FHWA R&T Now ~ March 2010~

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A news update of research, technology, and development from the U.S. Department of Transportation 

(USDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

GENERAL/ADMINSTRATIVE

Monique R. Evans, FHWA’s New Director, Office of Safety Research and Development

Monique R. Evans has been selected as the new Director, Office of Safety Research and Development.

Evans has more than 20 years of transportation related experience in the area of research and development. 

Since 2000, she has served as Administrator, Office of Research and Development, Ohio Department of 

Transportation (ODOT). In this position, Evans is responsible for the administration, delivery, and 

accountability of ODOT’s transportation research, development, and technology transfer 

program. Previously, she served in ODOT as a Standards Engineer, where she developed engineering 

policies, design criteria, and recommended statewide policy and procedure changes for roadway and 

roadside safety design. Evans holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University 

of Cincinnati. She is a Registered Professional Engineer in Ohio and a Certified Public Manager. She 

currently chairs several Transportation Research Board committees, including the Conduct of Research 

Strategic Planning Subcommittee. Evans also co chairs an American Association of State Highway 

Transportation Officials (AASHTO) committee that leads the development of recommendations for 

research funding and programs to be included in the National Transportation Bill.

FHWA's Energy Efficiency Profile in the USDOT SBIR Program FY09 Annual Report

The USDOT Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program FYO9 SBIR Annual Report to the 

Small Business Administration includes two of FHWA's Phase I projects, submitted by Eric Weaver from 

FHWA’s Office of Infrastructure R&D. The projects are highlighted in the transmittal letter and at the front 

of the report as examples of FHWA's compliance with Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. 

For a copy of the report, contact: 

john.munro@dot.gov

202-493-3368

ADVANCED RESEARCH

The EAR Program Sponsors Hand-off Workshops

On March 18–19 and April 15–16 at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, 

VA, FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program is sponsoring “hand-off” workshops for 

projects that are at or near completion. During the workshops, the participants will determine the next steps 

to be taken for the technologies examined within the projects. They will also determine a more general 

course of action that can be applied to those, and other EAR Program research projects, as they near 

completion for the first time. The topics for the March 18–19 workshop include integrated highway system 

concepts and technology for assessing performance. The topics for the April 15–16 workshop include 

human behavior and travel choices for safety and regional modeling and nanoscale research for structures 

and pavements. 

For additional information, contact David Kuehn, 202-493-3414, david.kuehn@dot.gov; 

or Terry Halkyard, 202-493-3467, terry.halkyard@dot.gov.
The EAR Program Initiates Research on Nanoscale Approaches for Inhibiting Corrosion

As a result of a Broad Agency Announcement for exploratory advanced research proposals issued in 2009, 

FHWA issued a second award on approaches for inhibiting corrosion. While the first award went to the 

City College of New York to develop approaches for steel structures, this project conducted at Florida State 

University seeks to develop technologies for new in-situ materials and methods to either repair or retrofit 

structures located both above and underwater to inhibit corrosion. The research team is taking advantage of 

the advancement in nanomaterials, in particular, carbon nanotubes and their related versatile physical and 

mechanical properties to develop an onsite spray based method to develop a structural capacity 

enhancement and a barrier layer for corrosion resistance. The technical innovations if successful will lead 

to profound impacts in advanced multifunctional strengthening/repair technology. For more information 

about the project, contact Paul Virmani, (202) 493-3052, paul.virmani@dot.gov.

