I Needed This Yesterday: Rapid Research and Impactful Results at State DOTs

State departments of transportation (DOTs) are facing an increasing demand to promptly address new transportation challenges and unprecedented changes. Traditional research processes are lengthy to complete, leaving state DOTs without timely insights needed to respond to urgent issues such as environmental impacts, infrastructure failures, or safety concerns. This large time gap between an emergent issue and the research response negatively impacts the ability to maintain a safe, resilient, and efficient transportation network and has rippling effects on the economy, the environment, and the public. State DOTs are required to adapt to these changes swiftly and with agility, yet the current research mechanism often struggles to keep pace. The objective of this research is to develop a streamlined process for state DOTs to quickly gather, assess, and share research insights, or “rapid research,” that will support immediate decision making. The desired outcome is to create a straightforward and actionable guide that includes detailed procedures and best practices for conducting rapid research that will allow state DOTs and their contractors to respond quickly to emerging issues without the delays of traditional, lengthy research methods. This process will not replace traditional, in-depth research methods but will serve as a complementary tool for addressing urgent, time-sensitive issues. This research will focus on creating a guide that can be easily blended into the everyday operation of state DOT research programs. The development of this guide will help quickly assess existing research and best practices and will enable state DOTs to respond proactively to new and pressing issues. In addition, the proposed pilot testing process in state DOTs will ensure that the framework is adaptable across various regions and according to transportation needs.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5881
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $250,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-139

• 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
• Project Managers:

  Wadsworth, Trey

• Start Date: 20250526
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Data collection; Research; State departments of transportation
• Subject Areas: Research; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01956833
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-139
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 29 2025 1:04PM