USA Banner
  U.S. flag
              An official website of the United States government Here's how you knowOfficial US Government Icon
              **Official websites use .gov**A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
            Secure Site Icon
              **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                  A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 
 U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation
 Search DOT
            Search
                    About FHWAFHWA Organization
                Headquarters Offices
                Field Offices
                Strategic Plan
                Business Opportunities
                Staff Directories
                Careers
                Highway History
                Contact UsProgramsAcquisition Management
                Civil Rights
                Federal Lands Highway
                Infrastructure
                Innovative Program Delivery
                Operations
                Planning, Environment, and Realty
                Policy
                Research, Development, and Technology
                Safety
                Browse by TopicsResourcesCore Highway Topics
                Federal Aid Essentials
                Automation
                Complete Streets
                Laws and Regulations
                Policy & Guidance Center
                Section 508
                Publications and Statistics
                Professional Development
                National Highway Institute
                Resource Center
                Accessibility Resource Library
                FHWA Research LibraryNewsroomPress Releases
                Speeches & Testimony
                Photos
                Videos
                Media ContactsMenu OFFICE OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY AT THE TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER Home
                        Research


            
            In This Section
        Explore Research and Technology
                Staff Expertise
                                Roles and Responsibilities Search
                Facility Overview
                Visiting TFHRC
                Offices Overview
                Laboratories
                Data Sets
                                Overview
                Highway Safety Information System*
                Interactive Highway Safety Design Model
                Long-Term Pavement Performance
                Long-Term Bridge Performance
                Safety Training and Analysis Center
                Projects Overview
                
                Research & Technology Transporter - August 1999
    

    
    
          Table of Contents

STRUCTURES

**FHWA Lays Groundwork for HERMES II**SAFETY

**Crash Test: Thrie Beam on Steel Post Guardrail**
	**New York Three-Cable Terminal Crash Tested with Small Car**
	**FHWA Conducts Crash Test with W-Beam Guardrail**PAVEMENTS

**MoDOT Debuts Scrub Meal Maintenance Treatment**
	**LTPP Products Now Available on the Web**
	**FHWA Partners with Hot Mix Asphalt Industry and Wins Award**POLICY

**Highway Finance Reassessment Begins**MOTOR CARRIERS

**Commercial Driver's License Effectiveness Study**TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

**New Accessibility Policy Announced**



STRUCTURES

FHWA Lays Groundwork for HERMES II

A truck towing a trailer driving on bridge with trees in background

**HERMES has a unique arrangement of transceivers that can give samples across a 2-m width of bridge deck at 3-cm intervals.**Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developed HERMES-a ground penetrating radar system that uses an array of impulse radar modules to create images of internal defects in concrete bridge decks. This system launches high-frequency electromagnetic pulses into a bridge deck while traveling at normal highway speeds. It evaluates the bridge deck without the need for lane closures.

FHWA will provide a thorough and systematic evaluation of the prototype system, thereby laying the ground work for the development of a second-generation HERMES system-HERMES II. FHWA's Nondestructive Evaluation Validation Center will work on this project to ensure that Phase Two of this research is focused on providing an effective system for the inspection of bridge decks.

HERMES is made of a computer workstation and data storage device, a survey wheel, control electronics, and an array of 64 antenna modules or transceivers. The most unique design feature of the system is the antenna array that consists of air-coupled ultra-wideband horn antennas producing signals with a frequency content ranging from 0.5 to 5 GHz. The arrangement of the transceivers gives samples across a 2-m width of the deck at 3-cm intervals. In the direction of movement, 3-cm spacing or less is attainable. The density of data enables synthetic aperture radar techniques to be used in the processing of the data, and three-dimensional images can be produced.

The state of California is leading the effort to develop HERMES II, which will incorporate the improvements and developments resulting from the testing and evaluation of the prototype system.

Researchers anticipate that HERMES II will potentially do the following:

Conduct quantitative and reliable condition assessment of bridge decks.
	Assess a large network of bridges quickly.
	Present deck condition data in a format that can easily be converted to engineering plans and can provide accurate estimates for deck rehabilitation.HERMES II will begin in the year 2000, with the goal of delivering this technology within 3 years. For more information, please contact the FHWA NDE Validation Center.

