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Special Report 202 21 r encas Hi*ghways Accelerating the Search for Innovation TRANSPORTATION RESEARCHBOARD NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.
1984 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS CHAIRMAN: Joseph M. Clapp, Senior Vice President, Roadway Express, Inc., Akron, Ohio VICE CHAIRMAN: John A. Clements, Commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways, Concord EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Thomas B. Deen, Transportation Research Board MEMBERS Ray A. Barnhart, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) Lawrence D. Dahms, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Berkeley, California (ex officio, Past Chairman, 1983) Michael J. Fenello, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) Francis B. Francois, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C. (ex officio) William J. Harris, Jr., Vice President, Research and Test Department, Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C. (ex officio) Darrell V Manning, Director, Idaho Department of Transportation, Boise (ex officio, Past Chairman, 1982) Ralph Stanley, Administrator, Urban Mass Transportation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) Diane Steed, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) Duane Berentson, Secretary, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia John R. Borchert, Regents Professor, Department of Geography, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Lowell K. Bridwell, Secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation, Baltimore- Washington Intenational Airport Ernest E. Dean, Executive Director, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Texas Mortimer L. Downey, Deputy Executive Director for Capital Programs, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York, New York Alan G. Dustin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Boston and Maine Corporation, North Billerica, Massachusetts Mark G. Goode, Engineer-Director, Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, Austin Lester A. Hoel, Hamilton Professor and Chairman, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Lowell B. Jackson, Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Madison Alan F. Kiepper, General Manager, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Houston, Texas Harold C. King, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation, Richmond Fujio Matsuda, President, University of Hawaii, Honolulu James K. Mitchell, Professor and Chairman, Department of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley Daniel T. Murphy, County Executive, Oakland County, Pontiac, Michigan Roland A. Ouellette, Director of Transportation Affairs, General Motors Corporation, Washington, D.C. Milton Pikarsky, Director of Transportation Research, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago Walter W. Simpson, Vice President-Engineering, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, Virginia John E. Steiner, Vice President for Corporate Product Development, The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington (Retired) Leo J. Trombatore, Director, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento Richard A. Ward, Director-Chief Engineer, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma City
Special Report 202 Americds Highways Accelerafing the Search for Innovafion Strategic 'fransportation Research Study: Highways TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Washington, D.C. 1984
Transportation Research Board Special Report 202 Price $18.60 Edited for TRB by Jane P. Starkey mode 1 highway transportation subject areas 11 administration 21 facilities design 24 pavement design and performance 25 structure design and performance 31 bituminous materials and mixes 32 cement and concrete 33 construction 34 general materials 35 mineral aggregates 40 maintenance Transportation Research Board publications are available by ordering directly from TRB. They may also be obtained on a regular basis through organizational or individual affil- iation with TRB; affiliates or library subscribers are eligible for substantial discounts. For further information, write to the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineeringand the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the committee, the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the sponsors of the project. The study was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Depart ment of Transportation. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data National Research Council. Transportation Research Board. America's highways. (A Strategic transportation research study) (Special report/Transportation Research Board, National Research Council; 202) 1. Highway researchâUnited States. 2. RoadsâUnited States. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board. II. Series. III. Series: Special report (National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board); 202. TE192.A44 1984 625.7'072073 84-14690 ISBN 0-309-03656-9 JSSN 0360-859X Printed in the United States of America
STEERING COMMITTEE FOR A STRATEGIC TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH STUDY: HIGHWAYS THOMAS D. LARSON, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg, Chairman DUANE BERENTSON, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia DONALD W. COLLIER, Borg-Warner, Corporation, Chicago FRANCIS B. FRANCOIS, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C. ROBERT N. HUNTER, Missouri Highway and Transportation Department, Jefferson City HAROLD L. MICHAEL, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana THOMAS D. MORELAND, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta DANIEL T. MURPHY, County Executive, County of Oakland, Pontiac, Michigan WILLIAM A. ORDWAY, Arizona Department of Transportation, Phoenix RICHARD S. PAGE, The Washington Roundtable, Seattle BRUCE H. PAULY, Eaton Corporation, Chagrin Falls, Ohio DANIEL ROOS, Center for Transportation Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology JOSEPH L. SCHOFER, Department of Civil Engineering, Northwestern University Liaison Representatives ROBERT J. BETSOLD, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C. LEON M. COLE, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. LESTER P. LAMM, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C. JAMES A. SCOIT, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C. EDWIN M. WOOD, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C.
