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Pages 111-134

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From page 111...
... 111 5 Federal Highway Research and Development on Nationally Significant Issues In order to help gauge whether the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office's (ITS JPO's)
From page 112...
... 112 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION • Equity • Governance • System Performance and Asset Management • Funding and Finance • Goods Movement • Institutional and Workforce Capacity • Research and Innovation These topic areas are not listed in any particular priority order and many are interrelated. For example, technology, safety, equity, governance, funding, and innovation cut across many other topics.
From page 113...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 113 effects, efforts to monitor and understand the evolution and use of these services and their implications on transportation infrastructure planning, design, and safe and efficient operations would provide a useful service to the local governments responsible for regulating them and planning for infrastructure, and the broader public as well. FHWA RD&T has funded a report containing high-level planning guidance to help jurisdictions manage shared mobility services for public benefit;2 however, this, along with data collection described below, is the main extent of the agency's R&D activity in this area.
From page 114...
... 114 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION is the only national survey of its kind, but has been conducted on an irregular basis (5–8-year intervals) due to funding shortages.
From page 115...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 115 vehicles (through programs under different names) some 15 years ago.
From page 116...
... 116 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION congestion by inducing more travel demand. Because the answers to these questions will depend in part on the complicating factor of CAVs operating alongside vehicles with and without automation for a long time, answers will not be forthcoming for some time.
From page 117...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 117 strong potential. These are current areas of FHWA, ITS JPO, and UTC RD&T and will remain promising areas in the future.
From page 118...
... 118 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Rural Depopulation Many rural counties across broad swaths of the United States have lost population and are forecast to continue to do so.21 A significant issue in rural areas with declining populations is paying for upkeep of rural roads, many of which are important for the movement of agricultural commodities, as the tax base erodes. Rural highway access becomes of national interest when highways through rural areas serve as important links for passengers and freight in the intercity highway network, even if they carry light traffic.
From page 119...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 119 and FHWA also provides extensive guidance to practitioners on modeling issues and practice.24 A handful of UTC research projects address some dimension of metropolitan area travel demand models. A small number of SP&R studies are investigating enhancements to state travel demand models.
From page 120...
... 120 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION alternative fuel corridors and providing guidance to states and local governments in their designation.28 Answers to more fundamental questions posed in TRB's Critical Issues in Transportation, however, would be needed by policy makers if they were committed to influencing more sustainable fuel choices for highway transportation, including ones appropriate for FHWA RD&T: What is the most appropriate public role in facilitating the distribution and adequate coverage of hydrogen refueling and battery recharging infrastructure? What policies will work and be most cost effective?
From page 121...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 121 and bridges to sea-level rise and ground subsidence,30 developed improved tools and guidance for assessing bridge foundation vulnerability from more intense flooding wherever it might occur,31 and provided guidance to states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in responding to congressional requirements for highway plans to incorporate resilience.32 FHWA RD&T regarding resilience to climate-related severe weather builds on its many years addressing designs to protect against natural and man-made hazards.33 (UTC researchers are also working on resilience; about 9 percent of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act [FAST Act]
From page 122...
... 122 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Management Agency, because of their extensive work in protecting against, and responding, to flooding. SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH FHWA RD&T has long addressed highway safety from multiple angles and has added addressing public health consequences of transportation emissions to its portfolio.
From page 123...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 123 1. Vehicle CAV technology development is evolving so rapidly in the private sector that it's difficult and risky for the public sector to fix on any particular technology or application; 2.
From page 124...
... 124 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION on conformance with federal environmental justice requirements.43 The ITS JPO has a major RD&T initiative to harness advanced technologies to improve transportation services for the disabled through its Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative.44 Roughly 8 percent of UTC research is addressing some dimension of equity. Equity is not a focus of SP&R or NCHRP research.
From page 125...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 125 the funding for highways as well as build, own, and operate them. From a federal perspective, an efficient and well-functioning network of Interstate highways is essential for continued economic prosperity.
From page 126...
... 126 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION • incorporation of life-cycle costs into asset management; and • benchmarking state DOT performance management. TRB's committee for reviewing FHWA's Long-Term Infrastructure Program (which includes the Long-Term Pavement Performance [LTPP]
From page 127...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 127 RD&T's Highway Research and Development program, described in Chapter 3, is serving as the most important initiative in this area and should produce valuable insights about a range of important issues, including feasibility of various technologies, administrative costs, privacy, public acceptance, and equity. Research to date in this area reveals a broad lack of understanding in the public about how highway infrastructure is paid for and the most appropriate options for doing so.
From page 128...
... 128 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION This growing area of FHWA RD&T is focusing on assessing the condition of key freight infrastructure corridors and improving data and modeling on freight flows (such as through the Freight Analysis Framework [FAF]
From page 129...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 129 models at the multi-state and national scale, as discussed in the "Serving and Growing and Shifting Population" section, would also be useful in this context. INSTITUTIONAL AND WORKFORCE CAPACITY Critical Issues in Transportation 2019 argues that the ability of state and local government officials to deliver innovations developed by FHWA and others depends on the capability of their workforces.
From page 130...
... 130 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION 23 USC 504(e) to use the federal aid authorized in their core funding areas for training and professional development.60 Workforce recruitment, development, and retention is also an active area of applied research in NCHRP, which is funding research on workforce strategies for (a)
From page 131...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 131 • What is the culture of innovation in state DOTs and local agencies and how would this culture be determined? There are exemplary examples of innovative DOTs, but how typical is this?
From page 132...
... 132 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION 5.3 There are compelling policy and operational issues that could justify even greater levels of RD&T investment by FHWA and the ITS JPO in the future: • Transformational Technologies -- by (a) continuing to foster interoperability of rapidly evolving connected and automated vehicle technologies, as well as technologies and systems to connect infrastructure to CAVs; (b)
From page 133...
... FEDERAL HIGHWAY R&D 133 • System Performance and Asset Management -- by continuing to assist state DOTs and MPOs in responding to congressional directives in performance planning, performance measurement, and asset management while also filling gaps in knowledge about the condition of Interstate highway pavement foundations and the extent, condition, and performance of Interstate interchanges. • Funding and Finance -- by supporting and managing a largescale national pilot program in mileage-based user fees.

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