Requirements for Successful Technology Transfer in the Highway Industry

Abstract

Change provides opportunities for improvement, and many times it requires improvement. In the case of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), recent budgetary and organizational changes resulted in the need for the agency to improve its technology transfer program and accelerate innovation in the highway industry. Past studies of public works infrastructures point to the need to exploit opportunities that recent technological developments—in materials, electronics, information systems, and telecommunications—offer to help meet current and future demand for all categories of infrastructure facilities. Expenditures on U.S. highways amount to about $100 billion per year, so innovation that improves performance and/or reduces cost is an important goal. This article (a) describes innovation and technology transfer in the highway industry, (b) describes the key role FHWA plays in highway industry innovation, and (c) suggests how FHWA can accelerate innovation by focusing on requirements associated with the implementation of innovation by state and local highway agencies.

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