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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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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>
    <image>
      <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>Use of Carbonate Aggregates in Pavement Preservation Treatments</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536235</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The rougher surfaces provided through pavement preservation treatments along with the observed performance in the Bristol district underscores that local carbonate aggregate sources, when properly evaluated, can meet safety performance requirements.  Furthermore, their use may offer notable benefits, including reduced transportation costs, strengthened local economies, and a lower environmental footprint due to decreased fuel consumption and emissions. The purpose of this project is to generate data-driven insights that may inform more flexible and performance-based criteria for the safe and effective use of carbonate aggregates in Virginia’s roadways, particularly in pavement preservation treatments. This purpose will be achieved through (1) further evaluating the performance of existing microsurfacing sites in the Bristol district to determine whether the conclusions drawn from short-term performance monitoring remain consistent over a longer observation period, and (2) implementing additional field trials with carbonate aggregates in pavement preservation treatments across multiple districts, including Salem, Lynchburg, and Staunton, on routes with traffic levels exceeding 750 average daily traffic (ADT).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 08:40:46 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536235</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Cemetery Mapping for Indigenous and Enslaved People's Remains</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2422892</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research is vital to acknowledging, protecting and preserving the burial sites of indigenous and enslaved peoples as well as other cultural and historically significant communities (such as historic African American communities). Understanding the location and mapping these sites will allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to plan and design projects that mitigate or eliminate impacts to these important cultural resources. This will allow NCDOT to engage with local communities associated with burial sites in advance and develop projects that avoid burial site impacts and strengthen community relations. A reduction of unanticipated burial sites not only serves to protect these sites, it also saves the NCDOT from lengthy and costly delays associated with discovering a burial site during construction.

This project has a high level of urgency, as local communities and archaeology experts are concerned that rapid development and increased storm events will impact these sites if they are not documented soon. Having a comprehensive geospatial data set that includes site locations, cultural significance, and allows for sites to be easily added to the dataset is vital to ensuring the burial sites of indigenous and enslaved peoples are acknowledged and protected. This project will expand upon existing NCDOT and Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) mapping and datasets by providing a methodology to capture the cultural and historical significance of burial sites, use-community driven approaches to identifying new sites, employ a field verification process, and highlight opportunities to embed these approaches into existing NCDOT project planning and development processes.​

Beyond expanding a mapping dataset for cemeteries and burial sites, the project team will develop a community engagement methodology to allow community members to participate in the identification of unmapped burial sites and inform the historical and cultural significance of sites. Using a county-level project study area (to be established through conversations with the NCDOT steering committee and research team) this project will yield a proof of concept and a community participation roadmap for engaging communities around the state in an effort to map previously unmapped cemetery and burial sites, with a focus on indigenous and enslaved peoples and culturally historic community cemeteries.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 07:50:36 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2422892</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Full-scale “Living Pavement Testbed” for Testing and Evaluation of Sustainable Pavement</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2310162</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In this study, proven pavement preservation treatments are proposed to be re-engineered using innovative materials that can better withstand the environmental and traffic loading conditions of the future.  In addition, recycled materials are proposed to be introduced to help reduce the carbon footprint of the pavement preservation treatments. It is anticipated that new and innovative approaches to material collection and performance testing will be developed as these practices currently do not exist for pavement preservation materials.

The intended outcome of the project is the development of new sampling practices, specimen molding and fixtures, as well as test procedures for the improvement of the life cycle of the pavement and structure.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 May 2024 09:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2310162</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Pavement Marking Selection for Bridge and Pavement Preservation Treatments</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2381745</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Pavement markings play a major role in delineating roadways and providing essential guidance to road users. Effective and durable pavement markings enhance visibility and safety under various conditions, including daytime, nighttime, and wet conditions. 

