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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <atom:link href="https://rip.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
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    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>International Conference on Ecology and Transportation 2027</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2620531</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There have been fourteen biennial International Conferences on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET) since its origin in 1999. The most recent conference was in May of 2025 in Denver, Colorado and was a combination of in person and virtual.  This pooled fund will support the next conference in 2027 that will be in-person in Portland, Oregon cohosted by the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation with support from the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.  The conference will be organized by the University of California Davis Road Ecology Center. There will be a virtual conference option available. ICOET continues to serve as an invaluable conduit for transportation and ecology professionals to share applicable research and best practices, and to transfer knowledge between experienced practitioners and future leaders. The ICOET program includes podium presentations, posters on current research, panels, workshops, field trips, and exhibits on topics of interest to researchers, biologists, engineers, planners, project managers, administrators, and policy makers. The folks that regularly attend ICOET represent thousands of professionals that work for government, Tribal, academic, non-governmental and private industry from the United States and other countries. The 2025 conference in Denver had 644 total participants with 513 in person and another 131 virtual participants. There were 16 countries and 44 U.S. states in attendance. This new pooled fund will supersede the previous pooled fund (TPF 5-527) that will be completed June 30, 2025. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:03:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2620531</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Vehicle to Everything (V2X) Pooled Fund Study</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2521579</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The V2X Pooled Fund Study (V2XPFS), successor to the Connected Vehicle Pooled Fund Study), acts as a continuation of the Research Program to Support the Research, Development, and Deployment of System Operations Applications of Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) (TPF-5(389)). TPF-5(389) was a continuation of TPF-5(206) which was initiated in 2009 and was active for nearly 10 years. During that time, the program has been successful in its pursuit to provide technology transfer to aid transportation agencies and OEMs in justifying and promoting the connected vehicle environment and applications through modeling, development, engineering and planning activities. As of May 2018, eleven research projects have been completed and four additional projects are currently underway. The new CV PFS will continue the work of TPF-5(389) after that project ends.

OBJECTIVES: To provide technology transfer to state, local, and international transportation agencies as well as vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in preparing for the deployment of connected vehicle infrastructure and to provide input to the AASHTO, SAE, ITE, and ITS America, various working groups and cohorts organized around V2X, USDOT V2X Program, and other national initiatives; To establish a multi-phase program to facilitate research, field demonstration, evaluation, and technology transfer of connected vehicle infrastructure, vehicles, and applications; To aid transportation agencies and OEMs in justifying and promoting the large-scale use of connected vehicle environment and applications through modeling, development, engineering, and planning activities. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:09:29 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2521579</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>New England Transportation Consortium VII</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2427635</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A transportation research program, where research projects are conducted primarily by the Land Grant Universities of the New England states. This study was preceded by TPF-5(222), TPF-5(201), TPF-5(168), SPR-3(089), SPR-3(029), and SPR-3(009). Other state departments of transportation (DOTs) may participate in individual research projects by providing funds and a project technical committee member to represent their agency. The New England Transportation Consortium (NETC) is a research cooperative between the state DOTs of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The NETC is a valuable regional partnership for the identification, prosecution and dissemination of shared transportation research initiatives. The NETC represents: Financial leveraging opportunities and regional partnerships; Stronger partnerships between university faculty and state DOTs; User-defined, diverse research topics; Opportunities for research dissemination and training to practitioners in the field. Now in its third decade, the NETC was developed to help New England states meet their special research needs by pooling resources and expertise. The NETC is now a well-established successful multistate partnership. OBJECTIVES: To pool the financial, professional and academic resources of the region and to use them to research and develop improved methods of dealing with common problems in the planning, design, construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and operation of transportation systems in the participating states. The program is intended to supplement, not to replace, ongoing state and federal research activities and other national programs such as the Cooperative Research Programs of the National Academies.


