RESEARCH NEWS
           the newsletter of the
New England Transportation Consortium
Vol. 2, No. 1 - Fall 2003

General Content:

• About NETC
• NETC Policy and Advisory Committees
• Highway Researchers See Big Future with Science of the Tiny
• NETC Research - FY '04
• Massachusetts Heads Up NETC's Policy and Advisory Committees
• Research Funding Awarded to Four New England State Universities
• Web Resources
• Chairpersons Appointed for Project Technical Committees - NETC FY '03 Projects

PAGE 1 of 6

Article Title: About NETC

Article Text:
In 1984, the Chief Administrative Officers of five of the six New England state transportation agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the New England Transportation Consortium (NETC). The Consortium was formed as a regional approach to developing innovative solutions to the common transportation problems among the New England states. Through the Consortium, the region's financial, professional and academic resources are pooled to research and develop improved methods of dealing with common probelms in the planning, design, construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and operation of transportation systems.

NETC's activities include research, technology transfer and training of transportation professionals. The program is intended to supplement, not to replace, ongoing state and federal research activities and other national programs such as NCHRP.

In 1994, the sixth New England state transportation agency joined the Consortium and the Connecticut Transportation Institute (CTI) was selected to mamange NETC activities. Currently, NETC has 27 research projects totaling $2,264,029 under contract with the New England state universities.

The Consortium functions through a committee structure composed of an Advisory Committee, a Policy Committee, and Project technical Committees. The Advisory Committee develops the annual research program, recommends it to the Policy Committee for approval, and provides oversight of NETC's activities. The Policy Committee approves the annual research program developed by the Advisory Committee and provides funding to carry out the program. The Technical Committees are appointed by the Advisory Committee to provide technical oversight of research projetcs.

NETC POLICY COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
James R. Capaldi, RIDOT; David A. Cole, Maine DOT; James F. Byrnes, ConnDOT; Carol Murray, NHDOT; John Cogliano, Mass Highway Dept.; Patricia McDonald, VT Agency of Transportation; and Bradley Keazer, FHWA-CT.

NETC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
William Ahearn, VT Agency of Transportation; Dale Peabody, Maine DOT; Colin Franco, RIDOT; Steven Pepin, Mass Highway Dept.; James Moore, NHDOT; James Sime, ConnDOT; Amy Jackson-Grove, FHWA-CT; Barbara Breslin, FHWA-CT; Robert Lopez-Anido, Univ. of Maine (Orono); David Gress, Univ. of NH; Lisa Aultman-Hall, Univ. of CT; K. Wayne Lee, Univ. of RI; Walaa Mogawer, UMass (Dartmouth); and James Olson, Univ. of VT.

PAGE 2 of 6

Article Title: Highway Researchers See Big Future with Science of the Tiny

Article Text:
A future in which cracked bridges and potholes repair on their own, guardrails realign automatically after impact, bridges adjust their shapes to control movement caused by winds, and metal structures self-clean to avaoid corrosion are among the advances in highway technology under forecast by scientists from the Federal Highway Administration's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC).

"Highway research and technology leads to safer, simpler and smarter highways," FHWA Administrator Mary E. Peters said. "The improvements we are studying can mean a better quality of life for all Americans. FHWA research engineers have an important role in advancing new technologies to serve the public and improve our nation's highway system."

The self-healing properties of pavements and other structures are only one of the multiple breakthroughs possible in highway technology that scientists are exploring at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. These advances could be made possible through nanotechnology - the art and science that involved breaking down matter particles at the most miniscule scale of atoms and molecules invisible to the naked eye and changing their characteristics. Through this process, properties of matter can be manipulated to achieve better quality.

The science holds great promise for the transportation sector because scientists potentially could manipulate the molecules of cement and asphalt to optimize certain features and create pavements with much better performance. They also could manufacture steel many times more durable and much stronger by rearranging and combining alloy particles.

Nanotechnology ahs applications in virtually every field including medecine, engineering, manufacturing, electronics, and material and computer sciences. The possible uses and benefits in the transportation sector are manifold. Through computing, for example, sensors embedded into highways could allow engineers to monitor the processes that contribute to deterioration and cracking without physical intervention.

Similarly, sensors in bridges could monitor vibrations and loads and enable researchers to assess weaknesses and fix them long before they are apparent to human inpsectors. road sensors networks also could gather and provide data to transportation operators to manage congestion and incidents better and detect fast-changing weather conditions.

A recent workshop at TFHRC highlighted these advances. The workshop was conducted with the support of the JOhn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, MA and in partnership with the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President, leading research and academic institutions, and other government agencies. These included the National Science Foundation, the Transportation Research Board, Draper Labs, the Scottish Center for Nanotechnology in Construction Materials, John Hopkins University, Morthwestern University, Northwestern University, University of Southern California, University of Illinois, University of California at Berkeley, the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Energy, and NASA's Langley Research Center.

