Meeting Notes

RAC Leadership Teleconference

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Participants: Skip Paul (Chair), Dale Peabody (Vice Chair), Michael Bonini, Camille Crichton-Sumners,Cynthia Gerst, Allison Hardt, Chris Hedges,David Jared, Mark Morvant, Steve Pepin,Amy Schutzbach, Sue Sillick, Leslie Wright.

Action items are underscored

Notes from previous meeting

A MOTION(Chricton-Sumners/Schutzbach) to accept the meeting notes was APPROVED.

1:35 Old Business

AASHTO Report -Jim McDonnell

No report.

TRB/SCOR Report – Chris Hedges

Publications since the last conference call:

  • NCHRP Report 733: High-Performance/High-Strength Lightweight Concrete for Bridge Girders and Decks (
  • NCHRP Report 743: Predicting the Initial Retroreflectivity of Pavement Markings from Glass Bead Quality (
  • NCHRP Report 744: Fuel Usage Factors in Highway and Bridge Construction (
  • NCHRP Report 750/Volume 1: Strategic Issues Facing Transportation: Scenario Planning for Freight Transportation Infrastructure Investment (
  • NCHRP Synthesis 440: Performance-Based Seismic Bridge Design (
  • NCHRP Synthesis 441: High Performance Concrete Specifications and Practices for Bridges(
  • NCHRP Synthesis 443: Practical Highway Design Solutions (
  • NCHRP Research Results Digest 372: Sensitivity Evaluation of MEPDG Performance Prediction (
  • NCHRP Research Results Digest 380: Guidelines for Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects (
  • NCHRP Research Results Digest 381: Guidebook for Construction Management Practices for Rural Projects (
  • NCHRP Legal Research Digest 58: Legal Issues Surrounding the Use of Digital Intellectual Property on Design and Construction Projects (
  • NCHRP Web-Only Document 195: Driving Forces Influencing Future Freight Flows (
  • NCHRP Web-Only Document 198: Sag Vertical Curve Design Criteria for Headlight Sight Distance (
  • TCRP Report 161:Methods for Forecasting Demand and Quantifying Need for Rural Passenger Transportation: Final Workbook (URL Available Soon)
  • TCRP Synthesis 102: Integrating Passenger Ferry Service with Mass Transit (
  • TCRP Web-Only Document 58: Methods for Forecasting Demand and Quantifying Need for Rural Passenger Transportation:Methodology Report (URL Available Soon)
  • ACRP Report 83: Assessing Opportunities for Alternative Fuel Distribution Programs (URL Available Soon)
  • ACRP Legal Research Digest 18: Buy America Requirements for Federally Funded Airports (

RITA Report –Written report providedby Tim Klein

University Transportation Centers (UTC) Competition

  • Received 150 proposals for the 35 grants
  • Appreciate the support of several organizations in obtaining practitioners as review panelists (50/50 split, DOT employees and external reviewers)
  • American Planning Association (APA)
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
  • TRB
  • MAP-21 requirement for transparency; Report to Congress
  • MAP-21 requires awards be made by October 1, 2013; two-year grants

RD&T Strategic Plan

  • Draft is currently with NRC panel review, committee met March 19 – 20
  • Chaired by Mort Downey; John Halikowski phoned in from Arizona
  • The 19th consisted of presentations by the modes on their research programs
  • Dr. Kevin Womack got “preliminary” feedback on the 20th
  • Modal administrations providing additional text anticipating the committee’s final report
  • Public comment through a Federal Register notice published today (
  • MAP-21 requires publication by October 1, 2013

BTS: Change in Reporting of North American Freight Data

  • BTS monthly releases on North American Freight now contain data for air and seagoing vessel. Previous releases included surface modes only: truck, rail and pipeline.
  • Trucks carried 59.3% of the $90.5 billion in trade in January 2013 between U.S., Canada and Mexico
  • Rail – 14.3%
  • Vessel – 9.8%
  • Pipeline – 8.1%

PNT: Work with FMCSA on Avoiding Bridge Strikes by Choosing the Right Navigation Device

  • FMCSA has created a printable visor card for truck and bus drivers on how to choose the right navigation system. The visor card also gives tips for safe use of navigation systems
  • FMCSA plans to work with commercial driver training schools to encourage them to include electronic navigation system selection information in their training programs
  • FMCSA will consider electronic navigation system selection as it prepares to move forward with the entry-level driver training rule required by MAP-21

Connected Vehicle Program Concerns for DSRC Spectrum

  • Connected Vehicle/V2V/V2I depends upon the Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) spectrum at 5.9 GHz, licensed jointly since 1999 to ITS America and AASHTO
  • Demonstration in Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot in Ann Arbor, MI
  • Used in internationally-harmonized standards
  • FCC Chairman announced intention to “open up” the full 5 GHz band to unlicensed devices as part of the Administration’s Wireless Broadband Initiative
  • Stated preference for spectrum sharing with incumbents, or moving licensed incumbents
  • FCC approved docket to this effect on February 20; Federal Register publication pending (
  • DOT has been working with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on technical assessments since passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (February 2012); risk assessment already published
  • Developing work plan with NTIA, stakeholders for interference and sharing testing; and a formal reply including policy positions, descriptions of safety and data impacts
  • AASHTO signatory to ITS America-led letters on this topic, warning of impacts to transportation safety and mobility and NHTSA regulatory decisions (

