The Office of Infrastructure R&D approaches its mission 

with emphasis on strong stakeholder involvement and an interdisciplinary approach founded on recognition of the following:

•	 Pavements and bridges are integral and interrelated components 

of a highway system and do not function as distinct elements. 

•	 Although the fundamental structure and components of pavements and bridges are distinct, some research and development 

needs are common to both. 

•	 Only by using all facilities and assets available within FHWA’s 

Office of Infrastructure R&D and working collaboratively with 

counterparts in other FHWA offices and with stakeholders

throughout the highway community will highway needs and 

issues be effectively addressed.

Goals

The goals of FHWA’s Office of Infrastructure R&D are as follows:

•	 Conduct research to develop knowledge, guidelines, analytical 

and physical tools, and test methods and procedures that enable 

the delivery of a safe, environmentally friendly, long-lasting, 

disaster-resilient, and cost effective highway infrastructure that 

provides a high level of service.

•	 Provide specialized technical assistance to address infrastructure 

issues of national importance requiring research capabilities 

and technical expertise uniquely available at FHWA’s TurnerFairbank Highway Research Center.

Research and Development Focus Areas

The Office of Infrastructure R&D focuses on important research 

and development where there is an appropriate Federal role by 

virtue of national need, scope, duration, or risk. This work, which 

is guided by the 2011 FHWA Infrastructure Research and Technology Strategic Plan, attempts to perform the following:(2)

•	 Reduce the number of fatalities attributable to infrastructure 

design characteristics and work zones. 

•	 Improve the safety and security of highway infrastructure. 

•	 Improve the management of infrastructure assets and advance 

the implementation of a performance-based program for the 

National Highway System. 

•	 Improve the ability of transportation agencies to deliver projects 

that meet expectations for timeliness, quality, and cost. 

•	 Reduce user delay attributable to infrastructure system performance, maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction. 

•	 Improve highway condition and performance through increased 

use of design, materials, construction, and maintenance 

innovations. 

•	 Reduce the life-cycle environmental impacts of highway 

infrastructure (i.e., design, construction, operation, preservation, 

and maintenance). 

These objectives are pursued through the following overarching 

strategies.

Long-Term Infrastructure Performance 

The focus of this strategy is to conduct, build upon, and integrate 

the current Long-Term Pavement Performance program and LongTerm Bridge Performance program to answer critical questions 

concerning the long-term performance of the Nation’s highway 

infrastructure. Activities in this strategy include development of 

the following:

•	 A publicly available dataset documenting the performance of 

a well-characterized set of pavement test sections and bridges 

that is representative of the majority of the Nation’s highways, 

including their design, materials, construction, preservation, and 

maintenance.

•	 Improved bridge and pavement monitoring sensors and systems 

(e.g., smart sensors, embedded sensors, and systems) that permit

both periodic and continuous performance evaluation and 

accurate condition assessment.

•	 High-speed and high-resolution non-destructive evaluation technologies for inspection, evaluation, and performance monitoring.

•	 Analysis and data-mining tools that can be applied across a 

range of infrastructure databases and datasets.

Durable Infrastructure Systems

Within this strategy, durable and resilient infrastructure systems 

and elements are developed to improve in-service performance, 

reduce maintenance needs and costs, reduce life-cycle costs, and 

significantly improve safety during normal service and extreme 

hazard events. This will require that infrastructure durability and 

deterioration prevention be addressed in a more systematic manner 

by developing the following:

•	 High-performance, long-life, advanced materials that increase 

resiliency and reduce maintenance and reconstruction needs 

(e.g., self-monitoring or self-healing materials).

•	 Improved systems, preservation techniques, analysis methods, 

and technologies to prevent material degradation, corrosion, 

The Office of Infrastructure Research and 

Development (R&D) conducts and administers 

infrastructure R&D programs and projects for 

the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that 

address problems of national priority within the 

U.S. highway system. This work directly supports 

the goals and mission of the U.S. Department 

of Transportation, the FHWA Strategic Plan, and 

the 2011 FHWA Infrastructure Research and 

Technology (R&T) Strategic Plan.

(1,2)

www.fhwa.dot.gov/research

Office of Infrastructure R&D

Federal Highway Administration  TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER
cracking, fatigue, and other serviceability problems in existing highway 

infrastructure.

•	 Advanced infrastructure performance 

prediction and design models for both 

service-level and extreme events.

•	 Designs and details that provide resiliency during extreme hazard events, 

systems that facilitate evacuation as well 

as support response and recovery operations, and highways that can be rapidly 

repaired and returned to service.

•	 Infrastructure designs and details that 

facilitate effective inspection, maintenance, and repair.

•	 Quality assurance and quality control 

standards and procedures that can be 

effectively applied during the fabrication 

process and in the field.

Accelerated Highway Construction 

This strategy aims to develop accelerated 

construction, rehabilitation, and reconstruction methodologies for highway systems 

and structures. This strategy directly 

addresses the Nation’s congestion and safety 

needs, as well as the impending crisis due to 

an aging infrastructure.1

 The research and 

development to be pursued as a part of this 

strategy includes the following:

•	 Prefabricated structures and systems, 

including bridge sub- and superstructures 

and geotechnical constructions.

