52-732: The Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA ) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program. Its role had previously been performed by the Office of Road Inquiry , Office of Public Roads and the Bureau of Public Roads . With
104-732: A cabinet-level Department of Transportation. Halaby proposed merging the responsibilities of the undersecretary of commerce for transportation and the Federal Aviation Agency to achieve this goal. While the federal government was granted authority over aviation and railroads through the commerce clause of the Constitution, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration primarily provided funding for state and local projects, without significant influence over road construction and operation. Halaby emphasized
156-548: A new collection of innovations to champion every two years that merit accelerated deployment. Among the approaches promoted by the EDC effort are: adaptive traffic control to reduce fuel consumption and improve travel time reliability ; alternative intersection design; prefabricated bridge elements and systems; high-friction surface treatments; warm mix asphalt; ultra-high-performance concrete; virtual public involvement; and time-saving strategies such as rapid bridge replacement . Since
208-534: A question based on the LTPP data. In 2010, FHWA launched the Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative to identify and deploy innovations to reduce project delivery time, enhance safety, and protect the environment. EDC is a state-based model that rapidly deploys proven, yet underutilized innovations. FHWA works with State transportation departments, local governments, tribes, private industry, and other stakeholders to identify
260-676: Is an annual program for recent graduate students to spend three months working in the National Academies. The Academies also administered the Marian Koshland Science Museum in downtown Washington until its closing in 2017; the Museum has since been replaced by LabX, a program of online resources and nationwide public events that aim to increase awareness of scientific and evidence-based solutions to community problems. The National Academies do not receive direct appropriations from
312-419: Is the publisher for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and makes its publications available for free online reading. The full book PDFs have been available for free download since 2011. The National Academies also provide credentialed witnesses who speak before government bodies on important issues. For example, a committee chair may speak on rising mortality rates in working adults in
364-658: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is used by most highway agencies in the United States. The MUTCD provides such standards as the size, color and height of traffic signs , traffic signals and road surface markings . Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) is a program supported by the FHWA to collect and analyse road data. The LTPP program was initiated by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of
416-471: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as representing the views of the scientific community: The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability. Human-induced warming and associated sea level rise are expected to continue through
468-571: The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM); and (2) as the brand for studies and reports issued by the unified operating arm of the three academies originally known as the National Research Council ( NRC ). The National Academies also serve as public policy advisors, research institutes , think tanks , and public administration consultants on issues of public importance or on request by
520-543: The National Research Council (NRC) in the early 1980s. The FHWA with the cooperation of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) sponsored the program. As a result of this program, the FHWA has collected a huge database of road performance. The FHWA and the ASCE hold an annual contest known as LTPP International Data Analysis Contest , which is based on challenging researchers to answer
572-520: The National Research Council , are collectively the operating arm of the three academies for the purpose of providing objective policy advice. Although separately chartered (see above), it falls legally under the overall charter of the National Academy of Sciences, whose ultimate fiduciary body is the NAS Council. In actual practice, the NAS Council delegates governing authority to a Governing Board of
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#1732837502970624-649: The Science and Research Division of the United States Army Signal Corps . When war was first declared, the council had organized committees on anti-submarine and gas warfare . On June 1, 1917, the council convened a meeting of scientific representatives of the United Kingdom and France with interested parties from the U.S. on the subject of submarine detection. Another meeting with the British and French
676-663: The War Department in June 1917, although the plants were not completed prior to the end of the war. In 1918, Wilson formalized the NRC's existence under Executive Order 2859. Wilson's order declared the function of the NRC to be in general: During World War I, the United States was at war, the NRC operated as the Department of Science and Research of the Council of National Defense as well as
728-718: The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 's Metro Silver Line to connect Washington, D.C., and the Washington Dulles International Airport (DOT had previously agreed to subsidize the Silver Line construction to Reston, Virginia ). President Barack Obama 's budget request for 2010 also included $ 1.83 billion in funding for major transit projects. More than $ 600 million went towards ten new or expanding transit projects. The budget provided additional funding for all of
