Trends to Watch in 2006

This article gives six new major trends for 2006 that will affect the transportation industry and related fields. They include: 1) the growing concept of Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM); 2) the rapidly increasing price of crude oil; 3) new specifications with regard to workplace safety during the night; 4) electrically conductive concrete to melt snow, 4) composite materials; 5) the new Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements (RAP) research being conducted at Montana State University; and, 6) smoother concrete pavements. IRVM is becoming increasingly useful as a more synoptic view of transportation infrastructure as it affects denizen’s everyday lives, using information from many different fields to provide a more uniform approach to roadside/road integration. The author predicts another year of increasing oil prices due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As traffic loads increase, so does nighttime construction along with tightened safety regulations, which is the cause for the third trend this article predicts. New conductive concretes are predicted to come into increasing use as test phases just ended by the Nebraska Department of Roads, which developed the technology jointly with Western Michigan University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In addition to new composite materials that will change the transportation milieu, the author also anticipates a rise in the use of RAP as other asphalts increase in cost. Finally, experiments are showing that pavements that are built smoother provide both a longer service and a better ride quality for road users.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1519687
• Authors:
  • Kuennen, Tom
• Publication Date: 2005-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: pp 28-32, 34, 36-37
• Serial:
  • Better Roads
  • Volume: 75
  • Issue Number: 12
  • Publisher: James Informational Media, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0006-0208
  • Serial URL: http://www.betterroads.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Admixtures; Asphalt pavements; Composite pavements; Concrete; Costs; Diesel fuels; Fuel consumption; Recycled materials; Vegetation control
• Subject Areas: Energy; Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01019390
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 9 2006 1:31PM