PUBLIC ROADS

Making the Journey 

a Destination: 

National Scenic Byways  & All-American Road

Also in this issue: Also in this issue:

Urban Congestion Repor tion Report 2020 Highlights ighlights 

Recent Per ecent Performance Measures rmance Measures

FHWA Improves Safety of Roads and HWA Improves Safety of Roads and 

Bridges Through Chemistry Lab Bridges Through Chemistry Lab

Data Fusion Innovation Taking 

NDE, Safety to New Levels

https://highways.dot.gov Autumn 2023
COVERS and ABOVE—Antique cars travel along a 

cobblestone portion of the Nebraska Lincoln Highway 

Scenic and Historic Byway. The byway, first used by 

Native Americans and fur traders, was later used for the 

westward migration on the Oregon and Mormon trails. This 

byway would become the first transcontinental highway. 

Photo: © Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic 

and Historic Byway. Modified by FHWA. 

Base map: © 2023 Google ®. Modifications made 

by Lincoln Highway Association. Lincoln Highway 

Data: © 2012-2023 Lincoln Highway Association. 

https://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/map/. 

Making the Journey a Destination: 

National Scenic Byways & 

All-American Roads

 PAGE 16

© black_mts / AdobeStock.com.

PAGE 12 

Recommended citation: Federal Highway Administration, Public Roads, Autumn 2023 

(Washington, DC: 2023) https://doi.org/10.21949/1521437

FEATURES

8 Tracking Congestion in 2020 via FHWA’s 

Urban Congestion Trends Report

Performance measures reflect the effects of 

the pandemic on reliable travel.

by Rich Taylor and Pete Koeneman

12 The Development of Data Fusion and Visualization 

Tools for Nondestructive Evaluation of Bridges

How fusing multiple, complementary technologies can enhance 

the condition, performance, and safety of bridges.

by Hoda Azari, Heng Liu, and Rahul Torlapati

16 Making the Journey a Destination

The Federal Highway Administration celebrates the 

reemergence of the National Scenic Byways Program with 

49 designations to the America’s Byways® collection.

by Danielle Blackshear, Lilah Morrissey, and Edward Starks 

24 Can Chemistry Improve the Nation’s Roadways?

FHWA’s Chemistry Laboratory conducts fundamental 

studies of highway materials to understand both 

failure mechanisms and superior performance.

by Terry Arnold

DEPARTMENTS

Guest Editorial .................................................2

What’s New......................................................4

Innovation Corner ..........................................6

Along the Road ..............................................28

Training Update .............................................33

Correction: Theodore Roosevelt was elevated to president in 1901 following 

the assassination of President William McKinley. An article in the Summer 

2023 issue of Public Roads incorrectly stated this historical fact. 

Autumn 2023 | Vol. 87, No. 3
Source: FHWA.

Are you a longtime transportation 

professional conducting new 

research on a particular topic? Or 

an industry freshman looking to 

expand your knowledge base?

The Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) has the online research tool 

that can help. 

Since 2006, “What’s New” in FHWA publications 

has been the comprehensive online resource 

for fact sheets, TechBriefs, reports, and more to 

support your research needs. These publications 

cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Roadway safety and 

enhancements.

• Pedestrian and 

bicycle safety.

• Transportation equity.

• Connected and 

automated vehicles.

• Nondestructive 

evaluations.

• Bridge innovations, 

reconstruction, and 

rehabilitation.

• Pavement technology 

and materials.

• Intersection 

improvements 

and design.

• Intelligent transportation 

systems. 

To access the list of downloadable research 

documents, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications

/lists/whatsnew/index.cfm.

U.S. Department of Transportation

Pete Buttigieg, Secretary

Federal Highway Administration

Shailen P. Bhatt, Administrator

Gloria M. Shepherd, Executive Director

Office of Research, Development, and Technology

Kelly Regal, Associate Administrator 

Jack D. Jernigan, Acting Director, Office of Corporate 

Research, Technology, and Innovation Management

TaMara McCrae, Editor-in-Chief

TaMara McCrae, Distribution Manager

Editorial Board: 

E. Biondi, V. Briggs, B. Fouch, T. Hess, H. Kalla, 

M. Knopp, I. Rico, G. Shepherd, C. Walker 

Editorial and Design Contractor: 

Schatz Strategy Group

R. Nemec, C. Williams, A. Jacobi, J. Love,

T. Tolbert, A. Lax, D. Davis, M. Mitchell

Public Roads (ISSN 0033-3735; USPS 516-690) 

is published quarterly by the Office of Research, 

Development, and Technology, Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, 

VA 22101-2296. The business and editorial office of 

Public Roads is located at the McLean address above. 

Phone: 202–493–3382. Email: tamara.mccrae@dot.gov. 

Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA, and additional 

mailing offices (if applicable).

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 

Public Roads, HRTM-20, FHWA, 

6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101-2296.

Public Roads is sold by the Superintendent of Documents, 

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. 

Requests for subscriptions should be sent directly to New 

Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 979050, 

St. Louis, MO 63197-9000. Subscriptions are available 

for 1-year periods. Paid subscribers should send change 

of address notices to the U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Claims Office, Washington, DC 20402.

The electronic version of Public Roads can be accessed 

through the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 

home page (https://highways.dot.gov/research).

The Secretary of Transportation has determined that 

the publication of this periodical is necessary in the 

transaction of the public business required by law of 

this department.

All articles are advisory or informational in nature and 

should not be construed as having regulatory effect.

Articles written by private individuals contain the personal 

views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those 

of FHWA.

All photographs are provided by FHWA unless 

otherwise credited.

Contents of this publication may be reprinted, provided 

credit is given to Public Roads and the authors.

For more information, representatives of the news 

media should contact FHWA’s Office of Public Affairs at 

202–366–0660.

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship 

of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest 

of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes 

no liability for the use of the information contained in 

this document. This document does not constitute a 

standard, specification, or regulation. 

The U.S. Government does not endorse products 

or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ 

names appear in this document only because they are 

considered essential to the objective of the document; 

they are included for informational purposes only and 

are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or 

endorsement of any one product or entity. 
2 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

DRIVEN for the 21st Century: 

Federal Highway Administration Executive Director 

Gloria Shepherd Highlights the Mindset That Drives FHWA

As a child growing up in Albany, NY, I understood that transportation was important—it seemed like you had to 

drive a car to get anywhere. Yet I had no way of knowing just how 

expansive the U.S. transportation system was, nor how much it 

would grow in the years to come. Now, U.S. roadways serve more 

than 220 million road users on more than 850 million trips every 

day. Roads are also becoming increasingly multimodal, catering not 

only to drivers, but to pedestrians, cyclists, and many other users. 

As a marathoner, it seems to me that kind 

of inclusion was long overdue.

Protecting roadway users is my 

passion, which is why I support FHWA 

Administrator Shailen Bhatt’s new 

initiative, DRIVEN for the 21st Century. 

DRIVEN is a mindset that reminds us of 

the six aspects of our approach—Delivery, 

Resilience, Innovation, Values, Equity, 

and our Nation—as well as how safety 

underpins everything that we do. When 

Administrator Bhatt announced DRIVEN, 

I immediately identified with it. After 

all, it takes a DRIVEN mindset to run a 

marathon or two ... or 30! I understand 

the necessity of sustained effort and 

tireless drive, which is why I am pleased to 

support the DRIVEN priorities with help 

from States and many other transportation 

organizations, as well as those who give 

their all for U.S. transportation—FHWA employees.

Here are the components of the DRIVEN for the 21st 

Century mindset:

Delivery began with Secretary Buttigieg, who stated our 2023 

focus is delivering results. This is particularly true when it comes 

to the Inflation Reduction Act and President Biden’s Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law, which provided unprecedented funding that 

will revolutionize our transportation system. In the time since the 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was enacted, FHWA has distributed 

more than $120 billion in highway formula funding, issued 

approximately $4.6 billion in Notices of Funding Opportunity, 

and is administering nearly 900 awards totaling approximately 

$7.5 billion. These are more than just numbers—these project 

funds will improve safety and people’s lives.

Resilience refers to ensuring that infrastructure is ready 

to weather the climate crisis. FHWA 

administers numerous programs that target 

climate-resistant improvements, including 

the Promoting Resilient Operations for 

Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving 

Transportation (PROTECT) Formula 

Program, the PROTECT Discretionary 

Grant Program, and the Carbon Reduction 

Program. These programs will keep our 

infrastructure strong and allow us to fulfill 

our most important duty: getting people 

where they need to go—and getting them 

there safely.

Innovation will help us tackle a broad 

range of issues, including improving safety, 

increasing resilience, and finding ways to 

fight climate change. Our National Electric 

Vehicle Infrastructure Formula and Charging 

and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary 

Grant Programs support electric vehicle 

infrastructure, and the current round of our Every Day Counts 

Program supports safety, equity, and ways to combat the climate 

crisis. Finally, our research at the Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center is leading to significant advances in bridge 

construction, paving materials, and other physical infrastructure, 

as well as technological improvements in infrastructure safety and 

operational performance.

Source: FHWA.

GUEST EDITORIAL
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 3

© Dan Burden / pedbikeimages.org, © myphotobank.com.au / AdobeStock.com, 

© Dan Burden / pedbikeimages.org, © goodluz / AdobeStock.com, 

© Alexandra Gl / AdobeStock.com, © Prostock-studio / AdobeStock.com.

Values refers to the tireless commitment of our people to our 

organizational values. While our service to the American people 

is paramount, we must never forget that we are also responsible 

for the members of our agency. When we care for our people, 

support their wellness and professional development, implement 

succession plans, and create a workplace where they feel welcome 

and included, we empower our team to create a stronger 

transportation system.

Equity is a key priority for this administration and an integral 

part of every one of FHWA’s programs, projects, and initiatives. 

FHWA is dedicated to ensuring the success of new programs 

created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation 

Reduction Act, and other legislation and executive actions, as 

we believe these programs will enhance equity and empower 

communities. We also created a Diversity Hiring Guide to help our 

managers develop diverse candidate pools and include a range of 

individuals and perspectives on interview panels.

Finally, Nation is a reminder that every aspect of our work 

is driven by the people and Nation we serve. There are no 

Democratic highways or Republican bridges—there are only 

American roads. Transportation infrastructure doesn’t care about 

party labels or political clout, which is why I am grateful to 

people of all political affiliations who come together to support 

U.S. roads while working to achieve President Biden’s vision of 

21st-century transportation infrastructure. In the 20th century, 

our transportation system was the envy of the world. To remain 

transportation leaders throughout the 21st century, we must 

create and maintain a world-class system that delivers for our 

communities and our economy, gets people and goods safely to 

their destinations, and literally unites us as Americans.

Safety, our number one priority, is both all-encompassing and 

the basis of everything we do. In fact, our goal is zero fatalities 

on U.S. roadways. We support safety through several initiatives, 

including Safe Streets and Roads for All, the DOT Intersection 

Safety Challenge, the National Roadway Safety Strategy, and the 

Safe System Approach. I always said that my priorities were safety, 

innovation, succession planning, and wellness, and I am happy 

to see that DRIVEN for the 21st Century encompasses those 

priorities—and then some!

People often ask for the recipe to FHWA’s success. No one thing 

makes us what we are: rather, like any good recipe, our success is a 

mix of several ingredients. First, our dedicated employees allow us 

to fulfill our mission and reach for new horizons. Second, funding 

from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation 

Reduction Act, and other legislation is substantially expanding 

our positive impact. Finally, partnerships help us address the 

transportation needs of today while planning and building 

for tomorrow.

If you think of success as a recipe, I guess you could say that 

the proof is in the pudding. For nearly 13 decades, FHWA and 

its predecessors have played a central role in transportation. By 

providing national leadership, working to make our roadways safer, 

fostering innovation, planning for the future, and supporting the 

physical and emotional wellness of our employees, we will create a 

21st-century transportation system.

I am confident that DRIVEN for the 21st Century will 

help us achieve our goals as we continue to deliver generational 

investments that benefit the hundreds of millions of people who 

travel on our Nation’s roads and highways.

Safe roads, strong infrastructure, and a happy public—that’s 

what keeps us DRIVEN for the 21st Century!