]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 12 Sep 2024 16:23:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2427635</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program (FY25-FY29)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2394498</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program is a collaborative program between state DOTs and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) dedicated to sponsoring roadside safety research. The goal of this program is to address the roadside safety needs of state DOTs, solve problems of similar interest, and standardize safety features across state borders. MwRSF and Pooled Fund member states eagerly welcome new members. The goals of the Midwest Roadside Safety Pooled Fund Program include: 1) improving highway safety by making the roadside less hazardous for motorists; 2) designing, developing, and crash testing innovative roadside safety hardware to current impact safety standards, such as the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH); 3) conducting safety performance evaluations of existing roadside features; 4) performing computer simulation modeling of vehicle impacts with roadside hardware and geometric features; and 5) developing roadside safety guidance to aid transportation agencies in improving motorist safety.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 15:47:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2394498</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of the Transportation Pooled Fund Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2344662</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program is a collaborative program involving state departments of transportation (DOTs), AASHTO, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that has existed for more than 45 years. The program was first defined in 1977 per Title 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 560.3 as a FHWA administered program in coordination with state DOTs. The TPF program creates an opportunity for partners to pool their funds, subject matter expertise, and other resources to conduct high-priority research to meet a wide variety of shared transportation problems. Being able to pool funds allows participants to achieve more from a study than if they conducted a study on their own. By leveraging funds and expertise, participants develop innovative solutions with a smaller investment while extending the reach and impact of their research. Projects that previously could have been cost prohibitive become more achievable through participation in the TPF Program. By offering hundreds of active pooled fund studies, the TPF Program assists partners in finding and funding projects applicable to their agency’s needs.

The FHWA Research & Technology (R&T) evaluation program was initiated in 2013 to assess and communicate the value and effectiveness of FHWA R&T investment. The objective of the R&T evaluation program is to document the impact of the projects, demonstrate accountability to funders and policymakers, and identify lessons learned and best practices that can be applied to future projects/programs, thus completing the innovation lifecycle. The Transportation Research Board (TRB), in collaboration with the FHWA, is overseeing the TRB/FHWA Program Evaluation (TFPE) to evaluate such programs. There is a need to evaluate the TPF to establish the degree of efficiency, implementation, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and attribution to assess and communicate its value.


The objective of this research is to develop and execute an evaluation plan for the FHWA’s Transportation Pooled Fund Program to answer these fundamental questions:
(1) Efficiency: Are the TPF Program’s activities conducted with an appropriate use of resources, such as budget and staff time (e.g., research and implementation approach, funding level)? How well is the administration of the program functioning? What is the appropriate level of involvement from the FHWA division office, particularly as it relates to time? Are there best practices from FHWA division offices that can be shared with other division offices? (2) Implementation: Are the results of TPF Program research being applied? Are project areas being adopted by the users (e.g., change in culture, state of the practice)? Is the FHWA TPF providing the tools, support, and outputs that DOTs need to implement? How does the FHWA TPF consider implementation for projects? How does the collaboration between FHWA and state transportation agencies help the state agencies implement the program? How does participation on a TPF affect future implementation of a project’s results? (3) Effectiveness: Is the TPF Program achieving the goals and objectives it was intended to accomplish (e.g., impact)? How satisfied are states with the TPF Program and results? (4) Cost-effectiveness: Does the value or benefit of achieving the TPF Program’s goals and objectives exceed the cost of producing them (e.g., return on investment and cost-benefit ratio)? Should there be a sliding scale for all projects based on the amount of projects states are allocated? How much staff time is needed for administration, especially for larger projects? (5) Attribution: How is the TPF Program helping states address their strategic goals (e.g., outcome)?]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 11:48:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2344662</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Western Transportation Research Consortium</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2288966</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Research Advisory Committee (RAC) Region IV presents this transportation pool funded initiative to conduct strategic research and foster collaboration among member states.  
