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From page 35... ... 35 3 Federal Highway Administration and Intelligent Transportation System Research, Development, and Technology Programs In 2015, Congress authorized $316.5 million annually over 5 years for research, development, and technology (RD&T) transfer that is mostly focused on highway transportation.1 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... 36 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION 2015–2019 in the discussion of the ITS program.3 FHWA's and ITS JPO's extensive websites are also relied on for additional details about specific initiatives and published research. The chapter describes and reviews FHWA's Highway Research and Development (HRD) Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 37 FHWA's classification of the funding in each category as applied research, development, or technology transfer. Bridges and Structures ($6 million) Read the entire page →
From page 38... ... 38 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION performance concrete (UHPC) ;5 provision of technical guidance to improve resilience; investigation and documentation of the reliability of non- destructive evaluation (NDE) Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 39 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota.7 The evaluations find that FHWA's development and technology transfer efforts led to expanded use of the novel foundation design by local governments and states. They also found that (a) Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... 40 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Independent case study evaluations of specific pavement and materials RD&T activities have not been completed, but an assessment is under way of FHWA's RD&T on high-friction surface treatments; warm-mix asphalt with high proportions of recycled materials; and precast concrete pavements. The program is on the verge of reporting a breakthrough in testing for Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR) Read the entire page →
From page 41... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 41 Transportation Performance Management (TPM) ($15 million) Read the entire page →
From page 42... ... 42 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION techniques, which the program provides through (1) capacity building and outreach; (2) Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 43 relate to RD&T; technical capacity building in safety across all levels of government; identifying innovative road safety solutions and developing countermeasures; information sharing, training, and technical assistance; R&D on new methodologies and tools; improvement in design to enhance the safety of all highway users; and research on human response to low levels of vehicle automation (driver assistance warnings and automated emergency braking) .20 Almost all of the safety RD&T efforts are provided for, or partnered with, state DOTs. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... 44 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION practices in Active Transportation Demand Management and Integrated Corridor Management; targeted research and technology transfer on arterial traffic management and signaling systems; R&D on CAVs, including impacts on freight operations; RD&T on management of road weather, disruption and incidents, and work zone safety; RD&T on freight data, operations, tools such as the widely used Freight Analysis Framework;26 and planning and R&D on truck size and weight issues27 impacting highway design and operations. Partners include state DOTs, MPOs, local agencies, transportation associations and professional societies, and private systems developers. Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 45 and methods to enhance air quality and noise analyses; development and deployment of tools, techniques, strategies, and methodologies for assessing the sustainability and resiliency of transportation plans, projects, and programs; research on innovations in multimodal planning and design and provision of training materials; and technology transfer reflecting those innovations. FHWA's partners in these activities include state DOTs, MPOs, local agencies, transportation associations, and other federal agencies. Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... 46 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Management Research Dataset and the Highway Performance Monitoring System;34 generation of the monthly Traffic Volume Trends report;35 developing the sample and data collection for the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) ;36 and researching, developing, and applying improved data collection techniques. Read the entire page →
From page 47... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 47 and operations) .40 The EAR program meets the Congressional criterion for funding fundamental research. Read the entire page →
From page 48... ... 48 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) ($2 million) Read the entire page →
From page 49... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 49 is allocated to applied research. Based on our coding of research activities, 59 percent of FHWA's RD&T activities can be categorized as applied research. Read the entire page →
From page 50... ... 50 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION 3. HRD activities are developed and delivered in collaboration with the states, other federal agencies, governments, and private entities. Read the entire page →
From page 51... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 51 Every Day Counts (EDC) EDC, allocated $7.5 million in authorized funds, works through state DOTs and industry associations to identify and implement proven innovations. Read the entire page →
From page 52... ... 52 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION terms of financial and time savings, increased safety, and improved quality and durability.51 EDC is a concerted effort to promote proven innovations and move them into practice more broadly. EDC's principal contribution is in funding and organizing efforts by state DOTs to choose innovations, make commitments to adopt them, and put them into practice. Read the entire page →
From page 53... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 53 Specific funding such as this helps overcome the risk aversion public agencies have about trying something new, as described in Chapter 2. Projects include activities eligible under Title 23, and recent examples include use of slide-in bridge construction technology to reduce the time to replace bridge superstructures and high-friction surface treatments to enhance safety;53 application of UHPC to accelerate construction and extend pavement service life; diverging diamond interchanges to improve throughput and safety;54 and implementing adaptive signal control systems to improve traffic flow.55 FHWA requires grant recipients to write a report within 6 months of project completion that documents the benefits and lessons learned.56 Only a few reports are available from the 84 grants posted as of May 2019, some of which are preliminary but still informative.57 Lack of more complete reporting to date, however, is limiting the effectiveness of this program because the sharing of experience is critical to making the case about the effectiveness of the innovations and encouraging their use more broadly. Read the entire page →
