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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Validating Proposed Definitions for Comparable Pavement Cracking Data</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1893349</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 288: Standard Definitions for Common Types of Pavement Cracking proposed a set of discrete definitions for common cracking types in asphalt- and concrete-surfaced pavements. The definitions classify cracks based on information extracted from images collected by highway-speed data collection vehicles, including feature orientation, length, width, location, and other relevant factors. These definitions are intended to harmonize and facilitate comparable measurement and interpretation of pavement cracking across the highway community. Research is needed to validate the proposed definitions and develop a practice in American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) format for their use by highway agencies. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this research are to: 1) validate the proposed definitions developed in NCHRP Web-Only Document 288 for cracking in asphalt- and concrete-surfaced pavements; 2) suggest any needed refinements, adjustments, and/or additions to the proposed definitions; and 3) develop draft language for consideration by AASHTO to incorporate the research findings in AASHTO R 85, Standard Practice for Quantifying Cracks in Asphalt Pavement Surfaces from Collected Pavement Images Utilizing Automated Methods, in a format specified by the AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavements.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2021 21:51:44 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Winter Maintenance Levels of Service and Performance Measures</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1844015</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Winter maintenance is one of the most important activities performed by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT). SDDOT’s Snow and Ice Control Performance Standard defines priorities and operational procedures for plowing, sanding, and chemical application needed to provide a safe and reliable highway system. An important element of the performance standard is “level of service”, which defines how well the condition of highways is or should be maintained and restored during and immediately after winter events. Transportation agencies define winter levels of service in various ways, including: recovery time (time from end of storm to restoration of pavement surface to a defined condition), maintenance frequency, surface condition, traffic speed, or pavement friction maintained, frequency or duration of highway closures, travel time reliability, and others. SDDOT currently defines level of service in terms of maintenance frequency and recovery time “to 80% clear of ice and snow”. If possible, priority routes are to be treated every two hours and recovered within 18 hours and non-priority routes are to be treated every four hours and recovered within 36 hours.

SDDOT’s current level of service definitions exhibit some significant limitations, because they may not: be objectively measurable; relate to highway users’ needs and expectations for safety and mobility; communicate expectations to SDDOT staff and highway users; be interpreted or applied consistently by maintenance staff; align to unwritten expectations to do as much as possible with available resources; 	accommodate the full range of storm severity, duration, and characteristics; 	distinguish among highway locale, use, and traffic levels; consider resource costs and constraints; support creation of objective performance measures and tracking to gauge SDDOT’s winter maintenance performance; support strategic and tactical winter maintenance decisions; or translate into physical criteria that can be applied by SDDOT’s Maintenance Decision Support System.

SDDOT needs to establish measurable levels of service that better meet the needs of maintenance staff and managers and highway users. The objectives of this research are to: (1) Assess purposes for which level of service definitions are and could be used by SDDOT and highway users; (2)	Develop winter maintenance level of service definitions that address the needs of SDDOT and highway users; (3) Define and calculate winter maintenance performance measures based upon the level of service definitions; and (4) Update the SDDOT Snow and Ice Control performance standard to address department capabilities and customer expectations.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Mar 2021 10:47:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1844015</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Commercial Spaceflight Risk Assessment and Communication</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537215</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The success of commercial human space flight depends in part on establishing an efficient and reliable approach for appropriately regulating the safety of commercially operated launch vehicles and spacecraft. It is recognized that in order to ensure proper regulations are implemented, all parties must be in agreement on the terminology and definitions used to describe the scenarios. A number of critical terms in the literature have been found to have conflicting definitions, which can result in differing interpretation of regulatory statements, thus complicating enforcement and opening up potential legal challenges. Beyond the analysis and mitigation of risk, the outcome must also be verified and effectively conveyed to commercial passengers in an understandable manner. This work will provide a systematic framework for the FAA to use going forward, with results to be published for public and industry consideration and discussion.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537215</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Use of Complex Fluids for Enhanced Cellulosic Pre-treatment.
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1367710</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 11:32:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1367710</guid>
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