Gloria Shepherd

Executive Director

Federal Highway Administration

© Courtney Haas / peopleimages.com / Adobe Stock.com. © Olena Rudo / Adobe Stock.com.
4 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Dwight David Eisenhower 

Transportation Fellowship Program 

Research Showcase at Transportation 

Research Board Annual Meeting

by LATOYA JONES 

The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP) advances the U.S. transportation 

industry’s workforce by attracting the Nation’s brightest minds, 

retaining top talent, and encouraging future transportation 

professionals to seek advanced degrees. Since 1983, the program 

has awarded more than 4,500 fellowships to students across the 

United States who are pursuing degrees in a transportation-related 

discipline while conducting transportation-related research. 

DDETFP is a U.S. Department of Transportation program 

managed by the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of 

Administration and annually awards approximately 150 to 200 

merit-based fellowships. Applications are evaluated and ranked 

according to technical evaluation criteria listed in the Notice of 

Funding Opportunity (NOFO) posted to https://www.grants.gov/. 

The awards range from $1,500 to $35,500, based on ranking and 

academic level. NOFOs for DDETFP fellowships are typically 

posted annually on https://www.grants.gov/ in late winter/early 

spring, and awards are announced in the fall of that fiscal year. 

DDETFP fellowships are awarded through a competitive selection 

process, and funding can be used to pay for things like tuition, a 

stipend, and travel costs to attend the Transportation Research 

Board (TRB) Annual Meeting.

There are three DDETFP Fellowship categories: 

• Graduate: supports students pursuing a master’s or doctoral 

degree in transportation-related disciplines. 

• Local Competition: provides grants to students pursuing 

degrees in transportation-related disciplines at an institution 

of higher education designated as a minority-serving 

institution or a community college. 

• Grants for Research: provides grants to students engaged 

in transportation research, development, and technology 

transfer activities at USDOT facilities. 

During the 102nd TRB Annual Meeting held January 2023 in 

Washington, DC, fellows in the 2022 cohort participated in the 

30th DDETFP Research Showcase. This showcase provided an 

opportunity for these fellows, 150 of the Nation’s brightest 

emerging transportation professionals, to present their research, 

meet and network with other DDETFP fellows and transportation 

professionals from across the Nation, and take advantage of other 

TRB meeting sessions and workshops. 

“The entire experience was ‘eye opening’ to put it all into one 

phrase. The exposure to different professionals in public and 

private organizations, spanning the entire country, was a one-of-akind educational opportunity. Being invited to participate was an 

honor, and I appreciate the mentorship I received from past 

DDETFP scholars,” said Jeremiah Bailey, graduate-level fellow 

from Texas Southern University. 

Highlighting the research work of the 2022 DDETFP cohort, 

the 30th DDETFP Research Showcase included three poster 

sessions during which the fellows shared their studies with TRB 

meeting attendees. The range of topics presented during the 

sessions represented the diversity of research that students are 

conducting across the Nation. Additionally, FHWA’s Office of 

Administration organized one lectern session during which four 

graduate-level students presented their research findings to their 

peers with a question-and-answer session. Topics included 

individual needs and methodologies for an equitable and accessible 

transportation system; lawsuits, consent decrees, and ballot 

measures as tools for transit equity; and a study of transportation 

education and career readiness. Lastly, as a culmination of the 

DDETFP Research Showcase, a closing ceremony was held. At the 

ceremony, fellows heard speeches from senior transportation 

officials, including FHWA’s Executive Director Gloria Shepherd 

and TRB’s Executive Director Victoria Sheehan, and the 

accomplishments of the 2022 DDETFP cohort were recognized. 

DDETFP partners as well as former USDOT officials and 

program fellows also helped celebrate the 30th DDETFP Research 

Showcase. The DDETFP Research Showcase demonstrates the 

variety of solutions DDETFP fellows have developed to meet the 

future challenges in the transportation field. 

Eisenhower believed that connecting, respecting, and educating 

people would lead to a better tomorrow. DDETFP continues to 

honor his vision and legacy. “The DDETFP is and has been a 

critical tool for the development of transportation professionals 

such as myself. If not for acceptance into the DDETFP, attending 

graduate school would have been very difficult and I may not have 

achieved the success that I’ve garnered,” said Division 

Administrator Jermaine Hannon of the FHWA Indiana 

division office.

LATOYA JONES is the program manager responsible for administering the 

DDETFP in the FHWA Office of Administration. She has a B.S. in social science 

education and a master’s in urban and regional planning from Alabama 

Agricultural & Mechanical University. 

For more information about the DDETFP, visit https://www.fhwa

.dot.gov/careers/ddetfp.cfm or contact Latoya Jones at 

latoya.jones@dot.gov or 404-562-3587. 

TRB attendees listen to presentations by fellows during the 

2023 DDETFP Research Showcase lectern session. 

Source: FHWA.

WHAT’S NEW
The Smart Community Resource Center 

What You Need When You Need It

USDOT IS MAKING RESOURCES READILY 

AVAILABLE TO ITS DEPLOYERS.

Created by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Intelligent 

Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office ( JPO), the Smart 

Community Resource Center (SCRC) helps connect States, Tribal 

governments, and local communities with the knowledge and 

expertise they need to advance their ITS and smart community 

transportation projects and programs.

The SCRC includes USDOT resources related to interoperable 

connectivity, vehicle automation, and other emerging transportation 

technologies. The SCRC offers:

• Information and Tools

• Deployment 

Support Resources

• News and Events

• Funding Opportunities

To access the SCRC, visit https://www.its.dot.gov/scrc.

Source: USDOT.

© Tartila / AdobeStock.com.
6 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Innovative Project Award Winner:

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation

The Yakama Nation is a federally recognized Tribe that manages 

approximately 1,200 miles (1.931 kilometers) of public roads. Most of 

the roads are in rural agricultural settings where crashes happen every 

day. Some of those crashes result in serious injuries and are fatal. Their 

solution is the Mobile Unit Sensing Traffic (MUST) device, which is a 

comprehensive roadside sensing communication system tailored 

specifically for Tribal and rural roads. It is equipped with a multisensing 

camera and sensors that can monitor traffic, detect dangerous events, 

and provide real-time warning messages to users. “The successful 

deployment of our system has yielded invaluable safety data that 

supports our traffic planning efforts and enhances our ability to secure 

grants for future projects,” says Yakama Nation representative 

HollyAnna DeCoteau Littlebull. 

Pioneer Award Winner:

City of Walnut Creek, CA

Maintaining traffic signal visibility requires trained 

personnel and regular inspections that are labor intensive. 

The City of Walnut Creek’s solution is the implementation 

of an automated process to assess traffic signal visibility 

using off-the-shelf hardware components such as a cell 

phone with a built-in camera and GPS receiver, a 

windshield phone mount, and a laptop computer. The new 

process “saves time, increases accuracy, and significantly 

reduces the risk of error and danger to agency personnel 

and, ultimately, for the roadway users,” according to Matt 

Redmond with the City of Walnut Creek. 

2023 Build a Better 

Mousetrap Winners

by TRINETTE BALLARD

Transportation’s number one priority is safety, and this year’s nominations for the Build a Better Mousetrap (BABM) 

national competition reflected this priority. Innovations from all 

over the country poured into the Federal Highway Administration 

touting successes in a variety of areas, including improving a 

dust control process, clearing culverts, providing safer rail and 

pedestrian crossings, establishing youth training programs, and 

creating public awareness outreach campaigns. According to 

Joe Conway, FHWA’s Center for Local Aid Support director, 

“the submissions are better and better every year! Selecting just 

four winners is a tough task because the State, local, and Tribal 

agencies are putting their best foot forward to solve problems and 

communities benefit.” 

The BABM national competition highlights innovative 

solutions in transportation programs. Benefits of the competition 

include encouraging collaboration, motivating others, and 

improving business practices. This year, FHWA received 53 

nominations across four award categories: Innovative Project, 

Smart Transformation, Bold Steps, and Pioneer. The 2023 BABM 

winners were announced this past summer during the annual 

National Local & Tribal Technical Assistance Program Association 

Conference in Columbus, OH.

Source: FHWA.

INNOVATION CORNER 

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation created the MUST device to 

monitor traffic, detect dangerous traffic events, and provide real-time warning messages.

© Yakama Nation.

The City of Walnut Creek created an automated 

process to assess traffic signal visibility.

© City of Walnut Creek, CA.
WWW.FHWA.DOT.GOV | 7

SMART Transformation Award Winner:

St. Louis County Public Works Department, MN

The St. Louis County Public Works 

Department is responsible for the 

maintenance and snow removal of 

approximately 3,000 miles (4.828 

kilometers) of roads. Road conditions 

can vary greatly at any given time during 

winter storms. Therefore, the county 

needed more accurate and immediate 

access to information to assist with 

emergency response. Their solution was 

to purchase 51 inexpensive solar-powered 

remote cameras. Brian Boder, deputy 

director of maintenance at the St. Louis 

County Public Works Department, says, 

“This option decreases service intervals 

and improves cold weather 

performance.” The cameras are 

compatible with virtually any cellular 

network and are capable of being 

remotely operated. 

Bold Steps Award Winner:

New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)

The Route 71 Drawbridge was built in 1932 and is heavily 

traveled. The mechanical span lock equipment that allows the 

bridge to open and close safely failed in 2021, causing damage to 

the structural steel. After much discussion and research, NJDOT’s 

solution was to reduce the roadway to one lane in each direction to 

balance the load traveling over the bridge. This distribution of 

traffic (or Road Diet) moved travel lanes away from the damaged 

centersection of the bridge and was implemented in stages over the 

course of one month. Gerald Oliveto, a moveable bridge subject 

matter expert at NJDOT, says, “Taxpayer funds were effectively 

and efficiently used to preserve the existing drawbridge while also 

enhancing bicycle, pedestrian, and motorist safety on 

the roadway.”

The BABM winners will be featured in the next Local Aid Support’s newsletter and in 

various webinars and social media posts throughout the year. To subscribe to the newsletter, 

visit https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOTFHWA/subscriber/new?topic_id=USDOTFHWA_153. 

For more information on BABM, visit: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/clas/babm/. 

TRINETTE BALLARD is a Local Aid Support program manager in the Office of Transportation Innovation and 

Workforce Solutions and has been with FHWA for 16 years. 

Route 71 prior to the Road Diet (left) and Route 71 after Road Diet implementation (right).

© NJDOT.

The St. Louis County Public 

Works Department utilized 51 

inexpensive solar-powered 

remote cameras to obtain more accurate and immediate 

information for enhancing emergency response.

© St. Louis County Public Works Department.
8 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

by RICH TAYLOR and PETE KOENEMAN

Travel on the Nation’s highways has changed substantially since the first 

automobile was invented by Karl Benz in 

1885. Back then, the few cars that were in 

use shared roads with countless horses with 

carriages, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Today, our highways are flooded with 

cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles. With 

more vehicles on the road, traveling safer 

and more efficiently takes time, funding, 

and planning. Measuring change in congestion levels and travel-time reliability plays 

a large role in those mitigation efforts and 

helps improve safety and efficiency on roads 

across the country.

The Urban Congestion 

Report (UCR) Program

The 2020 Urban Congestion Trends

(UCT) report provides the results of three 

congestion- and reliability-related performance measures during the pandemic 

that began to affect travel in March 2020. 

The UCT is developed annually by the 

Federal Highway Administration’s Office of 

Operations to show trends in the year-toyear measures and provide examples of using 

the measures to better plan and operate the 

highway system.

FHWA’s UCR program began in 2005 

and was started as a research project to 

determine if travel-time data existed to 

calculate congestion performance measures. 

The program used travel times culled from 

traveler information websites to calculate 

congestion and mobility performance 

measures. The reports soon became a proof 

of concept for transportation agencies as a 

way to use their traffic sensor travel-time 

data to calculate meaningful operationsrelated performance measures on their 

roads. Changes in the program over 

the years included using vehicle probebased travel-time data and updating and 

improving performance measures, including 

focusing more on the travel-time reliability 

measure. These revised measures were 

included in many internal FHWA and 

U.S. Department of Transportation plans, 

budgets, and performance reports.

The UCR program currently produces 

a quarterly report using travel-time data on 

highways from 52 urban areas (those with 

over 1 million in population per the 2010 

census). The travel-time data are obtained 

from the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS), which 

provides data on the National Highway 

System for use by FHWA, as well as State 

departments of transportations (DOTs) 

and metropolitan planning organizations. 

The program also produces an annual UCT 

report that tracks annual performance 

measures from those same 52 urban areas.

