Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Research,
Technology & Education (RT&E) Program
FY 2012 Budget Request Overview
Overview
For FY 2012, the FHWA is requesting $951 million. Of this amount, $384 million is for FHWA's core RT&E program, $257 million is for programs administered by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), and the remaining $310 million includes such items as $206 million for the State Planning and Research Program and $100 million for the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Wireless Innovation Fund (WIN) Initiative, which are funded outside of the SAFETEA-LU Title V.
This request will enable FHWA to address current issues, emerging challenges and provide information for policy decisions. The program will conduct, sponsor, sustain, and guide highway research to develop and deliver innovation.
FHWA RT&E Program
Highway Research & Development Program (HRD): $200M
Conduct research and development activities associated with safety, infrastructure preservation, environmental mitigation and streamlining, operations, livability, innovative program delivery solutions, and policy. Although there are requests for funds related to each of 6 major program areas, programming of funds will be guided by multi-year roadmaps that establish research and development priorities.
- Safety: $25M
- o Research focuses on research and development activities aimed at supporting comprehensive and sustainable safety programs.
- Infrastructure: $75M
- o FHWA conducts problem-focused research, development, and communications outreach activities to preserve the existing investment in our Nation's highway infrastructure and to build for the future through the application of advanced technologies that improve infrastructure integrity.
- Planning & Environment: $35M
- o Activities in this program area include carrying out short and long-term livability initiatives to improve project delivery and enhance communities that are impacted by surface transportation projects; developing comprehensive strategies to minimize the impact of transportation investment on the environment; and adjusting to changing climate conditions.
- Operations: $25M
- o Conduct research on the application of cutting-edge technologies to move people and goods better, quicker, and safer.
- Policy: $18M
- o Conduct analysis on emerging issues, such as climate change, public-private partnerships, highway revenues, performance measurement, and authorization. Policy initiatives include the International Highway Transportation Outreach Program
- Next Generation Research & Technology: $22M
- o Lead a nationally-coordinated highway research and technology program; operate the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center as the Federally-owned leader in Highway innovation; and conduct longer-term, higher-risk research with the potential for dramatic breakthroughs in surface transportation.
Technology & Innovation Deployment Program (TIDP): $144M
Conduct testing, evaluating, and accelerating the delivery and deployment of technologies. This program includes deployment activities for Future Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) implementation, Highways for LIFE, Every Day Counts, and deployment and delivery of innovations developed through the HRD program. Unlike the HRD program, there are no program-area allotments. The TIDP is designed specifically to enable FHWA to more aggressively fill the critical need to turn research products into proven technologies or demonstrate practices, identify the market forces that will influence successful technology and innovation deployment, and plan and deliver effective communication to promote rapid adoption of proven, market-ready technologies and innovations to States, local jurisdictions, and industry.
Training & Education Program (T&E): $40M
Train the current and future transportation workforce; transferring knowledge quickly and effectively. This includes the National Highway Institute, Local/Tribal technical Assistance Programs, Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, and the Garret Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program. T&E also includes a new initiative, the Surface Transportation Workforce Development Centers Program, which will establish five Centers at institutions of higher education.
Related Programs
State Planning and Research Program (SP&R) Part II: $206.4M
With the reconfiguration of Federal-aid formula programs presented in this budget, funding for this program would come from a 2% set-aside from state apportionments for the Highway Infrastructure Performance Program, the Flexible Investment Program, the Highway Safety Improvement Program, and the Livable Communities Program. States must allocate a minimum of 25 percent of their SP&R apportionment for research, development, and technology (SP&R Part II). SP&R Part II activities involve research on new areas of knowledge; adapting findings to practical applications by developing new technologies; and the transfer of these technologies, including the process of dissemination, demonstration, training, and adoption of innovations by users. The SP&R program is intended to solve problems identified by the states.
Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office: $20M
The proposed office will lead a phased research and demonstration effort to analyze a range of revenue-generation alternatives with the potential to replace the petroleum-based system currently used to fund surface transportation programs. The office, guided by a Policy Decision Group consisting of a wide range of stakeholders, will deliver a program that includes a broad agenda of research, outreach, system design and field trials. The program will develop a study framework defining the desired functionality of preferred alternative revenue generation systems, as well as a communications effort designed to increase public and stakeholder awareness and understanding regarding the relevant issues. In addition, it will include the development of a concept of operations for the preferred scheme(s) and development of high-level system architectures, interoperability standards and communication protocols, and equipment standards. Field trials to demonstrate and test the capabilities of interest will also be covered under this program.
Crosswalk of Consolidated Highway Programs*
* Not every eligibility under an old program is continued in a new program.
