AASHTO Research Advisory Committee (RAC)

Region 2 Minutes

January 13, 2014—Washington, DC

Marriott Wardman Park (at TRB)

Attendees: David Jared (GDOT—Chair), Cindy Smith (MDOT—Secretary), Sarah Tamayo (Arkansas SHTD), James Watkins (MDOT), Mark Morvant (LADOTD/LTRC), Don Williams (WVDOT), Mike Pumphrey (WVDOT), Steve Bolyard (FDOT), Darryll Dockstader (FDOT), Jason Siwula (KYTC—Kentucky Transportation Cabinet), Joe Crabtree (KTC—Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky), Alan Jones (TNDOT), Terry Swygert (SCDOT), Rodger Rochelle (NCDOT), Jack Jernigan (FHWA)

Old Business

Membership News: Sarah advised that Elisha Wright-Kehner (ASHTD) is still deployed in Afghanistan, and our thoughts are with her. Alan Jones from Tennessee DOT attended RAC2 for the first time and is working on getting agency approval to become an official RAC member. Rodger Rochelle from NCDOT attended and advised us that NCDOT is close filling Moy Biswas’s old position. John Kirby had also advised David of this via email. Jason Siwula (KYTC) is the new research coordinator for KYTC. Present for the first time also was Steve Bolyard from FDOT. We welcome these new attendees. We are sorry to hear that Milt Fletcher, retired from SCDOT, passed away last November.

Region 2 Conference Calls: David proposed that we have these on the second Tuesday of each quarter in March, June, September, and December from 11:00 am to noon Eastern time, and this schedule has been approved. LTRC’s GoToMeeting platform is still available for use.

Southeast Transportation Consortium (STC) Update

Budget: Mark Morvant had previously emailed RAC2 members a quarterly report and budget spreadsheet for STC. Some states have not committed for the entire duration of the pooled fund. $225,000 has actually been received, and we will need more to go forward with another round of syntheses. South Carolina and Florida have joined, so all RAC2 states are now members of STC.

Synthesis Status: The second round of syntheses is underway and will be ending in October of 2013 and January of 2014. The Transtec Group was awarded the pavement smoothness synthesis, which began on 1/2/14 and ends on 1/2/15. LSU was awarded the congestion management synthesis on 12/1/13, and a kickoff meeting was held. The Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) won the funding alternatives synthesis, with the contract beginning 1/2/14. Finally the reflective cracking synthesis was awarded to LSU with a begin date of 10/13/2014.

Three of the four first-round syntheses have ended. The asphalt surface treatments study’s editorial comments have been sent to the PI for modifications. The research value and water quality syntheses should be posted on LTRC’s website approximately January 17. The warm-mix asphalt synthesis ends January 31, and the draft report is with the TAC for review and comments. TAC members need to get comments back to Mark as soon as possible.

Publicizing of Reports: LTRC is going to post final reports on their website and TRIS and send through the RAC listserv. The reports will bear the STC logo instead of LTRC’s. Jack Jernigan advised that there is no standard marketing procedure governing how a TPF lead state markets or publishes final reports—this is up to that lead agency. We may discuss additional marketing efforts at the summer RAC meeting. Since syntheses by nature do not provide guidelines, pooled fund studies might result to enable further study and recommendations. Where the results go will depend on the subject matter and interest in it.

STC Annual Meeting: Mark had previously polled the RAC2 membership about the possibility of having STC’s annual meeting attached to the SASHTO meeting in New Orleans, which LADOTD is hosting this year. The members decided that, while SASHTO would afford good opportunity for interaction and exposure, it would ultimately prove to be a burden on the host state to juggle both. Also, some states’ upper management may not approve STC members to attend SASHTO. The suggestion was made for another state to host STC; however, LADOTD/LTRC would have to figure out a means to pay for members’ hotel and travel fees through the pooled fund. Any state interested in hosting this year’s STC meeting should let Mark know.

FHWA Update: Jack Jernigan advised that the SP&R guidelines that he and Leslie Wright worked on are now in legal review, and he is unsure how long this will take. Amendment of the guidelines was more of a clarification rather than a rewrite. He also discussed Cynthia Gerst’s (Ohio DOT) idea of having a pooled fund through which to conduct peer exchanges. It would need to be limited to possibly three years and focus on issues with broad applicability, such as implementation and deployment of research. Members like the idea. Mississippi is due for a peer exchange in 2014. West Virginia has their LTAP center put on peer exchanges.

Regarding pooled funds (TPFs), Lisa Williams is now in a non-TPF role, and Sharon Smith-Clark is acting TPF administrator until the end of January 2014. Please call Jack or Leslie with any concerns or issues.

FHWA is developing an NHI course called Research 101 for FHWA division office personnel. This will help bridge the knowledge gap arising from reorganizations, transfers, retirements, and the many duties placed on division personnel other than research.

Jack thanked the states for the great partnership and working relationship and looks forward to continuing this. Region 2 appreciates his involvement with us.

New Business

Task Forces: David encouraged RAC2 members to get involved in the five RAC task forces, especially new people. Regional representation is good, but more involvement is always welcome. A list of task force members is on the RAC website, but we are unsure if this is current. Concurrent scheduling of the task force meetings at the summer RAC conference is sometimes an issue for members involved in more than one.

SHRP2 Updates: Some states (LA, WV, and MS) have not had SHRP2 awards. In some RAC2 states’ opinion, there are too many websites (TRB, AASHTO, and FHWA) to visit for information. Mississippi, Louisiana, and West Virginia recently had state visits from Pam Hutton and Neil Pedersen. Some members are still unsure about the application process, and the short application time frame is an issue when getting with upper management and technical champions. Mississippi will likely have two applications in the upcoming second round beginning 1/17. The state visit and webinars sparked interest in the products.

UTC Updates: Joe Crabtree (KTC) will take the lead on future UTC updates.

The meeting was adjourned as time ran out before agenda items were fully covered. We will cover remaining items of national research agenda and regional impact during the next conference call in March.