The report also describes new approaches 

and tools for measuring congestion and 

related measures and shows examples of 

benefit evaluations of operational strategy 

implementation that help operating agencies 

manage congestion and improve mobility. 

Previous operational strategy examples 

in the UCT include freight operations, 

Tracking Congestion

in 2020 via FHWA’s

Urban Congestion 

Trends Report

Performance measures 

reflect the effects 

of the pandemic on 

reliable travel.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 9

signal systems, ramp metering, and more. 

According to Bill Eisele, associate agency 

director at the Texas A&M Transportation 

Institute and author of previous UCT 

reports, “These performance measures 

assist in identifying congestion trends. 

Like getting your vital signs checked at the 

doctor’s office, using these state-of-thepractice performance measures is useful to 

identify if variations are systemic, or if they 

highlight a unique regional or local area 

change. These performance measures can 

also be a component of the decisionmaking 

process for implementing operational 

improvements (i.e., resource allocation).”

The current UCR program measures 

included in the report are as follows:

• Congested hours—The average 

amount of time (in hours) during 

a day when freeways operate in 

congested conditions. Congested 

conditions means when travel speed 

is at less than 90 percent of free-flow 

speed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

• Travel-time index (TTI)—The time 

penalty for a trip on an average 

day. For example, a TTI of 1.30 

indicates a 20-minute free-flow 

trip takes 26 minutes (20 × 1.30) 

during rush hours (weekdays 6 a.m. 

to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.).

• Planning time index (PTI)—The time 

penalty for a trip to be on time for 

95 percent of trips (e.g., late for work 

1 day per month). For example, a PTI 

of 1.60 indicates a 20-minute freeflow trip takes more than 32 minutes 

(20 × 1.60) 1 day per month.

The free-flow speed is calculated as the 

85th percentile of off-peak speeds, where 

off-peak is defined as Monday through 

Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 

10 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday, 

6 a.m. to 10 p.m. For the purposes of 

the UCR program, the free-flow speeds 

are calculated for each roadway segment 

grouping and are based on the previous 

12 months of data.

The 2020 UCT Report

The 2020 UCT report showed noticeable impacts of the recent pandemic on 

congested hours, TTI, and PTI. The effect 

of reduced travel in the 52 largest urban 

areas is evident in the accompanying graph 

that displays the congested hours measured 

monthly from 2019 through 2021. A drop 

of nearly 3 hours of congestion per day 

52 Urban Areas Covered in the UCT

• Atlanta, GA

• Austin, TX

• Baltimore, MD

• Birmingham, AL

• Boston, MA

• Buffalo, NY

• Charlotte, NC

• Chicago, IL

• Cincinnati, OH

• Cleveland, OH

• Columbus, OH

• Dallas-Fort 

Worth, TX

• Denver, CO

• Detroit, MI

• Hartford, CT

• Houston, TX

• Indianapolis, IN

• Jacksonville, FL

• Kansas City, MO

• Las Vegas, NV

• Los Angeles, CA

• Louisville, KY

• Memphis, TN

• Miami, FL

• Milwaukee, WI

• Minneapolis-St. 

Paul, MN

• Nashville, TN

• New Orleans, LA

• New York, NY

• Oklahoma 

City, OK

• Orlando, FL

• Philadelphia, PA

• Phoenix, AZ

• Pittsburgh, PA

• Portland, OR

• Providence, RI

• Raleigh, NC

• Richmond, VA

• Riverside-San 

Bernardino, CA

• Rochester, NY

• Sacramento, CA

• Salt Lake 

City, UT

• San Antonio, TX

• San Diego, CA

• San Francisco, 

CA

• San Jose, CA

• San Juan, PR

• Seattle, WA

• St. Louis, MO

• Tampa, FL

• Virginia 

Beach, VA

• Washington, DC

FHWA-HOP-21-010

2020 URBAN CONGESTION TRENDS

CONGESTED HOURS

DAILY CONGESTION

-89 MINUTES 

FROM LAST YEAR

2019 ........... 3:47 

2020 ........... 2:18

TRAVEL TIME INDEX

AVERAGE CONGESTION

-18 POINTS 

FROM LAST YEAR

2019 ........... 1.31 

2020 ........... 1.13

PLANNING TIME INDEX

WORST-DAY CONGESTION

-49 POINTS 

FROM LAST YEAR

2019 ........... 2.06 

2020 ........... 1.57

For more 2020 trend 

information, see page 6.

Photo credit: Texas A&M Transportation Institute Communications 

Congested Hours from 2019-2021

0:00

0:30

1:00

1:30

2:00

2:30

3:00

3:30

4:00

4:30

Jan

Mar

May

Jul

Sep

Nov

Jan

Mar

May

Jul

Sep

Nov

Jan

Mar

May

Jul

Sep

Nov

2020 Urban Congestion Trends report.

Source: FHWA.

Monthly average congested hours from 2019 to 2021.

Source: FHWA.

An incident or work zone can cause unexpected delays 

on highways and affect the reliability of travel times.

© disq / AdobeStock.com.
10 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

occurred in April 2020 compared with the 

average in 2019. While conditions were 

returning to prepandemic levels by the end 

of 2021, there was still roughly 30 minutes 

less congestion on average than in 2019.

For additional context, a key graph from 

FHWA’s Office of Highway Policy Information’s Traffic Volume Trends report shows 

the 2020 traffic volume estimates. The 

graph combines the 2020 data for congested 

hours and percent reduction in volume. 

The reduction in volume dropped in April 

2020 by roughly 40 percent. The number 

of congested hours also dropped sharply in 

April, decreasing by nearly 3 hours, to about 

1 hour on average from the prepandemic 

3.5- to 4-hour daily average. The recovery 

of traffic volumes into the fall of 2020 

approached 90 percent of prepandemic 

levels and then held steady. The congested 

hours measure also flattened out to around 

2.5 hours a day on average.

The 2020 UCT report also includes 

an evaluation of the cost savings from the 

implementation of automated traffic signal 

performance measures by the Maricopa 

County DOT in Arizona.

Another highlight of the report is a 

tool developed by the Sacramento Area 

Council of Governments (SACOG) that 

assists with on-the-fly project assessment. 

Their project performance assessment tool 

helps evaluate congestion metrics and the 

reliability of a submitted road project. The 

tool uses NPMRDS speed and travel-time 

data to measure how reliable and congested 

a road is. The tool allows users to select 

average speeds or reliability metrics by time 

of day and presents the metrics visually on a 

color-coded map.

Summary

The 2020 UCT report showed noticeable 

effects of the pandemic on three travel-time 

measures. The correlation with reduced 

traffic volumes, easing congestion, and 

improved reliability was notable. The UCT 

report series demonstrates a number of ways 

that operational strategies can help reduce 

congestion, especially at the local or regional 

level. As congestion returns to near normal 

levels after the pandemic, the use of operational strategies to reduce both recurring 

and nonrecurring congestion and improve 

the efficiency of our highway systems 

will continue to be profiled in the annual 

UCT report.

Look Ahead

In 2021 and 2022, the performance 

measures covered in the UCT reports 

continued to edge back to prepandemic 

levels. In the coming years, the UCT reports 

will continue to assess the impact of hybrid 

and remote work on commutes.

Learn More

The SACOG performance assessment tool 

can be found at: https://www.sacog.org

/project-performance-assessment.

Read the full 2020 Urban Congestion 

Trends report here: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov

/publications/fhwahop21010/index.htm.

RICH TAYLOR is the Operations Performance 

Measures and Management program manager in 

FHWA’s Office of Operations. He has three degrees 

from the University of Virginia.

PETE KOENEMAN is a research data scientist at 

the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has a 

master’s degree in operations research from the 

Naval Postgraduate School.

For more information, see https://ops

.fhwa.dot.gov/perf_measurement/reliability

_reports.htm or contact Rich Taylor, 

302-734-1657, rich.taylor@dot.gov.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

0:00

1:00

2:00

3:00

4:00

Congested Hours Percent Reduction in Volume

2020 Traffic Volume Reduction and Congested Hours Congested hours and reduced volumes by month in 2020.

Source: FHWA.

The SACOG project performance tool enables users to secure useful community and regional data.

© SACOG.
THE FUTURE OF 

TRANSPORTATION 

IS IN THEIR HANDS

Public Roads First-Ever Student Writing 

Competition Winners Coming Soon!

In May 2023—for the first time in its 105-year history—the Federal 

Highway Administration’s Public Roads magazine launched a 

Student Writing Competition.

Years in the making, this competition will highlight some of the 

brightest young minds who are passionate about transportation, 

technology, planning, and more.

The Winter 2024 issue will feature the winners of the inaugural 

competition and will be an issue worth waiting for! Look for 

that issue digitally and in print at the Public Roads booth at the 

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in January 2024.

Join the more than 18,000 subscribers already enjoying 

Public Roads and sign up for a digital subscription now by visiting 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOTFHWA

/subscriber/new?topic_id=USDOTFHWA_73.

© shapovalphoto / AdobeStock.com.
12 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

The DEVELOPMENT of 

DATA FUSION and 

VISUALIZATION TOOLS

for NONDESTRUCTIVE 

EVALUATION of BRIDGES

How fusing multiple, complementary technologies can 

enhance the condition, performance, and safety of bridges.

by HODA AZARI, HENG LIU, and RAHUL TORLAPATI

The Nation’s highway infrastructure requires condition assessment of more 

than 620,000 bridges to ensure safety, 

sustainability, and resiliency. Traditional 

methods of assessing bridges, such as coring 

or chain dragging, can cause economic and 

time constraints as well as pose safety risks 

to the structure’s integrity. However, revolutionary techniques are changing the way 

assessments are conducted and how bridge 

engineers are looking to a safer future—

without physically impacting structures.

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of 

bridges involves the assessment of various 

structural components using acoustic, 

electrochemical, and/or electromagnetic 

methods, which do not change the structure’s physical properties or structural 

integrity. Based on the latest data from 

InfoBridge (https://infobridge.fhwa.dot.gov/), 

more than 42,000 bridges in the Nation 

have been classified as poor condition, 

representing nearly 217 million square 

feet of deck area that needs prominent 

inspections. The implementation of NDE 

technologies, combined with the latest 

advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), 

hold the potential to significantly enhance 

the accuracy, efficiency, and economic 

viability of condition assessments of bridges. 

These technologies can play a crucial role in 

ensuring the ongoing structural integrity of 

aging bridges.

Data fusion is widely applicable across 

various fields and industries. In the context 

NDE, data fusion combines data from 
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 13

disparate sources to produce a probabilistically sound estimate of 

an object’s current state. Recent advancements in the field of NDE 

have led to the use of multiple evaluation modalities, and fusion 

of these modalities can provide a more reliable condition assessment by leveraging the complementary strengths of different NDE 

technologies. Data fusion is expected to produce high-quality and 

definitive results that can assist in providing a better understanding 

of a bridge’s condition.

In 2020, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) NDE 

Laboratory launched a research project focusing on the development 

of data fusion and visualization tools for the NDE of bridges and 

highway infrastructure. This project, currently in progress at the lab 

at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, aims to develop 

user-friendly data fusion and visualization tools for bridge inspectors 

to enhance current bridge inspection practices. These tools streamline analysis and fusion of multiple NDE sources by using cuttingedge techniques in machine learning, deep learning, and AI. The 

goal of these tools is to increase confidence in detecting, diagnosing, 

and quantifying bridge defects using various NDE technologies, 

including impact echo (IE), ground penetrating radar (GPR), ultrasonic surface waves (USW), half-cell potential (HCP), and electrical 

resistivity (ER), among others.

“Improving the ability to visualize and fuse multiple NDE data 

modalities provides valuable insights into the condition of bridge 

decks. It can potentially lead to better decisionmaking, more 

targeted maintenance strategies, and subsequent safety and serviceability of bridges,” says Jean Nehme, director of FHWA’s Office of 

Infrastructure Research and Development.

Laboratory Specimen for Concrete Bridge Decks

Given that bridge decks are statistically prone to faster deterioration than other bridge components, concrete bridge decks represent an area of high priority with the research and development of 

NDE technologies.

The FHWA project has used data acquired from laboratory 

testing of eight controlled specimens with various artificial defects, 

such as delaminations, honeycombing, voids, vertical cracks, and 

precorroded reinforcing steel. These specimens were then tested 

by various NDE technologies, including manual sounding, IE, 

USW, ultrasonic shear-wave tomography, infrared thermography, 

GPR, ER, HCP, and impulse response. Embedded artificial defects 

provide a known ground truth (e.g., types and/or locations of 

Enhanced bridge condition assessment through data fusion. 