780-534: The president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet . The department's fiscal year 2022–2026 strategic plan states that its mission is "to deliver the world's leading transportation system, serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods." In 1965, Najeeb Halaby , the chief of the independent Federal Aviation Agency strongly urged President Lyndon Johnson to set up
832-399: The 21st century ... The IPCC's conclusion that most of the observed warming of the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations accurately reflects the current[2001] thinking of the scientific community on this issue. In 2013, the NRC published the report Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises , which provided an updated look at
884-595: The Academy shall, whenever called upon by any department of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art. ... " With the American civil war raging, the new academy was presented with few problems to solve, but it did address matters of "... coinage, weights and measures, iron ship hulls, and the purity of whiskey ..." All subsequently affiliated organizations have been created under this same overall congressional charter , including
936-497: The Committee on Nitric Acid Supply, was approved by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker . Nitric acid was the substance basic in the making of propellants such as cordite , high explosives, dyes, fertilizers , and other products but availability was limited due to World War I . The NRC, through its committee, recommended importing Chilean saltpeter and the construction of four new ordnance plants. These recommendations were accepted by
988-667: The Federal Lands Highway Program (sometimes called "direct fed"), the FHWA provides highway design and construction services for various federal land-management agencies, such as the Forest Service and the National Park Service . In addition to these programs, the FHWA performs and sponsors research in the areas of roadway safety, congestion, highway materials and construction methods, and provides funding to local technical assistance program centers to disseminate research results to local highway agencies. The FHWA also publishes
1040-471: The Gulf Research Program. The Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences has activities organized around: The National Academies attempt to obtain authoritative, objective, and scientifically balanced answers to difficult questions of national importance. Top scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts (not limited to those in academies membership) are enlisted to address
1092-530: The Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault , which pointed out that approximately 80 percent of sexual assaults go unreported to law enforcement. The report recommends that the National Crime Victimization Survey adopt new approaches to interviews of rape victims, including changing the wording of questions. In an article about the report, Amber Stevenson, clinical supervisor and therapist at
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#17328375029701144-481: The NRC produces some 200 publications annually which are published by the National Academies Press . The reports produced by the National Academies have been characterized as reflective of scientific consensus. The US National Academy of Sciences was created by an Act of Incorporation dated March 3, 1863, which was signed by then President of the United States , Abraham Lincoln . The Act stated that "...
1196-488: The Nashville Sexual Assault Center, said that victim-blaming was the main issue preventing victims from coming forward: As long as we as a community continue to make victim-blaming statements, such as, "She put herself in this situation,"..."She didn't fight back, she must have wanted it," we will continue to see rapes go unreported ... We have to stop blaming the victim. The conversation needs to shift to
1248-466: The National Academies , is a congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the United States . The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrella term or parent organization for its three sub-divisions that operate as quasi-independent honorific learned society member organizations known as the National Academy of Sciences (NAS),
1300-402: The National Academies endowment. The external sponsors have no control over the conduct or results of a study, once the statement of task and budget are finalized. Study committees gather information from many sources in public meetings but deliberate in private in order to avoid political, special interest, and sponsor influence. All reports go through an extensive external review facilitated by
1352-709: The National Research Council that is chaired jointly by the presidents of the three academies, with additional members chosen by them or specified in the charters of the academies. Under this three-academy umbrella, the program units produce reports that shape policies, inform public opinion, and advance the pursuit of science, engineering, and medicine. There are seven major divisions: Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Division of Earth and Life Studies, Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences , Health and Medicine Division, Policy and Global Affairs Division, Transportation Research Board , and
1404-517: The US to a Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. In 2001, the NRC published the report Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions , which emphasized that national policy decisions made both in the near term and in the future will influence the extent of any damage suffered by vulnerable human populations and ecosystems later in this century. The report endorsed findings of
