Volpe Center: Transportation Strategic Plans

Surface Transportation Research and Technology Assessment

Endnotes

1. National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Transportation Research and Development, Intermodal Transportation Science and Technology Strategy Team, Transportation Science and Technology Strategy, September 1997, p. 17. back

2. U.S. Department of Transportation, 1997 Condition and Performance, p. 55. back

3. Ibid., pp. 45-46. About $80 billion would be required to materially improve conditions to achieve optimum economic efficiency. back

4. Ibid. back

7. U.S. Department of Transportation, 1997 Condition and Performance, p. 7. back

8. U.S. Department of Transportation, Transportation Statistics Annual Report (TSAR) 1997, p. 5. back

9. U.S. Department of Transportation, 1997 Condition and Performance, p. 38.back

10. Information on railroads is from National Transportation Statistics (NTS) 1997, U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, pp. 237-238; and TSAR 1997, pp. 4, 8. back

11. GAO, Rail Transportation: Federal Railroad Administration's New Approach to Railroad Safety, GAO, Report to Congressional Requesters, July 1997, estimates that the number of workers per 100 miles of track declined by approximately 25 percent from 1976 to 1995. back

13. U.S. Department of Transportation, NTS 1997, p. 212. back

14. Approximately half of this annual investment in surface infrastructure is provided through the FAA Airport Improvement Program's Grants-in-Aid to Airports, with the other half is provided by State and local governments and airport operators. Airport Improvement Program funding comes primarily from the aviation ticket tax, the receipts of which are deposited into the Airport and Aviation Trust Fund. back

16. While infrastructure stewardship is an important FTA mission, infrastructure renewal and rehabilitation has not recently been a top priority for FTA R&T. The majority of FTA's grant recipients operate only bus systems, and do not maintain their own infrastructure. Those transit agencies maintaining their own rail infrastructure receive significant capital funding from FTA's fixed guideway investment program for renewal of rolling stock and facilities. back

17. Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Research and Development, April 1998. back

18. Eileen Singleton, "Weather Synthesis Report," prepared for the FHWA Weather Workshop, June 17-18, 1997, passim. back

19. One variation on such an automated system is the Maher Terminals' chassis-mounted container system (CMCS). This system is used to make equipment selection decisions, provide directions at strategic locations, monitor activity and report exceptions, control inventory and equipment usage, and provide current and historical data. Maher terminals use an on-line real-time terminal management computer system with major modules for terminal operations, manifest systems, equipment maintenance, chassis pool operations, off-terminal (inland) tracing, and financial reporting system. back

20. Montgomery County FiberNet Master Plan: the Montgomery County Information Highway for the Twenty-first Century, March 1995, passim. back

21. GAO, Marine Safety: Coast Guard Should Address Alternatives as It Proceeds With VTS-2000, Report to Congressional Requesters, April 1996. back

22. Other public and private entities also engage in runway pavement research and technology efforts; with few exceptions, these efforts are funded by, guided by, or in other ways connected to the FAA's runway pavement research activities. back

23. Bodamer, David, "A Composite Sketch," Civil Engineering, January 1998, p. 57. back

24. Brecher, Dr. Aviva, "Materials Research and Technology Initiatives," U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, November 1995, DOT-T-96-01, p. 16. back

25. Section 502 of TEA 21 also authorizes a similar "Advanced Research Program". back

26. Caltrans News Release #95-012, March 22,1995. back

27. Caltrans News Release #95-011, March 17, 1995; and Caltrans News Release #95-024, May 4, 1995. back

28. Transportation Research Board. back

29. Civil Engineering Research Foundation. back

30. In 1996, 400 firms were reported to specialize in the construction of highways and streets, and another 80 in constructing bridges and tunnels. The total assets of these firms were slightly more than $16 billion. The top 15 firms in each group accounted for more than 50 percent of the total assets. Source: Ward Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies, 1996. back

31. Smaller airports, which are not discussed at length in this document, often are privately owned.back

32. See the Internet Web site at http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/winter94.
back

33. Additional information on SHRP is available on the Internet at http://ota.fhwa.dot.gov/roadsvr. back

34. Similar applications of weather information systems to highway maintenance and operations can be found overseas, particularly in 'cold weather' countries such as Sweden and Finland. In fact, the Swedish National Road Administration (SNRA) has estimated that their system generates cost savings equal to three times the annual cost of the system. J. Schiavone, R. Puentes and C. Eng, "ITS and Meteorology: A Critical Partnership", 1997, passim. back

35. Issues 188 (January-February 1997); 189 (March-April, 1997); and 190 (May-June 1997), respectively. back

36. See the ITI Internet home page at http://www.iti.northwestern.edu/ back

37. 1993, Federal Aviation Administration Plan for Research, Engineering and Development, Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, 1994, p. A-4. back

38. One survey of state highway agencies indicates that innovation was accelerated by 3.5 years on average over a ten-year period. Facilitating the Implementation of Research Findings: A Summary Report, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 382, Transportation Research Board, National Academy Press, 1996. back

39. "Public Transit Searching for New Paradigms." Innovation Briefs. Urban Mobility Corporation, Vol. 8, No. 7, Sep/Oct 1997. back

40. NCHRP Report 382, Facilitating the Implementation of Research Findings: A Summary Report, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, 1996. back

41. "Stewardship Report Documenting Benefits of Research and Technology Efforts," Federal Highway Administration, Report No. FHWA-SA-96-044, December 1995. back

42. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Asset Management Advancing the State of the Art Into the 21st Century Through Public-Private Dialogue, Publication No. FHWA-RTh97-046. back

43. "Barging in with the Best and the Brightest," Consulting Engineer, Aug/Sep 1997, American Consulting Engineers Council; "PB Notes," Parsons Brinkerhoff, 1996; and "George P. Coleman Bridge Reconstruction Project in Yorktown, VA," The Construction Corner, Virginia Tech. back

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