** No comparable eligibility in new program structure.
RESEARCH,
DEVELOPMENT & TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Budget Authority
(in thousands of dollars)
| FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION | FY 2010 Enacted |
FY 2012 Pres. Bud. |
FY 2012 Applied |
FY 2012 Development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research, Technology & Education Program | ||||
| (A) Surface Transp. Research, Development & Deployment | 183,634 | |||
| A. Highway Research and Development 1/ | 183,634 | 200,000 | 176,000 | 24,000 |
| Safety: | 14,609 | 25,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 |
| Safety | 7,491 | |||
| Safety (T) | 7,118 | |||
| Infrastructure: | 71,266 | 75,000 | 66,000 | 9,000 |
| Pavements | 33,069 | |||
| Pavements (T) | 1,316 | |||
| Structures | 26,340 | |||
| Structures (T) | 1,079 | |||
| Long-Term Pavement Performance | 8,834 | |||
| Long-Term Pavement Performance (T) | 628 | |||
| Planning and Environment | 20,921 | 35,000 | 30,800 | 4,200 |
| Planning, Environment, and Realty | 18,684 | |||
| Planning, Environment, and Realty (T) | 2,237 | |||
| Operations (Highway Operations): | 8,999 | 25,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 |
| Highway Operations | 6,405 | |||
| Highway Operations (T) | 2,594 | |||
| Policy: | 1,215 | 18,000 | 15,840 | 2,160 |
| International Outreach | 1,215 | |||
| Next Generation Research & Technology (Corporate): | 35,418 | 22,000 | 19,360 | 2,640 |
| Exploratory Advanced Research | 12,221 | |||
| Exploratory Advanced Research (T) | 869 | |||
| Corporate R&T | 20,845 | |||
| Corporate R&T (T) | 1,483 | |||
| Modal Research: | 31,206 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OST, RITA, FMCSA, NHTSA & PHMSA | 31,206 | |||
| OST, RITA, FMCSA, NHTSA & PHMSA (T) | ||||
| B. Technology and Innovation Deployment Program (T) 1/ | 0 | 144,000 | 0 | 0 |
| (B) Future Strategic Highway Research Program-SHRP II 1/ | 49,095 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Future Strategic Highway Research Program-SHRP II | 31,912 | |||
| Future Strategic Highway Research Program-SHRP II (T) | 17,183 | |||
| C. Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office | 0 | 20,000 | 2,000 | 16,000 |
| Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office | 18,000 | |||
| Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office (T) | 2,000 | |||
| D. Training and Education | 24,965 | 40,000 | 0 | 0 |
| National Highway Institute (T) | 8,668 | 14,000 | ||
| Local Technical Assistance Program (T) | 10,022 | 16,000 | ||
| Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (T) | 1,129 | 2,750 | ||
| Garrett Morgan Program (T) | 1,693 | 1,250 | ||
| Transportation Education Development Pilot (T) | 790 | 2,075 | ||
| Freight Planning Capacity Building (T) | 1,986 | 900 | ||
| Surface Transportation Congestion Relief Assistance Program (T) | 677 | 775 | ||
| Surface Transportation Workforce Development Centers (T) | 0 | 2,250 | ||
| E. Intelligent Transportation System Wireless Initiative (WIN) | 0 | 100,000 | 0 | 0 |
| National Wireless Initiative (WIN)(T) | 0 | 100,000 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Intelligent Transportation Systems 4/ | 102,850 | 110,000 | 96,100 | 0 |
| ITS Multi-modal Research - Applications: | 34,809 | 66,221 | 66,221 | |
| ITS Multi-modal Research Technology: | 12,325 | 11,175 | 11,175 | |
| ITS Multi-modal Research Policy: | 3,053 | 4,000 | 4,000 | |
| Exploratory Research: | 550 | 2,000 | 2,000 | |
| Other ITS Research: | 28,022 | 2,704 | 2,704 | |
| Technology Transfer and Evaluation: | 14,702 | 13,900 | ||
| ITS Program Support: | 7,280 | 5,500 | 5,500 | |
| G. Competitive University Transportation Center (UTC) | 73,772 | 72,000 | 0 | 0 |
| 1. University Transportation Research (T) | 73,772 | 72,000 | ||
| H. Multimodal Innovative Research Program 4/ | 0 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Multimodal Research and Technology | 0 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Multimodal Research and Technology (T) | 0 | |||
| I. UTC Multimodal Competitive Research Grants 4/ | 0 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| UTC Competive Research Grants | 0 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| UTC Competitive Research Grants(T) | 0 | |||
| J. State Planning and Research (SPR) 2/ | 182,985 | 206,398 | 156,202 | 21,300 |
| 1. State Planning and Research (SPR) | 157,367 | 177,502 | 156,202 | 21,300 |
| 2. State Planning and Research (SPR) (T) | 25,618 | 28,896 | ||
| K. Administrative Expenses | 18,740 | 18,932 | 14,327 | 1,954 |
| 1. Administrative Expenses | 16,116 | 16,281 | 14,327 | 1,954 |
| 2. Administrative Expenses (T) | 2,624 | 2,651 | ||
| Subtotal, Research and Development | 453,048 | 547,883 | 464,629 | 83,254 |
| Subtotal, Technology Investment (T) | 182,992 | 403,447 | ||
| Subtotal RD&T Programs | 636,040 | 951,330 | 464,629 | 83,254 |
| Add: Bureau of Transportation Statistics | 27,000 | 35,000 | ||
| Less: Adjustment of BTS Obligation Authority to Contract Authority | ||||
| Less: Adjustment of Contract Authority to Obligation Authority | ||||
| Less: Administrative Expenses | -18,740 | -18,932 | ||
| Less: State Planning and Research (SPR) | -182,985 | -206,398 | ||
| Less: Future Strategic Highway Research Program-SHRP II | -49,095 | |||
| Less: Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office | -20,000 | |||
| Less: Intelligent Transportation Systems National Wireless Initiative (WIN) | -100,000 | |||
| Total Title V Programs 3/ | 412,220 | 641,000 |
Footnotes:
1/ All Highway Research and Development (HRD) Technology or "T" programs are now funded from the Technology and Innovation Deployment Program (TIDP). The TIDP also includes funding for the Future Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which was shown separately in previous budget requests, and Highways for Life-type activities. SAFETEA-LU program categories are in paranthesis [(A) & (B)].
2/ Title 23 USC 505(b) requires State DOT's to expend no less than 25 percent of their annual SPR funds on RD&T activities. Total SPR funding represents 2 percent of apportioned programs.
3/ In the absence of authorizing legislation for the Federal-aid Highway Program in FY 2012, the amounts in the exhibit are only estimates.
4/ Details for this program are contained in the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) FY 2012 budget.