1456-676: The coming of the automobile, urgent efforts were made to upgrade and modernize dirt roads designed for horse-drawn wagon traffic. In 1910, the American Association for Highway Improvement was organized. Funding came from automobile registration, and taxes on motor fuels, as well as state aid. By 1914, there were 2.4 million miles of rural dirt rural roads; 100,000 miles had been improved with grading and gravel, and 3,000 miles were given high-quality surfacing. The rapidly increasing speed of automobiles, and especially trucks, made maintenance and repair high-priority items. In 1915, OPR's name
1508-539: The coming of the bicycle in the 1890s, interest grew regarding the improvement of streets and roads in America. The traditional method of putting the burden on maintaining roads on local landowners was increasingly inadequate. In 1893, the federal Office of Road Inquiry (ORI) was founded; in 1905, it was renamed the Office of Public Roads (OPR) and made a division of the United States Department of Agriculture . Demands grew for local and state government to take charge. With
1560-503: The council (at first called the National Research Foundation) was in part to foster and encourage "the increased use of scientific research in the development of American industries ... the employment of scientific methods in strengthening the national defense ... and such other applications of science as will promote the national security and welfare." At the time, the academy's effort to support national defense readiness,
1612-466: The direction of the Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Secretary of Transportation . The internal organization of the FHWA is as follows: United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation ( USDOT or DOT ) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government . It is headed by the secretary of transportation , who reports directly to
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1664-436: The end of the war, though it was gradually decoupled from the military. NRC's Articles of Organization have been changed only three times: in 1956, January 1993, and July 2015. The National Academy of Sciences , National Academy of Engineering , and National Academy of Medicine are honorary membership organizations, each of which has its own governing Council, and each of which elects its own new members. The membership of
1716-470: The environment in which science is conducted, it is clear that the framework established more than two decades ago needs to be updated. One of the report's main concerns is that a growing percentage of recently published research turns out to be not reproducible due in part to inadequate support of standards of transparency in many fields as well as to various other detrimental research practices. The Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
1768-460: The federal government; instead their revenue comes from grants and contracts of federal agencies and private sources. According to the New York Times in 2023, "about 70 percent of the National Academies budget comes from federal funds, it also raised private donations from individuals, nonprofits and companies, including Chevron , Google , Merck , and Medtronic ." At the time it was advising
1820-414: The government. The National Research Council, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine began as activities of the National Academy of Sciences until they were reorganized in 2015 into units of the current National Academies while maintaining the charter status and corporate successorship of the original National Academy of Sciences. Now jointly governed by all three academies,
1872-506: The government." Johnson convinced Congress to act and The Department of Transportation was authorized in October 1966 and launched on 1 April 1967, with a mission to ensure that federal funds were effectively used to support the national transportation program. Johnson proclaimed upon signing the act: "Transportation has truly emerged as a significant part of our national life. As a basic force in our society, its progress must be accelerated so that
1924-512: The inception of EDC, each state has used 26 or more of the 57 innovations and some states have deployed more than 45. Many of these practices have become mainstream practices across the country. The Federal Highway Administration is overseen by an administrator appointed by the President of the United States by and with the consent of the United States Senate . The administrator works under
1976-754: The internal Report Review Committee (also consisting of members from the NAS, NAE, and NAM). Through this study process, the National Academies produce around 200 reports each year. Recent reports addressed the obesity epidemic , the use of forensics in the courtroom, invasive plants , pollinator collapse, underage drinking , the Hubble Space Telescope , vaccine safety , the hydrogen economy , transportation safety, climate change , and homeland security . Many reports influence policy decisions; some are instrumental in enabling new research programs; others provide independent program reviews. The National Academies Press
2028-414: The issue of abrupt climate change and its potential impacts. This study differed from previous treatments of abrupt changes by focusing on abrupt climate changes and also abrupt climate impacts that have the potential to severely affect the physical climate system, natural systems, or human systems, often affecting multiple interconnected areas of concern. In 2013, the NRC published the report Estimating
