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Highway Research Center (HRC)

FRAZIER PARKER, DIRECTOR

The General W.K. Wilson, Jr., bridge on interstate 65 over the Mobile River delta. (Artist's rendering courtesy of the Alabama DOT; bridge design by Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff Co. of Kansas City, Kansas.)

Researchers in the multidisciplinary Highway Research Center (HRC) come from the Departments of Civil, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering, Agronomy and Soils, and Education. The HRC does applied and basic research to solve problems in the planning, design, construction, maintenance, management and operation of a highway or transportation system, especially traffic analysis and control, safety, foundations, bridges, hydraulics/hydrology, pavements, materials, management systems, and environmental issues.

Key laboratories for highway engineering are the Geotechnical, Pavement/Materials, and Structures Laboratories. Researchers in the Geotechnical Laboratory are developing a pile-loading test tank to test piles in various in-service conditions. The Pavements/Materials Laboratory has state-of-the-art binder, aggregate, and mix specimen preparation and testing equipment. The Structures Laboratory has an MTS test system that is mounted to a strong reaction floor so that static, dynamic, and fatigue loadings can be applied to full-scale bridge components.

For more information:

• Highway Research Center

Internal Reports

• A STUDY OF MANUAL VS AUTOMATED PAVEMENT CONDITION SURVEYS 
  
• A Synthesis of Current Practices and Policies for Shoulder Rumble Strips 
  
• ANALYSIS OF CROSS-MEDIAN CRASHES ON ALABAMA DIVIDED PARTIAL CONTROL OF ACCESS ARTERIALS 
  
• EFFECT OF SUPERPAVE DEFINED RESTRICTED ZONE ON HOT MIX ASPHALT PERFORMANCE 
  
• Evaluation of Best Management Practices for Controlling Runoff and Erosion at Transportation Construction Sites 
  
• Evaluation of Best Management Practices for Mitigating Impacts of Highways on Stream and Wildlife Ecology 
  
• Feasibility of Externally Bonded FRP Reinforcement for Repair of Cracked Prestressed Concrete Girders, I-565, Huntsville, Alabama
  
• Influence of Hot Mix Asphalt Macrotexture on Skid Resistance 
  
• MECHANICALLY STABILIZED EARTH (MSE) REINFORCEMENT TENSILE STRENGTH FROM TESTS OF GEOTEXTILE REINFORCED SOIL 
  
• PERFORMANCE OF RUBBLIZED PAVEMENT SECTIONS IN ALABAMA 
  
• Rapid Repair of Bridge Deck Punching Shear Damage from Rolls of Steel Breaking Loose From Transporting Trucks 
  
• Soil-Structure Interaction for Deeply Buried Corrugated PVC and Steel Pipes 
  
• The Effect of Test Cylinder Size on the Compressive Strength of Sulfur Capped Concrete Specimens 
  
• Tieback Wall Design and Construction