Research Data Exchange (RDE)

  • RITA/ITS JPO and FHWA/Office of Operations recently released the first version of the online Research Data Exchange (RDE), a transportation data sharing system that promotes sharing of archived and real-time data from multiple sources and modes
  • This new data sharing capability will support the needs of ITS researchers and applications developers while reducing costs and encouraging innovation
  • There are nine data environments in the RDE, with more on the way. Each data environment has multiple data sets and standards-based metadata. Data accessible through the RDE is quality-checked, well-documented, and available to the public
  • RDE will be part of an invitation-only Vehicle Data Jam on April 18, immediately following the SAE World Congress in Detroit. The event is sponsored by the White House, USDOT, the Department of Energy, and SAE International. The purpose of the event is to convene innovative experts in the automotive industry and related fields to develop actionable ideas for providing consumers with their own vehicle data in a standard and machine-readable format

Surface Transportation System Automation Request for Information (RFI)

  • RITA’s Volpe Center, on behalf of the ITS JPO, issued a RFI that seeks to obtain information on the opportunities and challenges to the development, deployment, operation, and use of increased automation of the surface transportation system
  • RFI supports information gathering on potential ITS Program research in the area of automated vehicles
  • Closes April 23

FHWA Report –Leslie Wright

RAC volunteers are still needed to evaluate the RD&T website. Skip will redistribute the request to RAC members.

FHWA is taking steps to get ensure that FHWA division staff participate in the summer RAC meeting. Skip Paul noted that it is always very helpful to have FHWA staff at these events.

David Jared – Is there any news on the new SP&R Part 2 guidance? Ms. Wright – The guide still needs to be approved by FHWA’s Chief Counsel; this has been delayed by the passage of MAP-21 and subsequent legal reviews.

2:00New Business

Mr. Paul announced that Dale Peabody has been named the new RAC Vice-Chair.

SHRP2 Implementation

Mr. Jared – Have the FHWA speakers for the annual meeting session on SHRP 2 progress/implementation been identified? The deadline for printing the program is May 30th. Ms. Wright – Due to travel constraints, she is not yet able to identify the speakers that will attend and participate. She will make every effort to name speakers by mid-May.

Mr. Hedges will contact SHRP 2 staff to convey the importance of regular reports on SHRP 2 implementation activities to the RAC Officers.

Mr. Jared – He is working with Jerry Dimaggio on organizing the Baton Rouge sessionon SHRP 2 progress/implementation.

Region Chairs/Vice-Chairs Issues

Ms. Crichton-Sumners identified three issues.

During the last Region 1 call, the NCHRP ranking process was discussed. In particular it was noted that a problem statement submitted by the Maryland DOT was ranked 35th overall but was not selected for funding (Statement D-04 “Defining Comparable Pavement Cracking Data”). Mr. Paul recalled that one of the breakout review groups recommended that the AASHTO Maintenance subcommittee review the problem statement to determine whether it was a national need. He also noted that it can be very helpful to have a champion to speak on the importance of problem statementsat the meeting, preferably from the same state or region.

Ms. Crichton-Sumners requestsaup-to-date copy of the AASHTO Technical Services program outline. It has not been updated since 2009.

Stephanie Trainoris replacing Martin Parker asthe District of Columbia’s RAC member and should be added to the National RAC listserv. Mr. Hedges will add Ms. Trainor to the listserv.

Summer 2013 RAC/TRB meeting –Baton Rouge, LA,July 15-18, 2013

David Jared – The latest conference planning conference call was held yesterday. Several members attended from Region 3, which will be organizing the meeting next year. The registration site is now open; there are 12 registrants so far. Two sponsors have been secured. Mark Morvant – They are still seeking one or more additional sponsors, but they have reached their sponsorship target. Letters are being sent to opening session speakers. June 1 is the target date for publication of the program. Mr. Jared expects to finalize the agenda by mid-May, at which time it will be posted on the website. The RAC-CUTC Liaison Group has scheduled a conference call for May 6th at 2:00 pm Eastern time to discuss their session for Baton Rouge. TRB’s STRAP is meeting tomorrow to finalize the state representatives’ portion of the meeting. The Task Force on Administration is still developing RAC 101, likely in the same format as previous years. A template has been developed for the Sweet 16 High Value Research presentations. The presentations will last 4-5 minutesand focus on implementation. Elisha Wright-Kehner is organizing a session on peer exchange successes; RAC members should contact her if they are interested in participating.

