Nchrp Report 643

Explores a business plan for the development of Transportation Knowledge Networks (TKNs) in the United States. The business plan defines ten key products and services to be provided to transportation practitioners by the regional TKNs, with support from a national coordination function. TKNs are defined as "decentralized, managed networks linking information providers to users wherever they are located."

This report is a record of the formation, major activities and accomplishments of the Transportation Library Connectivity pooled fund study, TPF-5(105), from its approval by FHWA in 2005 through its fifth and final annual meeting in September 2010. Some 50 state departments of transportation, 600 transit agencies and nearly 400 metropolitan planning organizations generate a staggering amount of valuable information, yet the transportation sector lacks a systematic approach to effectively manage this information. This challenge has been well-documented in reports such as the Federal Highway Administration's Value of Information and Information Services; the National Cooperative Highway Research Program's Scoping Study for a National Strategic Plan for Transportation Information Management; and the Transportation Research Board's Special Report 284, Transportation Knowledge Networks: A Management Strategy for the 21st Century. The Transportation Library Connectivity pooled fund study was formed against the backdrop of these challenges and developments. By working together more closely and more formally as transportation agency libraries, members improved services to their customers and also enhanced their readiness to embrace the planned policy changes recommended by TRB SR 284 for inclusion in the next surface transportation funding act. During its five years, study membership grew from 11 members in nine states to 25 members in 22 states. A new pooled fund study, to be led by Missouri DOT, is being formed to build upon the achievements of this study.

At head of title: National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 568: Riprap Design Criteria, Recommended Specifications, and Quality Control examines design guidelines; recommended material specifications and test methods; recommended construction specifications; and construction, inspection, and quality control guidelines for riprap for a range of applications, including revetment on streams and riverbanks, bridge piers and abutments, and bridge scour countermeasures such as guide banks and spurs.