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Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Research and Technology Update Newsletter

January 2023 | Winter Issue

 

Traffic Optimization for 

Signalized Corridors (TOSCo)

The TOSCo system uses a 

combination of infrastructure- and 

vehicle-based components and 

applications with wireless data 

communications to signal TOSCoequipped vehicles to arrive during 

the “green window” at specially 

designated signalized intersections

(figure 1). TOSCo-equipped 

intersections continually broadcast 

information about the intersection’s 

geometry and timing of its traffic 

signal, and the presence of any traffic 

waiting in queues at the intersection. 

As TOSCo-equipped vehicles enter

the communication range of a 

TOSCo-supported intersection, the 

vehicles receive the geometric map, 

signal phase and timing, and queue 

information. Using these data, 

TOSCo-equipped vehicles then plan 

a speed trajectory that would allow 

them to either pass through the 

intersection without stopping (by 

speeding up slightly, maintaining a 

constant speed, or slowing down to 

allow the queued vehicles ahead of it 

to clear the intersection before it 

arrives), or to stop in a smooth, 

coordinated fashion to reduce the 

amount of time stopped at the 

intersection. TOSCo-equipped

vehicles that must stop at an 

intersection would perform a 

coordinated launch maneuver at the 

start of a green cycle that would allow 

them to clear the intersection in a 

more efficient manner. The green 

window opens at the onset of the 

green cycle if no queue is present or 

when the last vehicle in the queue has 

cleared the intersection when a queue 

is present.

Once the TOSCo-equipped vehicles 

leave the communication range of the

intersection, they revert to their 

previous operating mode (manual 

control, adaptive, or cooperative 

adaptive cruise control—depending 

on where the TOSCo-equipped 

vehicle is in the string). To view the 

full report, click here. 

For more information, contact Govind 

Vadakpat at g.vadakpat@dot.gov or 

847-212-7590.

International Highway 

Engineering Exchange Program 

This annual event includes State 

departments of transportation (DOTs), 

consultants, and software vendors to 

discuss the integration of data and 

other activities aimed at advancing 

Building Information Modeling (BIM) 

and digital twins. 

Source: USDOT (U.S. Department of Transportation).

Figure 1. Traffic-level simulation of TOSCo. 
Research and Technology Update Newsletter January 2023 | Winter Issue

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As part of this event, FHWA 

organized a 4-day workshop on 

September 25–29, 2022 in Ft. Meyers, 

FL, that is an outgrowth of the 

Global Benchmarking Scan on BIM

(Highway Engineering Exchange 

Program n.d.). FHWA funded 

travel for BIM leaders in Finland, 

Netherlands, Denmark, and the 

United Kingdom to present what they 

are doing. Each country was partnered 

with a State DOT representative who 

presented on what their assigned 

country was working on regarding 

that aspect of BIM. 

For more information, 

contact Katherine Petros at

katherine.petros@dot.gov 

or 202-493-3154

Enhancing Roadway Safety 

for Vulnerable Road Users 

(VRU) Featured in 2023 

Federal Laboratory 

Consortium (FLC) Planner 

FHWA submitted, Enhancing 

Roadway Safety for Vulnerable Road 

Users (Office of the Federal Register 

2022). Using virtual reality, 

human-like pedestrian test devices, 

highway-driving simulators, and 

the Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center’s (TFHRC’s) 

vehicle-to-pedestrian test bed, was 

selected out of 76 submissions to 

illustrate technology transfer success 

in the 2022 FLC planner (Federal 

Laboratory Consortium for 

Technology Transfer n.d.).

This is the fifth year in a row that 

TFHRC is featured in the planner. 

The FHWA Federal Outdoor Impact 

Laboratory was featured in 2019; 

CARMASM in 2020; ultra-high

performance concrete (UHPC) in 

2021; and nondestructive evaluation 

in 2022.

Forum of European National 

Research Laboratories (FEHRL) 

General Assembly Meeting

FHWA Associate Administrator 

for Research, Development, 

and Technology Dr. Kelly Regal 

represented FHWA in discussions 

on research collaborative efforts 

at the meeting that convened in 

Bern, Switzerland, on June 22 to 

June 23, 2022. FEHRL is a registered 

International Association based in 

Brussels. FEHRL provides a 

coordinated structure for the interests 

of 29 national research and technical 

centers from Europe and associated 

institutes worldwide.