© black_mts / AdobeStock.com.

Fabricated specimens with artificial 

defects, including delamination, 

honeycombing, voids, vertical 

cracks, and corroded rebars. 

Source: FHWA.
14 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

defects) for validating the NDE 

results and labeling the collected 

NDE data. The labeled data is a 

valuable resource in the supervised training of AI models. The 

well-trained models can analyze 

raw NDE data as inputs with 

automated damage detection 

and localization as outputs. 

Testing these controlled specimens has generated numerous 

AI models for automated NDE 

data analysis, including IE and 

GPR. These AI models built the 

basis for the following data fusion 

and visualization.

Data Fusion 

and Visualization

Data fusion integrates the strengths 

of multiple NDE modalities to 

provide an effective pathway for 

quantitative and spatial crossvalidation of assessment results. 

One example of this integration 

uses IE, GPR, HCP, and ER for 

assessing shallow delamination, which 

typically occurs in the early stages of 

deck deterioration when corroded rebar 

expands and results in horizontal cracking 

at that rebar layer. If the deck continues 

to deteriorate, the horizontal cracking 

may expand further and form a delamination that may eventually spall.

The delamination underneath the 

deck surface changes the mechanical 

properties of the deck locally. As a stresswave-based NDE technique, IE is particularly sensitive to this change and detects 

delamination by observing shifts in the 

peak frequency of collected wave signals. 

However, because concrete is a heterogeneous material, local changes in material 

properties may also introduce slight shifts 

in peak frequencies. While IE is a reliable 

method for identifying delaminations 

in a bridge deck, it does not provide any 

information about the potential cause of 

the delamination.

GPR is typically used to assess the 

cover depth of rebar in concrete decks or 

to identify precursors to delaminations 

such as chlorides, moisture, or potential cross-section loss of the reinforcing 

steel. GPR emits electromagnetic (EM) 

waves into bridge decks and collects 

reflected signals. The transmission inside 

the material and reflection at material 

interfaces of EM waves depend on that 

material’s dielectric constant or the 

The anatomy of defects in concrete specimens. 

Source: FHWA.

Three-dimensional visualization of the fabricated concrete 

specimen through fusion of ground-penetrating radar, 

impact echo, half-cell potential, and electrical resistivity. 

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 15

relative permeability. The reflection of EM waves occurs in the 

presence of dielectric contrasts; the higher the dielectric contrast at 

the interface, the more energy of EM waves will be reflected. In the 

case of a bridge deck, the dielectric constant of concrete material 

is around 8, while the dielectric constant of the reinforcing steel is 

theoretically infinite. The infinite dielectric contrast between the 

steel and concrete results in a nearly perfect reflection of energy 

when EM waves reach to reinforcing steel in concrete. On the 

other hand, water has a dielectric constant of around 81, leading to 

a smaller reflection than the one from steel. Therefore, low signal 

amplitudes near reinforcing steels are typically associated with the 

presence of water, chlorides, or loss of steel cross-section, which are 

precursors to a delaminated area.

Electrochemical methods such as HCP and ER are common 

technologies used for corrosion assessment and are typically 

associated with the measurement of the probability of corrosion 

of the top mat of reinforcing steel. The combination of GPR 

with HCP and ER would provide complementary information to 

determine if the degradation identified by GPR is also presenting 

active corrosion. Active corrosion in the reinforcing steel of 

concrete bridge decks can better inform bridge owners about 

proper asset management with rising priorities.

While each NDE technology provides a measurement within 

a specific portion of the life cycle of a concrete bridge deck as it 

relates to corrosion-induced degradation, the fusion of the datasets 

can lead to a better understanding of the cause of degradation and 

subsequently provide asset owners with more information for datadriven decisionmaking.

Using the datasets collected on the fabricated decks during the 

research project, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the deck’s 

deterioration can be achieved by fusing the knowledge gained 

from these NDE modalities. The results closely match the ground 

truth, with reinforcing steel identified at the top layer beneath 

the concrete cover. Cross-validation of IE, ER, and GPR results 

confirms the delamination in the corroded area near the top layer 

of reinforcing steel.

Next Steps

The success of data 

fusion relies on the successful 

acquisition and accurate analysis 

of each complementary NDE technology. Integrating 

current NDE technologies with machine learning and AI is one 

of the future goals of this FHWA project. The integration aims 

to provide more robust assessments for each technology and 

pave the road for advanced data fusion. Collecting more data 

and developing advanced algorithms for data analysis is another 

future effort designed to improve trained models for degradation 

prediction based on single NDE datasets. Those research results 

will be shared with Federal, State, local, academic, and industrial 

partners to foster NDE technology development and transfer.

“The integration of various NDE data sources and AI enables 

us to make more accurate predictions, identify potential problems 

earlier, and develop more efficient maintenance strategies,” says 

Anne Rearick, director of bridge management for the Indiana 

Department of Transportation. “This approach has the potential to 

greatly enhance the safety and reliability of bridges while reducing 

costs and minimizing disruptions to traffic flow. Ultimately, the 

integration of these technologies has the potential to revolutionize 

the way we approach bridge deck assessment and maintenance, 

leading to a more sustainable and resilient infrastructure system.”

HODA AZARI is the manager of the NDE research program and NDE 

Laboratory. She holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of 

Texas at El Paso.

HENG LIU is a contracted research engineer working in the NDE Laboratory. 

He holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Maryland, 

College Park.

RAHUL TORLAPATI is a contracted data analyst working in the NDE 

Laboratory. He holds an M.S. in data science from the University of Maryland.

For more information, see https://highways.dot.gov/research

/laboratories/nondestructive-evaluation-laboratory/ongoing-projects, or 

contact Hoda Azari, 202–493–3064, Hoda.Azari@dot.gov.

A fabricated concrete specimen with chloride-treated corrosive area. 

Source: FHWA.
MAKING THE JOURNEY A DESTINATION

The Federal 

Highway 

Administration 

celebrates the

reemergence of the

National Scenic Byways 

Program with 49 designations to 

the America’s Byways®

 collection.

by DANIELLE BLACKSHEAR, LILAH MORRISSEY, and EDWARD STARKS 

16 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

A hiker pauses to take in a brilliant sunset view of the Skagit 

River Valley near Cascade Loop Scenic Byway in Washington.

© Cascade Loop.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 17

For the first time since 2009, 

new National Scenic 

Byways and All-American 

Roads were named on 

February 16, 2021. The U.S. 

Department of Transportation 

approved 49 designations to 

the America’s Byways collection. 

The latest designations confirmed 

15 All-American Roads and 34 

National Scenic Byways in 28 

States, including Nebraska and 

Rhode Island that gained nationally 

designated byways for the first time. 

These designations increased the total 

number of America’s Byways to 184 in 

48 States. Prior to the 2021 designations, 

150 byways were designated in a series of 

nomination rounds in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 

2005, and 2009.

Established in Title 23, Section 162 of the United 

States Code, the National Scenic Byways Program 

(NSBP) is a grassroots, collaborative effort that recognizes 

selected roads throughout the United States for their 

intrinsic historic, cultural, natural, archaeological, recreational, 

and scenic qualities. From its inception under the Intermodal 

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-240), 

the NSBP has been one of USDOT’s most popular programs, with 

consistent support from members of Congress, State and local officials, 

national byway nonprofit organizations, byway sponsors, area businesses, 

and many other stakeholders.

FHWA has lead responsibility for the NSBP and manages the byway 

nomination process within USDOT. “America’s Byways enrich quality of life 

not only by preserving the character of designated byway corridors, but also 

by providing access to outstanding recreational opportunities,” says FHWA 

Executive Director Gloria M. Shepherd. “The journey begins on the road, but 

exploring scenic byways is a tangible experience that allows you to truly enjoy 

the environment around you.”

The Reviving America’s Scenic Byways Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-57), 

signed on September 22, 2019, requires the U.S. Secretary of Transportation 

to conduct a one-time solicitation of nominations for designation of 
18 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways. This act 

reinstated the NSBP after funding for the program was discontinued 

in 2012 under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century 

Act (Public Law 112-141) and designations were paused. Sixtythree nomination applications were submitted for consideration in 

2020. Each application was reviewed by a Federal team of subject 

matter experts on historic preservation, design, cultural resources, 

visual impacts, tourism and economic development, highway 

safety, Federal lands, and Native American history and culture. 

Nomination applications were also sent to the U.S. Departments 

of Agriculture and Commerce for consultation.

Come Closer: States with First-Time 

Byway Designations

Nebraska: Lincoln Highway Scenic & Historic Byway

The Lincoln Highway Scenic & Historic Byway was designated 

as a National Scenic Byway for its intrinsic historic qualities. This 

Nebraska byway was first used by Native Americans and fur traders 

who began exploring the west. It was later used in the Nation’s 

westward migration of people on the Oregon and Mormon trails, 

then Union Pacific Railroad, and ultimately became part of the first 

transcontinental highway.

The Lincoln Highway, in 1913, was 3,389 miles (5,454 

kilometers) long and was among a collection of local roads 

connected by lines on a map. Later, upon the establishment of 

the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926, U.S. Highway 

30 encompassed many of Lincoln Highway’s alignments across 

America. Nationally, less than 25 percent of the original alignments 

are navigable, but across Nebraska, most of the original 1913 route 

can still be traveled. Travelers navigating the byway from east to 

west will see a changing geography as America’s damp east meets the 

arid west.

The journey on this byway begins in the historically significant 

community of Blair, NE, mentioned in the journals of military 

personnel and explorers Meriwether Lewis and 

William Clark. From Blair, the route joins the 

Platte River valley continuing westward to the 

town of North Platte, NE, where the North and South Platte Rivers 

converge, and then to Brule, NE. In Brule, the byway diverges from 

the river valley and continues westward as the river turns to the 

south. The Lincoln Highway crosses through small rural towns that 

developed along the entire byway. The byway has many historical 

markers commemorating significant incidents along the highway, 

including dozens of original 1928 concrete Lincoln Highway 

markers placed by the Boy Scouts to mark the end of activities by 

the Lincoln Highway Association that had boosted the road since 

1913. For more information on the Lincoln Highway Scenic & 

Historic Byway, visit https://lincolnhighwaynebraskabyway.com/.

Nebraska: Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway 

The Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway was designated as a National 

Scenic Byway for its intrinsic natural qualities. The Nebraska 

Sandhills occupy nearly 20,000 square miles (51,8000 square 

kilometers) of dunes, native grasses, and lakes. The Sandhills 

Journey Scenic Byway, also referred to as Nebraska Highway 2, 

cuts through the largest area of stabilized sand dunes in the western 

hemisphere. The Nebraska Sandhills is touted as a world-class 

birding experience, featuring more than 300 species of migratory 

and indigenous birds during the spring migration. At the byway’s 

eastern end, near Grand Island, NE, large migrations can be 

observed, including the largest gathering of cranes on the Platte 

River and the mating dance of the male Prairie Chicken and 

Sharptail Grouse in April.

The remote areas of the byway, away from artificial light, offer 

some of the best places to experience dark skies, perfect for star 

gazing and astronomy. The Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway Visitor 

Interpretive Center is a new venue that introduces travelers to 

educational exhibits showcasing the natural 

features of the Nebraska Sandhills, and 

demographic displays provide an insight 

into the thoughts and lives of settlers and 

present-day residents. For more information 

about the Sandhills Journey National Scenic 

Byway, visit https://www.sandhillsjourney.com/.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 19

The Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic & Historic Byway is a surviving remnant 

of the most famous transcontinental named road of the 1910s and 1920s.

© Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway.

Picturesque view of the Nebraska Sandhills Middle Loup River Valley in early fall.

© Twila Phillips.
20 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Rhode Island: Revolutionary 

Heritage Byway

The Revolutionary Heritage Byway was 

designated as a National Scenic Byway for 

its intrinsic historic qualities. This byway, 

located in Bristol, RI, brings travelers 

through a quintessential New England town 

rich in history and culture, providing vistas 

of historic homes and waterfront parks. 