From page 54... ... 54 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION 2. The deployment strategy being employed through EDC and STIC, which encourages state DOTs and their partners to select products to deploy and make commitments to do so, is effective at fostering deployment of innovation. Read the entire page →
From page 55... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 55 (RUCs) (see Annex 3-A) Read the entire page →
From page 56... ... 56 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Advanced Transportation Congestion Management Technologies Deployment ($60 million) FHWA classifies the funding from the HRD, TIDP, and ITS programs for this program as applying to the deployment stage. Read the entire page →
From page 57... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 57 2. Congress requires grantees to document how funds are used, describe the lessons learned, and document the benefits of the grants. Read the entire page →
From page 58... ... 58 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION in either concentrated, in-person, instructor-led formats ranging from 1 to 5 days or over the Web through live webcasts or self-paced training using recorded webcasts. Courses extending over multiple days can cost up to $1,500 per participant. Read the entire page →
From page 59... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 59 • Center for Workforce Development,69 which leads programs and initiatives that enhance workforce development, ability, and diversity in key transportation sectors and disciplines through ° Assisting State Transportation Agencies and others with developing and enhancing on-the-job training and apprenticeship programs for the highway construction industry, and ° Support to five Regional Surface Transportation Workforce Development Centers. Each Center supplies the people, planning, resources, and coordination necessary to address priorities unique to its region. Read the entire page →
From page 60... ... 60 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION per state and local transportation employee.71 Of course, not all state and local highway employees require training each year. If 5 percent of employees require training each year, then about $1,000 in federal funding is supporting each employee requiring training. Read the entire page →
From page 61... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 61 ITS Program Structure USDOT's ITS 2015–2019 strategic plan describes the structure of USDOT's ITS program in terms of two primary strategic priorities, six program categories, and five strategic themes.72 The strategic priorities are connected vehicle (CV) implementation and advancing automation. Read the entire page →
From page 62... ... 62 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION The plan describes qualitatively the relative emphasis on research, development, and adoption in each program category over the 5-year planning period.73 In connected vehicles, the primary emphasis is on adoption, with development as the secondary emphasis and research as the third. This allocation is consistent with the strategic priority of connected vehicle implementation. Read the entire page →
From page 63... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 63 Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program USDOT announced in 2014 a program to competitively award cooperative agreements to governments for pilot deployments of connected vehicle technologies. Multiple awards were contemplated, demonstrating diverse applications and geographic settings. Read the entire page →
From page 64... ... 64 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION evaluation. USDOT planned the pilots as the next step toward CV deployment following the 2011–2014 Ann Arbor test of V2V and V2I DSRC technology.78 Projected federal funding and total costs at the time of the awards were: New York City: $18.6 million federal/$23.5 million total; Tampa: $15.2 million federal/$19.1 million total; Wyoming: $4.4 federal/$5.8 million total.79 The schedule calls for a concept development phase through September 2016, a design/build/test phase through April 2019, and a maintain/operate pilot phase through October 2020, followed by post-pilot operation of the systems.80 ITS JPO published a "lessons learned" report in December 2018 on the design/build/test phase, which concluded that the design/build test phase was wrapping up despite significant technical and non-technical challenges, including "the still maturing state of key applications, a dynamic security credential management environment [described below] Read the entire page →
From page 65... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 65 • Conduct of spectrum sharing testing, in cooperation with FCC, on the effect of sharing the DSRC band with non-ITS uses (e.g., Wi-Fi) .84 • Demonstration of a prototype Heavy Vehicles V2V basic safety message (BSM) Read the entire page →
From page 66... ... 66 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION funds.86 USDOT reported that the demonstration would receive an additional $100 million from private partners and other sources.87 Columbus projects receiving funding from the USDOT grant include a data management system; a CV system to include equipment on transit buses, city vehicles, and roadside units; an app to allow travelers to select itineraries across modes; an app to assist people with cognitive disabilities in navigating the city bus system; event parking management, and others.88 Project deployments are expected to take place in 2019 and 2020.89 Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative The Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative is a joint program of FHWA, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) , ITS JPO, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research to develop and implement methods for improving mobility options for travelers with disabilities. Read the entire page →
From page 67... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 67 ITS technology (state and local governments and private-sector firms) to support adoption and to aid the transition to large-scale deployment. Read the entire page →
From page 68... ... 68 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION for automated vehicles.96 The document identifies research under way to implement the stated policies. For example, one of six USDOT automation principles is "U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 69... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 69 as a system. The interoperability ITS program category supports R&D activities in five technical areas101: • Architecture: frameworks for implementing ITS (e.g., a connected vehicles system) Read the entire page →
