Research on transportation and environmental issues is conducted by a wide range of agencies and organizations, including state and federal transportation agencies, University Transportation Centers, the Transportation Research Board (including the National Cooperative Highway Research Program), and others. Types of research include:

Basic Research
Exploratory; results applicable in transportation, but not always oriented to everyday practitioner use; foundation for developing practical tools.
Applied Research
Helps practitioners translate basic research into innovative solutions to problems; includes guidance documents, best practices summaries, analytic tools, etc.
Immediate Research
Quick turnaround; often serves pressing policy needs, or summarizes results of other research.

The Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO provides information for practitioners on research programs and opportunities.

NCHRP 25-25

NCHRP Project 25-25 supports improvements to analytical methods, decision support tools, procedures, and techniques employed by practitioners to support statewide and metropolitan transportation planning, programming, and development.

TERI Database

The Transportation and Environmental Research Ideas (TERI) database is a central storehouse for tracking and sharing new transportation and environmental research ideas.

View the DatabaseSuggest a Research Idea

TRB Committees