2080-464: The most Freedom of Information Act FOIA requests, published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the Department of Transportation earned a D by scoring 65 out of a possible 100 points, i.e., did not earn a satisfactory overall grade. National Research Council (United States) The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ( NASEM ), also known as
2132-454: The need for improved coordination and expressed frustration at the lack of an overall plan. "One looks in vain", he told Johnson, "for a point of responsibility below the President capable of taking an evenhanded, comprehensive, authoritarian approach to the development of transportation policies or even able to assure reasonable coordination and balance among the various transportation programs of
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2184-747: The new U.S. Department of Transportation . The FHWA took over the functions of the Bureau of Public Roads the following year. The FHWA's role in the Federal-aid Highway Program is to oversee federal funds to build and maintain the National Highway System (primarily Interstate highways , U.S. highways and most state highways). This funding mostly comes from the federal gasoline tax and mostly goes to state departments of transportation . The FHWA oversees projects using these funds to ensure that federal requirements for project eligibility, contract administration and construction standards are adhered to. Under
2236-574: The organization was once again named the Bureau of Public Roads; it was placed under the Department of Commerce . From 1917 through 1941, 261,000 miles of highways were built with $ 3.17 billion in federal aid and $ 2.14 billion in state and local funds. The Federal Highway Administration was created on October 15, 1966, along with the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety and the National Highway Safety Bureau (now known as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ), as part of
2288-645: The person who chose to rape. The 1992 report, Responsible Science: Ensuring the Integrity of the Research Process was updated in 2017 by the report, Fostering Integrity in Research: ... as experience has accumulated with various forms of research misconduct, detrimental research practices, and other forms of misconduct, as subsequent empirical research has revealed more about the nature of scientific misconduct, and because technological and social changes have altered
2340-482: The projects currently receiving Recovery Act funding, except for the bus rapid transit project. It also continued funding for another 18 transit projects that are either currently under construction or soon will be. Following the same, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 delegated $ 600 million for Infrastructure Investments, referred to as Discretionary Grants. The Department of Transportation
2392-665: The quality of our life can be improved." In 2012, the DOT awarded $ 742.5 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 11 transit projects. The awardees include light rail projects. Other projects include both a commuter rail extension and a subway project in New York City , and a bus rapid transit system in Springfield, Oregon . The funds subsidize a heavy rail project in northern Virginia , completing
2444-524: The scientific and technical aspects of some of society's problems. These experts are volunteers who serve on study committees that are convened to answer specific sets of questions. All committee members serve without pay. NASEM does not perform original research; rather it provides independent advice. Federal agencies are the primary financial sponsors of the Academies' work; additional studies are funded by state agencies, foundations, other private sponsors, and
2496-457: The three academies totals more than 6,300 scientists, engineers, and health professionals. New members for each organization are elected annually by existing members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. By the terms of the original 1863 Congressional charter, the three academies serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science , engineering , and medicine ." The program units, formerly known as
2548-465: The two younger academies, National Academy of Engineering (NAE) (created in 1964) and NAM (created as the Institute of Medicine in 1970 and rechartered as NAM in 2015). Under this same charter, the National Research Council was created in 1916. On June 19 of that year, then US President Woodrow Wilson requested that the National Academy of Sciences organize a "National Research Council". The purpose of
2600-531: Was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2016 of $ 75.1 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows: In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . The $ 1.2 trillion act included over $ 660 billion in funding for transportation-related infrastructure projects over the five-year period of fiscal years 2022–2026. In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive
2652-637: Was changed to the Bureau of Public Roads . The following year, federal aid was first made available to improve post roads and promote general commerce: $ 75 million over five years, issued through the BPR in cooperation with the state highway departments. In 1939, BPR was renamed to the Public Roads Administration (PRA) and shifted to the Federal Works Agency . After the FWA was abolished in 1949,
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#17328375029702704-456: Was held in Paris in October 1918, at which more details of their work were disclosed. As a result of these meetings, the NRC recommended that scientists be brought together to work on the problems associated with submarine detection. Due to the success of council-directed research in producing a sound-based method of detecting submarines , as well as other military innovations, the NRC was retained at
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