However, not all pavement markings are compatible with different bridge and pavement preservation treatments, which can lead to shorter service lives. Research is needed to assess the compatibility, and the short- and long-term performance of various pavement markings used on different bridge and pavement preservation treatments.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop guidelines for selection of recommended pavement marking types for bridge and pavement preservation treatments.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2024 14:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2381745</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Guidelines for the Selection of Performance-Related Tests for the Acceptance of Preservation Treatments</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2361977</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Pavement preservation provides a means for maintaining and improving the functional condition and safety of an existing highway system. Although pavement preservation is not expected to substantially increase structural capacity, it generally leads to improved pavement performance and longer service life. Although a great deal of information on the design, materials, and construction practices of several preservation treatments is available, there is no nationally accepted guidance on the performance-related tests required for their acceptance. There is a need to develop guidelines for the selection of performance-related tests for the acceptance of preservation treatments, particularly chip seals and microsurfacing, to help highway agencies with the acceptance of these treatments and achieving the most benefit from their application.
OBJECTIVE:  The objective of this research is to develop guidelines for the selection of performance-related tests for the acceptance of preservation treatments. The research shall focus on chip seals and microsurfacing. For the purpose of this research, acceptance tests include those required for design, production, and placement of the treatment.  
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2024 15:55:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2361977</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation Methods for Ohio's Post-World War II (WWII) Residential Properties 
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2353863</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is required to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act in the identification and evaluation of post-World War II houses with eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. Since properties 50 years old and older must be evaluated for National Register eligibility, the vast number and ubiquitous nature of postwar housing presents a major challenge to ODOT. It affects project planning and identification and evaluation efforts, potentially causing a major impact on project schedules and budgets. This project would allow ODOT-OES to develop a consistent method for identifying when postwar residential properties require further consideration for the National Register and when postwar residential properties can be processed without further review. Being able to apply a framework for identifying and evaluating postwar residences, will save the department money and time by shortening survey and write-up times, streamlining coordination, expediting project reviews, and better managing impacts to postwar properties that truly are eligible for the National Register. The objectives of this research are to develop an Ohio specific methodology for identifying and evaluating post WWII residences for eligibility on the NRHP that is efficient, cost-effective, reliable, and repeatable and to also create a step-by-step guide for prequalified personnel to use during eligibility determination. The goal of this research is to support the effort to streamline ODOT's compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 08:39:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2353863</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Achieving Efficient Cultural Resources Management in Project Delivery</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2289611</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Transportation projects in which the study area contains cultural resources in need of identification and analysis often struggle to meet project delivery schedules, particularly with respect to federally funded projects that fall under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The now-rescinded Executive Order (EO) 13807 of 2017 first established goals of 2-year completion of environmental impact statements and 1-year completion of environmental assessments under NEPA. While EO 13807 and One Federal Decision (OFD) requirements have been rescinded, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Council of Environmental Quality regulations codified these required timelines. Additionally, state laws and other factors may also put pressure on agencies to conduct more efficient cultural resources identification and analyses in project delivery.

State departments of transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies employ various approaches to meet the project delivery timelines established in NEPA, including Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) studies; early project scoping; simplified review and application of historical context for common resource types; and programmatic agreements. NEPA and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) regulations are not triggered until there is a programmed, funded project for which environmental compliance studies are conducted. However, cultural resource analysis is critical for safeguarding cultural resources protected in federal, state, and tribal law. Research is needed to identify and analyze methods and strategies to achieve efficiencies and avoid delays in project delivery when cultural resources are affected.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to prepare tools with guidelines for completing effective cultural resource analyses in a time-constrained project delivery context. At a minimum the research should: Provide the regulatory and practical benefits of implementing efficient and timely cultural resources analyses in project delivery; Identify and address specific agency challenges to completing efficient cultural resources analyses, particularly in time-constrained project delivery processes such as those mandated by NEPA; and Advise agencies on the selection and implementation of proven methods and tools for conducting timely and effective cultural resources analyses of a range of specific resources.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Nov 2023 17:58:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2289611</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Funding Needs for Maintenance and Preservation of Transportation Assets



</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2286624</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Few agencies are adequately funded for the maintenance activities needed to keep the asset at lowest life cycle cost, particularly for ancillary assets. In addition to bridges and pavements, other assets need maintenance and preservation funding, but the needs of ancillary assets have not been investigated as thoroughly as bridges and pavements needs. Deferring appropriate preventative maintenance activities not only shortens the useful life of the asset and increases the life cycle cost, but also could lead to premature failure and potential safety and liability concerns. 

