Skip to main content

Joint venture to conduct US road study

A joint venture comprising Cambridge Systematics and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff will carry out a major Interstate study for the US. The joint venture partners were selected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies). The future interstate study is mandated in Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act). The FAST Act calls for the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board (TRB) to conduct “... a study on the actions needed to upgrade a
January 3, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA joint venture comprising 8563 Cambridge Systematics and 2782 WSP | 2693 Parsons Brinckerhoff will carry out a major Interstate study for the US. The joint venture partners were selected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies). The future interstate study is mandated in Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act).

The FAST Act calls for the National Academies’ 2774 Transportation Research Board (TRB) to conduct “... a study on the actions needed to upgrade and restore the Dwight D Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways to its role as a premier system that meets the growing and shifting demands of the 21st century.”

The Interstate highway system comprises only 1.2% of the total distance of the US public road system, but handles nearly 25% of the total vehicle distance travelled annually and carries close to 40% of the total truck traffic. However the interstate network is ageing rapidly and a comprehensive study is needed to understand future needs.

The TRB study will be conducted by a committee of the National Academies with balanced expertise in transportation issues. In support of the future interstate study, the joint venture of Cambridge Systematics and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff will conduct case study analysis and modelling to explore the impact of changing travel and technology trends, and their implications for the future of the interstate highway system. The study will also draw from information provided by the highway industry, including highway owners, operators and users of the system, associations, private-sector stakeholders, and academia, among others. The study is expected to be completed in late 2018. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Europe's roads need innovation and research
    April 12, 2012
    FEHRL's fifth SERRP is set to drive road transport into the 21st century The Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) has published its fifth Strategic European Road Research Programme (SERPP V), which tackles the research and innovation challenges facing the European road and transport system now and in the future. Formed in 1989, FEHRL is a registered international association comprising more than 40 national research/technical centres, and its new programme reflects the techni
  • Coalition to address deterioration in US transportation system
    February 13, 2012
    The American Crisis in Transportation Coalition (ACT) has been formed to expand national understanding of the serious deterioration of America's transportation system, and to educate the public and Congress on the funding needed to save the system from continued decline.
  • Developing the European roads of the future
    February 14, 2012
    A new project aims to bring Europe to the forefront of developing the future of transport. A three-year project has set itself the challenge of developing a "truly inspiring vision" of how roads will be built and maintained in the 21st century. Forever Open Road is a revolutionary concept led by the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) and supported by the UK's influential TRL (Transport Research Laboratory).
  • Many US bridges need repairs according to ARTBA analysis
    February 15, 2017
    Nearly 56,000 bridges in the US are listed as structurally deficient List, according to new analysis of Federal Data by American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). An analysis of the US Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) recently-released 2016 National Bridge Inventory data finds cars, trucks and school buses cross the nation’s 55,710 structurally compromised bridges 185 million times/day. About 1,900 are on the Interstate Highway System. State transportation departments have identifie