Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

• Deployment of high performance materials (steel, aluminum, composites etc) to retrofit existing highway structures to increase capacity or eliminate deficiencies.

• Increase the number of bridges being monitored and the number of variables monitored using embedded sensors.

• Development of an advanced computer simulation model of bridges, tunnels and pavements that incorporates models of loads imposed by traffic and the environment to achieve reliable prediction of fatigue life.

• Development of test facilities to evaluate NDT and robotic technologies for construction or inspection

• Acceleration and diversification of partnerships with industry and States for technology deployment.

Federal Aviation Administration

• Development of airport design and construction standards for airport pavements able to withstand landing stress from future large aircraft and increased traffic, matched by predictive modeling of pavement design, analysis and response.

• Development of airport planning and design tools for triple and quadruple runways to enhance capacity of existing airports.

• Development of a pavement test machine, of appropriate NDT monitoring technologies and analysis methods, and of improved airport safety technologies.

• Development and test of airport vulnerability assessment tools for use in airport physical security.

Federal Railroad Administration

• Evaluation of active noise cancellation technology to increase sensitivity and quality of ultrasonic rail condition measurements.

• Buckling tests of track laid with continuous welded rail and concrete ties.

• Determination of track geometry limits safe for high speed passenger train operation.

• Test and evaluation of new train control system designs and components.

• Identified but unquantified and unfunded R&D needs address resolution of track performance issues related to heavier and faster freight and passenger trains, and the safety and environmental consequences of innovative high speed rail technologies proposed for US service applications.

Federal Transit Administration

• FTA will continues to implement initiatives that will bring about incremental improvements to existing transit systems. The technology development program has been developed through a series of aggressive efforts that ensure that industry needs and priorities remain an internal part of the overall FTA mission.

US Coast Guard

• No new efforts related to infrastructure are currently funded for FY96. The Short Range Aids program will continue and research programs related to other infrastructure areas such as Vessel Traffic Services (VTS, Advance Radio Aids to Navigation (LORAN, GPS, DGPS, etc.), Ship Structures and Propulsion, Waterways Management, and Communications and Information Handling Systems are continuing or planned as new starts.

Research and Special Programs Administration

• Development of analytic tools and advanced automated NDT inspection and diagnostic technology methods for assessing pipeline integrity and predicting failures.

• Evaluation of advanced materials, stronger and more resistant to corrosion and environmental effects

Office of Commercial Space Transportation

• Establishment of a grants program to States for dedicated commercial space launch facilities (a previously unfunded need identified by Congress and States).

Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and Technology

• Development of Automated Construction Processes:
  - Information architecture to support automated construction
  - Methods and standards for virtual simulation of construction sites
  - Real-time construction site metrology, based on remote sensing for position and inventory data
  - Automated construction robots for repetitive or dangerous tasks;
  - Person-in-loop feedback systems for construction machinery.
  

• Research on Automated Construction Facilities Management including structural, environmental and fire sensing technology, coupled with open communication protocols and standards for building systems interoperability.

• Research in high performance concrete, steel and steel/concrete composites, and in polymer matrix composites for constructed facilities.

Department of Defense

Army Corps of Engineers

• Research on dredging operations and environmental research

• Wetlands research initiative

• Geographic Information Operational System.

• High Performance Materials Technology initiative has been designed to be performed in cooperation with industry (the CONMAT initiative).

Department of Energy

National Science Foundation

• Basic research efforts of long term relevance to transportation infrastructure include:
  - Civil Infrastructure Systems initiative target deterioration science (rate and processes associated with deterioration) - Assessment technologies (including NDE and "smart materials"
  - Renewal engineering, and institutional effectiveness and productivity.
  

• Addition of existing data and knowledge concerning composite materials now used in the aircraft will be adapted to construction activities.

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Mines

• Incorporation of chloride sensors into concrete test blocks, and ultimately into infrastructure applications.

• Expansion of the effect of the environment on bridge coatings into other geographical locations in the US.

• Promotion of the use of steel monitors as a means to monitor the structural integrity and safety of a network of bridges over a much broader geographical area. Initiation of instrumentation and networking of the data to central locations will be initiated.

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