Additionally, downtown Bristol is listed 

on the National Register of Historic Places 

(NRHP). Along the northern portion of the 

byway is Colt State Park, a large public open 

space, and home to one of Rhode Island’s 

most striking shorelines. Colt State Park is 

also listed on NRHP and provides access 

to the East Bay Bike Path from Bristol to 

Providence. In 2009, the town of Bristol 

was designated as one of the National Trust 

for Historic Preservation’s Dozen Distinctive 

Destinations. This corridor is also part of 

the network of land and water trails that 

comprise the Washington-Rochambeau 

National Historic Trail.

The byway itself also has unique qualities, as it is home to the Nation’s oldest 

continuous 4th of July celebration. An 

amendment added to the National Highway 

System Bill of 1995 allowed Bristol to 

permanently change the center line of 

the roadway to red, white, and blue for 

the entire length of the parade route. For 

more information about the Revolutionary 

Heritage Byway, visit https://nsbfoundation

.com/nb/revolutionary-heritage-byway/.

Continuing the Legacy

Since the reemergence of the NSBP, 

FHWA has organized several coordination 

activities to support local, statewide, and 

national byway efforts. In 2020, FHWA 

began hosting monthly coordinator calls 

with FHWA division offices and Office of 

Federal Lands contacts, State and Tribal 

scenic byways coordinators, Federal Land 

Management Agencies (FLMAs), and two 

national byway partners: the National 

Scenic Byway Foundation (NSBF) and 

Scenic America. These coordinator calls 

serve as a pivotal forum for FHWA to 

share information and provide technical 

assistance, and for byways coordinators and stakeholders to share current 

events and updates on behalf of the local 

byway communities.

The calls also provide a platform for 

coordinators to share their knowledge and 

passion with their peers. “The National 

Scenic Byways Program is an invaluable 

program that strives to protect and enhance 

our Nation’s most scenic, historical, cultural, 

archeological, natural, and recreational 

enriched drives; along with providing 

economic development to communities 

along our Nation’s Scenic Byways,” says 

Holly Slagle, statewide scenic byway coordinator for the Minnesota Department of 

Transportation. “Our grassroots organizations, who give of their time freely, are vital 

to the success of the NSBP. Together we 

stand ready to ensure the NSBP is strong 

through leadership and perseverance.”

Through the partnership with the NSBF, 

FHWA has also participated in coordinator 

trainings and conferences, such as the 

Heartland Byways Conference in May 2022. 

The Heartland Byways Conference is hosted 

biannually among the States of Kansas, 

Nebraska, and Iowa as an educational 

Festive red, white, and blue bunting dresses 

the Linden Place estate for the annual 

4th of July celebration in Bristol, RI.

© Linden Place.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 21

opportunity for leaders and volunteers of designated byways in 

America. During the May 2022 conference, FHWA staff participated on a Federal and national byway partners panel to discuss the 

vision for a robust and collaborative scenic byways program over the 

next 30 years.

In addition to technical assistance, FHWA also provides NSBP 

discretionary grants to State departments of transportation (DOTs) 

and federally recognized Tribal governments to implement eligible 

projects on highways designated as National Scenic Byways or 

All-American Roads, State scenic byways, or Tribal scenic byways; 

and plan, design, and develop a State or Tribal scenic byway 

program. Since 1992, FHWA has provided more than 3,200 NSBP 

grants totaling over $526 million. In April 2023, FHWA awarded 

$21.8 million to 33 byway projects in 29 States, including five 

Tribal lands. These are the first NSBP grants awarded since 2012. 

There is currently up to $20 million available for the FY2023 NSBP 

Grants and Technical Assistance. FHWA anticipates awarding grants 

in 2024.
22 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Additionally, depending on the road, 

byways may be eligible for other Title 

23 Program funds—such as the Surface 

Transportation Block Grant Program, the 

Federal Lands Transportation Program, the 

Tribal Transportation Program, and the 

State Planning and Research Program—to 

support eligible byways projects. States and 

Tribes can also consider byway corridor 

management plans (CMPs) and other 

criteria in their transportation prioritization 

and programming guidance.

NSBP directly impacts local communities. For example, Rhode Island DOT 

received $750,000 to repair a badly 

damaged sea wall, improve drainage, and 

replace sidewalk and curbing as part of 

the Hope Street Pedestrian and Resiliency Enhancements project along the 

Revolutionary Heritage National Scenic 

Byway. The Forest County Potawatomi 

Community Tribe in Wisconsin received 

more than $302,000 to enhance the Tribe’s 

biking and pedestrian trail by designing 

and constructing four culturally interpretive rest areas along a path parallel to the 

Nicolet-Wolf River Scenic Byway, adding 

cultural artwork to the biking/pedestrian 

underpass and installing wayfinding signage. 

These projects capture and highlight the 

byway’s intrinsic qualities and will improve 

quality of life for the byway communities.

As required by the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, FHWA is also 

conducting an economic impact study of 

designated National Scenic Byways and 

All-American Roads. According to Lenore 

C. Bates, the Colorado scenic byway coordinator at the Colorado DOT, “Thirteen of 

Colorado’s 26 byways are also designated as 

America’s Byways by the U.S. Secretary of 

Transportation—more national designations 

than any other State. These are important 

assets since 19 percent of Colorado tourists 

visit our scenic byways. Predominantly, the 

synergy of the Colorado Scenic and Historic 

Byways increases regional effectiveness and 

promotes rural tourism, economic development, scenic conservation, historic preservation, and recreation.”

Through the decades, the NSBP legacy 

has endured and thrived. FHWA is proud 

and excited to continue the journey and 

promote America’s Byways. More information on National Scenic Byway Program can 

be found at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep

/scenic_byways/.

An interpretive sign along the Great River Road National Scenic Byway informs visitors about the Freedom Park Visitor and Learning Center in Prescott, WI.

© GRR Visitor & Learning Center.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 23

DANIELLE BLACKSHEAR is a transportation 

specialist in the FHWA Office of Human 

Environment. As the NSBP lead, she provides 

program and policy direction for America’s Byways 

designations and $42 million dollars in NSBP 

discretionary grants. She received her bachelor’s 

and master’s degrees in urban and environmental 

planning from the University of Virginia.

LILAH MORRISSEY has over 14 years of professional 

experience in project management and marketing. 

She has a master’s degree in community and 

regional planning from the University of Oregon. 

As the marketing specialist for FHWA’s Office 

of Planning, Environment, and Realty (HEP), 

Morrissey manages print, digital, social media, 

publications, and project management needs for 

the five HEP offices.

EDWARD STARKS is a transportation specialist 

in the FHWA Office of Human Environment. He 

supports the NSBP through technical assistance 

and program direction. He received his bachelor’s 

degree in industrial engineering and master’s 

degree in transportation planning and intelligent 

transportation systems from South Carolina 

State University.

For more information about the 2021 

America’s Byways Designations, visit 

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways

/designations/. For more information on 

the National Scenic Byways Program, see 

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/

or contact Danielle Blackshear at 

danielle.blackshear@dot.gov or (202) 366-2064.

America’s Byways is the umbrella term for the collection of 184 distinct and diverse roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of 

Transportation. America’s Byways include National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads. The NSBP’s May 18, 1995, Federal Register 

Notice (60 Fed. Reg. 26759) sets forth the criteria for the designation of roads as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads.

To be designated as a National Scenic Byway, a road must possess at least one of the six intrinsic qualities—historic, cultural, natural, 

archaeological, recreational, and scenic—that is regionally significant. Regional significance means that the 

byway characteristics are representative of a geographic area encompassing two or more States.

For All-American Road designations, a road must possess two of 

the six intrinsic qualities that are nationally significant, and the 

road should be considered a destination unto itself. National 

significance means that the characteristics associated with the 

intrinsic qualities are those which best represent the Nation and 

contain one-of-a-kind features that do not exist elsewhere.

When FHWA issues a call for America’s Byways nominations, anyone 

can nominate a road for designation, but the nomination must be 

submitted through a State or Tribal Government’s identified scenic 

byway agency or a FLMA and must also include a CMP designed to 

protect the unique qualities of the byway. The road must also 

first be designated as a State, Tribal, or FLMA scenic byway.

The FHWA America’s Byways website (https://fhwaapps

.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/) spotlights each of the 184 

designated byways, including a brief description, 

photos, maps, and local byway contact information.

NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAYS

FHWA awarded $21.8 million to 33 byway projects in 29 states, 

including five Tribal lands. These are the first National Scenic 

Byways Program grants awarded since 2012.

Source: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/grants/2022_awards/

Source: FHWA.
CAN CHEMISTRY 

IMPROVE THE NATION’S 

ROADWAYS?

24 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

FHWA’s Chemistry Laboratory conducts fundamental studies of highway 

materials to understand both failure mechanisms and superior performance.

by TERRY ARNOLD

The Federal Highway Administration’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) has had the Chemistry 

Laboratory for more than 100 years. That may seem strange in 

a highway-oriented world of civil engineers, program managers, 

construction inspectors, environmental and transportation 

specialists, planners, and other corresponding personnel; however, 

the scientists and researchers in the Chemistry Laboratory have 

been able to earn their keep, helping to foster innovation in 

support of FHWA’s long-standing mission of increasing safety on 

the Nation’s roadways.

From performing research on concrete and asphalt to the 

development of standards to conducting forensic investigations on 

pavements and other highway structures, the FHWA Chemistry 

Laboratory plays a key role behind the scenes to:

• Advance the understanding of chemical changes that 

contribute to road failure or damage.

• Advance the understanding of chemical changes that can 

contribute to potential performance enhancements.

• Develop state-of-the-art characterization tools.

• Test and foster new materials development.

“Chemistry provides an understanding of interactions at a 

molecular level and provides new solutions to pavement/material 

performance,” says Jack Youtcheff, pavement materials team leader 

at FHWA.

Throughout the years, the Chemistry Laboratory has 

developed several testing standards that have been submitted to 

the American Association of State Highway and Transportation 

Officials (AASHTO)—as part of its “forensic toolbox” research—

to improve and facilitate the chemical analysis of highway 

materials and to characterize and quantify new or alternative 

sustainable materials. For example, AASHTO recently designated 

provisional Standard TP144-21, as described below.

Concrete Research

In FHWA’s Chemistry Laboratory, scientists have worked 

diligently for the past 12 years to develop a test that detects the 

quality of aggregates (a group of raw materials including sand 

and stone used in the construction of roads) more accurately and 

quickly than ever before. In 1935, a distress mechanism in concrete 

was discovered on a bridge 

built in France; the first 

paper documenting the 

mechanism was published 

in the United States 

in November 1940 by 

Thomas Edison Stanton 

of the California State 

Highway Division. 

The paper detailed the 

chemical compound 

alkalis found in cement 

that can react with some 

aggregates in concrete to 

form a gel resulting from 

The FHWA Chemistry Laboratory develops new testing standards 

and field procedures to support the design and construction of 

highways, bridges, and other transportation infrastructures.

© gjp311 / © juliedeshaies / AdobeStock.com.

An example of concrete cracking 

caused by alkali-silica reaction gels.

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 25

an alkali-silica reaction (ASR). ASR, also 

referred to as concrete cancer, is a swelling 

reaction. The resulting gel can absorb water 

and swell causing concrete to crack. Even 

after all these years, this type of swelling is 

still a major issue in the concrete industry.

Aggregate tests first appeared in 

1947. Generally, all aggregate tests rely 

on measuring the expansion of concrete 

or mortar samples placed in a sodium 

hydroxide solution at an elevated temperature. However, none of these tests work 

particularly well. Typically, they show about 

65 to 70 percent accuracy.

Currently, the best engineering test 

for aggregates is ASTM International’s 

ASTM C1293: Standard Test Method for 

Determination of Length Change of Concrete 

Due to Alkali-Silica Reaction, which takes 

nearly one year to garner results. By 

contrast, the scientists in the Chemistry 

Laboratory developed a test—dubbed 

T-FAST—which takes 21 days. It does 

not measure physical expansion, rather 

it predicts from chemical methods the 

potential of an aggregate or combination of 

aggregates to expand deleteriously due to 

any form of alkali-silica reactivity.

Several rounds of testing with T-FAST 

have produced results 100 percent in 

agreement with other field tests measured 

on concrete blocks exposed to the weather 

for many years. The Chemistry Laboratory 

is currently working with laboratories at 23 

State agencies and universities on a roundrobin testing schedule to bring awareness 

to and ensure proper usage of T-FAST. 

The T-FAST test has been approved by 

AASHTO as a provisional test method 

(TP 144-21: Determining the Potential 

Alkali-Silica Reactivity of Coarse Aggregates 

(TFHRC-TFAST)).