Research on nanotechnology at the FHWA supports the National Nanotechnology Initiative cutting across several federal agencies and is coordinated by the National Science Foundation under the guidance of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

-Article reprinted from FHWA Press Room (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/nanotech.htm)

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Article Title: NETC Research - FY04

Article Text:
At its April 2003 meeting, the NETC Policy Committee approved a recommendation from its Advisory Committee that the following research projects be funded and initiated in FY 2004:

Project Technical Committees for the above projects, consisting of representatives from the six New England state transportation agencies and the FHWA Division Offices are being formed. Committees will provide technical oversight for these projects.

Article Title: Massachusetts Heads Up NETC's Policy and Advisory Committees

Article Text:
The Consotium's Policy Committee is chaired by John Cogliano, Commissioner, Massachusetts Highway Department, and its Advisory Committee is chaired by Steven pepin, Manager of Research, Massachusetts Highway Department. Their terms of office are July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2004. It is the policy of the Consortium to select chairpersons from the same state in order to facilitate communication between the chairs of these two committees.

The primary responsibility of the Policy Committee, which is composed of the Chief Administrative Officers of the New England state transportation agencies, is to provide funding for the Consortium and approve its annual research program.

The primary responsibility of the Advisory Committee, which is composed of the Managers of Research of the New England state transportation agencies, is to provide, develop and recommend an annual research program to the Policy Committee, and provide oversight of the operation of the Consortium.

PAGE 4 of 6

Article Title: $502,375 in Research Funding Awarded to Four New England State Universities

Article Text:
At its April 2003 meeting, the NETC Advisory Committee awarded funding for the following research:

Agreements are now being prepared for the above research projects. Work is expected to begin in September 2003.

Article Title: Web Resources

www.netc.uconn.edu
The NETC website. Information on the status of research projects. Download and order NETC publications.

www.nawgits.com
The National Associations Working Group for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The Group provides materials needed to enable a broad range of constituents to make informed decisions about ITS.

PAGE 5 of 6

Web Resources... (continued from page 4)

www.itspublicsafety.net
The ITS Public Safety Program encourages transportation and public safety agencies to better integrate
on-scene incident reponse, clearance, and recovery operations. The site provides information on new technologies and coordinated traffic incident management.

www.walkinginfo.org
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is a clearinghouse for information on pedestrian and bicycling issues, including planning, engineering and enforcement.

www.useit.umeciv.maine.edu
The University of Maine Department of Civil Engineering web site on the beneficial use of non-municipal solid waste. Information on tire chips and case studies of their use in transportation projects are cited.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/
The FHWA Office of Highway Policy Information site. It is a repository of information on: Highway Statistics, Highway Performance Monitoring Systems, Motor Fuel and Highway Trust Fund, Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, Traffic Volume & Truck Weight.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/
The FHWA Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty site. Provides information on: legislation, regulations, publications, training, and contacts regarding Statewide and Metropolitan Transportation Planning, the Human and Natural Environment, and Realty.

www.nationalacademies.org/trb/
The Transportation Research Board site. Provides information on the Annual Meeting, publications, programs, resources, and committees.

www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/OpsSecurity/
Provides information on emergency planning for surface transportation systems.

Article Title: State Transportation Agencies Appoint Chairpersons for Project Technical Committees
for NETC FY '03 Research Projects

Article Text:

PAGE 6 of 6

Article Title: NETC Submits Results of Completed Research Projects to AASHTO's Technology Implementation Group for Consideration for Designation as INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES...

Design Recommendations for the Use of Tire Shreds/Soil Mixtures to Limit Frost Heave and Damage of Secondary Paved Roads -Dana Humphrey, University of Maine

Performance Specifications for Wood Waste Materials as an Erosion Control Mulch and as a Filter Berm -Kenneth Demars and Richard Long, University of Connecticut

Design Criteria for Using Tire Shreds as Lightweight Backfill for Retaining Walls -Dana Humphrey, University of Maine

The New England Transportation Consortium 2-Bar, Curb-Mounted Bridge Rail -Designed by the Bridge Design Section, Maine DOT, for the NETC

The New England Transportation Consortium 4-Bar, Sidewalk-Mounted Bridge Rail -Designed by the Bridge Design Section, Maine DOT, for the NETC

RESEARCH NEWS
is published twice annually in electronic format by the
New England Transportation Consortium

Gerald McCarthy, NETC Coordinator

Deborah L. Barrett,
Editor and Web Manager
dbarrett@engr.uconn.edu

For more information, or to be placed on our mailing list, please contact:
Gerald McCarthy, Coordinator
New England Transportation Consortium
179 Middle Turnpike, Unit 5202
Storrs, CT 06269-5202
Phone: (860) 486-5400
Fax: (860) 486-2399
mccarthy@engr.uconn.edu