Meeting Notes
RAC Leadership Teleconference
1:30 – 3:30 eastern,June 10, 2010
Participants: Sandra Larson (chair), Jeffrey Brown, Nanda Srinivasan, Jim McDonnell, Lisa Williams, Pete Seneski, Dale Peabody, Tommy Nantung, Rick Collins, Skip Paul, Mara Campbell, Tim Klein, Nancy Chinlund, Ron Curb, and Clint Adler
Decisions and action items are underscored.
1:30 Role Call
Approve Minutes from last meeting
A motion (Clint/Dale) to accept the minutes was approved.
1:35 Old Business
AASHTO Report: Jim McDonnell
Jim McDonnell reported that there was hearing was held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit on the subject of Context Sensitive Solutions and Practical Design. A summary and video of the hearing plus all written testimony can be found at:
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=1205
Louisa Paiewonsky gave the testimony on behalf of AASHTO. The testimonies leaned toward overarching policy rather than mandating specific actions.
A peer exchange was hosted along with FHWA on sustainability of projects, starting from planning, design, maintenance, and operations. AASHTO Staff were invited to talk about pavement striping material shortage. Subcontractors to large contractors might find delays in procuring striping material this summer.
TRB Report: Crawford Jencks
CRP has released the following reports since the last conference call:
· NCHRP Report 651, LRFD Design and Construction of Shallow Foundations for Highway Bridge Structures
· NCHRP Report 653, Effects of Debris on Bridge Pier Scour
· NCHRP Report 654, Evaluation and Repair Procedures for Precast/Prestressed Concrete Girders with Longitudinal Cracking in the Web
· NCHRP Report 656, Criteria for Restoration of Longitudinal Barriers
· NCHRP Report 657, Guidebook for Implementing Passenger Rail Service on Shared Passenger and Freight Corridors
· TCRP Synthesis 84, Current Practices in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Savings in Transit
NCHRP staff are working on the results of the March 23-24 SCOR meeting at which the FY2011 program was selected. A total of about $27 million was programmed for 18 project continuations and 40 new projects. The program announcement has been distributed; the AASHTO Board of Directors is now balloting on the program. Ballots are due on July 1, 2010. Panel nominations were due on June 4 and staff are beginning to form panels for the new projects. FHWA is contacting the states to collect the FY2011 funds. Crawford encouraged the RAC members to work with their FHWA division staff to process their FY 2010 state contributions to NCHRP.
At the AASHTO Spring Meeting, NCHRP Project 20-07 (Research for SCOH) and 20-24 panel (CEOs) allocated their FY 11 funds.
TCRP’s TOPS (Transit Oversight and Project Selection) committee is meeting on June 14-15 at Woods Hole, MA. For the transit program, FY 11 statements are due on June 15. For ACRP, 100 problem statements were received for FY 11. The governing board will meet in July 18-19 to select statements for the FY 11 program. July 31st is the deadline for the NCFRP and HMCRP programs for FY 2011. Crawford mentioned that the FY 2010 NCFRP projects are awaiting authorization from US DOT before processing contracts. Tim Klein mentioned that the paperwork is awaiting final approval by the Office of Secretary.
The Federal Rail Administration is moving to implement the National Cooperative Rail Research Program. The governing board for the program is being formed and a Memorandum of Understanding is being developed for the conduct of the program.
RITA Report: Tim Klein
Tim Klein reported that US DOT recently signed an MOU with Canada for cross border ITS activities. RITA Administrator Peter Appel will be speaking at an upcoming research symposium at the Massachusetts DOT.
FHWA Report:Lisa Williams
Lisa Williams reported that they are moving toward a quarterly schedule for the Pooled Fund webinar series. The next webinar is scheduled for July 14th. Lisa reported that FHWA staff is working on the reconciliation process for all TPF projects. Lisa hoped that lead states will keep the TPF website up to date to communicate the status of their projects.
