The Interstate Highway System just turned 50, and its waistline looks like it did at age 20. This anorexic approach to increasing highway capacity is close to entering a crisis...
The Manistee River in Manistee County, Mich., has seen decades of fluctuation in its fish varieties and populations. Several species have disappeared entirely from the watershed...
In February 1985, I wrote my first column for Roads & Bridges magazine. The title was Support DBE, but change existing program. In that column I suggested that we get away from...
Sneak attack When driving with a pet, it’s important to treat it as you would an infant. Allowing it to ride with you in the front seat can be very dangerous, particularly if ...
This year’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System presents highway advocates with a perfect opportunity to educate the public and its elected leaders...
Make the most of your highway investment and select improvement projects that provide the greatest and most cost-effective benefits with the new 4.0 version of the Federal Highway...
Traffic volumes are increasing on our nation’s roadways. This means that for drivers with increased speeds and heavy congestion, there is a need for enhanced marking recognition...
The practice of performing work-zone activities at night has been around since at least the 1960s. Early attempts at night work were initiated because officials considered it...
Road safety audits (RSAs) have emerged as a simple and effective tool for improving the safety of roads and intersections. When conducted early in the design process, an RSA ...
The Road Safety Audit program is quickly gaining the attention of safety directors at departments of transportation throughout the country for its reputation as a low-cost way...
The construction industry is booming once again, and the recent passage of the new federal highway bill, covering 6,300 projects at a price tag of $286 billion, is one big reason...
In 2002, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) created a task force to design a demonstration project using perpetual pavements. Subcommittees were established to address...
Numerous tunnels have been constructed for the interstate highway system over the past 50 years. The U.S. has approximately 72 miles of road tunnels. About 29 miles of these ...
The industry outlook for light equipment and attachments in 2006 is looking bright, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ 2005-2006 Outlook survey. The survey...
The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” wrote the 18th century poet Robert Burns in his poem “To a Mouse.” Fortunately, there are well-planned construction projects...
Great strides are continuously being made to improve the longevity of asphalt roads. The advent of mix designs such as Superpave and stone-matrix asphalt enable these flexible...
Inaccurate cost estimating has dogged transportation projects for years. B. Flyvbjerg’s noted study on the results of transportation project estimating found that for the past...
Most state highways in the U.S. were built during the 1960s and ‘70s with an infrastructure investment of more than $1 trillion. Many have now exceeded their 20-year design lives...
Yes, it is the AASHO Road Test—not the AASHTO Road Test—because it was conducted in 1958-61 before the name was changed to include broader “transportation.” It also produced ...
I’m not sure what Dwight D. Eisenhower would think if I passed him a Journey Greatest Hits CD to slide into the CD player. And I don’t know if Frank Turner could make a mean ...
Exploring promising research ideas may offer solutions to tomorrow’s transportation challenges. With an eye toward the future of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration...
Thousands of crashes occur in work zones each year, leading to numerous fatalities and injuries. Texas Department of Public Safety data indicate that approximately 9,500 crashes...
Lining the U.S. like blood vessels, the Interstate Highway System keeps the economy circulating day after day. Even though congestion has clogged some arteries, the vast network...
Numerous tunnels have been constructed for the interstate highway system over the past 50 years. The U.S. has approximately 72 miles of road tunnels. About 29 miles of these ...
To the average person driving over it, the 1-mile Portland Connector doesn’t seem like anything special—just a highway bypass along the Fore River, linking I-295 with the busy...
The safest asphalt paving and production operations are those in which everyone in the company is committed to safe practices. That is certainly the case with the 2005 winners...
The 20th century represented a dramatic evolution in steel bridge technology. The first half of that century featured some of the most spectacular bridges of our time, as many...
As more of the major metropolitan interstate and mass transit systems come up for redesign, the need to control and mitigate noise from construction activity will become critical...