DOT 70-07
Friday, July 13, 2007

News Digest

DOT, University-Led Research Teams Partner to Reduce Construction and Maintenance Costs through Technology. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) is partnering with university-led research teams to reduce highway construction and maintenance costs through the use of new technologies. The research teams will develop congestion pricing technologies for urban freight management, streamline and reduce the cost of environmental impact assessments in critical transportation corridors, explore the use of remote imagery for monitoring rural road conditions, and develop cost-effective systems to monitor and test the structural integrity and life span of bridges and asphalt pavement. Universities receiving funding for near-term product development include Ohio State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of California–Santa Barbara, and Mississippi State University. Other universities receiving research funding include the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, South Dakota State University, and the University of Wyoming. Contact: Roger Lotz: 202-366-2246.

DOT Announces $6 Million in Funding for New Transportation Research. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) announced the award of $6 million dollars for five universities to work with the Department to solve national and regional transportation challenges. The fiscal year 2007 funding is part of each university’s four-year designation as a DOT-sponsored University Transportation Center (UTC). Universities receiving funding include the University of Tennessee-Knoxville National Transportation Research Center ($2 million); Texas A&M University ($1.5 million); Morgan State University ($1 million); Jackson State University ($550,000); and the University of Alabama at Birmingham ($450,000). Contact: Roger Lotz: 202-366-2246.