Subject: TRB Transportation Research E-Newsletter - August 29, 2007
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:59:51 -0400

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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH E-NEWSLETTER
Transportation Research Board
of The National Academies
8/29/2007
*****************************************

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

***** TRB NEWS *****

* 2008 TRB 87th Annual Meeting: Hotel Rates Announced

* Sharon D. Banks Award for Innovative Leadership in Transportation

* RFI: Fiscal Year 2008 Airport Cooperative Research Program Synthesis
Topics - Recommendations Requested by October 12, 2007
* RFP: Development of Fatigue Loading and Design Methodology for
High-Mast Lighting - Proposals Due October 11, 2007
* RFP: Evaluation of Load Rating by Load and Resistance Factor Rating -
Proposals Due October 11, 2007
* RFP: Operation of Traffic Signal Systems in Oversaturated Conditions -
Proposals Due October 16, 2007
* RFP: Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems - Phase III - Proposals
Due October 16, 2007
* RFP: Engineering Properties, Emissions, and Field Performance of
Warm-Mix Asphalt Technologies - Proposals Due October 16, 2007
* RFP: LRFD Minimum Flexural Reinforcement Requirements - Proposals Due
October 17, 2007
* RFP: Left-Turn Accommodations at Unsignalized Intersections -
Proposals Due October 18, 2007
* RFP: Trip-Generation Rates for Transportation Impact Analyses of
Infill Developments - Proposals Due October 23, 2007
* RFP: Guidelines for Ramp and Interchange Spacing - Proposals Due
October 31, 2007

***** RECENTLY RELEASED TRB PUBLICATIONS *****

* Technologies for Improving Safety Data
* Traffic Monitoring Data: Successful Strategies in Collection and
Analysis
* TR News July-August 2007, Partnerships Advancing European Research:
Achievements and Goals of Two International Initiatives
* Precision Estimates for AASHTO Test Method T 269 Determined Using AMRL
Proficiency Sample Data

***** FEDERAL RESEARCH NEWS *****

* Road Safety Audits Brochure
* A Reliable Waterway System Is Important to Agriculture
* Development of a Preliminary Set of Human Factors Functional Design
Guidelines for Remote Control Locomotive Systems
* Review of the Effect of Very Light Jets on the National Airspace
System
* FHWA Focus Magazine - August 2007
* Evaluation of LS-DYNA Concrete Material Model 159

***** STATE RESEARCH NEWS *****

* Superpave Gyratory Compactor Internal Angle of Gyration Study
* Iowa DOT RESEARCHnews: Summer 2007

***** UNIVERSITY RESEARCH NEWS *****

* Economic Development Effects of INDOT Transportation Projects
* Tribal Technical Assistance Program: Pathways Newsletter, Summer 2007

***** IN THE KNOW *****

* From the Margins to the Mainstream: A Guide to Transportation
Opportunities in Your Community
* Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook - Revised Second Edition 2007
* Driver Vision and Behavior during Dusk and Darkness: Workshop
Presentations Now Online

--------------------------------------------------------------
TRB News
--------------------------------------------------------------

2008 TRB 87TH ANNUAL MEETING: HOTEL RATES ANNOUNCED
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8054

To help in your planning and budgeting for the 2008 TRB 87th Annual
Meeting, January 13-17, 2008, in Washington, D.C., TRB has released the
hotel rates for the upcoming meeting. The new Housing Bureau will open
in late September, along with Annual Meeting registration. Hotel guest
rooms are limited in the meeting hotels and sell out quickly on a
first-come, first-served basis. You are strongly encouraged to register
for the Annual Meeting and make your hotel reservations early. The
group room rates at the meeting hotels are $192.00 single, $212.00
double; these rates are available until the block of rooms is sold out.
The current 14.5%% Washington, D.C., hotel tax will be charged in
addition to these rates. Reservations require a $200 deposit to be made
at the time you register for the meeting. The group rate is offered for
extended stays based on availability. Check-in time is 3:00 p.m.;
check-out time is noon.