For more information about the EAR Program, contact:

david.kuehn@dot.gov

202-493-3414

The EAR Program Awards Research on Nanoscale Sensors for Structural Health

As a result of a Broad Agency Announcement for EAR proposals issued in 2009, FHWA issued a 

cooperative agreement for the University of Minnesota, Duluth to develop new intelligent self-sensing 

concrete pavement that can monitor its own structural health by continuously detecting internal stress level 

changes of the pavement. In the proposed pavement structure, the concrete is mixed with carbon nanotubes 

(CNTs), whose piezoresitive property will enable the concrete to detect the changes in the mechanical 

stress. Phase I of the proposed work will develop and test a prototype of self-sensing CNT concrete in a 

laboratory environment. Phase II of the proposed work, which will be conducted with the partnership of the 

Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), will fabricate and test the self-sensing CNT concrete 

in a real but controlled road environment at the Minnesota Road Research Facility of Mn/DOT. For more 

information about the project, contact Wendy McAbee, wendy.mcabee@dot.gov, 202-493-6064.

For more information about the EAR Program, contact:

david.kuehn@dot.gov

202-493-3414

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure R&T Strategic Plan & Roadmap

The Offices of Infrastructure, Infrastructure R&D, and Technical Services are cooperatively developing a 

consolidated and integrated 5-year Infrastructure Research and Technology (R&T) Strategic Plan (ISP) and 

Roadmap. The ISP and Roadmap will be founded on the FHWA Strategic Plan. It is anticipated that the 

Roadmap will be reviewed annually and periodically updated to reflect realities of authorizing & 

appropriations legislation as well as accomplishments and other changed conditions. The Roadmap will be 

the basis for determining the annual spending plan for use of FHWA Infrastructure funding. It will 

encompass the responsibilities of the Offices of Infrastructure, Infrastructure R&D and Technical Services 

from research through technology implementation, such that the transitions and hand-offs between R&T 

phases (exploratory/advance research, applied research, development, evaluation, demonstration, 

deployment) are accounted for in planning and are seamless. It is intended that the ISP and Roadmap will 

recognize the interrelationships and interdependencies among the different infrastructure disciplines 

(pavement, bridge, geotech, hydraulics, construction) and provide a framework for cross-discipline 

coordination. Moreover, it is anticipated that the strategic planning process will yield greater transparency 

and allow for enhanced and better coordinated input relative to FHWA’s infrastructure research, 

development and technology initiatives. 
In the initial stages of the strategic planning process, the focus will be on strengthening working 

relationships. The team members and participants will rely on knowledge of stakeholder needs as expressed 

in a variety of forums and industry roadmaps in development of the draft FHWA Infrastructure R&T 

Strategic Plan and Roadmap. As part of the implementation plan the participants will develop formalized, 

comprehensive, and consistent processes for engaging stakeholders in the infrastructure R&T program. It is 

envisioned that through this process, the offices will build on the strong foundation in place to improve the 

well-coordinated, well-managed, and highly effective Infrastructure Research & Technology Program. A 

draft will be available for discussions with stakeholders when completed.

For more information:

bob.richard@dot.gov

202-493-3163

FHWA Technical Manual to Receive Engineering Excellence Silver Award

On March 27, the FHWA Technical Manual for the Design and Construction of Road Tunnels will receive 

the Engineering Excellence Silver Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies of New 

York. The manual, published by FHWA’s National Highway Institute (NHI), was adopted and will be 

published by AASHTO officials. 

SAFETY

Report Supports Planning for Unconventional Transportation Modes, Such as the SegwayTM, On 

Shared-Use Paths and Roadways

The Office of Safety R&D has released a report titled “Operating Characteristics of the SegwayTM HT” 

(FHWA-HRT-10-025). The objective of this research was to examine the primary operating characteristics 

of the SegwayTM HT (Segway), to support the development of a rational approach to incorporating Segway 

traffic into the regulation, planning, design, and control of shared-use paths and roadways. Research was 

conducted at the FHWA’s TFHRC on a closed sidewalk course. Acceleration and stopping distances (for 

both planned and unplanned stops) as well as approach speeds and clearance distances when navigating 

around obstacles, were recorded. The Segway is one of a number of unconventional transportation modes 

that may share these facilities in the future. The methodologies described in this report may prove useful in 

determining the operating characteristics of these other modes as well. The report will be available on the 

Web shortly, at: http://www.tfhrc.gov/humanfac/hf.htm. 