Forensic Studies

Improving Pavement Traction on 

Gatlinburg Bypass, Tennessee

The Gatlinburg Bypass in Smoky 

Mountains National Park is a 5.8-kilometer 

(3.6-mile) scenic roadway that connects 

Pigeon Forge, TN, to Gatlinburg, TN, 

circumventing the heavily trafficked 

commercial strip of Pigeon Forge. In 2013, 

the Bypass was repaved as part of normal 

maintenance with a 25.4-millimeter 

(1-inch) ultra-thin bonded wearing course 

(the upper layer in the roadway.) To ensure 

the wearing course had good adhesion to the 

old roadway, an asphalt emulsion tack coat 

was sprayed onto its surface. Within a short 

time, the pavement began exhibiting poor 

skid resistance and the bleeding of asphalt to 

A section of pavement extracted from the Gatlinburg Bypass. 

Source: FHWA.

ultrathin bonded 

wearing course

tack coat

original 

wearing course 

A block farm where alkali-silica reaction expansion is measured outdoors.

Source: FHWA.

Ultra-thin bonded wearing 

course cut into slices.

Source: FHWA.
26 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

the surface caused black tracking marks on 

the white concrete bridges. However, it was 

not known at the time whether the asphalt 

bleeding to the surface was caused by too 

much asphalt in the hot-mix (a mixture 

of asphalt binder and graded mineral 

aggregate) or if excessive tack coat had 

been used.

In visiting the site, researchers from 

the Chemistry Laboratory were able to 

gather a sample of the emulsion tack coat 

from an off-ramp to the Bypass. Forensic 

studies were performed and showed that it 

contained high levels of vanadium which 

is typical of asphalt from Venezuelan crude 

oil. The high level of vanadium present 

allowed researchers to identify the source 

of the asphalt used in the tack coat of the 

pavement and was key to solving why the 

asphalt bled to the surface. By extracting 

additional thin slices of the wearing course, 

recovering the binder, and analyzing for 

vanadium, researchers were able to see that 

the high vanadium content of the asphalt 

was bleeding up to the surface of the 

pavement. The researchers found that too 

much tack coat had been used.

Identifying Rod Failures in 

Wilson Tunnel, Hawaii

When it became federally mandated to 

test tunnels as well as bridges in the State, 

the Hawaii Department of Transportation 

(HDOT) inspected the John H. Wilson 

Tunnel—a pair of tunnels built in the 

1950s—and found that some of the stainlesssteel rods supporting the roof had broken and 

shifted next to the concrete. In this type of 

tunnel, rods extend from the very top, which 

is the actual boring, through the mountain, 

into the roof. Tunnels have a flat ceiling. 

Between the roof and the circular concrete 

of the tunnel itself there is an air space used 

for ventilation of the tunnel. The rods broke 

at the surface of the ceiling. Faced with the 

prospect of pouring another tunnel, HDOT 

was anxious to find what caused these rods 

to break.

Forensics performed on concrete taken 

from the tunnel’s roof, via x-ray fluorescence 

(XRF), showed that the concrete contained 

both chlorine and bromine—two elements 

commonly found in seawater. Analysis 

showed the chloride content to be about 

0.2 percent; this percentage was compared 

with the chloride content of sample concrete 

taken from the Arlington Memorial Bridge 

in Washington, D.C., which had salt 

placed on it every year since it was built in 

Graph showing the high vanadium asphalt from the tack coat migrating to the surface.

Source: FHWA.

A broken rod within a concrete tunnel’s structure.

Source: FHWA.

Schematic of how the Wilson 

Tunnel, HI, is constructed. 

Source: FHWA.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 27

1932. Analysis returned a chloride level of only 0.03 percent, an 

amount far less than the concrete in Hawaii’s tunnel. Originally, 

a reason for how chlorine and bromine penetrated the tunnel’s 

concrete could not be found; though, many surmised it was due to 

absorption from atmospheric moisture. It was later discovered that 

concrete in Hawaii was made using beach sand through the 1970s.

Science Pinpoints Cause of Bus Crash

A chartered bus lost traction on a wet slippery interstate highway 

where the speed limit was 75 miles per hour (121 kilometers per 

hour). The bus skidded sideways, found traction in the grass, and 

turned over; nine passengers were killed.

Samples or cores from the pavement were provided to the 

Chemistry Laboratory to pinpoint a reason for the pavement’s 

poor skid resistance. The Chemistry Laboratory found that the 

surface of the cores contained a layer of neat (or unmodified) 

asphalt. Infrared analysis also showed this asphalt contained a 

styrene-butadiene polymer—a hard rubber used for products like 

tire threads and soles of footwear. Though no polymer was found 

in the core itself, styrene-butadiene polymers are often added to 

strengthen asphalt tack coats, which are used as glue to bind stones 

to the surface in chip seal applications. The Chemistry Laboratory’s 

researchers determined that the chip seal surfacing of the pavement 

was incomplete as the tack coat was applied but the stones were 

never actually added to the surface. This determination turned 

out to be the case. Unfortunately, due to poor recordkeeping by 

personnel working on the project, the chips were omitted; good 

recordkeeping would have indicated that stones had not been 

added onto the asphalt surface.

Note: The above content provided for laboratory context only. Specific 

details of the bus incident, beyond what is shown, are not permitted to be 

released as directed by the investigating agency.

A law enforcement officer surveilles the area where a chartered 

bus lost traction on a wet slippery interstate highway.

Source: FHWA.

Chemistry Laboratory Manager 

Terry Arnold collects a sample of 

dried tack coat from an off-ramp.

Source: FHWA.

What’s Next?

The Chemistry Laboratory’s staff is continually 

working to develop new testing standards, field 

procedures, and recommended practices for 

the safer design and construction of highways, 

bridges, and other transportation infrastructures. Currently, their research is delving 

further into the mechanism of ASR, with 

specific emphasis on the role of aluminum 

and identifying important parameters for a 

reliable test method to predict the reactivity of 

aggregates. The Chemistry Laboratory is also 

working to develop additional test methods for 

the use of handheld XRF, a Fourier transform 

infrared spectrometer, and Raman spectrometers for the field analysis of highway materials 

(versus their uses within a laboratory). For 

a look at the original Chemistry Laboratory 

article, visit the January/February 2012 issue 

of Public Roads: https://highways.dot.gov/public

-roads/januaryfebruary-2012/why-does-fhwa-have

-chemistry-lab.

TERRY ARNOLD is a manager at TFHRC’s Chemistry 

Laboratory and a member of the pavement materials 

team. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry 

chartered chemist.

For more information, visit https://highways.dot

.gov/research/laboratories/chemistry-laboratory

/chemistry-laboratory-overview or contact Terry 

Arnold at 202-493-3305 or terry.arnold@dot.gov.
28 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Along the Road is the place to look for information about current and upcoming activities, developments, trends, and items of general interest to the 

highway community. This information comes from U.S. Department of Transportation sources unless otherwise indicated. Your suggestions and input 

are welcome. Let’s meet along the road.

Public Information and Information Exchange

TFHRC Launches a Virtual Tour

Aself-guided virtual tour of the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) will soon be available on the 

Federal Highway Administration’s website from a desktop 

or mobile device.

Launching in late 2023/early 2024, the virtual tour for this 

one-of-a-kind research center features close-up looks into 6 of 

the 15 laboratories that conduct the cutting-edge research and 

development activities for which TFHRC is known. With a click 

of the mouse, visitors can also virtually stroll through the TFHRC 

lobby filled with informational displays, learn about the center’s 

state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, and participate in special 

activities created for elementary and secondary school students.

The tour explores the Chemistry Laboratory, the Federal 

Outdoor Impact Laboratory, the Human Factors Laboratory, 

the J. Sterling Jones Hydraulics Research Laboratory, the Saxton 

Transportation Operations Laboratory, and the Structures 

Laboratory. Similar to an in-person tour, FHWA researchers 

share information on the frequently used and unique high-tech 

equipment that enables their ground-breaking studies. This 

information is shared with visitors via clickable “touchpoints” 

highlighted throughout the rooms.

With special activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, 

and Mathematics (STEM), a visit to the STEM Activity Center 

will help inspire the next generation of transportation researchers 

and engineers; easy-to-follow videos illustrate activities—modeled 

after actual TFHRC research projects—that spark curiosity about 

infrastructure and the environment, road barriers and safety, 

communication among connected automated vehicles, and more.

For more information, or to delve into the 

room-by-room tours of selected TFHRC laboratories, visit 

https://highways.dot.gov/research.

Virtual tours of several Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center laboratories are available including the J. Sterling Jones Hydraulics Research Laboratory.

Source: FHWA.

The TFHRC virtual tours feature “touchpoints” that visitors can click on 

to learn about high-tech equipment, current research, and more.

Source: FHWA.

ALONG THE ROAD
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 29

ODOT to Invest Record Dollar 

Amount in Construction

I

n March 2023, the Ohio Department of 

Transportation (ODOT) announced a 

plan to invest a record $2.5 billion during 

this year’s construction season, the time 

of year when priorities shift from winter 

activities to springtime construction and 

maintenance. This season’s projects center 

on safety and maintaining infrastructure in 

a state of good repair.

More than 1,000 construction projects 

are scheduled across Ohio this year, 

including 31 new projects and 190 projects 

to reduce serious or deadly crashes on 

roadways. More than 5,700 miles of pavement and 823 bridges 

will be improved through resurfacing; microsurfacing; culvert 

replacements; chip sealing; bridge repairs; bridge replacements; 

lighting improvements; intersection improvements; widening; 

slide repair; bridge re-decking; and/or pavement replacements.

ODOT’s construction plans are grouped together by districts 

and outlined in guides (https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects

/construction-guides/construction-guides) by counties. The guides 

provide a brief description of each project, estimated start and 

finished dates, project costs, and impacts to traffic.

With the number of construction projects planned, ODOT 

is encouraging motorists to abide by the “Move Over” law—to 

cautiously shift over one lane, or slow down, when driving by any 

vehicle with flashing lights—when traveling through work zones. 

In 2022, 133 ODOT crews (including workers, vehicles, and 

equipment) were struck by vehicles while operating along 

Ohio roadways.

For more information, visit https://www.transportation.ohio.gov

/about-us/news/statewide/2023-construction-kickoff.

Dust Storms Cause More Traffic 

Fatalities Than Previously Noted

Aresearch study funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Health and Air Quality program and 

conducted by researchers at multiple institutions—including the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 

Air Resources Laboratory, George Mason University’s College 

of Science and Center for Spatial Information Science and 

Systems, University of Texas at El Paso’s Department of Earth, 

Environmental and Resource Sciences, and Freie Universität 

Berlin’s (Germany) Institute of Meteorology—was published 

May 2023 in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 

The study revealed that dust storms contribute to a larger number 

of U.S. traffic fatalities than previously determined.

Dust storms, also referred to as sandstorms, can hurt a driver’s 

visibility, causing a loss of control of the vehicle as strong winds lift 

large amounts of sand, dirt, and other debris off the ground and 

into the air. Research found that dust storms can also cause vehicles 

to lose traction and spin out of control.

The Ohio Department of Transportation has launched their record-breaking construction season.

© ODOT.

Dust storms can occur in any place where loose soil and high wind is present, like Interstate–10 in San Simon Valley, AZ. 

© Arizona Department of Transportation.
30 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Though dust storms can occur at any place where loose soil 

and high wind is present (e.g., baseball fields, farmlands, and 

construction sites), dust storm-related fatalities occur most 

often in the Southwest region of the United States (e.g., Arizona, 

New Mexico, Southern California, and Texas), where winds from 

strong storms kick up dust and sand in desert landscapes. The 

Autumn 2021 issue of Public Roads features the article, 

“Confronting the Storm: Arizona’s Innovative Dust Detection 

and Warning System” (https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads

/autumn-2021/03) that details the impact of dust storms and a 

state-of-the-art, fully automated dust storm detection and warning 

system developed by the Arizona Department of Transportation. 

The system works to detect dust storm events as well as warn 

drivers to modify their behavior when they occur.