***Glenn Washer (202) 493-3082, glenn.washer@fhwa.dot.gov***

Top



SAFETY

Crash Test: Thrie Beam on Steel Post Guardrail

FHWA recently conducted a crash test of a thrie beam on strong steel post guardrail at Texas Transportation Institute's (TTI) Proving Grounds. The purpose of the test was to see if a thrie beam guardrail with routed wood blockouts on 2.1-m-long steel posts could meet the strength requirements for Test Level Three (TL-3) in National Cooperative Highway Research Program's Report No. 350 (NCHRP 350). There was some question as to whether or not this steel post guardrail would perform satisfactorily because a thrie beam on strong steel post guardrail (G9 system) with steel blockouts had failed the same strength test with a pickup truck.

The thrie beam on a strong-steel post guardrail had 150-mm by 200-mm wood blockouts with a 100-mm by 10-mm routed groove (see figure 1). This groove fit over the steel flange and prevented rotation of the blockout. It also served to brace the flange against buckling until the vehicle was redirected. The 2000-kg pickup truck impacted the guardrail at a nominal impact speed and angle of 100 km/h and 25 degrees and was smoothly redirected. The pickup truck remained upright and relatively stable during and after the collision. Damage to the pickup truck was relatively minor. Damage to the guardrail was also minimal.

The maximum lateral deflection of the barrier was only 0.58 m. The test results met the evaluation criteria in NCHRP 350.

***Charles McDevitt (202) 493-3313, charlie.mcdevitt@fhwa.dot.gov***



New York Three-Cable Terminal Crash Tested with Small Car

The New York 3-Cable Terminal was recently crash tested with an 820-kg small car at a nominal speed and angle of 100 km/h and 15 degrees at TTI's Proving Grounds.

The test installation was constructed on a 6-to-1 slope. The distance from the groundline to the center of the top cable was 685 mm. The first post was set in a concrete footing and made frangible by a slip-base connection. The concrete footing for the last post and the cable anchors were constructed in two sections that fit together with a tongue and groove connection. The critical impact point was selected so that the bumper of the test vehicle had to break the first post away before the vehicle ramped up the ends of the cables and overturned. This was considered to be a worst-case test condition.

The small car was towed into the test installation using a steel cable guidance and a reverse tow system. The vehicle, traveling at 99.3 km/h impacted the terminal at 14.7 degrees. The right front corner of the bumper impacted the cables in the downward sloping section and then contacted the first post, activating the slip base. The right front tire contacted the post and knocked it to the ground. As a result, the small car gated through the end of the terminal as intended in a stable manner. The vehicle continued to travel down the side of the ditch. It then traversed up the back slope and traveled out of what would be the right-of-way and into private property.

There was very little damage to the vehicle due to its encounter with the terminal and damage to the terminal was minimal. The test results met the evaluation criteria for Test No. 3-34 in NCHRP Report 350.

***Charles McDevitt (202) 493-3313, charlie.mcdevitt@fhwa.dot.gov***



FHWA Conducts Crash Test with W-Beam Guardrail

The front of a truck shown parked beside a guardrail on gravel road with field and tree in background

**W-beam transition redirected the pickup truck, which remained upright.**FHWA recently conducted a crash test at TTI's Proving Grounds on a transition design that has a W-beam rub rail. To date, very few guardrail-to-bridge rail transitions have been tested in accordance with NCHRP 350.

By using computer simulation, researchers determined that the critical impact point was to be 1.5 m from the end of the rigid concrete section. The 2000-kg pickup truck impacted the transition at 100 km/h and an impact angle of 25 degrees. The pickup truck was redirected and remained upright. The test results met the evaluation criteria for Test Number 3-21 in NCHRP Report 350.

In the design used for this test, the upper and lower W-beam rails were connected to a vertical face on an independent concrete end block. The side of the concrete end block was shaped so that it would transition from a vertical section to a NJ-shape over a 3.05-m length. This is a versatile transition design because it can be used to connect the guardrail to either a NJ-shape or a vertical concrete bridge rail. The independent concrete end block has a large spread footing, which can be eliminated if the end block is adequately attached to the wing wall abutment.

When conducting the test, it is important to properly lap the W-beam rails over the end shoes in the direction of traffic. In an earlier test, the end shoes were improperly lapped over the W-beam rails. As a result, the edges of the end shoes formed a snag point that caused the pickup truck to roll 45 degrees towards the barrier before coming to a complete stop.

***Charles McDevitt (202) 493-3313, charlie.mcdevitt@fhwa.dot.gov***



Top



PAVEMENTS

MoDOT Debuts Scrub Seal Maintenance Treatment

An MDOT truck parked on a street in construction area

**By the end of the 1999 construction season, MoDOT will have about 1295 km of scrub seal in place.**The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) introduced its scrub seal maintenance treatment at the Iowa Summer Maintenance Expo held April 19.