For more information, contact David 

Kuehn at david.kuehn@dot.gov or 

202-493-3414, or Jill Stark at 

jill.stark@dot.gov or 202-493-3470. 

Travel Model Improvement 

Program (TMIP) Modeling 

and Analysis Tool 

Over the past decades, transportation 

agencies have used predictive 

planning, with a predetermined plan, 

within a specific timeframe. However, 

emerging connected and autonomous 

vehicle technology, new mobility 

services, and changing travel patterns 

will potentially have significant 

unpredictable impacts on future 

surface transportation operations and 

travel demand. 

The FHWA Travel Model 

Improvement Program (TMIP) has 

developed an Exploratory Modeling 

and Analysis Tool (EMAT). TMIPEMAT aims to empower metropolitan 

planning organizations (MPO) to 

manage uncertainties by providing 

insights of potential, possible, 

plausible, probable, or preferred 

futures. The report, Transportation 

Planning for Uncertain Times - A 

Practical Guide to Decision Making 

Under Deep Uncertainty for MPOs, is 

now available here. 

For more information, contact 

Sarah Sun at sarah.sun@dot.gov

or 202-493-0071.

2022 Intelligent Transportation 

Systems (ITS) World Congress

The ITS World Congress was held in 

Irvine, CA, September 21–25, 2022. 

Staff from FHWA and other USDOT

agencies were among the 10,000 

attendees from across the world.

TFHRC had a very large exhibit 

space shared with the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration to 

showcase a CARMA truck, two 

CARMA vehicles, and the 

articulated pedestrian dummy.

Several “mini-sessions” were held 

in the exhibit space, including a 

repeat of the VOICES (Virtual Open 

Innovation Collaborative 

Environment for Safety) Systems 

Integration Test/ Demonstration that 

was held at TFHRC on September 13. 

TFHRC participated in several 

sessions and hosted a booth as well as 

the Cooperative Driving Automation 

and Automated Trucking Program 

Showcase in the exhibit hall.

Staff were also interviewed on human 

factors and VRU safety issues for ITS 

TV (intelligent transportation systems 

television) for the conference. The 

program may be viewed at: 

https://www.itsamericaevents.com/wo

rld-congress/en-us.html. 
Research and Technology Update Newsletter January 2023 | Winter Issue

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For more information contact or Jean 

Nehme at jean.nehme@dot.gov or 

202-493-3042. 

Center for Environmental 

Excellence Cooperative 

Agreement 

In September 2022, FHWA awarded 

a 5-yr cooperative agreement to the 

American Association of State 

Highway and Transportation 

Officials’ (AASHTO) Center for 

Environmental Excellence. Under 

this agreement, AASHTO will 

continue to operate and manage the 

existing Center for Environmental 

Excellence, which provides a wide 

range of products and services to 

assist transportation agencies and 

industry groups in achieving 

environmental excellence in 

delivering their transportation 

programs, projects, and policies. 

Through information sharing, 

technical assistance, partnership

building and training resources, the 

Center for Environmental Excellence 

helps to achieve environmental 

compliance and adopt transformative 

approaches to ensure transportation 

planning, project development, 

construction, maintenance, and 

operations serve all transportation 

system users. 

Also, as part of the agreement, a 

multiyear strategic plan will be 

developed that maps out the activities 

that the center will be undertaking 

and how these activities will be 

coordinated with FHWA and other 

research, development, and 

technology transfer activities. 

For more information, contact James 

Gavin at james.gavin@dot.gov or 

202-366-1473.

Accelerated Loading 

Facility (ALF) 

After 36 yr of service to FHWA, 

the recently retired ALF has left 

TFHRC to be repurposed in 

Australia. The final component of 

the ALF, the 95-ft long by 12-ft wide 

frame, was loaded onto a truck and 

hauled in late October 2022 to the 

Port of Baltimore to start its 10,000

mile journey. 