After examining records from 2007 to 2017 for dust 

storm-related events as well as two NOAA databases alongside the 

Fatality Analysis Reporting System, researchers pinpointed 

232 deaths from dust storm-related traffic incidents. Their findings 

were greater than previous datasets that reported only 10 to 39 

deaths. Hence, the researchers were motivated to create a method 

by which to gather and analyze storm data more accurately; their 

method involved running code to collect information on every 

severe weather event that mentioned “dust” in their published 

reporting, among other search strategies. Researchers then took the 

important measure of manually examining each resulting event to 

ensure it was representative of a dust storm. Their updated searches 

revealed the number of deaths from dust storms ranged from 14 to 

32 per year, which was also more than what had been officially 

recorded over the same decade.

To view the research article in its entirety, visit: https://journals

.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/104/5/BAMS-D-22-0186.1.xml.

Is Happiness the Next Transportation Metric?

There are several potential causes of unhappiness while driving—crowded roadways, running late due to traffic, or the 

driving behaviors of other motorists. A recent study, published 

April 2023 in the American Association of State Highway and 

Transportation Officials Journal, aimed to determine whether 

traveler happiness could be a key transportation metric for 

planning projects alongside others, such as vehicles’ miles traveled 

(the distance that vehicles travel on a specific road or network of 

roads over a certain period of time); crash rates (the number of 

crashes, traffic volume, and road length); and transit accessibility 

(how easily residents of a community can access public transit 

services and how well those services meet their needs). How 

happiness—an emotional state characterized by feelings of 

joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment—is impacted 

by infrastructure could soon be tracked by State departments 

of transportation.

For this study, researchers developed a GPS-based smartphone 

application (app) to capture commuters’ routes and modes of 

transportation (e.g., car, bus, bike, rail, or walking) in 

Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) metropolitan region. At the conclusion 

of their commute, travelers indicated, via the app, how they felt 

from a list of options: happy, meaningful, painful, sad, tired, or 

stressed. The data inputted into the app powers a map—dubbed 

the Minneapolis-St. Paul Transportation Happiness Map 

(https://maps.umn.edu/transportation-happiness/)—and produces a 

visualization that illustrates spatiotemporal differences in travelers’ 

happiness ratings on the region’s streets and roads. Users of the 

map can extract data by selecting among 10 travel-mode options, 

seven time-of-day options, eight emotion options, and two statistic 

options (mean and median) to visualize patterns of 

transportation happiness.

From the information collected during the study, people 

commuting along a scenic riverside route were the happiest, and 

bicycling was deemed the happiest mode of transportation. 

Although it may take additional research, there is hope that 

happiness will be used as a metric to guide the building of 

infrastructure—both the type and location.

After Two-Year Dramatic Rise, 

Flat Fatality Rate Projected

As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continues to gather and finalize data on crash 

fatalities for 2021 and 2022, statistical projections for the fourth 

quarter of 2022 represents the third straight quarterly decline in 

roadway fatalities across the Nation. This decrease comes after 

seven consecutive quarters of year-to-year increases, beginning with 

the third quarter of 2020.

In 2021, NHTSA also created a methodology to generate 

State-level fatality estimations. Twenty-seven States—including 

Arkansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, 

and West Virginia—are projected to have decreases in fatalities in 

2022; 23 are projected to have experience increases. Fatality rates 

were also grouped by NHTSA region, with five of the 10 NHTSA 

regions experiencing decreases in 2022:

• NHTSA Region 3: Delaware, District of Columbia, 

Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and 

West Virginia.

• NHTSA Region 4: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South 

Carolina, and Tennessee.

• NHTSA Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, 

Ohio, and Wisconsin.

• NHTSA Region 6: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, 

Oklahoma, and Texas.

• NHTSA Region 7: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, 

and Nebraska.

Happiness, categorized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment, 

may be utilized in the future as a transportation key performance indicator.

© Flamingo Images / AdobeStock.com.
HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 31

However, these regional estimates are subject to change as 

annual reports are finalized and released.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation published the 

Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment to guide States on required 

2023 assessments. This guidance addresses schedule and frequency, 

statutory and regulatory requirements, potential funding 

opportunities, and the relationship between the Vulnerable Road 

User Safety Assessment and other vulnerable road user activities. 

USDOT has also advanced the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control 

Devices rulemaking effort and issued a Standing General Order to 

collect data about crashes in vehicles equipped with automated 

driving systems and advanced driver assistance systems. These 

efforts are among several implemented by the Department with the 

goal of not only decreasing but eliminating preventable fatalities.

MDOT Receives 2022 Keep America Beautiful Award

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Keep Mississippi Beautiful—a nonprofit organization working 

to inspire Mississippians to end littering, improve recycling, 

and beautify their community—received the 2022 State Agency 

Partnership Award at the Keep America Beautiful National 

Conference held in February 2023. MDOT was one of 16 State 

agencies across the Nation to be honored at the annual forum in 

Washington, D.C.

State departments of transportation and other State agencies at 

this conference are awarded based on their support of Keep 

America Beautiful State affiliates. MDOT was selected for its litter 

prevention efforts and its Trash Bash events, held in partnership 

with Keep Mississippi Beautiful as an annual roadway clean-up 

initiative. These events are known to make a huge impact statewide 

by removing a large amount of litter and debris from State 

highways. In 2016, for example, MDOT employees in total spent 

30,526 hours picking up trash on the side of the road, which is 

equivalent to almost three and a half years.

For more information on litter prevention in Mississippi, 

visit https://litter.mdot.ms.gov/.

2024 Federal Agency Uniform Act Conference

The Federal Highway Administration is planning a 2024 Uniform Act Conference scheduled for February 6–8, 2024. 

As a gathering for Federal agencies with real estate programs, the 

conference will promote Uniform Act stewardship, oversight, and 

state-of-the-practice through discussions and collaboration with 

Federal agency partners and stakeholders.

The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (Uniform Act) provides important 

protections and assistance for people affected by federally funded 

projects. Congress enacted this law to ensure that people whose 

real property is acquired, or who move as a result of projects 

receiving Federal funds, are treated fairly and equitably and receive 

just compensation for—and assistance in moving from—the 

property they occupy. FHWA’s Office of Real Estate Services, 

acting as Federal lead agency for the implementation of the 

Uniform Act, develops, issues, and maintains governmentwide 

regulations, provides advice and guidance to Federal agencies on 

the Uniform Act, and provides an annual report to Congress on 

the state of the governmentwide Uniform Act program.

FHWA leads many activities to advance Uniform Act 

state-of-the-practice including development and maintenance of 

Uniform Act Training courses, which are provided through the 

National Highway Institute (a description of each course offering 

is listed at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/real_estate/training/trta200.cfm). 

FHWA also leads a research program on Uniform Act related issues 

and opportunities and hosts a biannual meeting with its Federal 

agency partners.

To register for the in-person and virtual 2024 Uniform Act 

Conference, visit: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=

WyTNxPBElUOhqjhI0lj3izjnWZnN3XtJrCgsjdEeb2ZUNkE0RzczSjAzTUxTMF

BKQ0E4VDNCNjFVSC4u&wdLOR=cB9325838-2CD5-44D3-9AF7

-46BEE1F861A4. Registration is open to Federal agencies and 

partners overseeing federally funded projects and programs subject 

to the requirements of the Uniform Act. For more information, 

contact FHWA’s Arnold Feldman at arnold.feldman@dot.gov.

Hypothetical Strategies Address Actual 

Truck Emissions and Noise Concerns

The Federal Highway Administration published the report Addressing Truck Emissions and Noise at Truck Freight Bottlenecks

(https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/research/addressing

_truck_bottlenecks/fhwahep22026_final.pdf), which provides 

information on strategies to reduce truck emissions and noise at 

truck freight bottleneck areas across the Nation.

Truck freight bottlenecks—specific locations on highways 

where traffic congestion occurs—can have negative impacts on 

both the economy (e.g., delayed freight shipments and wasted fuel) 

and the environment (e.g., air pollution). The nearly 120-page 

report highlights three case studies, each representing a highway 

freight bottleneck and intermodal connector location in the 

country, along with hypothetical mitigation strategies.

The first case study, conducted on the Kennedy Expressway 

(also known as Interstate–90/94) in Chicago, IL, found that 

capacity and/or operational strategies to maintain higher peak 

period speeds could help reduce emissions. The study also found 

that truck replacement and clean truck strategies (e.g., congestion 

mitigation and idling reduction) could have large emissions 

benefits if applied to most trucks serving the region.

Strategies derived from the case study at Port of Houston’s 

Barbours Cut Terminal in Texas—where most trucks serve local or 

regional destinations—include clean truck, drayage optimization, 

and rail drayage strategies, which can have significant emissions 

benefits. It was also found that noise-specific measures can provide 

larger truck noise reductions, and a substantial share of emissions 

came from idling at gates or in terminal operations, pointing to the 

benefits of terminal efficiency improvements.

Lastly, the case study focusing on Interstate–5 at the Port of 

Tacoma in the State of Washington—where most trucks on the 

interstate are through traffic—found that strategies that only affect 

local, port-serving traffic will produce modest benefits but more 

substantial benefits on local streets. Also, eliminating congestion 

for trucks (by establishing truck-only lanes on I–5) has significant 

peak period emissions benefits; truck replacement and clean truck 

strategies can have substantial benefits if applied to all traffic; and 

noise-specific measures (e.g., barriers) can provide larger truck 

noise reductions.

With each of the three case studies producing varied strategies, 

a “one-size-fits-all” strategy may not exist; the best solution may be 

a combination of strategies tailored to local needs, environment, 

and opportunities.

For more information, contact David Kall at david.kall@dot.gov

or call (202) 366-6276.
32 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

Technical News

AI in Transportation: The Solutions and Challenges

The definition of artificial intelligence (AI) is continually evolving just like its number of applications. For one, AI 

consists of the “thoughts” and conclusions that computers 

make after receiving data inputs. The National Artificial 

Intelligence Act of 2020 defines AI as a machine-based system 

that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make 

predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real 

or virtual environments. In transportation, the predictions, 

recommendations, or decisions can range from advanced 

driver-assistance systems and predictive traffic modeling to safer, 

cleaner, smarter, and more efficient processes in construction, 

surface automation, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

In the construction industry, including roadway construction, 

nearly 350,000 unfilled positions exist. The construction industry 

is also where the second highest number of work-related severe 

injuries occur among the private industry sectors. AI, via 

AI-powered robots and collaborative robots (cobots), can serve as 

a viable solution to address these challenges. The use of AI and 

robotics can address the labor shortage and create jobsites that are 

safer and more productive. Cobots are equipped with advanced 

sensors and AI algorithms that allow them to perceive and adapt 

to their environment, interact with humans in a safe and efficient 

manner, and perform a wide range of tasks.

In surface transportation automation, including automated 

driving systems and smart infrastructure, AI enhances detection 

systems. It can be applied to a vehicle’s detection system, where 

sensor input and map data are fused to detect all objects (static and 

dynamic) from the environment and enable a vehicle to plan its 

trajectory. Similarly, AI can enable infrastructure sensors to fuse 

data from multiple sources including connected and automated 

vehicles, traffic detectors, including radar and video, and other 

related data like environmental and contextual data.

In addition, AI applications can enhance ITS, including asset 

management, traveler support tools, commercial vehicle and 

freight operations, emergency management, and Transportation 

Systems Management and Operations (TSMO). For example, 

with TSMO, AI can be applied at the system, technical, and 

operational levels to optimize the performance of a multimodal 

infrastructure to preserve capacity, advance efficiency, and 

productivity, and improve the security, safety, and reliability of 

the U.S. transportation system.

For as much as AI can add to transportation, there are many 

challenges to its adoption, including stakeholder perception 

(e.g., the perceptions of users, developers, and researchers), ethics 

(e.g., privacy and surveillance), equity (i.e., producing equitable 

outcomes for everyone, including older people and people with 

disabilities), and bias (e.g., AI systems making decisions based on 

biased human decisions or those that reflect historical or social 

inequities). Other challenges include safety, cybersecurity, human 

behavior, weather impacts, public trust, and coworker trust (in 

working alongside AI-enabled teammates). A detailed listing of 

these challenges and more for AI in ITS can be found in the 

October 2022 report, Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Intelligence 

Transportation Systems (ITS): Challenges and Potential Solutions, 

Insights, and Lessons Learned (https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/66971).

For more information, contact Mubassira Khan (mubassira

.khan@dot.gov), Robert Sheehan (robert.sheehan@dot.gov), or Reza 

Akhavian (rakhavian@sdsu.edu).

Policy, Regulations, and Grants

Accelerating the RIA Grant Program

I

n April 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced 

that its Build America Bureau will add $24 million in grants to 

the Regional Infrastructure Accelerators (RIA) Program to further 

expedite the development of transportation infrastructure projects 

at local and regional levels.