Transportation Research Board Staff DAMIAN J. KULASH, Assistant Director for Special Projects ROBERT E. SKINNER, Program Manager L. GARY BYRD, Consultant
Preface The condition of Americäs highways is receiving intensive public and legislative attention. Most of this attention appropriately focuses on the scope of public programs that would be required to rebuild or replace these facilities or on the financing to suppdrt these programs. Never- theless, financing alone cannot solve the problems of the nation's high- ways. Study after study has shown that needs far exceed the available resources. Innovation is the key to bridging this gap, and careful tar- geting of research can accelerate the search for innovation. The Federal Highway Administration, in recognition of this need for innovation, commissioned the Transportation Research Board to study this problem, define the needs for research, and devise a plan for the implementation of a new strategic highway research program. This study focuses exclusively on public highway facilities. It is the first of a series of studies entitled the Strategic Transportation Research Study (STRS) that will examine transportation fd§earch from a new perspective. These studies will assess and recommend research priorities for various modes of transportation based on expected payoffs, prospects for success, and other concerns unique to each mode. To provide a new perspective, this study approaches highway research from the vantage point of a unified industry, instead of by the present structure that involves every state, city, county, and toll highway au- thority, and thousands of contractors and suppliers. V
vi Preface The study describes the nature of this structure (Chapter 1) and ex- amines current highway research programs (Chapter 2). From these reviews a strategy emerges for identifying neglected problems that might not be overlooked if highway responsibilities were more concentrated (Chapter 3). Using this strategy, the study identifies and defines six priority areas where concerted research could produce innovations that would greatly increase the productivity and safety of the nation's high- ways (Chapters 4-9). The study concludes with an examination of al- ternative institutional arrangements for managing research in these areas (Chapter 10) and a set of final recommendations (Chapter 11). The Committee that performed this study was charged with devel- oping a 5-year plan for strategic highway research. The Committee soon recognized that the proposed 5-year program would require additional start-up time and in the instance of long-term pavement testing a con- tinuation well beyond the 5-year term. Nonetheless, the 5-year concept is considered to be an important feature of this strategic program. It defines the need for a time-specific, concentrated, short-term, and re- sults-oriented research effort aimed at closing specific technological gaps that have impeded the effective advancement of the highway program. The Committee included state transportation officials, corporate re- search directors, professors with expertise in specific highway research areas, and local officials, as well as liaison members from the federal government and the Congress. Over a period of about a year and a half, the Committee examined a diverse range of highway research activities and concluded that a unique opportunity exists to undertake a new approach in highway research by focusing on a limited number of major initiatives in a few critical areas. The program proposed in this report represents a significant departure from the past. The research plan en- visions that there will be considerable transfer of information among the six research areas. This will require continuing coordination, co- operation, and feedback throughout the life of the program. It responds to critical national needs, has the potential for high payoffs, and has the necessary support of the important highway constituency groups. It has been designed to be practical and responsive to real problems. The approach, however, goes beyond simple, immediate, pragmatic considerations. The Committee calls for the development of an inno- vative approach to highway research that will result in new techniques, new technologies, and new processes. Pragmatism and innovation are not incompatible, and the Committee recognizes both the opportunity and responsibility to understand the fundamental processes that affect the nation's highway system, both directly and indirectly. It is equally
Preface vii important to involve new participants in all aspects of the STRS pro- gram, to rebuild areas of. neglected technical competence, to explore emerging technologies that will have, an impact on the highway industry in the future, and to present new and different perspectives. The committee has concentrated its major attention on the specific tasks to be undertaken and has reviewed only briefly the nature of the organization that might manage the STRS program. Although selection of the appropriate managing organization may be the most important decision affecting the success of the overall program, the Committee does not believe that its role is to recommend any specific organization. Rather, that decision should be made at a later time following careful consideration of all the issues involved. To aid in this decision, some guidelines and' possible, institutional arrangements for such an organi- zation have been provided in Chapter 10. Of particular note, the STRS organization and its director should be competent in research and tech- nical management, understand research deployment strategies, and en- vision how innovative approaches can be introduced into a large-scale research effort. A delicate balance must be maintained by the organi- zation to satisfy the needs of the highway constituency and at the same time ensure that innovation, risk, flexibility, and new approaches are included in the process. The momentum that has built throughout the highway industry during the course of the STRS study represents an important breakthrough for the highway system. In spite of its ambitious scope, the program rec- ommended here focuses primarily on highway materials. There are nu- merous other areas in the highway field where research is vitally needed, and the Committee supports continuation of research initiatives in those areas. In particular, the planning of highway facilities and the manage- ment of the highway system continue to pose many questions that re- search can answer productively. The Committee is convinced that the STRS program, which concentrates on a few crucial problems that are not easily addressed by existing processes, must not divert attention from other valuable ongoing highway research efforts on management, financing, planning, traffic operations, and many other aspects of the nation's highway system. Not only should research in these areas con- tinue, but it is recognized that the ultimate success of the STRS program is dependent on the ability of management, planning, and other func- tions to adjust to innovative materials and processes. Safety has been emphasized as a key criterion in this study. Even so, it is clear that safety is of such paramount concern that it may warrant a separate, STRS-like reassessment of research priorities. Perhaps a
viii Preface future volume of the STRS series will be devoted to this important research area. The Committee anticipates that as the proposed program of research is completed, other organizatons and individuals will follow its recom- mendations and implement its findings. Throughout the program, in- ternational collaboration will be necessary to exploit the technology being developed outside the United States and to share the results of this research program with the international community. In the end the success of the STRS program will depend on the extent to which in- novation is transferred ,into practice. In this context, the Committee recognizes that its proposals are only one part of successful implemen- tation. It seems certain that the widespread and effective application of innovative materials and techniques will also require changes in training, procurement practices, and other phases of implementation that cannot be thoroughly addressed until the findings of the proposed research are known. This report represents the collective efforts of an effective and in- dustrious steering committee, Transportation Research Board staff, con- sultants, workshop participants, and a host of highway agency and in- dustry representatives who provided valuable data, ideas, and assistance to the study. The work was performed with the benefit of continuing personal guidance from both Dr. Thomas D. Larson, Secretary of Trans- portation for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who served as com- mittee chairman, and Thomas B. Deen, Executive Director of the Trans- portation Research Board. The study was performed under the supervision of Dr. Damian J. Kulash, Assistant Director, and Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Program Man- ager, Special Projects Division of TRB. Valuable assistance in the prep- aration of the report was provided by Gary Byrd with contributions from Ronald W. Hudson, David W. Schoppert, Alan E. Pisarski, Ronald Duych, and Margaret Heckard. Special appreciation is expressed to Nancy A. Ackerman, TRB Pub- lications Manager, and Jane P. Starkey, Assistant Editor, for editing and preparing the text for publication and to Margaret M. Sheriff for typing many drafts and the final report.