•	 Advanced fabrication, construction, and 

erection techniques and equipment.

•	 Technologies that enable real-time quality 

control and assurance in an accelerated 

construction setting.

Environmentally Sensitive Highway 

Infrastructure

This strategy addresses the need for technologies to enable an environmentally sensitive 

highway infrastructure. This strategy will 

reduce detrimental environmental impacts 

arising from construction and maintenance 

of highway infrastructure, as well as the 

physical, chemical, and aesthetic attributes 

of highway transportation. Elements of this 

strategy include the following:

•	 Quantification and characterization of 

the impacts of highway infrastructure on 

the environment.

•	 Technologies to enable expanded use of 

recycled or waste materials in highway 

construction.

•	 Pursuit of less damaging (i.e., “green”) 

and renewable materials and construction technologies.

Performance-Based Specifications

With this strategy, researchers will work 

toward comprehensive performance-based 

specifications. Such specifications are 

needed to balance risk between agencies 

and industry (contractors), encourage 

innovation, provide greater consistency 

between design expectations and actual 

performance, and support innovative 

contracting procedures and construction 

practices. This strategy is dependent on the 

ability to accurately predict future performance. It will build on outcomes from the 

long-term infrastructure performance and 

durable infrastructure systems research. 

Specific examples of performance-based 

specifications include the following:

•	 Extreme event infrastructure design 

standards that provide specified levels of 

operation and service based on identified

post event needs but that prevent 

catastrophic failure.

•	 Service-level infrastructure design and 

material standards that allow more innovation than current prescriptive infrastructure design and material standards.

•	 Materials and construction standards 

that link design and construction and 

compel contractors to minimize 

constructed project life-cycle costs.

•	 Bridge and pavement construction standards that hold contractors responsible 

for meeting structural and functional 

thresholds over the long term 

(15+ years).

Comprehensive and Integrated 

Infrastructure Asset Management

This strategy builds on and integrates the 

outcomes from previous strategies, including long-term infrastructure performance, 

accelerated highway construction, durable 

infrastructure systems, environmentally 

sensitive infrastructure, and performancebased specification, to deliver the tools and 

technologies needed to achieve fully 

integrated processes and systems for asset 

management, including infrastructure 

planning, design, contracting, construction, 

preservation, and maintenance. Activities in 

this capstone strategy include development 

of the following:

•	 Improved performance and life-cycle 

cost models that consider the full life 

cycle of the infrastructure in an integrated and comprehensive fashion and 

are applicable to any combination of 

materials.

•	 Needed information from the analysis 

of data collected under the Long-Term 

Infrastructure Performance strategy to 

support sound decisionmaking in the 

asset management process.

Collaboration

In pursuing the research and development 

program described herein, the FHWA Office 

of Infrastructure R&D works closely 

and collaboratively with other FHWA 

offices and with the broader community 

of highway stakeholders to ensure that the 

program performs the following:

•	 Addresses agency goals, missions, and 

requirements.

•	 Is aware of the work of other agencies 

and organizations and coordinates its 

work accordingly to avoid inappropriate 

duplication of effort and maximize the 

overall value of the research and development investments.

•	 Delivers outcomes in the form of readily

implementable products at the earliest 

appropriate time.

•	 Moves products into practice as quickly 

as possible to achieve maximum possible 

benefits.

Benefits

The outcomes delivered through pursuit of 

these strategies will benefit the American

public by enabling improvements in the 

safety, performance, and cost effectiveness 

of the Nation’s highway infrastructure while 

minimizing the environmental impacts of 

highway construction, maintenance, and 

rehabilitation. The results will reduce highway congestion, improve highway safety, 

and enhance the overall driving experience.

FHWA is charged with ensuring minimum 

standards of safety for the public as it 

travels on the Nation’s roads and highways. 

While there are many other organizations and agencies that conduct highway 

infrastructure research, the FHWA Office of 

Infrastructure R&D is uniquely positioned 

to address the continuum of highway infrastructure research from high-risk, exploratory, and advanced research through the 

highly applied, problem-specific research 

that is necessary to address current issues 

and immediate problems. This broad range 

of research capability provides a high likelihood of success that is so critical for

sustaining the Nation’s economy.

Reference

1. Federal Highway Administration. (2012). 

FHWA Strategic Plan, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC. 

Obtained from: http://www.fhwa.dot.

gov/policy/fhplan.htm.

2. Federal Highway Administration. (2012). 

2011 FHWA Infrastructure Research and 

Technology Strategic Plan, Report No. 

FHWA-HRT-12-043, Federal Highway 

Administration, Washington, DC.

FHWA-HRT-12-059

HRDI-01/12-12(2M)E

 1According to the FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 

the Nation’s bridges have an average age of 43 years, 

and the majority of pavements on the National Highway 

System have surpassed their original design life.