creative initiatives that do not fall neatly into existing categories.

The following sections briefly describe the eight components of FHWA's R&T portfolio and provide references to additional sources of information.

Infrastructure

The FHWA Infrastructure R&D Program provides technologies and solutions to advance practices in highway infrastructure engineering. Detailed information on the programs of the Office of Infrastructure R&D can be found on the FHWA Infrastructure R&D Web page.⁽¹⁰⁾

R&D activities address pavements, bridges, tunnels, and other structures, the materials from which our highway infrastructure is constructed, inspection techniques for assessing its condition and long-term performance, and measures to protect the infrastructure from natural and man-made extreme events including blast, fire, earthquakes, and floods.

The FHWA's Infrastructure R&D Program develops products that could eventually become national guidelines, tools, or specifications, andthat support achievement of the following FHWA Infrastructure R&T purposes:

• Reduce the number of fatalities attributable to infrastructure design characteristics and work zones.

• Improve the safety and security of highway infrastructure.

• Improve the management of infrastructure assets and advance the implementation of a performance-based program for the National Highway System.

• Improve the ability of transportation agencies to deliver projects that meet expectations for timeliness, quality, and cost.

• Reduce user delays attributable to infrastructure system performance, maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction.

• Improve highway conditions and performance through enhanced design and construction practices, increased use of long-lasting materials, and maintenance innovations.

• Reduce the life-cycle environmental impacts of highway infrastructure (i.e., design, construction, operation, preservation, and maintenance).

The focus areas pursued to achieve these purposes include Long-Term Infrastructure Performance, Durable Infrastructure Systems, Accelerated Highway Construction, Environmentally Sensitive Highway Infrastructure, Performance-Based Specifications, and Comprehensive and Integrated Infrastructure Asset Management.

Operations

The FHWA Operations R&D Program addresses the full range of technologies, strategies, and opportunities to move people, vehicles, and freight more efficiently, effectively, and safely. Detailed information on the programs of the Office of Operations R&D can be found on the FHWA Operations R&D Web page.⁽¹¹⁾

Investments are made to achieve three strategic aims:

• Manage congestion by improving reliability and operating the system at peak performance.

• Build a strong foundation for proactive operations.

• Improve reliability through efficient movement of freight.

Three focus areas of Operations R&D support achieving the preceding aims:

• Transportation Enabling Technologies pertains to methods and equipment that sense and measure traffic characteristics; capture, organize, and manage large amounts of real-time "big data" generated by mobile devices; measure vehicle position and trajectory; assist in navigation; perform precision lane-level mapping; control traffic movement via traffic signals and changeable message signs; and wirelessly communicate information among vehicles and the infrastructure and across the entire communications spectrum, including 3G, 4G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and dedicated short-range communications at the 5.9 gigahertz band.⁽¹²⁾

• Operations Concepts and Analysis involves the development and use of new modeling, simulations, and visualizations to test connected vehicle strategies and automation technologies in their conceptual stages while avoiding costly and possibly unsafe testing on "live roadways."

• Transportation Operations Applications takes promising concepts from simulations to the real world to smooth traffic flow. This area employs hardware and software tools and strategies to develop and test innovative transportation applications on test tracks and public roads. Applications include those susceptible to implementation in the near term (e.g., road weather and work zone management) and the long term (e.g., vehicle platooning and creation of eco-friendly electronic glide paths through signalized intersections).⁽¹¹⁾

Safety

FHWA’s Safety R&D Program addresses three major focus areas:

• Human factors research, which fosters understanding of how road users perceive, process, and respond to the roadway environment, thus improving highway safety through better roadway design.

• Roadway research, which helps keep vehicles on the roadway and minimizes the consequences of leaving the roadway.

• Safety management, which supports improved safety resource allocation decisions through the collection of consistent, high-quality data, the development of analytical tools to transform data into actionable information, and the formal evaluation of the effectiveness of potential safety improvements.

Additional information on the programs of the Office of Safety R&D is available on the Safety R&D Program Web page.⁽¹³⁾

Planning, Environment, and Realty

The Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty's research primarily addresses topics associated with comprehensive intermodal and multi-modal transportation planning, enhancement of community and social benefits of highway transportation, and improvements to the quality of the natural environment by reducing highway-related pollution and by protecting and enhancing ecosystems. In addition, research on the fair and prudent acquisition and management of real property is undertaken.

Additional information on FHWA's planning, environmental, and realty research is available on the Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty's Research and Financial Services Web page.⁽¹⁴⁾

Policy Research

FHWA's policy research initiatives support the following objectives:

• Evaluate impacts of a broad range of policy options, and analyze current and emerging issues that will affect surface transportation programs.

• Promote the efficient, systematic, and comprehensive collection and utilization of national transportation data to improve highway management and investment decisions.

• Research intergovernmental issues between States, cities, and Tribal governments that impact transportation policy decisions, budgetary processes, and legislative recommendations.

• Promote the exchange of highway technology and program innovations between the United States and foreign countries and organizations.

Additional information on policy research is available on the FHWA's Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs Web page.⁽¹⁵⁾

Exploratory Advanced Research

FHWA manages the Exploratory Advanced Research Program across a spectrum of issues that are critical to the transportation industry. This research encompasses four comprehensive focus areas:

• Predicting societal and complex natural systems.

• Creating next-generation solutions to build, maintain, and manage future highways.

• Developing next-generation solutions for system operations and reducing congestion.

• ·Creating next-generation pedestrian, bicycle, and driver safety.

Additional information can be found on the Exploratory Advanced Research Program Web page.⁽¹⁶⁾

Innovative Program Delivery

The FHWA's Office of Innovative Program Delivery executes a comprehensive research program. It seeks to place its activities within a broader, national agenda by engaging a wide spectrum of stakeholders to define the goals for the research program and develop multi-year roadmaps. Research focuses on (1) refining and developing new innovative strategies for project finance, revenue generation, and procurement; (2) developing and delivering tools for evaluating the applicability of the innovative strategies; and (3) addressing public policy, operational, and legislative issues associated with the strategies.

Additional information can be found on the Office of Innovative Program Delivery Web page.⁽¹⁷⁾

Federal Lands Highway Technology Programs

The Office of Federal Lands Highway, in close collaboration with the Office of Research, Development, and Technology and other partnering entities, advances highway technology through two related programs:

• The Federal Lands Highway Technology Program evaluates new highway technology that will improve the quality and efficiency of the Federal Lands Highway Program and its delivery systems within the highway community. The program provides solutions that are sensitive to agency needs, improve agency efficiency, and improve the quality of transportation projects. This is accomplished through engaging partners and customers to play an active role in the program. The program enables technology transfer between Federal land management agencies, tribal governments, FHWA Resource Centers, FHWA's Office of RD&T, and the transportation industry. Goals of the program include developing, evaluating, and implementing new highway technologies; field testing and demonstrating new technologies; providing engineering assistance; and sharing and documenting results with the transportation community.⁽¹⁸⁾

• The Coordinated Federal Lands Highway Technology Implementation Program is a cooperative technology deployment and sharing program between FHWA's Office of Federal Lands Highway and Federal land management agencies. It provides a forum for identifying, studying, documenting, and transferring new technology to the transportation community.⁽¹⁹⁾