The ALF contributed to many 

important research studies over the 

years, including validation of the 

Superpave mix design system and, 

more recently, the optimization of 

high-recycled content asphalt 

mixes. FHWA will continue its 

accelerated pavement testing program 

with the recent delivery of two new 

accelerated transportation loading 

assembly machines and reconstruction 

of the Pavement Testing Facility 

test lanes.

Joint Research and 

Technology Coordinating 

Committee (RTCC) and Transit 

Research Analysis Committee 

(TRAC): Washington, DC,

Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2022

FHWA staff met with staff of RTCC, 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA), 

and TRAC to discuss FHWA and 

FTA research, development, 

and technology programs and 

opportunities for collaboration. 

Members from both committees are 

drawn from the public and private 

sectors and academia. Carlos 

Braceras, of the Utah Department 

of Transportation, is the incoming 

chairperson of the RTCC. Leslie S. 

Richards, of the Southeastern 

Pennsylvania Transportation 

Authority, is chair of TRAC. Topics 

of mutual interest such as complete 

streets and infrastructure resiliency

were presented. 

For more information, contact 

Jill Stark at jill.stark@dot.gov

or 202-493-3470.

“Shear Design of StrainHardening Fiber-Reinforced 

Concrete Beams” Paper 

FHWA’s applied engineering research 

program has delivered another 

important finding to the broader 

community with the publication of a 

paper titled, “Shear Design of StrainHardening Fiber-Reinforced Concrete 

Beams,” in the American Society of 

Civil Engineers’ Journal of Structural 

Engineering. 

This article derives a model and 

associated structural design process 

for use in predicting the behavior of 

UHPC beams, columns, and other 

elements subjected to shear. The 

findings are based on physical and 

analytical research completed at 

TFHRC. These findings are currently 

being implemented into design 

guidance that is under consideration 

by AASHTO.

For more information, 

contact Ben Graybeal at

benjamin.graybeal@dot.gov

or 202-493-3122.
Research and Technology Update Newsletter January 2023 | Winter Issue

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UHPC Pretensioned Bridge 

Girders Arrive in Structures 

Laboratory

A new phase of FHWA’s research 

into the structural behavior of UHPC 

has begun with the first delivery of a 

6-ft long pretensioned bridge girder to 

the TFHRC Structures Laboratory 

(figure 2). These girders will provide 

researchers with insight into the 

optimized elements that bridge 

owners anticipate using in the future.

For more information, 

contact Ben Graybeal at 

benjamin.graybeal@dot.gov

or 202-493-3122.

References

FHWA. 2022. Design and 

Construction of UHPC-Based 

Bridge Preservation and 

Repair Solution. Report No. 

FHWA-HRT-22-065. 

Washington, D.C.: Federal 

Highway Administration. 

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pu

blications/research/infrastruct

ure/structures/bridge/22065/2

2065.pdf, last accessed 

January 26, 2023.

Federal Laboratory Consortium for 

Technology Transfer. n.d. 

“FLC Planner” (web page). 

https://federallabs.org/flchighlights/publications/flcplanner, last accessed 

January 26, 2023.

Highway Engineering Exchange 

Program. n.d. “Homepage” 

(web page). https://heep.org/, 

last accessed January 25, 2023.

Office of the Federal Register. 2022. 

“Enhancing the Safety of 

Vulnerable Road Users at 

Intersections; Request for 

Information” (web page). 

https://www.federalregister.g

ov/documents/2022/09/16/20

22-20188/enhancing-thesafety-of-vulnerable-roadusers-at-intersections-requestfor-information, last accessed 

January 26, 2023.

USDOT. n.d. “Communications” 

(web page).

https://www.its.dot.gov/comm

unications/image_gallery/ima

ge36.htm, last accessed 

January 25, 2023.

Source: FHWA. 

Figure 2. The installation of UHPC on 

the Laporte Road Bridge in 2016.

Recommended citation:

Federal Highway Administration,

FHWA R&T Update - Quarterly 

Newsletter (Winter 2022 Edition) 

(Washington, DC: 2023) 

https://doi.org/10.21949/1521983 

HRTM-10/03-22(WEB)E 

FHWA-HRT-23-039

CONTACT:

jill.stark@dot.gov