NCHRP 2017 Annual Report (2017)

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13 RESEARCH PRODUCTS Disseminating research and documenting success Dissemination of research findings to practitioners is a primary objective of the entire NCHRP research process. Publication of the final report or other deliverables is a key means of dissemination. NCHRP research findings are published in a number of series, which are listed in Table 1 of this Annual Report. Quantities for these series published over the past five years are shown in Exhibit 5. Some NCHRP publica- tions produced this year are: • NCHRP Research Report 844: Guide for Integrating Goods and Services Movement by Commercial Vehicles in Smart Growth Environments provides policymakers with ways to integrate the commercial movement of goods and services into community design and construction, as well as strategies to retroactively improve existing conditions. (Project 08-96) Strategies to Advance Automated and Connected Vehicles: Briefing Document CONTENTS AVs and CVs are coming. Why should I care? .................................................................................1 Technology Context ............................................................................................................................2 Regulatory Context .............................................................................................................................3 How AVs and CVs Could Lead to Positive Societal Outcomes ............................................3 Foundational Research: Social Welfare and Market Economics ........................................6 Importance of Strategic Goals .........................................................................................................8 High-Level Summaries of Policy and Planning Strategies ..................................................8 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Policy Strategy Summaries ................................................................................................................. 12 Guide for Integrating Goods and Services Movement by Commercial Vehicles in Smart Growth Environments NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 844 NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Legal Research Digest 74 NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM February 2017 LIABILITY OF STATE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION FOR DESIGN ERRORS This report was prepared under NCHRP Project 20-06, “Legal Problems Arising Out of Highway Programs,” for which the Transportation Research Board is the agency coordinating the research. The report was prepared under Topic 22-02 by Larry W. Thomas, Washington, DC. James B. McDaniel, TRB Counsel for Legal Research Projects, was the principal investigator and content editor. Background State highway departments and transportation agencies have a continuing need to keep abreast of operating practices and legal elements of specific problems in highway law. The NCHRP Legal Research Digest series is intended to keep departments up-to-date on laws that will affect their operations. Foreword Transportation departments have demonstrated an interest in protecting their agencies from liability for design errors and omissions in infrastructure projects and defective safety appliances and products. This study demonstrates that litigation has defined the parameters of a transporta- tion department’s liability for design errors or omissions. State tort- and sovereign-immunity statutes may shield an agency from liability. If the state has waived its immunity for certain claims, however, the transportation department may still have immunity when it has exercised discretion in the planning or design phase of a project. When a gov- ernment contractor is acting as an agent of the transporta- tion agency, the contractor may also have a claim. If a contractor is at fault, the agency may be able to recoup any related losses incurred from the contractor. Transportation departments generally require govern- ment contractors to maintain insurance to cover costs and damages resulting from claims due to defective planning, design, and construction. The digest covers liability insurance for design errors and omissions. It also examines public con- struction law, professional liability, and product warranties. A survey was sent to all 50 U.S. state departments of transportation (DOT) and the District of Columbia. The survey requested the state to provide information on its experience with and policies and practices on claims for design errors and omissions. Over one-half of the state DOTs responded to the survey, and many offered exam- ples of related standard contract and insurance provisions and forms. A significant number of those who responded to the survey indicated that within the past 5 years, claims had been brought against them or their contractors for allegedly defective planning or design. Only a few had been held liable, however. The results of this digest should be beneficial to transportation managers, attorneys, engi- neers, design contractors, and insurance personnel. Responsible Senior Program Officer: Gwen Chisholm Smith LRD 74_COVER_final.indd 1 1/13/17 6:10 PM Traffic Signal Preemption at Intersections Near Highway–Rail Grade Crossings NCHRP SYNTHESIS 507 A Synthesis of Highway Practice NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM • NCHRP Synthesis of Highway Practice 507: Traffic Signal Preemption at Intersections Near Highway–Rail Grade Crossings documents practices in North America for pre- empting traffic signals at intersections adjacent to highway–rail grade crossings. The report explores leading practices, recent research, and ongoing issues. (Project 20-05/ Topic 47-15) • Strategies to Advance Automated and Connected Vehicles is a briefing document that conveys the key findings of NCHRP Research Report 845: Advancing Automated and Connected Vehicles: Policy and Planning Strategies for State and Local Transporta- tion Agencies and provides guidance on aligning traditional public policy interests with rapidly emerging automated and connected vehicle technologies. (Project 20-102(01) ) • NCHRP Legal Research Digest 74: Liability of State Departments of Transportation for Design Errors examines the parameters of a DOT’s liability for design errors or omissions, exploring in depth the issues of immunity and state tort claims acts. (Project 20-06/Topic 22-02) Exhibit 5. Number of NCHRP Publications, 2013 to 2017 Publication Series 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 (est.) NCHRP Reports 25 39 20 19 28 NCHRP Syntheses of Highway Practice 14 14 17 17 15 NCHRP Research Results Digests 9 5 7 3 1 NCHRP Legal Research Digests 4 2 5 4 3 Web-Only Documents 8 9 8 7 13 CD-ROMs 4 9 5 2 0 Total 64 78 62 52 60

