Temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, freezing index, and other environmental conditions significantly influence the performance of both flexible and rigid pavements. These factors affect the mechanical behavior of pavement layer materials under traffic loading and environmental stresses, and they also play a critical role in the accuracy of performance models.

NCHRP Research Report 1151: Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Model: Enhancements of Climatic Inputs, was released this week by TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program. The report explores improvements to climatic inputs and related models. The U.S. data-extraction locations used for NASA's model are pictured above and are useful to transportation agencies for implementation in mechanistic empirical pavement design.

A triple semitrailer smoothly navigates a roundabout on State Route 140, just east of White City, Oregon. A feature article in TRB's quarterly magazine, TR News (Issue 354, Summer 2025), details TRB’s latest Guide for Roundabouts. The report updates research and practices for implementing circular intersections such as the one above, which has reduced severe crash risk at a high-speed rural highway junction. The TR News article celebrates the guide as the culmination of more than 25 years of applied research to advance roundabout planning and design.

As state departments of transportation are investing in advanced highway-construction solutions for communications, asset management, and human resources, they are aiming to leverage AI and cloud-based big data tools. However, traditional procurement processes and methods, focused on individual purchases rather than long-term goals, often fall short in addressing the growing complexity of these systems and evolving customer needs, creating challenges in acquiring technological products and services.

NCHRP Research Report 1145: Practices for Transportation Agency Procurement and Management of Advanced Technologies, from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, is a guide with successful strategies and practices for procuring new and innovative transportation system technologies.

Honor excellence in the transportation industry! Nominate a candidate for any one of TRB's most prestigious awards:

• the Sharon D. Banks Humanitarian Leadership in Transportation Award
• the W.N. Carey, Jr. Distinguished Service Award
• the Roy W. Crum Distinguished Service Award
• the Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award

Submit your nomination by July 31.

Plus:

• The quality of research presented at the 2026 TRB Annual Meeting depends on paper reviewers. All new and returning reviewers must update their profiles with the new classifications in the paper review platform by August 1 to be eligible to review. You must also select your areas of expertise using a revised classification system. Find a one-minute video guide with instructions on how to update your classifications to be eligible to review.
• You can submit your full paper to present at the TRB Annual Meeting now! The deadline is August 1, but the system can slow down during intense site traffic. Submissions still in progress after August 1 will be removed. Successful submissions receive a paper number and confirmation email. Contact TRBAMPapers@nas.edu with questions about submissions.
• If you'll be entering the United States to attend the TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 11 - 15, 2026, now is a great time to begin the visa application process! Approvals can take time and requirements may have changed.