Research for AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways. Task 392. Plan for an AASHTO Operations Guide

For decades the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (the Green Book) has been a foundational guidance document for determining the geometric features of our nation’s highway system. This guidance is based research and general assumptions of how geometric elements affect system performance. This standard continue to define the traditional perspective of highway infrastructure, and thereby drive a significant portion of highway investments. The Green Book continues to provide the content that is the basis for the design standards that are adopted and deployed nationally as well as at a state and local level. As transportation agencies look for ways to maximize the effectiveness of this highway infrastructure, operational strategies are becoming broadly recognized as necessary and cost effective in accomplishing system performance objectives. These strategies often bring with them ability to effect driver behavior, with direct connection to how drivers react to the conditions they encounter along their route, both in terms of real time non-recurrent events, as well as static features such geometric elements. These strategies rely upon a different definition of infrastructure, and provide the ability to influence and in some cases redefine tradition geometric elements. Ultimately to support decision making processes, various analysis tools and methodologies continue to be developed and refined to better align with the needs and performance expectations of the users of the highway system, as well as to reflect new strategies available to system providers. These include the WZ safety and mobility improvements resulting from 2004 FHWA WZ Rule making and the advancements in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to address the integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and other future technology procedures. The latest efforts of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) developed enhanced methodologies to assess safety, capacity, and reliability that lay the groundwork for considering cross cutting strategies that incorporate both operational and geometric features. These tools are now in early implementation phases across the country. These three aspects when considered together drive the initiative for a formalized Transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) program that goes beyond operating efficiency to providing the best way to develop, manage, and operate transportation networks and infrastructure. In support of this comes the need for a new perspective on how we look at and consider highway infrastructure, and a new way to think about “standards” associated not only with infrastructure, but also with system management capabilities as necessary components to accomplishing performance. The objectives of this project were to (1) investigate the focus for, potential use and topics to be included within the context of an “Operational Standards for Highway Infrastructure” document and (2) develop a roadmap for conducting research needed in order to develop such a document.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4091
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Further work is being conducted as NCHRP Project 03-126.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $99999
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-07, Task 392

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  Parsons Brinckerhoff

  ,    
• Principal Investigators:

  Jacobson, Les

• Start Date: 20160620
• Expected Completion Date: 20171103
• Actual Completion Date: 20171103

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Handbooks; Highway operations; Highways; Infrastructure; Standards
• Identifier Terms: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01722041
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-07, Task 392
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 12 2019 10:59AM