Policy statement 497 - Surface transportation research funding

Approved by the Transportation Policy Committee on April 9, 2024
Approved by the Public Policy and Practice Committee on May 15, 2024
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 18, 2024

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) advocates for increased federal, state, and local funding for surface transportation research. ASCE recommends the incorporation of the following principles and actions in the reauthorization of existing or adoption of new research and technology programs within the nation’s surface transportation legislation:

Critical Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) for National Goals: Acknowledge RD&T programs as essential for attaining national transportation objectives.
University Research Funding and Innovation: Support university research through the University Transportation Centers (UTC) program with a competitive selection process ensuring quality and fairness.
Research Excellence and Implementation: Ensure research programs adhere to the highest scientific and engineering standards throughout all phases, from priority-setting and awarding contracts to reviewing and implementing findings.
Strengthen Partnerships: Foster stronger collaborations between government entities, academic institutions, and private sectors to leverage a wide range of expertise and resources in tackling transportation challenges.
Sustainability through Collaborations: Maintain the research and technology component of the State Planning and Research (SP&R) program to support state-specific initiatives and encourage resource pooling for common interests, including collaboration with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and partnerships with private energy grid developers and distributors.
Commit to Open Access and Transparency: Encourage open access to research findings and methodologies to facilitate knowledge sharing and accelerate the adoption of best practices across the industry.
Enhance OST-R’s Role in Transportation Research: The Office of Research, Development, & Technology Programs and Activities (OST-R) should be endowed with a well-defined scope and responsibility, alongside adequate funding that goes beyond the current research funding provisions.
Evolving RD&T for Agile Innovation: Public RD&T initiatives must undergo thorough evaluation to identify and eliminate redundancies, while also seeking high-risk, high-reward transportation technologies and methods to expedite research outcomes without compromising on safety or quality.
Establish a U.S. Department of Transportation or National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicines Research Coordination Office: This office would serve as a coordination/resource/registration office to avoid duplication of research efforts and coordinate related research efforts.
Continuation of Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts program: This would facilitate faster transfer of proven research to the field and initiate similar programs in Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, and other federal transportation agencies.

Issue

Historically, funding for transportation research has been a mix of federal, state, and local resources, with significant funding coming from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. Over the past few decades, there have been concerns about the solvency of this fund relative to the growing needs for maintenance, repair, and expansion of the transportation infrastructure. Multiple Transportation Research Board (TRB) Special Reports (e.g., Report 261: The Federal Role in Highway Research and Technology, Report 313: Framing Surface Transportation Research for the Nation’s Future, Report 317: The Essential Federal Role in Highway Research and Innovation, Report 329: Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System) along with workshops like the 2024 Experimental Approaches to Improving Research Funding Programs, call for a clear directive for substantial reforms and enhancements in the funding of transportation research.

These reports collectively underscore the need for a robust emphasis on fundamental, long-term research and advocate for a more inclusive stakeholder engagement in research programs, the establishment of competitive, merit-based funding mechanisms, and the rigorous evaluation of research outcomes. Criticisms include (i) inadequate funding levels and a lack of flexibility in current research programs that hinders the ability to address national priorities effectively and efficiently; and (ii) the outdated funding decision mechanism that delays preparing and reviewing research proposals, causes insufficient diversity in the pools of applicants and awardees, and hampers obtain funding for potentially breakthrough and multidisciplinary research. The findings demonstrate the critical role of the federal government in spearheading research efforts that are critical for the advancement of the transportation infrastructure. Recommendations include (i) a stronger push toward competitive funding mechanisms, (ii) enhanced resource allocation for setting research agendas, (iii) conducting program reviews, (iv) facilitating the deployment of innovative practices, and (v) support transportation data collection and analysis.

Rationale

An increase in surface transportation research funding fosters partnerships among government, academia, and the private sector, and accelerates the transition of state-of-the-art research into practical implementations. This helps not only to tackle the immediate challenges facing surface transportation infrastructure but also to contribute to the creation of a transportation system that is adaptable, efficient, and capable of serving future generations. Research is essential to improving transportation corridor and construction zone safety, improving capacity of existing and planned facilities, and reducing life-cycle and maintenance costs of transportation facilities. The research expenditure is rational, as increased levels of funding for R&D activities are justified based on the generally high returns on research investments.

ASCE Policy Statement 497
First Approved in 2002