U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Hana Maier
Program Manager
Email: hana.maier@dot.gov
The International Highway Technology Scanning Program (Scanning Program) serves as a means to access innovative technologies and practices in other countries that could significantly improve highways and highway transportation services in the United States. The program enables innovations to be adapted and put into practice much more efficiently without spending scarce research funds to re-create advances already developed by other countries. Personal domestic and international networking, team dynamics, and the creation of domestic champions for promising foreign ideas are keystones of the scan process. Successful implementation in the U.S. of the world's best practices is the goal of the program.
The Scanning Program is established under 23 U.S.C. 506 to improve U.S. access to foreign highway innovations that could benefit the U.S. It is carried out by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in cooperation with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Transportation Research Board's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 20-36 "Highway Research and Technology - International Information Sharing." This cooperation includes shared financing, joint proposal and selection of scan topics and joint responsibility for implementing scan results.
The Scanning Program is conducted using FHWA's contractor and scan process. This process features the formation of expert teams (managers and specialists in a particular discipline) that travel abroad to consult with foreign counterparts in other countries where advances in transportation relevant to the United States are being made. Each scan focuses on a topic of high interest to the domestic transportation community and is led by a designated FHWA and AASHTO co-chair. Scan team members typically represent FHWA, State Departments of Transportation, local governments, transportation trade and research groups, the private sector, and academia.
After a scan is completed, team members evaluate findings and develop a comprehensive report, which is circulated throughout the U.S. highway transportation community. The scan team also develops an implementation plan, which summarizes the scan team's strategy for implementing the most significant and promising technologies and policies identified on the scan. In order to accelerate early implementation activities, the scan program supports scan teams when they return to the U.S. with both implementation expertise and funding.
Over 80 scans have been conducted to date, resulting in a wealth of information and benefits to the U.S. transportation community. Topics include the following:
Infrastructure – Asphalt and concrete pavements, asset management, composite and cable-stayed bridges, bridge pre-fabrication and movements, construction management, bridge scour, steel fabrication, soil nailing, load and resistance factor design, context-sensitive design, pavement preservation, contract administration, quiet pavements, superior materials, recycled materials, underground structures, and bridge coatings.
Operations – Freight policy, travel management, traffic incident response, winter maintenance, commercial vehicles, vehicle size and weight, intelligent transportation systems, work zone mobility and safety, lighting, and railroad crossings.
Safety – Safety audits, pedestrian and bicycle safety, safety management, signalized intersection safety, traffic safety information, and human factors.
Planning, Environment, and Realty – Intermodal transportation, innovative financing, right-of-way procurement, transportation organizations, sustainable development, wildlife ecology, and workforce development.
Policy and Administration – Innovative finance, international programs, document translation