RIA is a USDOT-funded grant program to help move 

transportation projects forward, assisting with project planning, 

development, and delivery. Accelerators also evaluate innovative 

financing, access technical assistance and best practices, and 

develop a pipeline of projects ready for investment.

In fall 2022, USDOT announced five additional accelerators to 

the RIA Program. One of those accelerators, the Resilient State 

Route (SR) 37 Program in California, will address congestion, 

flood protection, sea-level rising issues, and connections to transit 

and rail options along a 20-mile route of SR 37—a stretch of 

highway vital to both rural and disadvantaged communities in 

Sonoma and Napa counties. Another accelerator, in Dona Ana 

County, NM, will oversee the creation of the New Mexico 

TradePort. This tradeport, an integrated logistics hub, plans to 

build new infrastructure that accelerates the regional transition to a 

low-carbon economy and expands opportunities for allied trade 

and transportations service providers.

In transportation, artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities can lead to safer, cleaner, smarter, and more efficient 

processes in construction, surface automation, and intelligent transportation systems.

© Tierney / AdobeStock.com.
Source: NHI.

HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV | 33

Complete Streets 

Course Series

by BROOKE STRUVE and SABRINA SYLVESTER

The U.S. House and Senate Committee on Appropriations 

addressed their concerns about 

increases in cyclist and pedestrian 

fatalities and encouraged the Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA) 

to review its policies, procedures, 

and rules. The committee directed 

FHWA to distribute best practices for 

the Complete Streets design model 

to State and local highway partners. 

FHWA shares the same concerns as 

the committee about the increase 

in roadway fatalities and established 

a Complete Streets initiative to 

work with State, Tribal, and local 

transportation agencies throughout 

the Nation to implement a Complete 

Streets design model. This model will 

assist with making roadways safer for 

all users, including bicyclists, motorists, 

pedestrians, and transit riders.

Complete Streets is a strategy to plan, design, build, operate, 

and maintain street networks that prioritize safety, comfort, and 

connectivity to destinations for every individual that uses the street 

system. This model will help to reduce fatalities and injuries on our 

Nation’s highways.

FHWA’s National Highway Institute (NHI) has developed a 

training series on how to use the Complete Streets design model to 

develop, plan, build, operate and maintain the Nation’s highways 

to keep all street users safe in their community.

Achieving Successful Complete Streets with NHI

The Complete Streets (FHWA-NHI-380131A-F) course is a 

training that provides the participant with the opportunity to 

learn how Complete Streets is incorporated into the planning and 

designing process in the Safe System Approach. The learner has 

the option to take any of these courses as a Web-conference 

Training (WCT), which is taken virtually, or as an Instructor-led 

Training (ILT), which is held in-person.

Planning for Complete Streets 

(FHWA-NHI-380131A and FHWA-NHI-380131E)

Learners are introduced to the planning process for Complete 

Streets elements in a Safe System including the features, policies, 

and strategies that guide project development and result in 

measurable improvements.

Designing for Complete Streets 

(FHWA-NHI-380131B and FHWA-NHI-380131F)

Participants will be introduced to the process of designing and 

implementing Complete Streets and explore fundamental design 

principles that support Complete Streets elements, including 

design strategies that emphasize measurement improvements, 

connectivity, and quality of service.

Planning and Designing for Complete Streets 

(FHWA-NHI-380131C and FHWA-NHI-380131D)

The course emphasizes the importance of safe street access, 

including the safe journey for individuals that use multiple modes 

of transportation, including walking, cycling, driving, and 

public transportation.

For this series of training, all participants must complete the 

self-paced Web-based Training and homework portion of the 

course before taking the ILT or WCT version of the course.

This training series is designed for transportation professionals, 

traffic engineers, roadway designers, public health officials, public 

work officials, and project managers who want to learn more about 

the planning and designing process of the Complete Streets model 

to keep all streets users safe in our communities.

How to Attend or Host a Course

NHI invites all transportation professionals interested in a course 

to visit https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/ to learn more about registering 

or hosting a course. The course catalog lists over 350 courses in 

18 program areas.

NHI is an approved Accredited Provider by the International 

Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). As 

an IACET Accredited Provider, NHI offers continuing education 

units for its programs that qualify under the American National 

Standards Institute/IACET Standard.

BROOKE STRUVE is a senior safety and geometric design engineer for FHWA.

SABRINA SYLVESTER is a senior marketing analyst contractor for NHI.

For more information about the Safe System Approach, see the 

Winter 2022 special issue of Public Roads. https://highways.dot.gov

/public-roads/winter-2022

For more information about Complete Streets, see the 

Winter 2023 issue of Public Roads. https://highways.dot.gov

/public-roads/winter-2023

Pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars moving through 

a busy intersection on a city street.

Source: FHWA

TRAINING UPDATE
© ryzhi / Africa Studio 

/ AdobeStock.com.

Students, get ready to 

submit your 2024 papers!

Since 2016, the Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA) Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) 

program in partnership with the Institute of Transportation 

Engineers (ITE) has hosted a student research paper competition, 

the HSIS Excellence in Highway Safety Data Award.

HSIS is a highway safety database that contains crash, roadway inventory, 

and traffic volume data for a select group of States and cities, and it provides data 

to researchers including students.

The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students in degree-granting 

programs that support highway safety.

Paper Submission Period Approaching

The data request period is open! Papers will be accepted from January 1–March 1, 2024. 

Winners will be announced at the end of summer 2024.

For more information and submission guidelines, contact Dr. Carol Tan at 

carol.tan@dot.gov or visit https://www.hsisinfo.org/award.cfm.

HSIS Excellence in 

H ighway Safety 

Data Award

Opens Soon!
Check out our Writing for Public Roads: How-to Guide to learn about the many ways 

you can contribute to Public Roads. From full-length feature articles to 200-word 

summaries, you can choose the option that best fits the information you want to share. 

To access the guide and learn more about article types, submission 

deadlines, and requirements, visit https://highways.dot.gov

/research/publications/public-roads/FHWA-HRT-22-076.

Questions? Contact us at PublicRoads@dot.gov.

© Michal / AdobeStock.com.

WRITE FOR 

Public Roads offers FHWA and State department of transportation staff an avenue for 

communicating both technical and general-interest topics with peers (such as engineers, 

scientists, and economists) and other stakeholders across the highway industry.

Other Federal agencies, local and Tribal DOTs, field researchers and 

practitioners, and academia may also submit content for Public Roads

but are encouraged to collaborate with FHWA and State DOTs.
36 | PUBLIC ROADS | AUTUMN 2023

1. Publication Title: Public Roads

2. Publication Number: 0033-3735

3. Filing Date: June 7, 2023

4. Issue Frequency: Quarterly

5. Number of Issues Published Annually: Four

6. Annual Subscription Price: $21.00 (Domestic), $29.40 

(Foreign)

7. Complete mailing address of known office of 

publication: 

Federal Highway Administration, 

6300 Georgetown Pike, Room T-301, 

McLean, VA 22101

8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general 

business office of publisher: 

Federal Highway Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, 

Washington, DC 20590

9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, 

editor, and managing editor:

Publisher: Federal Highway Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, 

Washington, DC 20590

Editor: Tiffany Tolbert, Schatz Strategy Group

11950 W. Highland Avenue

Blackwell, OK 74631

Managing Editor: Allison Simmons-Jacobi, 

Schatz Strategy Group

11950 W. Highland Avenue

Blackwell, OK 74631

10. Owner: U.S. Department of Transportation, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, 

Washington, DC 20590

11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security 

holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total 

amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: N/A 

U.S. Government Publication

12. Tax Status: Has not changed during preceding 

12 months

13. Publication Title: Public Roads

14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Summer 2023

15. Extent and Nature of Circulation

A. Total Number of Copies (Net press run):

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 657

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 589

B. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail)

(1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated 

on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above 

nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and 

exchange copies)

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

(2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on 

PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above 

nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and 

exchange copies)

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

(3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including 

Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street 

Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid 

Distribution Outside USPS®

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 507

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 589 

(4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail 

Through the USPS (e.g., First-Class Mail®)

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 150 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 150

C. Total Paid Distribution:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 657

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 589

D. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and 

Outside the Mail):

(1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies 

Included on PS Form 3541

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

(2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included 

on PS Form 3541

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

(3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other 

Classes Through the USPS (e.g., First-Class Mail)

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

(4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the 

Mail (Carriers or other means)

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

E. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

F. Total Distribution:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 657

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 589

G. Copies Not Distributed:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

H. Total:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 657

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 589

I. Percent Paid:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 100% 

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 100%

16. Electronic Copy Circulation

A. Paid Electronic Copies:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

B. Total Paid Print Copies + Paid Electronic Copies:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

C. Total Print Distribution + Paid Electronic Copies:

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 0

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 0

D. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies):

Average no. copies each issue during preceding 

12 months: 100%

No. copies of single issue published nearest to 

filing date: 100%

I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic 

and print) are paid above a nominal price.

17. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Will be printed 

in the Autumn 2023 issue of this publication.

18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business 

Manager, or Owner:

I certify that all information furnished on this form 

is true and complete. I understand that anyone who 

furnishes false or misleading information on this form 

or who omits material or information requested on the 

form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including 

fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including 

civil penalties).

TaMara McCrae, Editor-in-Chief June 7, 2023

United States Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation
Public Roads has several categories of subscribers. Find your category below to learn how you can update your contact information.

Paid Subscribers: These individuals and companies pay to receive printed copies of the magazine. The mailing list for this group is maintained by the 

Superintendent of Documents for the U.S. Government Printing Office. Paid subscribers who have an address change should notify the U.S. Government 

Printing Office, Claims Office, Washington, DC, 20402; or call 202–512–1800; or fax 202–512–2168. Please do not send an address change for a paid 

subscription to the editorial office of Public Roads. We do not manage the paid subscription program or mailing list, and we are not able to make the 

requested change.

Complimentary Subscribers: Complimentary copies of Public Roads are distributed to select Federal Highway Administration offices and congressional 

leaders who have responsibility for highway-related issues. Most of these copies are mailed to offices for their internal distribution or to people by title 

rather than by name. Offices or individuals who receive complimentary copies and have an address change should send the complete previous mailing 

address and the complete new address to our distribution manager, TaMara McCrae, via email (tamara.mccrae@dot.gov), telephone (202-493-3382), or 

mail [TaMara McCrae, Public Roads Distribution Manager (HRTM), Federal Highway Administration, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA, 22101-2296].

Electronic Subscribers: Electronic subscribers are notified via email whenever a new issue of Public Roads is available online. This service is available at 

no cost to our readers. The Public Roads editorial office maintains the mailing list for this group. Subscribers in this category can update their contact 

information by sending the complete previous email address and the complete new email address to our distribution manager TaMara McCrae, via email 

(tamara.mccrae@dot.gov), telephone (202-493-3382), or mail [TaMara McCrae, Public Roads Distribution Manager (HRTM), Federal Highway 

Administration, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA, 22101-2296].

Reporting Changes of Address

Order Form

For privacy protection, check the box below:

Do not make my name available to other mailers

Check method of payment:

Check payable to Superintendent of Documents

 GPO deposit account 

Mail to: U.S. Government Publishing Office • Superintendent of 

Documents • P.O. Box 979050 • St. Louis, MO 63197-9000

YES, enter subscriptions to Public Roads at $21 each ($29.40 foreign) per year so I can get 

news on cutting-edge research and technology, and on the latest transportation issues and problems.

For faster service:

Superintendent of Documents Order Form

Order online  website: http://bookstore.gpo.gov

email: contactcenter@gpo.gov

Order by phone  866–512–1800 or 

202–512–1800 (7:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. EST)

fax: 202–512–2104.

Order Processing Code: *5514 

10/19

The total cost of my order is $  . Price includes 

regular shipping and handling and is subject to change.

COMPANY OR PERSONAL NAME (PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT) 

ADDITIONAL ADDRESS/ATTENTION LINE 

STREET ADDRESS 

CITY, STATE, ZIP 

DAYTIME PHONE INCLUDING AREA CODE

PURCHASE ORDER NUMBER (OPTIONAL) 
FHWA-HRT-24-001

HRTM-20/10-23(398)E

U.S. Department 

of Transportation

Federal Highway 

Administration

Attn: HRTM

 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300