Its purpose is to pool the financial, professional, and academic resources of the region to develop improved methods of dealing with common problems in the planning, design, construction, maintenance, management and operation of transportation systems.  
The consortium will gather state department of transportation (DOT) research and innovation professionals, virtually or in-person, to prioritize transportation needs and allocate resources.  It will also address high priority transportation research topics of common interest to RAC IV states.  The lead state will manage contracted services and adhere to the consortium charter.
Benefits of the partnership include: Regional collaboration on common problems will allow participants to more effectively use its resources; Collaboration will provide an effective way to focus resources on the Region’s transportation research priorities; The program will provide an additional way to leverage research and technology transfer funding of the state DOTs; The program will provide a means to define, support and share technology of mutual interest; The program will provide a method for Peer Exchange support; The partnership will develop a longer-range plan of collaboration (strategic plan); A focused program will help promote interest in transportation related fields by researchers and students within the research institutions in the region.
The program is intended to supplement, not to replace, ongoing state, federal, and university research activities and other national programs such as the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. It is intended to reduce duplication of research and provide means for better communication of on-going research activities in the state research programs.
OBJECTIVES: Addressing high priority transportation research topics of common interest and for which expertise exists in these states.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Nov 2023 20:31:11 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2288966</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Clear Roads Winter Highway Operations Phase III Pooled Fund</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1857069</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objectives of the new phase of the Clear Roads pooled fund project will include: Conduct structured field testing and evaluation across a range of winter conditions and different highway maintenance organizational structures to assess the practical effectiveness, ease of use, optimum application rates, barriers to use, durability, safety, environmental impact, and cost-effectiveness of innovative materials, equipment, and methods for improved winter highway maintenance; Conduct research that explores the use of innovative materials, equipment, and processes that will promote environmentally sustainable winter maintenance operations; Conduct cost-benefit analyses to ensure that new technologies, materials, or methods contribute to operational efficiency; Investigate state agency uses of performance measures for winter operations and develop management tools that support effective analysis and reporting of the measures; Establish industry standards and develop performance measures for evaluating and utilizing new materials and technologies; Support technology transfer by developing and disseminating practical field guides and training curriculum and reference materials to promote the results of research projects; Support the exchange of information and ideas among state agencies via peer exchanges, ad hoc internal surveys, and collaborative research efforts that provide opportunities for winter maintenance specialists to share experiences related to winter maintenance; Conduct national surveys to compile and document agency practices on the latest operational issues (for example salt shortages, level of service requirements, or other "hot button" issues); Conduct quick turnaround, low-cost synthesis projects to investigate the latest research and practices on pressing winter maintenance topics; Coordinate with the Aurora Pooled Fund (http://www.aurora-program.org/) to enhance the impact, and avoid duplication, of winter road weather research; and Promote public education and outreach related to winter maintenance and winter driving safety.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 06 Jun 2021 10:18:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1857069</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Demonstration to Advance New Pavement Technologies Pooled Fund</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1847747</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Since 2013, the Accelerated Implementation and Deployment of Technologies Pavement Technologies Program (AIDPT), in partnership with state departments of transportation (DOTs), academia and industry, has identified asphalt and concrete paving advancements, and implemented effective strategies for rapid deployment of new and promising technologies. This pooled-fund project will continue to achieve the goals of the AIDPT Program by serving as a mechanism to deploy and showcase pavement technologies and resources. Recent Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-led demonstration initiatives include increased in-place asphalt density and performance engineering concrete mixtures. To further and enhance the Program’s demonstration initiatives, the FHWA will identify up to three pavement technology topics for consideration under this pooled-fund project that align with the FHWA Pavement and Materials program areas. Topics for consideration include: Development of Balanced Mix Design (BMD) for asphalt and performance engineered mixture (PEM) for concrete program; Implementation of strategic pavement preservation programs; Integration of sustainability and resiliency into decision-making process, technical frameworks, education efforts, and stakeholder engagement