Establishing industry-wide tools will more comprehensively convey the benefits of investing in maintenance and preservation to budget decision-makers, including elected officials and senior management in agencies. These tools will not only enhance maintenance and preservation programs but also contribute to the prolonged service life of various asset classes. Research is needed to quantify and document additional funding requirements and provide information to effectively communicate these needs to decision-makers. 

The objective of this research is to develop a practical tool to accurately estimate and justify funding requirements for asset maintenance and preservation. The tool is expected to be utilized and adapted by transportation agencies to incorporate existing and future asset classes and to facilitate communication of maintenance and preservation needs to technical and nontechnical audiences.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 07 Nov 2023 11:54:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2286624</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Resilience Approaches for Pavements and Geotechnical Assets</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149958</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Extreme weather, increased temperatures, and sea level rise threaten investments in transportation infrastructure. Hence, resilience is becoming an increasingly critical consideration for highway and transportation engineers. National efforts towards more resilient infrastructures begin with a documented commitment and policy. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued Order 5520 to establish FHWA’s policy and approach to addressing these risks. Therefore, it is time to discuss incorporation of resilience into the design and decision-making procedures.

Pavement resilience is becoming an increasingly critical consideration for highway and transportation engineers. Indications from the United States (U.S.) Appropriation Acts 2020 and supporting Congressional Reports demonstrate a growing expectation that resilience will be directly incorporated into future pavement design, construction, and maintenance processes. Meanwhile, pavement asset managers have already been asked to incorporate risk to natural threats in their state Transportation Asset Management Plans.

Agencies across the country, have been concerned about the weather impacts and how to make pavement resilient to withstand the effect. Many states have a number of legislative initiatives directing various agencies to ensure that resilience is incorporated into their business practice. As a result, many agencies across the country have been actively engaged in numerous tasks to address various aspects of design, construction, and maintenance in order to ensure resiliency.  Although there are a lot of work/studies/research going on by various entities, there is not much guidance available for the state transportation agencies to address the issue in a more consistent manner.  In absence of that guidance, agencies struggle to plan and implement effective measures.  This may also lead the agencies to duplicate the efforts resulting in unnecessary wastage of resource and time.  This pooled funded project will provide a platform for agencies to share common issues, exchange agency plans with each other and eventually help agencies develop their resilience plan with minimum effort by avoiding redundancies.  Since resilience covers a lot of the DOT’s groups, having a pooled fund with all these different focus areas could lead to difficulty in drafting a scope of common interest, which would tend to prohibit coherence in the deliverables.  Therefore, various design, construction, and maintenance aspects involving pavement and geotech assets (such as embankments, slope etc.) have been chosen as the focus area of this pooled fund study.  

OBJECTIVES: This pooled fund study seeks to support and showcase the research, development, and implementation of resilience approaches in the areas of pavement and geotechnical design, maintenance, preservation, and rehabilitations by various state departments of transportation (DOTs). This would also provide platform for the agencies to share ideas and plans related to resiliency that would eventually help agencies to implement their resilience plans without duplicate and wasteful efforts.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Apr 2023 16:50:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149958</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Pavement Preservation in Urban Environments: Best Practices in Materials, Technologies, and Applications</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2077934</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The project selection, materials, and construction of Pavement Preservation Treatments focused on the specific challenges of Urban Environments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2022 09:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2077934</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementation of Bridge Preservation Actions</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1957059</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Research was performed under NCHRP Project 14-36, “Proposed AASHTO Guide for Bridge Preservation Actions,” to support the development of bridge and deck preservation guides. The research was based on data collected from representative agencies and includes (1) catalogs of bridge element preservation actions and (2) the criteria and selection methods of bridge preservation actions with associated costs and benefits for use in life cycle cost analysis and possible integration into a bridge management system.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Bridges and Structures balloted and passed for adoption two guides:
(1) Guide to Bridge Preservation Actions (published July 2021) and (2) Guide to Preservation of Highway Bridge Decks (pending publication).

The objective of this implementation project was to hold workshops for state departments of transportation (DOTs) and local public agencies to support the implementation of bridge preservation practices, as outlined in the AASHTO guides.