MoDOT implemented its first scrub seal in 1996 with the support of FHWA's Office of Technology Applications. By the end of the 1999 construction season, MoDOT will have about 1295 km of scrub seal in place.

Scrub seal material is an anionic-charged, polymer-modified, asphalt agent that is applied to asphalt pavement surface. The material rejuvenates a dry, oxidized, and cracked surface, but it does not improve the structural condition of the pavement.

The oil-based agent is sprayed on and then scrubbed into cracks and voids by a truck dragging a 3.66 m-wide, X-shaped tool with about three dozen broom heads attached. The asphalt is quickly followed by a layer of small aggregate such as sand or cinders, which is scrubbed into cracks and voids by a second broom. A pneumatic tire roller then rolls the seal. Under ideal weather conditions of 21-32EC, the road can be opened to traffic within two hours.

Compared to other preventive maintenance treatments, such as a one-inch hot-mix overlay, a chip seal, or microsurfacing, a scrub seal is faster to apply. It lasts about 4 years, and it's basically maintenance free. At about $3,000 per mile, scrub seal is also significantly cheaper.

What's the downside? Since it's meant as a preventive maintenance treatment, it is appropriate only for pavements already in sound condition. For more information, call the contact below.

***Ivan Corp (816) 889-6403***



LTPP Products Now Available on the Web

Two Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) software products-LTPPBind and Rigid Pavement Design Software-can now be downloaded directly from LTPP's Web site.

The LTPPBind software was developed by LTPP to help highway agencies select the most suitable and cost-effective Superpave performance grade (PG) for a particular site. The program includes climatic data from 7,928 weather stations in the United States and Canada. Users can pick a particular region on a map, zoom in on it, and receive a summary of temperature data and PG binder calculations for the three weather stations closest to the selected region on the map.

The Rigid Pavement Design Software is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that automates the design and analysis procedures in the 1998 Supplement to the AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures. Developed by LTPP to help highway managers and engineers implement the improved guidelines for design portland cement concrete pavements, the spreadsheet allows engineers to tailor rigid pavement design to site-specific conditions, materials, traffic, and design details. The resulting design is more cost-effective and reliable.

Copies of LTPPBind and Rigid Pavement Design software can be obtained from the LTPP Web site at www.tfhrc.gov. From the home page select "LTPP" and then "Products."

***Charlie Churilla (202) 493-3142, charles.churilla@fhwa.dot.gov***



FHWA Partners with Hot Mix Asphalt Industry and Wins Award

Three construction workers spraying hot asphalt on street

**New procedures implemented by the hot-mix asphalt industry protect the 300,000 highway paving workers across the country.**FHWA has received the first annual Partnership Award for Worker Health and Safety from the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA).

FHWA and its partners set a new benchmark for worker safety when the hot mix asphalt paving industry voluntarily agreed to use innovative control technology equipment which reduces worker asphalt fume exposure by 80 percent on all new large highway class highway pavers produced after July 1997. Working together, FHWA and its partners ensured that effective control technology, designed and evaluated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), was implemented to protect the 300,000 highway paving workers across the country.

The award was created by NORA to recognize and honor those organizations participating in a NORA-related research partnership that achieves the goal of protecting and enhancing worker health and safety. NORA is a national occupation research agenda developed by NIOSH and public and private partners to provide a long-term framework for occupational safety and health research.

***Dawn Vanlandingham (202) 493-3198, dawn.vanlandingham@fhwa.dot.gov***

Top



POLICY

Highway Finance Reassessment Begins

In June 1999, the Office of Highway Policy Information announced that it would begin a comprehensive reassessment of its highway finance reporting series including State highway finance, local highway finance, as well as Federal highway finance reporting series. These data are published annually in FHWA's Highway Statistics publication.

The purpose of the reassessment is to review highway finance data and determine what changes should be made to meet current and emerging needs of FHWA and of FHWA's other customers. The enactment of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the increased emphasis on FHWA's strategic plan provide the opportunity for FHWA to undertake this reassessment. The extensive use of highway finance data in post-TEA-21 reauthorization, the need to support the legislatively required Conditions and Performance Report, and changing customer data needs also provide current and compelling impetus for this reassessment.

The highway finance reassessment is expected to extend over two years and ultimately result in data that will both serve HPPI customers through a streamlined system that will not burden the States. Improved software ("smart" forms) and analytical packages should result through this process.

The recent Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) and Motor-Fuel Reassessments-two programs characterized by the open participation of many partners-will serve as models for this effort.