OBJECTIVES: This pooled fund seeks to support and showcase the implementation of innovative pavement technologies, products, and processes by state DOTs by leveraging of Federal investments with state DOT partnerships.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 20 Apr 2021 10:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1847747</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Pooled Fund for the Design, Development and Testing of a Box Beam Approach Guardrail Transition and an MGS Approach Guardrail Transition to a MASH TL-4 Three Steel Tube Bridge Rail</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1632294</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research objective is to develop two non-proprietary approach guardrail transition systems from box beam and MGS guardrail that are AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) compliant.  The transitions will be designed to connect the guardrail systems to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Type C2P TL-4 bridge rail system.  Direct connection between the transition section and bridge rail is desired to avoid use of a solid concrete parapet end that could hinder snow clearing operations.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2019 20:46:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1632294</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Statewide Insurance Pooling for Public Transit</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628636</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Transit agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to find, purchase, and maintain adequate and affordable insurance coverage for public transit vehicles. The number of smaller insurance providers is decreasing due to the volatile nature and demands of the insurance industry and insurance coverage requirements in general. Not only is the cost of adequately insuring all the vehicles in every transit agency increasing, but the ability to cover costs for each agency’s individual policy premiums is a challenge as well. Historically, all transit providers, both urban and rural, have been adversely affected when the costs of insurance premiums increase with no commensurate increase in coverage. Premium increases can result in additional administration costs and require reallocating service delivery funds to administration. Small rural transit agencies often face the largest cost increases due to their small fleet sizes and high annual mileages per vehicle. However, some effective loss prevention and training efforts have contributed to helping maintain premiums at a manageable cost. State departments of transportation (DOTs) are responsible for safeguarding federally funded program assets. Some DOTs actively support the acquisition of insurance coverage for vehicles operated in public transit services. Given that state DOTs have differing policies on who is responsible for acquiring insurance for program vehicles and if vehicle insurance is directly funded, reimbursed, or not funded by the DOT at all, the proposed research is needed to help provide guidance on how to enhance risk management activities, including effectively managing vehicle insurance pools. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to provide state DOTs and their public transportation partners with a guidebook on how to effectively implement a statewide and/or regional pooled transit vehicle insurance policy model. The guidebook will be specific to Federal Transit Administration (FTA) direct recipients and subrecipients of the Formula Grants for Rural Areas program (49 U.S.C. 5311) and Urbanized Area Formula Funding program (49 U.S.C. 5307) who are using rubber tire transit vehicles. 

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Jun 2019 12:30:40 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628636</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Midwest States Pooled Fund Crash Test Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1420468</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this research project is to crash test highway roadside appurtenances to assure that they meet criteria established nationally.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2016 10:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1420468</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Electric Vehicle &amp; Alternative Fuels Technical Assistance Program 
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1371014</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this research project is to administer a Pooled Fund to accelerate and promote the use of alternative vehicle and fuel technologies.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2015 16:20:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1371014</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Traffic Management Center Pooled Fund Study—Task 1: Methodologies to Measure and Quantify Traffic Management Center Benefits, Phase 1
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1367079</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of and to quantify benefits in traffic operations due to the implementation of transportation management centers and the systems, infrastructure, and functions associated with their operations. Phase 1 will produce a Synthesis Report and evaluate the feasibility of developing a software tool for quantifying the benefits of transportation management centers. If feasible, phase 2 will develop a software tool.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2015 14:33:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1367079</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Traffic Management Center Pooled Fund Study—Task 2: Integration of Traffic Management Centers and Law Enforcement, Needs Assessment
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1366794</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will assess the current practices and identify institutional, operational, and technical issues and challenges that all agencies face with integrating Traffic Management Centers and law enforcement. The results of this effort will lead to the identification of a list of topics and issues to be addressed and a series of next steps to be considered in a further study that is intended to develop a product that will provide necessary guidance to address agencies' needs.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:02:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1366794</guid>
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