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January/February 2002
Recent Publications
Compiled by Zac Ellis of FHWA's Office of Research and Technology ServicesBelow are brief descriptions of reports recently published by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Research, Development, and Technology. All of the publications are available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies of the publication are available from the Research and Technology (R&T) Report Center.
When ordering from NTIS, include the NTIS PB number (or publication number) and the publication title. You may also visit the NTIS Web site at www.ntis.gov to order publications online. Call NTIS for current prices. For customers outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the cost is usually double the listed price. Address requests to:National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: (703) 605-6000
Toll-free number: (800) 553-NTIS (6847)
Expanded Sales Desk Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Mon.-Fri.
Requests for items available from the R&T Report Center should be addressed to:
R&T Report Center, HRTS-03
Federal Highway Administration
9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q
Lanham, MD 20706
Telephone: (301) 577-0906
Fax: (301) 577-1421
For more information on research and technology publications coming from FHWA, visit the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center's (TFHRC) Web site at www.tfhrc.gov, FHWA's Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov, the National Transportation Library's Web site at http://ntl.bts.gov, or the OneDOT information network at http://isweb.tasc.dot.gov/library/library.htm.
Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and Pedestrians
Publication No. FHWA-RD-01-103
This project updated, revised, and expanded the scope of the Older Driver Highway Design Handbook published by FHWA in 1998. The resulting document incorporates new research findings and technical developments; extensive feedback from state, county, and municipal engineers who reviewed and applied recommendations from the earlier version of the handbook; and recommendations with supporting background material for aspects of modern roundabouts and highway-rail grade crossings, two elements that were not covered in the 1998 publication. Recommendations geared toward the use of highway facilities by pedestrians also receive greater emphasis. Guidance on how and when to implement the recommendations has been added, as well as codes that indicate at a glance the relationship of each recommendation with standard design manuals, including the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (also known as the "Green Book").
Development of the updated handbook was complemented in this project by a technology transfer initiative to make practitioners aware of the handbook and to assist in applying its recommendations. This included the development of a condensed document, Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians (Publication No. FHWA-RD-01-051), plus printed and electronic materials supporting practitioner workshops throughout the United States in the 1999-2001 period.
The NTIS publication number is PB 2002-100276.
Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians
Publication No. FHWA-RD-01-051
Consistent with the full handbook, this guidelines and recommendations document incorporates new research findings, technical developments, and extensive feedback from state, county, and municipal engineers who reviewed and applied recommendations from the 1998 publication. Guidance on how and when to implement the included recommendations is included, as well as codes that indicate at a glance the relationship of each recommendation to standard design manuals, including the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (also known as the "Green Book").
All research products developed under this contract are designed to provide practical guidance to engineers for accommodating the needs and functional limitations of an aging population of road users. Included recommendations are directed toward new construction, reconstruction, scheduled maintenance, and "spot treatments" to ameliorate demonstrated safety problems, emphasizing countermeasures with modest additional cost during installation and the potential for cost-savings over the entire life cycle.
The NTIS publication number is PB 2001-108785.
Prediction of Chloride Penetration in Concrete
Publication No. FHWA-RD-00-142
The objective of this study was to identify or develop a test for predicting chloride penetration in concrete to be used for evaluating new mixes, for accepting or rejecting new concrete according to specifications, and for evaluating in-place concrete. The test was intended to supplement or replace the use of AASHTO T27-93, "Electrical Indication of Concrete's Ability to Resist Chloride." In this study, different test procedures were evaluated for use in predicting the chloride penetration resistance of concrete in a short time frame (less than 35 days). The test results were correlated to those of long-term salt ponding and diffusion tests.
In the first phase, several tests identified in the literature were subjected to a preliminary screening process. In the second phase, tests identified as promising were subjected to a more rigorous evaluation. In the third phase, the best test procedure was examined further. As a result of this work, the Rapid Migration Test (RMT) was identified as being the most successful. RMT involves using an electrical potential to drive chloride ions into a concrete sample for a specific test duration and then evaluating the depth of chloride penetration with a colorimetric indicator. RMT correlates as well or better than AASHTO T277 with the long-term ponding tests and was able to evaluate correctly a wider variety of concretes, including those with corrosion inhibitors. The quantitative parameter obtained in RMT was related to those from AASHTO T277 in the high-performance concrete grades identified by Goodspeed, Vanikar, and Cook (1996). As part of this work, an inter-laboratory evaluation was performed to assess RMT and to refine the procedure.
The NTIS publication number is PB 2002-100056.Framework for Evaluating the Use of Recycled Materials in the Highway Environment
Publication No. FHWA-RD-00-140
This manual is intended as a reference document for highway and environmental engineers who are interested in the use of recycled materials in the highway environment. The document provides a recommended evaluation methodology for determining the suitability of using recycled materials in highway construction.
The methodology is presented in hierarchical form, where more general evaluations or screenings occur in the initial steps of the evaluation, followed by more detailed laboratory and field testing, if needed, as the evaluation proceeds. Detailed tables describing recommended testing methods and criteria to be used in the evaluation are provided.
The NTIS publication number is PB 2002-100893.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics is the source of all cited statistics.
Virtually every motor vehicle driver and passenger in the United States knows that congestion is an ever-increasing problem despite the Herculean efforts of the Federal Highway Administration, state departments of transportation, local governments, and others to find and implement solutions. Lots is being done, but when you look at some of the relevant statistics, the incredible magnitude of the problem becomes clearer.
First of all, the United States has experienced a real population explosion over the past 30 years. From 1970 to 1998, the resident population of the country has increased from almost 204 million to more than 270 million - an increase of 33 percent. And even more astounding is the increase in the number of people in the civilian labor force over the same period; the number has grown from about 83 million to about 138 million, which is an increase of 66 percent. So, by percentage, the work force has expanded twice as much as the general population.
That's 55 million more people going to work daily, and because almost 88 percent of all workers travel to work in an automobile - more than 78 percent drive themselves and about 9.5 percent drive/ride in a car pool - that's about 48.4 million more commuters by automobile on road every day.
Where did all these people come from? Of course, part of the answer is the overall increase in the adult population, and another significant part of the answer is the more than 30 percent increase in the percentage of women who are in the labor force.
This is also reflected in the number of vehicles per household. In 1969, 21 percent of all households had no vehicle; by 1995, only 8 percent were without a vehicle. During the same period, the percentage of households that had only one vehicle dropped from 48 to 32, while the percentage with two or more vehicles increased from 31 to 59.
And with the increases in the number of vehicles, the length of commuter and personal trips, and commercial vehicle traffic, the total highway vehicle-miles increased by 137 percent from 1970 to 1998 (by 72 percent from1980 to 1998). But from 1980 to 1999, the total U.S. roadway lane-miles increased by only 3.6 percent.
No wonder that our roads are congested.
Other Articles in this issue:
A Report of the National Highway R&T Partnership Initiative
Managing Traffic Flow Through Signal Timing
Lessons Learned About Bridges From Earthquake in TaiwanAn Olympic Event: Handling Transportation During the Olympics
A Legacy in Art in a New ExhibitionFHWA and Nevada DOT Create a Wetland in Nevada