2:00 New Business
Task Force Updates: TF Chairs- Sandra Larson
For the latest TF Updates:
http://cms.transportation.org/?siteid=55&pageid=2449
Rick encouraged task force leaders to post their meeting notes on the website. He also encouraged the task force leaders to check the SCOR Strategic plan as it pertains to their responsibilities. A new Program Management and Quality task force leader will be appointed soon. Rick reported that an MS Powerpoint template has been developed for reporting during the sessions. Rick will put together a note for task force leaders soon and work with Chris Hedges to update the website.
RAC Administration: Skip Paul reported that the Administration TF status report on the web are up-to-date. A draft outline for a mentoring program was sent out to the RAC Officers. Skip offered two ways to promulgate the program once it is accepted by the leadership. One would be by memo from the RAC chair to the Regional chairs. The other would be to incorporate in the RAC Operating Guidelines - which would require a RAC membership vote. The officers are invited to comment on the draft program by June 25, 2010.
Value of Research: Mara reported that a new brochure highlighting the value of research is being prepared. Additionally, Joe Conway and Dale Peabody have obtained about 100 high value research project submittals and will be preparing a summary for the national RAC meeting. A list of research performance measures currently used by State DOTs is also being prepared for distribution at the national RAC meeting. A list of 16 highly valued projects (based on regional feedback) will be prepared in July. The Value of Research task force status is being updated regularly using the website prepared by Chris Hedges.
Research Funding: Mara (on behalf of Dan Yeh) reported that the task force held a conference call on July 1. The members have prepared a draft 18 month work plan, that will be submitted to SCOR by end of July 2010.
Coordination and Collaboration: Nancy Chinlund reported that a conference call was held on June 3rd with RITA.
RITA has migrated the Coordination and Collaboration / TRB Conduct of Research Sharepoint site into RITA’s site. The site is organized around 14 research clusters. Communities of practice will be created around the research clusters.
Transportation Knowledge Network (TKN): A national TKN meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2010. Tim Klein reminded the group that remote participation is available.
Peer ExchangeUpdate: Lisa Williams
FHWA is still working through their internal processes to approve the new Peer Exchange guidelines. The guidelines are planned to be released soon.
Summer 2010 RAC MeetingJuly 26 – 30, 2010, Kansas City, MO:Mara Campbell
Mara provided an update on the program. 30 registrations have been received to date. The RAC 101 workshop has been moved to Monday evening immediately following the welcoming reception. Rick Collins requested RAC members to email him any questions that they would like speakers at the conference to address by July 3, 2010.
Summer 2011 RAC meetingJuly 25 – 28, 2011, Salt Lake City, UT: Clint Adler
Clint noted that Utah DOT is working with AASHTO to begin planning the event. Mike Fazio is exploring the hotel for teleconference capabilities. A draft outline of the meeting has been prepared, and a planning committee will be formed soon.
CUTC Liaison Group:
Rick Collins represented RAC at the Annual CUTC meeting in College Station, TX held June 7-9, 2010. Many good discussions and presentations took place. CUTC is preparing the first draft of an MOU between RAC and CUTC. A draft mission statement for the liaison group has been prepared – “Our mission is to foster collaboration and leverage resources between the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee and the Council of Transportation Centers on initiatives of mutual interest such as research, education, and technology transfer.”
US DOT Strategic Plan:
Rick sent an email to RAC Chairs on the DOT Strategic plan for 2010-2015. Comments are due by June 15, 2010. If there are any issues related to research, region chairs may provide the comments to Rick as soon as possible.
STRAP Committee Discussion/TRB Attendance by State DOTs
The committee discussed how to encourage more state representatives to the annual TRB meeting. The committee also discussed how to provide better information to the CEOs to improve their understanding of the benefits of core funding of TRB and the benefits of attending the final meeting.
3:10 Adjourn
Next Conf Call:Thursday, July 8, 2010.
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