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Transportation Technology e-Transfer |
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Reaching Beyond Borders― A Perspective on International Collaboration Cheryl Allen Richter, P.E., Ph.D. Technical Director, Pavement Research and Development Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
To meet national transportation goals, FHWA and states continue to rely on a network of collaborations and partnerships with agencies, private industry, academia, and the international transportation community. The benefits from international partnerships include increased knowledge and savings in cost, research and time.
Since the dawn of the Good Roads Era, the United States has had a distinguished history of worldwide cooperation in advancing transportation technology and learning from our international neighbors. In the 1890s, the U.S. Department of State asked its international consuls for information on roads in other countries. In 1908, the United States sent a 19-member delegation to the first International Road Congress held in France. From July 15 to August 11, 1947, the United States studied the German autobahn, which later influenced the construction of the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
The concept of working together internationally was codified in Section 506 of Title 23 of the United States Code, giving the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) the authority to "engage in activities to inform the domestic highway community of technological innovations in foreign countries that could significantly improve highway transport in the United States, to promote U.S. highway transportation expertise, goods, and services in foreign countries, and to increase transfers of U.S. highway transportation technology to foreign countries."
My first encounter with international cooperation in highway research occurred in 1987 when I joined the staff of FHWA’s Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), a five-year research initiative to improve highways. International cooperation as part of the SHRP research took several forms.
· Many international highway agencies sent staff on detail to Washington, D.C. to work with SHRP staff. · Canadian provinces established pavement test sections on their highways, which still are monitored and included as part of the data available through the U.S. Long Term Pavement Performance Program. · Some countries established their own SHRP programs to conduct research similar to that undertaken by the United States but tailored to their own conditions. For example, the Netherlands established its own long-term pavement performance program. · SHRP sponsored and participated in a variety of international meetings, workshops, and conferences, which provided opportunities for information exchange between SHRP staff and researchers and other researchers conducting similar research activities in other countries.
Through my involvement in SHRP’s international cooperation, I gained insight and a strong appreciation of the benefits gained from collaborating with, learning from, and getting to know researchers across the nation and abroad. I came to understand that while environmental, cultural, political, and economic differences may cause us to approach highway funding and construction in different ways, we have in common the need to provide durable and cost-effective highway infrastructure.
Moreover, the science that governs pavement materials and performance remains the same regardless of national boundaries. Having gotten to know researchers from around the world has made it easy for me to contact them for expert advice and information on new issues, even many years after our day-to-day interaction ended.
In the past twenty years, the demands on highway infrastructure caused by traffic congestion and increased loads have continued to grow. At the same time, concerns for safety and the environment have gained importance as factors that affect decisions about the transportation system. The limited resources available for pavement research make it even more important to take full advantage of the expertise available through all partnerships and international collaborations.
Federal Highway Administration and partners have everything to gain from working with and learning from our counterparts in other countries. The benefits of international cooperation go well beyond any specific activity. Cooperation with other research professionals provides access to knowledge and resources outside the scope of any specific project. In today’s global scientific society, collaborative approaches to problem-solving are necessary. We must seek out the best practices and research efforts from international exchange.
FHWA’s international partnerships in pavement research show the benefits of international collaboration. The following are examples.
Moisture Damage Study with the Delft University of Technology: FHWA Pavement Materials and Construction Team research staff and contractors are conducting research on moisture damage in asphalt with the Delft University of Technology. By combining FHWA’s experimental work on test methods with the fundamental analytical models developed by the university’s research team, the team is avoiding duplication of efforts and accelerating the delivery of research products, which will help agencies prevent moisture damage.
Visiting Scholar from China: Since the spring of 2006, a visiting scholar from China has been involved in the asphalt research being conducted at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. FHWA benefits from his expertise and contributions to the research, and China benefits from the knowledge and experience the researcher gains from the work with FHWA.
OECD Long-Life Pavements for Busy Roads: FHWA has played a leading role in on the Organization for Economic Development (OECD) and Cooperation/European Commission of Transport Ministers Joint Transport Research Committee Working Group on Economic Evaluation of Long Life Pavements. FHWA led and coordinated a major component of this international effort in which laboratories evaluated epoxy asphalt as a long-life pavement surface material. A published report on this research should help countries pilot and evaluate new long-life pavement applications. Click HERE to view the summary document.
TRB Data Analysis Working Group: Members of the Long-Term Pavement Performance Team participate in the Transportation Research Board’s Data Analysis Working Group (DAWG), an international forum for dialogue on analysis of pavement performance data. Current members of the DAWG come from South Africa, Canada, UK, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, China, Sweden, and the United States, although DAWG meeting participants may come from anywhere in the world. Through meetings of the DAWG, FHWA gains real-time knowledge of analytical methods and findings from pavement performance research conducted throughout the world.
EU COST 354 Performance Indicators for Road Pavements: By participating in the work of the European Union’s (EU’s) Coordination of Scientific and Technical (COST) Committee 354 on Performance Indicators for Road Pavements, FHWA has learned how 21 EU countries assess their roadway pavements. FHWA has contributed to the work of the committee by sharing information on U.S. practices and FHWA’s research plan to quantify remaining service life of pavements. Collaboration with this group enables FHWA to avoid duplicating research work already conducted elsewhere. By participating in this international committee, FHWA also receives access to complete information during performance of the work and to intricacies that will never appear in a final report. |
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