SHARON D. BANKS AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP IN TRANSPORTATION
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=1335

The Transportation Research Board is seeking nominations for the Sharon
D. Banks Award for Innovative Leadership in Transportation. This TRB
award was inaugurated in 2002, and it may be presented biennially. The
next presentation of the award will be made during the Chairman's
Luncheon on January 16, 2008, during the TRB 87th Annual Meeting.
Sharon Banks led by example, and this award is intended to honor others
who exemplify her ideals of humanity and service. The award recipient
will have a documented record of successful and innovative leadership in
areas such as community-sensitive transportation facilities and
services; the education, training, and mentoring of transportation
professionals; and other initiatives that bring together people of
diverse backgrounds in the pursuit of excellence.

RFI: FISCAL YEAR 2008 AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM SYNTHESIS
TOPICS - RECOMMENDATIONS REQUESTED BY OCTOBER 12, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8063

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) is soliciting ideas
for candidate topics for the fiscal year 2008 ACRP Synthesis Program.
The ACRP Synthesis Program initiates approximately five synthesis
studies annually that address concerns of airport operators. A
synthesis report is a relatively short document that summarizes existing
practice in a specific technical area, typically based on a literature
review and a survey of relevant organizations. Potential synthesis
topics may be submitted by anyone at any time; however, the closing date
for consideration of synthesis topics for FY 2008 is October 12, 2007.

RFP: DEVELOPMENT OF FATIGUE LOADING AND DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR HIGH-MAST
LIGHTING - PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER 11, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8060

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop loading and analysis criteria for use
in the fatigue design of high-mast poles and to design a method and
specification for high-mast lighting poles.

RFP: EVALUATION OF LOAD RATING BY LOAD AND RESISTANCE FACTOR RATING -
PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER 11, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8061

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to recommend refinements to the load and
resistance factor rating methods in the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials' Manual for Bridge Evaluation and
to explain changes in truck size and weight restrictions.

RFP: OPERATION OF TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS IN OVERSATURATED CONDITIONS -
PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER 16, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8058

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop a guide for operating coordinated
traffic signals in oversaturated conditions on networks including
arterials.

RFP: HUMAN FACTORS GUIDELINES FOR ROAD SYSTEMS - PHASE III - PROPOSALS
DUE OCTOBER 16, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8052

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop additional chapters for the Human
Factors Guidelines and an index for the Human Factors Guidelines (HFG)
series, the NCHRP Report 600. The project will also develop an outreach
plan for HFG, potential methods for updating the HFG, and an analysis of
the feasibility of electronically cross-referencing the HFG to other
industry guides and standards.

RFP: ENGINEERING PROPERTIES, EMISSIONS, AND FIELD PERFORMANCE OF
WARM-MIX ASPHALT TECHNOLOGIES - PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER 16, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8053

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to establish relationships among engineering
properties of warm-mix asphalt (WMA) binders and mixes and the field
performance of pavements constructed with WMA technologies, determine
relative measures of performance between WMA and conventional hot-mix
asphalt (HMA) pavements, compare production and laydown practices and
costs between WMA and HMA pavements, and provide relative emissions
measurement of WMA technologies as compared to conventional HMA
technologies.

RFP: LRFD MINIMUM FLEXURAL REINFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS - PROPOSALS DUE
OCTOBER 17, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8062

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop recommended revisions to the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' load and
resistance factor design bridge design specification and commentary for
rational design of minimum reinforcement to prevent brittle failure of
concrete sections.

RFP: LEFT-TURN ACCOMMODATIONS AT UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS - PROPOSALS
DUE OCTOBER 18, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8059

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop an objective and clear process for
selection of left-turn accommodations at unsignalized intersections and
to provide guidance on the design of these accommodations.

RFP: TRIP-GENERATION RATES FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPACT ANALYSES OF INFILL
DEVELOPMENTS - PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER 23, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8057

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop an easily applied methodology to
prepare and review site-specific transportation impact analyses of
infill development projects located within existing higher-density urban
and suburban areas.

