Surface Transportation Research and Technology Assessment
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2. DOT Research Programs and Promising Technologies
Materials, construction practices, and infrastructure use in the United States vary
dramatically from region to region. However, regardless of regional location, the life
span of surface transportation infrastructure is measured in multiple decades, and the
impacts of major technology advances will be realized only over time. Thus, infrastructure
facilities stay relatively constant, while the communities they serve and the demands
placed on them change in major ways. In this context, a constellation of institutional
factors must be favorable for new techniques and methods for maintaining and renewing an
aging, relatively unchanged facility to be acceptable and successful. Moreover, because
transportation innovations often result from advances in a wide range of scientific and
engineering disciplines, support for broad-scale continuing research is necessary to
provide a solid foundation for 21st century transportation technology. Recognizing this,
the U.S. DOT is spending close to $1 billion dollars for R&D programs in recent years,
allocated as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Department of Transportation R&D Funding
FY 1997-1999 (Dollars in Millions)
