FY 2008 Scan Program

Planning is currently underway on the following scans that have been selected for the FY 2008 cycle of the Scanning Program:

• Transportation Research Program Administration
• Survey of International Best Practices to Accommodate Older Road Users
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Integrating & Streamlining Right of Way and Utility Processes with Planning, Environment, and Design

Transportation Research Program Administration Scan

• April 11-27, 2008
  Sweden, France, Belgium, Japan, S. Korea

The purpose of this scan is to examine transportation research program administration practices in other countries. The scan will seek to identify successful foreign program management practices, different from our own, that can be applied in the United States. In addition, the scan will enable participants to study existing and potential partnerships among the numerous regions and jurisdictions tasked with managing transportation research worldwide. Moreover, the scan will enhance future opportunities for collaboration, information sharing, and technology transfer with our international counterparts.

General topics of interest to the U.S. Panel include:

1. Identification and prioritization of short-term and long-term research needs.
2. Use of research to formulate effective policy.
3. Coordination among multiple jurisdictions to identify and address national priorities.
4. Information management and accessibility.
5. Opportunities for expanded leveraging and efficient use of research funds.
6. Opportunities for partnering and collaboration.
7. Effective program delivery.
8. Innovative techniques to measure and improve program performance.
9. Enhanced dissemination of research successes and demonstration of program value.

Survey of International Best Practices to Accommodate Older Road Users Scan

• February 29 - March 16, 2008
  Japan, Australia

The purpose of this scan is to collect information from abroad with the potential to improve roadway safety for older road users in the United States and consequently all road users. General topics of interest to the scan panel include:

1. Infrastructure-based international best practices that improve safety and mobility for older road users that could be applied in the near term on U.S. roadways.
2. Policy approaches to improving infrastructure to better meet the needs and capabilities of older road users.
3. Safety research collaboration opportunities between international and U.S. transportation research centers.
4. Ways to improve U.S. and international practices for long-term transportation planning for older road users.

Public-Private Partnerships Scan

• June 13-29, 2008
  Spain, Portugal, UK, Australia

The purpose of this scan is to examine programs and practices used by other countries that actively solicit and implement privately financed new highway or green-field projects. The objectives are to document lessons learned from public agencies that have completed highway concession contracts and/or are administering mature agreements with private operators of public roads. The scan will focus on contract procurement procedures, and project performance standards. The results of this scan will enable U.S. highway agencies to benefit from the collective experiences gained by other countries. An international perspective will be valuable to U.S. agencies that are partnering with foreign investors and developers. The scan tour report will document lessons learned and best practices experienced by public agencies in other countries. Such lessons or practices may be adapted to the U.S. agencies that are implementing or considering public-private partnership programs.

Integrating & Streamlining Right of Way and Utility Processes with Planning, Environment, and Design Scan

• September 5-21, 2008
  Australia, UK, Canada

The purpose of this scan is to identify how other nations have organized, integrated, and streamlined processes required to acquire real estate and relocate utilities required for transportation projects and provide necessary services including mapping and scoping, appraisal and appraisal review, acquisition, relocation, demolition and clearance, utility coordination, and utility relocation with other processes required for delivery of transportation systems. More specifically, the scan will examine how these right-of-way and utility processes are coordinated with project planning, environmental analysis and documentation, environmental mitigation, and design plans preparation. General topics of interest to the scan panel include:

1. To determine whether other nations have been successful in integrating and coordinating right of way and utilities with planning processes to identify critical future transportation corridors and to protect them from development in order to avoid the high costs and lengthy schedule time associated with right of way acquisition and utility relocation after development has occurred in the corridor.
2. To identify how right of way and utilities are integrated and coordinated with the environmental process in order to facilitate land acquisition required for environment mitigation, construction permit approvals, and acquisition of parcels containing contaminated or hazardous materials.
3. To identify how right of way and utility processes are coordinated and integrated with design plan development in order to avoid the high costs and delays associated with late plan changes, addition of required parcels, changes in access requirements, and accommodation of utilities.
4. To identify how acquisition of private property rights from utility companies are handled and how relocation is coordinated to rapidly advance the project. How are these issues considered in Planning, Environment and Design?
5. To identify how planning, environment, design, and right of way processes are integrated and directed toward preservation of transportation corridors needed for future capacity and how they are protected from encroaching real estate development.
6. To identify how right of way and utility professionals are used as part of a team to address project development and delivery.
7. To determine how design/build, including right of way and utilities, has been implemented in other nations and how integration of right of way and utility processes with design and construction has improved project delivery.
8. To investigate and document right of way and utility processes that have been used successfully in design build projects in other nations.