Summer 2014 RAC/TRB meeting, Madison, WI, July 20-24

Several Region 3 staff participated in the most recent planning committee conference call for the 2013 meeting. Cynthia Gerst will talk to Ms. Crichton-Sumners about working with AASHTO’s meeting planners. Tommy Nantung, Steve Bower, and Linda Taylor will also be members of the planning committee.

Task Force Updates –Dale Peabody and Task Force Chairs

Administration – Steve Pepin, Allison Hardt, and Cynthia Gerst.

The website working group is meeting monthly, with the next conference call scheduled for April 29th. Chris Hedges reported on last meeting which included discussion of the site’s main menu items and associated mouse-over menus. Once recommendations for the menu structure have been finalized, work on the content of the site will begin, starting with the home page. Cynthia Gerst invited RAC members to send her any comments on the site’s format or content for consideration by the working group.

FHWA has confirmed that they do not maintain a repository of state DOT research peer exchange reports, and that the SCOR/RAC website is the best place to make them available. Mr. Paul has distributed an invitation to all RAC members to send any peer exchange reports that have not yet been submitted to Mr. Hedges. Ms. Wright noted that FHWA now stipulates a maximum of 5 years between peer exchanges.

All regional chairs are encouraged to reach out to those states that are not actively participating in RAC and try to persuade them to get more involved.

A survey will be distributed shortly to RAC members for feedback on the winter meeting content and format. This charge was given to the Task Force by Mr. Paul after concerns were expressed about the relevance and value of the last few January meetings. The Task Force will explore different ways the meeting could be structured to make best use of the time.

Coordination and Collaboration – Sue Sillick

The Task Force is currently working on the transition of the RPPM website to the AASHTO server, with management to be provided by NCHRP staff. The Task Force is currently waiting for a final cost estimate and approval. Ms. Sillick has volunteered to participate on the Task Force on Administration’swebsite working group. She would like to ensure that these and other websites have multiple links, not duplicative postings. The Task Force is also working on the development of a comprehensive calendar of events. The next meeting is April 24th.

The C&C Task Force is also working with the TRB Conduct of Research and LIST committees on the quality of literature reviews, terminology, and thesauri.

Finally, Ms. Sillick asked Mr. Peabody to schedule a conference call of Task Force chairs to discuss any overlapping work and collaboration needs.

Program Management and Quality – David Jared

The most recent call was held March 14. It includeddiscussion with Crawford Jencks about NCHRP implementation activities. Mr. Jencks has hired a consultant to follow up with past PIs and panel members on implementation of NCHRP results. The intent is to identify common characteristics of successful implementation in order to help guide future NCHRP projects. Mr. Peabody is hosting a workshop today on incorporating safety into the planning process. Maine has been selected as a pilot state, based on an NCHRP project.

Martin Pietrucha will be presenting the second part of his paper on research problem identification, scoping, and programming at the Baton Rouge meeting. He initially surveyed state DOT research groups about this and presented the results at the 2012 RAC summer meeting in Burlington, VT. In Baton Rouge he will present the results of a survey of academiaon this subject.

Cynthia Gerst is co-chairing the TRB Ahead of the Curve initiative along with private consultant Barbara Harder. The end result of this effort will be course content and training materials for research managersin both government and academic programs. The PM&Q Task Force will be supporting the effort and reporting back at future conference calls.

Value of Research – Dale Peabody

The most recent conference last call was held this past Monday. High value research submittals are due tomorrow, April 12. About 80 submittals have been received so far. There have been quite a few inquiries about using the RPM website to submit them. Mark Morvant is taking a lead role in compiling the report, and Dawn VanLandinghamof FHWA is supporting its publication. Pat Casey will develop the 2013 Research Makes a Differencebrochure. The Sweet 16 presentations at summer meeting will focus on providing benefits to the sponsors through successful implementation of research results. Mr. Morvant asked regional chairs to remind their members that guidance on the voting process is available and was distributed earlier.

Mr. Morvant is developing an outline for a new webinar on the Research Performance Measures website for review at the summer meeting. Ms. Sillick was invited to participate on the webinar development team. There are still plans for some minor improvements to the RPM website and software. There is a need to identify a long-term home for the site.

Linda Taylor recently distributed a request for best practices on quantifying the benefits of research. She is receiving a lot of documentation, and Mr. Morvant is collecting similar material for the Southeast Research Consortium. Discussions will be held in Baton Rouge on how and where to post or disseminate the information collected.

TKN – Written Report provided by Leni Oman.

Since our last Leadership Team meeting in February, Task Force members helped write the Information Management R&D Framework and problem statements that were submitted to SCOR. We’re thrilled that they were funded. At our April meeting, we discussed the competencies needed for panel members and contractors for each of these projects. Andy Lemer participated in the conversation. We understand our input is advice to NCHRP and not directive.

The technical page review, report distribution and calendar tasks continue to move forward. The first two received funding from the Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study led by Missouri. Scopes of work and discussion about contractor options are underway. The Calendar project continues as an unfunded task with support from TKN Task Force members across the country and efforts to develop a prototype by the WTKN.