RFP: GUIDELINES FOR RAMP AND INTERCHANGE SPACING - PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER
31, 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8056

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a
request for proposals to develop guidelines for selecting appropriate
ramp and interchange spacing based on safety and operational impacts.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Recently Released TRB Publications
--------------------------------------------------------------

TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING SAFETY DATA
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8042

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Syntheses
367: Technologies for Improving Safety Data explores new technologies
for the acquisition, processing, and overall management of crash,
roadway inventory, and traffic operations data. The report examines the
current state-of-the-practice and state-of-the-art use of technologies
for efficient and effective collection and maintenance of data for
highway safety analysis.

TRAFFIC MONITORING DATA: SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES IN COLLECTION AND
ANALYSIS
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8004

Transportation Research Circular E-C120, Traffic Monitoring Data:
Successful Strategies in Collection and Analysis summarizes sessions
that took place as part of a May 2007 workshop in Washington, D.C.,
designed as a forum to exchange knowledge about successful strategies in
the collection and the analysis of traffic data.

TR NEWS JULY-AUGUST 2007
PARTNERSHIPS ADVANCING EUROPEAN RESEARCH: ACHIEVEMENTS AND GOALS OF TWO
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8026

The July-August 2007 issue of TR News includes the following articles:
* Developing an International Interface for Innovation: A Profile of the
European Conference of Transport Research Institutes
* Transport Research Cooperation in Europe: The COST Success Story
* Talk Is Cheap, Communication Priceless: Practical Tips for Engineers
and Their Colleagues
* Engineers and Scholarly Journals: Reading Patterns in the Electronic
Era
* Improving Pedestrian Safety at Unsignalized Crossings
* Research Pays Off: Smart Parking Management to Boost Transit, Ease
Congestion: Oakland, California, Field Test Shows Promise

PRECISION ESTIMATES FOR AASHTO TEST METHOD T 269 DETERMINED USING AMRL
PROFICIENCY SAMPLE DATA
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8025

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only
Document 114: Precision Estimates for AASHTO Test Method T 269
Determined Using AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL)
Proficiency Sample Data explores the use of data from the AMRL
Proficiency Sample Program (PSP) to update precision estimates for the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) Standard Test Method T269, Percent Air Voids in Compacted Dense
and Open Asphalt Mixtures.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Research News
--------------------------------------------------------------

ROAD SAFETY AUDITS BROCHURE
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8068

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released an online brochure
that provides information on benefits, legal issues, and training
associated with road safety audits. The brochure also provides
information on conducting road safety audits as well as links to
additional resources.

A RELIABLE WATERWAY SYSTEM IS IMPORTANT TO AGRICULTURE
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8071

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service has
released a fact sheet that includes statistics designed to illustrate
the importance of a reliable waterway system to the nation's
agricultural industry.

DEVELOPMENT OF A PRELIMINARY SET OF HUMAN FACTORS FUNCTIONAL DESIGN
GUIDELINES FOR REMOTE CONTROL LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEMS
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8064

The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration has released a report that
explores a set of preliminary human factors functional design guidelines
for remote control locomotive systems, in particular the design of the
operator control unit.

REVIEW OF THE EFFECT OF VERY LIGHT JETS ON THE NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8065

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a report that
explores current very light jet forecasts and what factors could affect
very light jet deliveries, and how increasing numbers of very light jets
might affect the capacity and safety of the national airspace system
(NAS). The report also examines how the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) is planning to accommodate the entry of very light
jets into the NAS, and how very light jets might affect FAA's costs and
Airport and Airway Trust Fund revenues. Very light jets are a type of
small jet aircraft equipped with advanced technologies and priced below
other business jets.

FHWA FOCUS MAGAZINE - AUGUST 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8073

Articles in the August 2007 issue of the Federal Highway
Administration's (FHWA's) Focus magazine include:
* A New Focus on Pavements
* Take a Look at Two-Lift Concrete Paving
* FHWA Releases Updated Petrographic Manual
* FHWA Course Offers Intensive Introduction to Highway Materials
* Pavement Preservation Toolbox CD: The Sequel

EVALUATION OF LS-DYNA CONCRETE MATERIAL MODEL 159
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8074

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a report that
explores a concrete material model that was developed to predict the
dynamic performance, both elastic deformation and failure, of concrete
used in safety structures when involved in a collision with a motor
vehicle.