***Tom Howard (202) 366-0170, tom.howard@fhwa.dot.gov***

Top



MOTOR CARRIERS

Commercial Driver's License Effectiveness Study

A man sitting in big rig on driver's side writing something for a man standing by the open driver's door

**The CDL program has made significant progress toward resolving safety problems.**The Commercial Driver's License (CDL) program went into effect nationwide in 1992. Established when Congress enacted the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA), the CDL program was initiated to ensure that only one CDL is issued to an individual and that all driving convictions are made part of a driver's record. The Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety recently completed a study that examined the implementation of the CDL program and assessed its effectiveness and benefits to highway safety.

Researchers found that the CDL program has made significant progress toward resolving the safety problems that led to the enactment of CMVSA. Some findings included the following:

The incidence of CDL holders possessing multiple licenses of any type has been greatly reduced, limiting the practice of spreading driving convictions among multiple records.
	Testing requirements associated with obtaining a CDL have eliminated many problem drivers who had been operating commercial motor vehicles.
	State CDL compliance reviews have indicated that States have harmonized their laws with the violations listed in the CMVSA, allowing for legal equivalency among States concerning convictions for CMVSA violations.The study recommends that FHWA develop a formal process for ongoing review, assessment, correction, and continuous improvement of the States' implementation of the CDL program. More findings and recommendations can be found in the final report, the Commercial Driver's License Effectiveness Study, available from the National Technical Information Service.

***Larry Slade (202) 366-5721, larry.slade@fhwa.dot.gov***

Top



TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

New Accessability Policy Announced

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater held a ceremony to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and announce a new departmental policy on accessibility that will affect the way pedestrian access in the public right-of-way is designed.

The transportation policy and action items include:

A departmental policy statement to ensure access for people with disabilities and access to all modes of transportation, including trails and walkways;
	A ONEDOT accessibility task force comprised of representatives from all modes of transportation to develop programs and benchmarks to help ensure transportation access for all Americans;
	An initiative on pedestrian access to improve design standards, clarify existing guidelines, and ensure transportation planning processes and implementation address all applicable ADA requirements;
	The distribution of new FHWA publication Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Accessibility (Part 1, Research Report) and airports;
	FHWA will partner with the U.S. Access Board to develop guidance on accessibility in pedestrian public rights-of-way starting in October 1999;
	The unveiling of a new department Web site that provides information about transportation access issues. The Web site is www.fhwa.dot.gov/ada.People walking across a crosswalk on street with a building and a bus in background

**In October, FHWA will partner with the U.S. Access Board to develop guidance on accessibility in pedestrian public rights-of-way.**Further, Secretary Slater recognized four cities -- San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington, and Silver City, New Mexico -- for their extraordinary work on creating visionary access programs within their cities.

San Francisco employs remote infrared signage technology that allows the blind, when carrying a small receiver, to pick up location and direction information such as how to leave a transit facility, street numbers on municipal buildings, and intersecting streets.

Austin, partnering with disability groups, has developed a $1 million-a-year program to make curb ramps accessible for everyone.

Seattle's "Citizen Wheelchair Ramp Request" form activates a city staffer to personally work with the individual making the request to make sure their needs are met and that the necessary ramps from their home to the nearest bus stop are installed in an expedited three to nine months.

Silver City's flooding problems led to very high curbs of two to three feet. The city's endeavors to make the downtown accessible far exceeded ADA requirements.

***Dawn Vanlandingham (202) 493-3198, dawn.vanlandingham@fhwa.dot.gov***



Top

Page Owner: Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management
Topics: Research & Technology Transporter
Keywords: Research & Technology Transporter
TRT Terms: Research & Technology Transporter
Scheduled Update: Archive - No Update needed
This page last modified on 01/31/2017
              
      
    
          Last updated: Wednesday, March 15, 2023 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

202-366-4000Subscribe to email updates
                    About
  

        
              About FHWA
                Careers
                Org Chart
                Staff Directories
                Work with UsPrograms
  

        
              Acquisition Management
                Civil Rights
                Federal Lands Highway
                Infrastructure
                Innovative Program Delivery
                Operations
                Planning, Environment, and Realty
                Policy
                Research, Development, and Technology
                SafetyPolicies, Rights, Legal
  

        
              About DOT
                Accessibility
                Budget and Performance
                Civil Rights
                FOIA
                Information Quality
                No FEAR Act
                Office of Inspector General
                Privacy Policy
                USA.gov
                Web Policies and Notices
                Web StandardsNews & Events
  

        
              Newsroom
                Press Releases
                Speeches & Testimony
                Media Contacts
                Connect with Us