JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2008NUMBER 254

TR NEWSTR NEWSTR NEWSPartnershipsfor ProgressA Roundup of State AgencyInitiatives and Strategies

PlusPioneering Photolog ProgramDriver Behavior: A Moving TargetImproving Metropolitan Travel ForecastingBuilding the Road Safety Profession

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National Academy of SciencesNational Academy of EngineeringInstitute of MedicineNational Research Council

The Transportation Research Board is oneof six major divisions of the NationalResearch Council, which serves as anindependent adviser to the federal gov-ernment and others on scientific andtechnical questions of national impor-tance, and which is jointly administeredby the National Academy of Sciences, theNational Academy of Engineering, andthe Institute of Medicine. The mission ofthe Transportation Research Board is toprovide leadership in transportationinnovation and progress throughresearch and information exchange, con-ducted within a setting that is objective,interdisciplinary, and multimodal. TheBoard’s varied activities annually engageabout 7,000 engineers, scientists, andother trans portation researchers andpractitioners from the public and privatesectors and academia, all of whom con-tribute their expertise in the public inter-est. The program is supported by statetransportation departments, federalagencies including the componentadministrations of the U.S. Departmentof Transportation, and other organiza-tions and individuals interested in thedevelopment of transportation.

The National Research Council was orga-nized by the National Academy of Sci-ences in 1916 to associate the broadcommunity of science and technologywith the Academy’s purposes of fur-thering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning inaccordance with general policies deter-mined by the Academy, the Council hasbecome the principal operating agencyof both the National Academy of Sci-ences and the National Academy ofEngineering in providing services to thegovernment, the public, and the scien-tific and engineering communities.

www.TRB.org

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD2008 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*

Chair: Debra L. Miller, Secretary, Kansas Department of Transportation, TopekaVice Chair: Adib K. Kanafani, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, BerkeleyExecutive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board

J. Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KentuckyAllen D. Biehler, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, HarrisburgJohn D. Bowe, President, Americas Region, APL Limited, Oakland, CaliforniaLarry L. Brown, Sr., Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Transportation, JacksonDeborah H. Butler, Executive Vice President, Planning, and CIO, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk,

VirginiaWilliam A. V. Clark, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Los AngelesDavid S. Ekern, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Transportation, RichmondNicholas J. Garber, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia,

CharlottesvilleJeffrey W. Hamiel, Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MinnesotaEdward A. (Ned) Helme, President, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, D.C.Will Kempton, Director, California Department of Transportation, SacramentoSusan Martinovich, Director, Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson CityMichael D. Meyer, Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,

Atlanta (Past Chair, 2006)Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments, ArlingtonNeil J. Pedersen, Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, BaltimorePete K. Rahn, Director, Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson CitySandra Rosenbloom, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, TucsonTracy L. Rosser, Vice President, Corporate Traffic, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, ArkansasRosa Clausell Rountree, Executive Director, Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority, AtlantaHenry G. (Gerry) Schwartz, Jr., Chairman (retired), Jacobs/Sverdrup Civil, Inc., St. Louis, MissouriC. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin (Past

Chair, 1991)Linda S. Watson, CEO, LYNX–Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando (Past Chair, 2007)Steve Williams, Chairman and CEO, Maverick Transportation, Inc., Little Rock, Arkansas

Thad Allen (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)Joseph H. Boardman, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex

officio)Rebecca M. Brewster, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, Georgia (ex

officio)Paul R. Brubaker, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S. Department of

Transportation (ex officio)George Bugliarello, Chancellor, Polytechnic University of New York, Brooklyn; Foreign Secretary, National

Academy of Engineering, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)J. Richard Capka, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex offi-

cio)Sean T. Connaughton, Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior,

Washington, D.C. (ex officio)Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)John H. Hill, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

(ex officio)John C. Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials,

Washington, D.C. (ex officio)Carl T. Johnson, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S Department of

Transportation, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)J. Edward Johnson, Director, Applied Science Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration,

John C. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi (ex officio)William W. Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, D.C. (ex officio) (Past

Chair, 1992)Nicole R. Nason, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of

Transportation (ex officio)Jeffrey N. Shane, Under Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)James S. Simpson, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex offi-

cio)Robert A. Sturgell, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

(ex officio)Robert L. Van Antwerp (Lt. General, U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)

* Membership as of February 2008.

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TR NEWSNUMBER 254 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2008

COVER: Truck-only lane emergesfrom tunnel on Southbound I-5near Santa Clarita, California—asolution for handling increases infreight volumes, and one of manyinnovative strategies encounteredon 2007 state field visits by TRBstaff. (Photo by Duncan McIntosh,Caltrans.)

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3 A Roadway Photolog Goes High-Definition:Connecticut Expands User Network, Realizes Cost SavingsBradley J. OverturfThe Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has created a high-definition image inventory of the state’s entire roadway network, accessible fordesktop computer viewing by users throughout the agency. The DOT’s photologdirector traces the development and capabilities of the pioneering system, whichhas saved the state approximately $2 million.

10 Partnerships for Progress in Transportation:The Transportation Research Board’s 2007 Field Visit ProgramReports from field visits made in 2007 by TRB senior program officers to stateDOTs and other transportation-related agencies and organizations reveal a focuslocally and regionally on joint efforts and collaboration to address and resolvecritical issues. This roundup of findings presents recent developments andinitiatives in transportation research and applications nationwide in all modes andactivities.