From page 70... ... 70 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION • Development of heavy vehicle cybersecurity best practices; and • Support for creation of an industry-based certification laboratory consortium to develop certification test procedures. Support for the CV pilot deployments and Smart City Challenge, as initial implementations of standards compliant systems, has been an important component of the ITS program's standards effort. Read the entire page →
From page 71... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 71 the ITS program for facilitating deployment, gaining the greatest benefits from the technology, and maintaining the U.S. competitive position in the global ITS products and services industries. Read the entire page →
From page 72... ... 72 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION funding supports the diffusion of knowledge about ongoing and published research. Read the entire page →
From page 73... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 73 3.3 FHWA RD&T and ITS JPO initiatives are organized strategically to further specific objectives. Included in these objectives are ones Congress has emphasized, particularly orienting the federal-aid highway program around performance objectives (mobility, safety, accelerated delivery of projects, and asset management) Read the entire page →
From page 74... ... 74 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION ANNEX 3-A SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FUNDING ALTERNATIVE GRANTEES AND FUNDING TABLE 3-A-1 Pilot Program Grants for Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives Program, Fiscal Years 2016–2018a State Department of Transportation Amount(s) Read the entire page →
From page 75... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 75 ANNEX 3-B NHTSA V2V RULEMAKING AND FCC SPECTRUM ALLOCATION Large-scale deployment of CV as a safety measure has been a primary goal of the USDOT ITS program for 20 years, with development and testing concentrating on DSRC V2V technology. FCC in 1999 allocated the 5.9 GHz frequency band for use by DSRC ITS. Read the entire page →
From page 76... ... 76 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Wi-Fi use of the 5.9 GHz band.109 Box Annex 3-B-1 shows a chronology of USDOT V2V research and regulatory activities, as well as recent related industry actions and developments in other countries. The recent challenges to USDOT's historical CV development track raise two related but independent sets of policy questions: • Concerning regulation: Should the federal government mandate V2V devices? Read the entire page →
From page 77... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 77 BOX 3-B-1 Chronology of Development of DSRC V2V Communications Technology 1980s–1990s: Government and industry groups promote the Intelligent Vehicles and Highway Systems concept, including connected vehicles (CVs) Read the entire page →
From page 78... ... 78 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION BOX 3-B-1 Continued 2015, September: ITS JPO awards cooperative agreements in the CV Pilot Deployment Program to New York City, Tampa, and Wyoming. 2016, November: NHTSA publishes a preliminary regulatory impact analysis, estimating that the proposed V2V rule would eventually avoid roughly 1,000 fatalities and 400,000 injuries annually.l 2017, January 12: NHTSA publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; V2V Communications proposing the DSRC V2V system technical requirements, applicability, and timetable of the regulation.m 2017, March 9: General Motors announces introduction of V2V DSRC communications as standard equipment on some Cadillac models.n 2017, November 8: NHTSA releases a statement on the status of its V2V rulemaking: "The Department of Transportation and NHTSA have not made any final decision on the proposed rulemaking concerning a V2V mandate. Read the entire page →
From page 79... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 79 BOX 3-B-1 Continued f NHTSA. Read the entire page →
From page 80... ... 80 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION wider-scale implementation."111 USDOT repeated this assessment in its 2017 Spectrum Sharing Analysis Plan, and contrasted the readiness of DSRC with the status of alternatives: DSRC is both a broadcast and a two-way short- to medium-range wireless communications capability which permits rapid and reliable data transmission essential for communications-based active safety applications…. To date, no other wireless technology has been developed which provides all of the critical attributes necessary for crash-avoidance safety. Read the entire page →
From page 81... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 81 development of standards and regulations before C-V2X could be deployed, and the 5G cellular infrastructure necessary for full deployment is not yet in place. An analysis by UMTRI researchers estimated that a 3-year delay in adopting a V2V regulation would have a cumulative cost of 41,000 to 45,000 fatalities that could have been avoided by immediate adoption.115 Similarly, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Read the entire page →
From page 82... ... 82 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION regulation requiring a suite of "smart" safety features on all vehicles is under discussion, but mandatory provision of CV devices is not included in the proposal.121,122 The effect of the EC ITS-G5 rule on CV deployment in Europe remains to be seen. The stated intent of the rule is to enable large-scale deployment of systems starting in 2019. Read the entire page →
From page 83... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 83 provided that rigorous testing demonstrated that such devices would not cause harmful interference to life saving V2X systems."125 Arguments in Favor of Altering the Course of CV Development 1. Limitations of the DSRC technology: DSRC is a "static" technology with limited potential for expanded capabilities in the future. Read the entire page →
From page 84... ... 84 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION new spectrum, and the 5.9 GHz band is sought for this application. The Internet & Television Association (NCTA) Read the entire page →
From page 85... ... FHWA AND ITS RD&T PROGRAMS 85 ANNEX CONCLUSIONS 1. Rulemaking on required communications and the specific communications protocol technology standard has been delayed with no timetable for implementation. Read the entire page →

From page 35...

... 35 3 Federal Highway Administration and Intelligent Transportation System Research, Development, and Technology Programs In 2015, Congress authorized $316.5 million annually over 5 years for research, development, and technology (RD&T) transfer that is mostly focused on highway transportation.1 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)