14 Publications are distributed widely by TRB, with print runs for reports ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 copies. Print copies are mailed to the CEOs of state DOTs, AASHTO staff, panel members, the contractor, and the following individuals and organizations: • TRB members who have chosen to receive publications in the particular subject area of the report • About 100 libraries • TRB representatives in the state DOTs • Numerous educational institutions • Liaison representatives from industry and transportation organizations in other countries • Relevant TRB panels and committees NCHRP subprograms Several “subprograms” are carried out within NCHRP. Results may be published in hard copy, delivered in the form of internal reports and presentations, published on the TRB website, or made available upon request. Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems (Project 20-05) Administrators, practicing engineers, and researchers continually face problems on which much infor- mation already exists, either in documented form or in terms of undocumented experience and practice. Unfortunately, this information is often fragmented and scattered, and therefore overlooked. The NCHRP Synthesis series aims to remedy this lack of awareness of existing solutions by assembling and organizing relevant information, practices, and research for particular highway problems. Legal Problems Arising out of Highway Programs (Project 20-06) State DOTs have an interest in evaluating the operating practices, administrative procedures, and legal issues associated with planning, design, and construction of transportation projects. Individual state legal experiences need to be compared and made available for possible wider application. This research identi- fies and evaluates legal options for DOTs, which facilitates the handling of both immediate and long-range needs. Research for AASHTO and State DOT Leadership (Project 20-24) NCHRP conducts focused research that addresses and responds to the evolving challenges facing state DOT decisionmakers. Reports from this project deliver timely information on topics including asset management, innovative financing and contracting, performance measures, and e-business, as well as emerging topics such as connected automated vehicles. NCHRP IDEA Program (Project 20-30) The Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) program funds research into promising but un- proven innovations for highway design and construction, materials, operations, maintenance, and other ar- eas of highway systems. A progress report that describes current and completed projects is published an- nually. A high percentage of products funded by the IDEA program have been successfully implemented.

15International Highway Research and Technology (Project 20-36) The NCHRP International Highway Research and Technology program provides a coordinated approach to international information sharing and technology exchange. The program’s overall objective is to improve highway safety, development, maintenance, and operations through dissemination of innovative technology and successful policies and practices from around the globe. Domestic Scan Program (Project 20-68) The NCHRP Domestic Scan Program identifies innovative practices of high-performing transportation agencies that could be beneficially adopted by other interested agencies. The purpose of each scan and of the program as a whole is to facilitate information sharing and technology exchange among the states and other transportation agencies and to identify actionable items of common interest. Research Support for AASHTO Committees (Note: The AASHTO committee structure was reorganized in 2017. These committee assignments are un- der review.) • Standing Committee on Highways (Project 20-07) Through this project, the Standing Committee on Highways obtains guidance on an accelerated schedule through a continuing research program geared to the needs of the committee in the devel- opment of guides, standards, policies, and other AASHTO activities. • Standing Committee on Planning (Project 08-36) The objective of this project is to provide a flexible, ongoing program of quick-response research for the Standing Committee on Planning to improve analytical methods, decision support tools, proce- dures, and techniques employed by practitioners to support statewide and metropolitan transporta- tion planning, programming, and development. • Standing Committee on the Environment (Project 25-25) This project provides flexible, ongoing, quick-response research to the Standing Committee on the Environment. The research is focused on environmental analysis, streamlining, stewardship, and planning to respond effectively to program delivery and project development issues. • Standing Committee on Public Transportation (Project 20-65) This project comprises quick-response research tasks to assist in the fulfillment of Standing Com- mittee on Public Transportation responsibilities. Research is carried out on transit planning, opera- tions, transit delivery, and related matters as state involvement in public transportation continues to grow. The final deliverable As an applied research program, NCHRP expects final research deliverables to be presented in language understandable to both administrators and practitioners and in a format that permits easy assimilation and application. The detailed research techniques and analyses in which a researcher would be interested are generally presented in report appendices. NCHRP specifies the style and organization of all research reports to guide the researchers. The NCHRP project manager writes a foreword for each published report that (1) identifies the fields of specialty of those likely to be most interested in the results and (2) suggests how the results fit into present knowledge and practice. All published reports are offered for sale through TRB’s Business Office. Since 2001, published reports also have been made available electronically on TRB’s website.