]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2022 12:02:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1957059</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Guide to Mitigation of Adverse Effects on Cultural Resources</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1957105</link>
      <description><![CDATA[When a transportation project has an adverse effect on historic properties, under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act mitigation is required. Typical mitigation measures include Historic American Buildings Survey / Historic American Engineering Record / Historic American Landscapes Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) completion, archaeological data recovery and associated research, and educational publications. 

Mitigation is proposed and selected in consultation with Section 106 stakeholders. Increasingly, cultural resource specialists are considering implementing creative mitigation alternatives, such as establishing mitigation banks or the development of online or video interpretive content about the significance of a given resource that meet the expectations of the public, the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and other consultation parties. However, practitioners are uncertain how to advance innovative mitigation measures for a given resource that would achieve broad public benefit and meet the expectations of the SHPO.  

Research is needed to identify cultural resource mitigation measures that successfully achieve broad public benefit for cultural resource protection. This research would facilitate successful mitigation for environmental benefit and compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the research is to develop a guide for transportation cultural resource specialists and practitioners to mitigate the adverse effects of a project on cultural resources. The research should identify factors and conditions that create public benefit or otherwise create “success” with respect to mitigation measures proposed for a given category of resource and provide direction on how to evaluate and select measures for adoption.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2022 16:41:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1957105</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Performance Index Rating and Maintenance Cost Assignment for Ramps, Acceleration and Deceleration Lanes in Louisiana</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1938471</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objectives of this study are as follows:
(1) Ascertain whether there are differences in International Roughness Index (IRI) and Performance Index (PI) values of analysis lanes as compared to ramps, acceleration lanes and deceleration lanes at project and network level.
(2) Propose a framework for measuring and characterizing IRI and PI values for ramps, acceleration lanes and deceleration lanes; and
(3) Establish and propose guidelines to address additional treatment costs specific to ramps, acceleration lanes and deceleration lanes at the project and network levels.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2022 15:36:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1938471</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>National Transportation Agreement on Research and Innovation Between Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1907205</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this agreement is to support research, monitor patterns and trends related to FHWA coordination of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and promote innovative approaches to issues related to historic preservation laws and regulations with respect to the highway program.  The results of the research shall be translated into development of recommendations and guidance, prototypes for programmatic approaches, and dissemination of best practices to facilitate environmental process efficiency and improvements.  Dissemination of research results will enhance inter-agency coordination, contribute to capacity building within FHWA’s environmental discipline, support more effective collaboration among the ACHP, State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), FHWA, State DOTs, and stakeholder groups, and promote planning and environment linkages.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Feb 2022 12:59:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1907205</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Analysis of Long-Term Field Performance of Spray-On Rejuvenators</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1891280</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The properties of asphalt mixtures change as the asphalt binder ages. The aging of asphalt binders is caused by volatilization (i.e., evaporation of the light fractions of asphalt), thermal and ultraviolet oxidation, and other chemical processes. Factors affecting the rate of aging include the chemical composition and physico-chemical state of the asphalt binder, air permeability of the mix, depth in the pavement structure, asphalt binder content, aggregate mineralogy, mix production-related factors, and in-service temperature and time. Surface layers age at a much faster rate than lower layers in the pavement due to exposure to air, solar radiation, and higher temperatures. This results in embrittlement of the asphalt binder, making it more susceptible to cracking and more resistant to healing. To reverse these effects and extend the pavement service life, spray-on rejuvenators can be applied to asphalt pavement surfaces. They are designed to penetrate into the asphalt material near the surface and help it resist the detrimental age hardening and weathering effects by enriching the hardened asphalt binder. Spray-on rejuvenators are a cost-effective pavement preservation treatment when applied to asphalt pavement surfaces that are still in good condition. However, there is a lack of information about the long-term field performance benefits of spray-on rejuvenators for state agencies to develop specifications and/or approve products that are commercially available. Hence, the objective of this project is to evaluate over time the field performance of spray-on rejuvenator products that will be applied on a municipality’s roadway near the Minnesota Road Research Facility (MnROAD) testing facility in Monticello, Minnesota, including their short- and long-term effectiveness in renewing asphalt surfaces and their effects on surface friction and reflectivity of existing striping after their application.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 10 Nov 2021 15:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1891280</guid>
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