FHWA launches research and technology Web site

Public Roads, May-June, 2004 by Terry D. Halkyard

Staying abreast of the latest and most accessible transportation research and technologies can be challenging as the Nation's transportation system improves so quickly and in so many areas. To expedite technology transfer, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently identified several new, market-ready technologies that offer solutions to high-priority transportation problems. (See Communication Product Updates, page 66.)

The FHWA Research and Technology (R & T) Leadership Team created a Web site to share information on these priority technologies and the framework for selecting them. The "FHWA Research and Technology" site (www.fhwa.dot.gov/rnt4u/index.htm) serves as the focal point for agency-wide R & T information, supporting FHWA's declared role as "innovators for a better future" and leaders of the national R & T partnership initiative.

Posted on the site is the FHWA Corporate Master Plan for Research and Deployment of Technology & Innovation (FHWA-RD-03-077), published in spring 2003. With input from FHWA stakeholders, the Corporate Master Plan, or CMP, was framed around 7 guiding principles and 26 agency commitments. With the adoption of the CMP, the R & T Leadership Team formally took on the responsibility of improving agencywide business related to research and deployment of technologies and innovations. FHWA has moved from the initial planning stages to implementing the 26 agency commitments.

Terry D. Halkyard, P.E. is the technology marketing team leader in the FHWA Office of Research and Technology Services at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA. He has 27 years of public service in State and Federal transportation agencies, 18 of which have been in technology transfer.