--------------------------------------------------------------
State Research News
--------------------------------------------------------------

SUPERPAVE GYRATORY COMPACTOR INTERNAL ANGLE OF GYRATION STUDY
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8077

Washington State Department of Transportation has released a report that
explores potential differences in the bulk specific gravity and
ultimately the volumetric properties when calibrating a superpave
compactor's angle of gyration internally and externally.

IOWA DOT RESEARCHNEWS: SUMMER 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8066

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Bureau of Research and
Technology has released the latest issued of its RESEARCHnews electronic
newsletter.

--------------------------------------------------------------
University Research News
--------------------------------------------------------------

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFECTS OF INDOT TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8067

The Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue University has
released a report that explores the interrelationships among economic
development, types of highway improvements, and geographical location,
and how investments in highway infrastructure can be ranked and
prioritized based on sound economic development criteria.

TRIBAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: PATHWAYS NEWSLETTER, SUMMER 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8076

The Michigan Tech Tribal Technical Assistance Program in Michigan's
Transportation Technology Institute at Michigan Technological University
has released the latest issue of its quarterly newsletter. The Tribal
Technical Assistance Program is sponsored by the U.S Federal Highway
Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

--------------------------------------------------------------
In The Know
--------------------------------------------------------------

FROM THE MARGINS TO THE MAINSTREAM: A GUIDE TO TRANSPORTATION
OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR COMMUNITY
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8075

The Surface Transportation Policy Partnership has released a guidebook
that explores how federal surface transportation law can be used to
support local and statewide efforts to build more livable communities
and expand travel options.

RAILROAD-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING HANDBOOK - REVISED SECOND EDITION 2007
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8072

The Institute of Transportation Engineers has released the second
edition of a handbook designed to provide a single reference document on
prevalent and best practices as well as adopted standards relative to
highway-rail grade crossings. The handbook provides general information
on highway-rail crossings; characteristics of the crossing environment
and users; and the physical and operational improvements that can be
made at highway-rail grade crossings to enhance the safety and operation
of both highway and rail traffic over crossing intersections.

DRIVER VISION AND BEHAVIOR DURING DUSK AND DARKNESS: WORKSHOP
PRESENTATIONS NOW ONLINE
-> http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8055

Presentations made as part of the 2007 TRB 86th Annual Meeting's Human
Factors Workshop No. 145: There Goes the Sun: Driver Vision and Behavior
During Dusk and Darkness are now available online.

=============================================================
RECENTLY ADDED PROJECTS TO THE RESEARCH IN PROGRESS DATABASE

The Research In Progress (RiP) Database contains more than 9,500 records
of current or recently completed transportation research projects.
-> http://rip.trb.org/browse/additions.asp?days=7
=============================================================

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Suggestions or comments on content of the TRB Transportation Research
E-Newsletter may be sent to Russell Houston, Senior Program Officer,
Communications, Transportation Research Board at rhouston@nas.edu.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National
Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National
Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research
Council. The mission of TRB is to promote innovation and progress in
transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary
setting, the Board facilitates the sharing of information on
transportation practice and policy by researchers and practitioners;
stimulates research and offers research management services that promote
technical excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy
and programs; and disseminates research results broadly and encourages
their implementation.

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and Medicine

The nation turns to the National Academies - National Academy of
Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and
National Research Council - for independent, objective advice on issues
that affect people's lives worldwide.
-> http://www.national-academies.org

The TRB Transportation Research E-Newsletter regularly covers
transportation research developments in the United States and abroad.
All articles appearing in the E-Newsletter are also available on TRB's
web page http://www.TRB.org. This document is not a report of the
National Research Council or of the National Academies. The opinions
expressed in reports highlighted in TRB's Transportation Research
E-Newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the Transportation Research Board.

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