16 Promoting useful results before publication NCHRP undertakes a number of activities before formal publication of the final deliverables to increase the probability that results will be applied: • Initial research proposals are required to state how the anticipated results can be used to improve practice. • Panel members who are experts in the particular problem area and have a good understanding of practitioner needs define the research problem and its objectives and keep the focus of the research on producing implementable results. • Investigators are selected because of the likelihood that the research results will be usable and read- ily implementable. • NCHRP staff and panel members engage with the contractor throughout the research to ensure it is conducted according to the approved research plan. Implementing research results Implementation is the last step in the research process—the benefit of research cannot be realized unless it is put to use. NCHRP has developed a science-based approach called active implementation to help state DOTs put research results into practice. To ensure that the research products are viable, NCHRP considers implementation throughout the course of a project—from the development of the problem to the awarding of the research contract and beyond to the completion of the research. The selection of implementation strategies depends on the research product. NCHRP facilitates collabora- tion among stakeholders by managing communication, reinforcing technology transfer activities, measur- ing outcomes, and keeping all stakeholders moving toward the same goal during the active implementation process. Each research product requires a tailored approach to dissemination and, if appropriate, to sup- porting activities designed to help state DOTs and other agencies put the results into practice. In 2017, NCHRP began publishing two-page Ready Results briefs for selected NCHRP research projects that were recently completed. These publications, which are targeted at practitioners, outline the research need, provide an overview of the research results, and, most importantly, offer guidance on immediate next steps for putting the results into practice. Among the Ready Results briefs published to date, two examples are included starting on page 19: • New Tool Supports Watershed-Based Stormwater Management • Extending Bridge Life by Maintaining Expansion Joints

17In addition, NCHRP’s new Research Topic Highlights publication series features NCHRP research products for a single subject area in each issue. Two issues pub- lished in 2017 detail NCHRP practice-ready solutions in the areas of warm mix as- phalt and bank erosion and bridge scour. NCHRP will release a third edition in ear- ly 2018 highlighting roadway tunnel research products. Documenting success For the past several years, NCHRP has addressed the challenge of documenting or showcasing successful research products. Several approaches are being used, and NCHRP will continue to explore new and better ways to meet this challenge. Every four years, NCHRP surveys panel members from completed projects to identify known applications of research results. Feedback from these surveys enables NCHRP to confirm high usage and application of research results, to improve the implementation of future research results, and to identify successful applications of research. These successful applications of NCHRP research are showcased in a series of case studies, “Impacts on Practice,” based on interviews with DOT practitioners. More than 35 of these case studies are posted on the TRB website. In addition, the interviews with DOT practitioners have identified the various ways that states implement NCHRP research results. NCHRP documents some of these implementation efforts and methods in the “Paths to Practice” series. Bank Erosion and Bridge Scour NCHRP PRACT ICE-READY SOLUT IONS FOR JULY 2017 R E S E A R C H T O P I C H I G H L I G H T S NCHRP NATIONALCOOPERATIVEHIGHWAYRESEARCHPROGRAM SECT ION 4 Scour Special Cases SECT ION 3 Predictive Equations for Scour SECT ION 2 Bridge Scour Countermeasures SECT ION 1 Bank Erosion Countermeasures INTRODUCTION Bank Erosion and Bridge Scour: NCHRP Research Improves Prediction and Prevention