For more information contact:

amanda.emo@dot.gov 

(202) 493-3395

Cooperative CICAS Reports Posted

Two reports on Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems (CICAS) research projects have been posted on 

the IntelliDrive Web site. The CICAS program is a multi-year, cooperative research program including 

Federal, State, academic, and industry partners. The goal of the overall research program is to use ITS 

technologies to address the problem of intersection crashes. 

The report titled “Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems—Suburban Left Turn Assistant: 

Interim Report on the Human Factors Data Mining Efforts: Report 1 of 2” 

(http://www.intellidriveusa.org/documents/PATH CICAS HF Data Mining Report.doc) presents interim 

results of data mining of previously collected data from the CICAS Signalized Left Turn Assist program 

segment to answer three questions: 1) Whether the decision support should be provided to drivers through 

an infrastructure or an in-vehicle display, 2) Whether or not the driver assistance provided could take the 
form of a last-second warning, and 3) Whether or not predicted post-encroachment time should still be 

pursued as the primary means for determining whether or not it is safe for the driver to turn in front of the 

oncoming vehicles. California DOT and the FHWA jointly funded the project.

The report titled “CICAS HF3: Sign Comprehension, Rotation, Location, and Random Gap Analysis” 

summarizes the results of testing of several candidate CICAS Stop Sign Assist (SSA) concepts in order to 

identify a single sign that may provide the greatest utility in terms of driver performance and usability. 

CICAS-SSA is an infrastructure-based driver support system that is to improve gap acceptance at rural 

stop-controlled intersections. The Mn/DOT and the FHWA jointly funded this project. 

http://www.intellidriveusa.org/documents/UMN%20Cicas%20Tech%20Repor%2009%202008.pdf

For more information, contact: 

gregory.davis@dot.gov 

202-493-3367 

Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and Pedestrians

This 2001 handbook was written for highway designers, engineers, and highway safety specialists. The 

handbook provides guidance on how to accommodate the declining functional capabilities of the older road 

users with effective road design practices and engineering enhancements. (FHWA Pub. No. RD-01-103)

http://www.tfhrc.gov/humanfac/01103/coverfront.htm)

The handbook is currently being revised and will be available at the above Web site when it is updated in 

2011.

OPERATIONS

Agent-Based Modeling is the Topic of Upcoming Workshop

On May 4, at the TFHRC, FHWA’s EAR Program is convening a 1-day workshop on Agent-Based 

Modeling and Simulation (ABMS). Though the field of ABMS is growing and used in other areas of study, 

the applications to transportation have not been fully explored. Hence, the objectives of this workshop are 

to begin a discussion on the topic of ABMS and explore its applicability in transportation research, identify 

areas of focus, and collaborate with knowledgeable ABMS experts. A panel of five speakers from fields 

outside of transportation will present their research related to ABMS. Following the presentations, these 

speakers and the transportation community will discuss applications of ABMS in addressing transportation 

challenges and meeting transportation goals, knowledge gaps, and barriers to implementation. It is 

expected that the workshop will result in a proceedings report and research opportunities. Approximately 

50 transportation professionals from the USDOT, other Federal agencies, and various academic and 

research institutions are expected to attend this workshop. For technical information on ABMS and May’s 

workshop, contact David Yang, 202-493-3284, david.yang@dot.gov.

For more information about the EAR Program, contact:

samyra.simmons@dot.gov

202-493-3469

RECENT PERIODICALS

FOCUS Newsletter—January/February 2010

This issue includes: Efficient, Expeditious, and Effective: Best Practices in Project Delivery Management; 

Innovations and Real Solutions in 2010; A First-Hand Introduction to Accelerated Bridge Construction; 
Telling the R&T Story; Traffic Maintenance Online Training Courses Debut; and, Highway Technology 

Calendar.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/focus/10jan/index.cfm