Research and Technology Coordinating Committee (Federal Highway Administration)

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TRB's Research and Technology Coordinating Committee provides strategic advice to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on its research, development and technology (RD&T) program. The committee's letter report to FHWA describes how the agency's RD&T program functions as a key element in the nation's highway RD&T enterprise. After examining the goals, capabilities, and constraints of the FHWA RD&T program, the committee recommends steps the agency can take to further strengthen its crucial role in accelerating innovation in the highway field.

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14 pages · 8.5 x 11 ·
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-60003-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/29262

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Research and Technology Coordinating Committee Letter Report: September 2025. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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A September 29, 2022 letter report from TRB's Research and Technology Coordinating Committee (RTCC) summarizes 2021 and 2022 meetings between the committee and the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Research, Development, and Technology with a focus on Complete Streets activities. FHWA asked the committee for advice on this topic because it is an emphasis area in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that FHWA is intent on supporting through the development of research-informed guidance tools and training for state and local transportation agencies.

After two meetings of in-depth discussion on FHWA's plans and progress in this topic area, RTCC members welcomed the opportunity to provide their observations and impressions on the scope and direction of the work and to offer suggestions and options for next steps.

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18 pages · 8.5 x 11 ·
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-69530-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/26758

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Research and Technology Coordinating Committee Letter Report: September 29, 2022. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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TRB Special Report 331 concludes that with sustained and adequate funding and modest improvements in research, development, and technology (RD&T), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) will continue to serve and advance the national interest and international competitiveness well into the future.

TRB's Research and Technology Coordinating Committee, which produced the report, believes that rapidly advancing technology, new mobility services, increased urbanization, and the growing frequency of severe weather events are changing highway transportation in fundamental ways.

FHWA and ITS JPO RD&T programs, as required by Congress, are addressing a number of critical gaps not covered by other programs. And they are conducting nationally significant research, but there are compelling policy and operational issues that could justify even greater levels of RD&T investment by the two programs. Detailed future RT&D suggestions are outlined in this report, touching on a variety of issues that include autonomous-vehicle technology, energy and sustainability, growing and changing populations, resilience, goods movement, safety, and equity.

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156 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-49527-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-49528-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/25511

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. The Vital Federal Role in Meeting the Highway Innovation Imperative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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A November 9, 2018 report from TRB's Research and Technology Coordinating Committee (RTCC) to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides the committee's reaction to the methods used by the Office of Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) for ensuring strategic research, evaluating the impact of its research projects, and developing and leveraging research and technology partnerships. The report also describes the agency's Exploratory Advanced Research program, research on rural highway and freight-related topics, and partnerships on automated and connected vehicles.

The RTCC's charge is to monitor and review FHWA's research and technology activities and to provide strategic, policy-level advice on topical priorities, processes, and strategies to accelerate the adoption of innovation. In this capacity, it advises the agency on setting a research agenda and coordinating highway research with states, universities, and other partners; strategies to accelerate the deployment and adoption of innovation; and areas where more research may be needed.

Publication information

14 pages · 8.5 x 11 ·
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-48680-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/25315

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Research and Technology Coordinating Committee Letter Report: November 9, 2018. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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TRB Special Report 295, The Federal Investment in Highway Research, 2006-2009: Strengths and Weaknesses assesses how well the investments that Congress made in research programs through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users comply with the principles articulated in the preface to the act's research title. The book contains findings and recommendations about specific research programs and calls for reliance on competition and merit review in awarding funds through the Federal Highway Administration and in selecting institutions for the University Transportation Centers program of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

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174 pages · 8.5 x 11 ·
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/12536

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Transportation Research Board. 2008. The Federal Investment in Highway Research, 2006-2009: Strengths and Weaknesses - Special Report 295. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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A December 4, 2003, letter report from TRB's Research and Technology Coordinating Committee to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) covers local/regional stakeholder involvement in highway research and technology programs, the Department of Transportation's intelligent transportation systems program, the research activities of the Office of Operations, the status of implementation efforts for the FHWA's corporate master plan for highway research and technology, and plans for an assessment of the asphalt pavement laboratories at FHWA's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center.

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8 pages · 8.5 x 11 ·
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-39500-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/22036

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2003. Research and Technology Coordinating Committee Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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