19 POINT OF VIEWDriver Behavior: A Moving Target Alison Smiley Human factors specialists need to acknowledge—and to make traffic engineers,technicians, and manufacturers aware of—an inconvenient truth: improvingroadway visibility and guidance does not necessarily lead to lower crash rates. Aleading researcher in human factors draws lessons from several crash studies thathave yielded counterintuitive findings.

25 TRB SPECIAL REPORTMetropolitan Travel Forecasting:Current Practice and Future DirectionJon WilliamsA TRB study committee has developed recommendations to stimulate creativityand willingness to innovate in producing new models for metropolitan traveldemand forecasting that consider multimodal and operational needs,environmental assessments, revenue sources, and policy alternatives and that meetfederal and state regulatory requirements.

28 TRB SPECIAL REPORTBuilding the Road Safety Profession in the Public SectorThomas R. Menzies, Jr.Marked gains in safety performance are needed to outpace traffic growth and willrequire careful scientific and systems approaches to safety management, accordingto a new TRB study. To meet this challenge, a broad-based alliance of safety-relatedorganizations is needed to build the road safety profession, which encompassesexpertise from many disciplines but has lacked comprehensive education andtraining programs.

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30 Research Pays OffAssessing the Load Capacity of Oregon’s Aging BridgesSteven M. Soltesz

32 ProfilesVirginia Department of Transportation’s Chief Engineer Malcolm Kerleyand the Federal Highway Administration’s Metropolitan PlanningSpecialist Edward J. Christopher

34 Calendar

35 News BriefsRoundabouts in New York, traffic congestion monitor, railroad security,and more

36 TRB Highlights

37 Bookshelf

TR NEWSTR NEWSfeatures articles on innovative and timelyresearch and development activities in all modesof trans portation. Brief news items of interest tothe transportation community are also included,along with profiles of transportation profes -sionals, meeting an nouncements, summaries ofnew publications, and news of Trans portation Re search Board activities.

TR News is produced by the Transportation Research Board Publications OfficeJavy Awan, Editor and Publications DirectorChristopher R. D’Amore, Assistant EditorJennifer J. Weeks, Photo ResearcherJuanita Green, Production ManagerMichelle Wandres, Graphic Designer

TR News Editorial BoardNeil F. Hawks, ChairmanCharles FayEdward T. HarriganChristopher J. HedgesFrederick D. HejlThomas R. Menzies, Jr.Mark R. NormanBarbara L. Post

Transportation Research BoardRobert E. Skinner, Jr., Executive DirectorSuzanne B. Schneider, Associate Executive

DirectorMark R. Norman, Director,

Technical ActivitiesStephen R. Godwin, Director,

Studies and Special ProgramsMichael P. LaPlante, Director,

Administration and Finance Christopher W. Jenks, Director,

Cooperative Research ProgramsNeil F. Hawks, Director, SHRP 2

TR News (ISSN 0738-6826) is issued bimonthly by theTransportation Research Board, National ResearchCouncil, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.Internet address: www.TRB.org.

Editorial Correspondence: By mail to the PublicationsOffice, Transportation Research Board, 500 FifthStreet, NW, Washington, DC 20001, by telephone202-334-2972, by fax 202-334-3495, or by e-mail jawan@nas.edu.

Subscriptions: North America: 1 year $55; single issue$9.50. Overseas: 1 year $75; single issue $13.50.Inquiries or communications concerning new subscriptions, subscription problems, or single-copysales should be addressed to the Business Office at the address below, or telephone 202-334-3216, fax 202-334-2519. Periodicals postage paid atWashington, D.C.

Postmaster: Send changes of address to TR News,Transportation Research Board, 500 Fifth Street, NW,Wash ington, DC 20001.

Notice: The opinions expressed in articles appearingin TR News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TransportationResearch Board. The Trans por tation Research Boardand TR News do not en dorse products or manufac-turers. Trade and manufacturers’ names appear in anarticle only because they are considered essential toits object.

Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright © 2008 Transportation Research Board. All rights reserved.

A L S O I N T H I S I S S U E :

C O M I N G N E X T I S S U E

An overview of the first group of safety projects sponsored through theStrategic Highway Research Program 2, the contributions of an early publicroads administrator to the development of rural free delivery, and the mostimportant question in engineering are among the topics of articles in theMarch–April issue of TR News—which also includes photographic highlightsfrom the 2008 TRB Annual Meeting.

(Above:) A delegation of transportation officialsfrom Iraq, led by Construction and Housing MinisterBayan Dezei (seventh from right), attended TRB’s87th Annual Meeting in January and were greetedby former U.S. Secretary of Transportation (DOT)Norman Mineta (fourth from left) and TRB ExecutiveCommittee Vice Chair Debra Miller ( ).Poster presentations (left) and podium sessionsengaged the participation of more than 10,500registrants. A highlight was the Dialogue onReforming Federal Transportation Policies andPrograms, featuring a panel of U.S. DOT leaders,including (below, left to right:) Krista Edwards, PaulBrubaker, John Hill, and Tyler Duvall.

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fifth from right