BACKGROUND

Roadway departures (also known as lane departures) on the rural road network account for one-third of traffic fatalities. Systemic application of proven roadway departure countermeasures, such as rumble strips, friction treatments, and clear zones, helps keep vehicles in their travel lanes, reduce the potential for crashes, and reduce the severity of those crashes that do occur. The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Reducing Rural Roadway Departures (FoRRRwD) Program initiative encourages agencies to reduce rural roadway departures on all public roads.

The FoRRRwD Program is supported by four pillars that work together to address lane departures.

• Addressing Rural Roadway Departures on All Public Roads - States must collaborate with local agencies to reduce rural roadway departures on all roads. Road ownership varies throughout the country, but arterials are typically under the jurisdiction of state DOTs, while collectors and roads functionally classified as local are more likely to be under the jurisdiction of others.
• Proven Countermeasures - FoRRRwD has three objectives for reducing the number or severity of rural lane departures: keep vehicles in the lane, reduce the potential for crashes if vehicles do leave their lane, and minimize severity if a crash does happen. Specific countermeasures apply to each objective.
• Systemic Approach to Rural Roadway Departures - A fundamental challenge on rural roads is that roadway departure crash locations are random and tend to change from year to year. It is not cost-effective to apply countermeasures where crashes already happened when they are unlikely to happen again at the same location in the near future.
• Safety Action Plans - Reducing rural roadway departure crashes requires an integrated, disciplined approach. Safety action plans help prioritize improvements, justify investments, communicate with stakeholders, and access funding.

The FHWA Research & Technology (R&T) evaluation program was initiated in 2013 to assess and communicate the value and effectiveness of FHWA R&T investment. The objective of the R&T evaluation program is to document the impact of the projects, demonstrate accountability to funders and policymakers, and identify lessons learned and best practices that can be applied to future projects/programs, thus completing the innovation lifecycle.  The Transportation Research Board (TRB), in collaboration with the FHWA, is overseeing the TRB/FHWA Program Evaluation (TFPE) to evaluate such programs.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to develop and execute an evaluation plan for the FHWA’s FoRRRwD Program to answer these fundamental questions:

• Efficiency: Are the FoRRRwD Program activities conducted with an appropriate use of resources, such as budget and staff time (e.g., research and implementation approach, funding level)?
• Implementation: Is the FoRRRwD Program being applied and/or adopted by the users, including state DOTs and local agencies? If yes, how is it being applied or adopted? What is the highest degree a local agency could implement? Are there local agencies that struggle to implement this program?
• Effectiveness: Is FoRRRwD Program achieving the intended goals and objectives (e.g., impact)? What datasets will be used to measure effectiveness?
• Cost-effectiveness: Does the value or benefit of achieving the FoRRRwD Program goals and objectives exceed the cost of FHWA producing them (e.g., return on investment and cost-benefit ratio)?
• Attribution: Is the FoRRRwD Program addressing the following FHWA Strategic Goals?
  • Safety: Make the transportation system safer for all people. Advance a future without transportation-related serious injuries and fatalities.
  • Economic strength and global competitiveness: Grow a sustainable economy. Invest in the transportation system to provide reliable and efficient access to resources, markets, and good-paying jobs to American workers and businesses.
  • Transformation: Design for the future. Invest in purpose-driven research and innovation to meet the challenges of the present and modernize a transportation system of the future that serves everyone today and in the future.
  • Organizational excellence: Strengthen this world-class organization. Advance FHWA's mission by establishing policies, processes, and an innovative culture to serve communities effectively and steward the public’s resources responsibly.

Accomplishment of the project objective will require at least the following tasks.

TASKS

Task 1. Prepare an Evaluation Scoping Report, presenting the FoRRRwD Program evaluation team’s understanding of the objective, likely measures of effectiveness, analysis activities, data needed for the evaluation, data sources, and budget for evaluation. 

Task 2. Prepare an Evaluation Plan, describing the evaluation strategy and specific tasks to be performed, planned calendar schedule, intermediate evaluation products, and the role and activities that each member of the evaluation team will have in the evaluation plan. Include a logic model of the FoRRRwD Program. Discuss the sample size of state, tribal, and local FoRRRwD Program projects and case studies to be included. 

Task 3. Execute the Evaluation Plan and prepare an Interim Report on the FoRRRwD Program evaluation. Prepared approximately midway through the Evaluation Plan, the Interim Report should document the evaluation team’s progress on the Evaluation Plan, the difficulties encountered in conducting the work, and any preliminary assessment supported by work accomplished so far. 

Task 4. Prepare a FoRRRwD Program Evaluation Report documenting the evaluation and presenting the results. Solicit comments from TRB and FHWA on the draft, prepare a memorandum responding to comments, and revise the draft as appropriate to prepare the final Project Evaluation Report. Recommendations shall be prepared and compiled separately for presentation to the Research and Technology Coordinating Committee (RTCC) and shall not be part of the final Project Evaluation Report. 

Task 5. Prepare briefing materials as appropriate and participate in an in-person meeting of the RTCC to present the final FoRRRwD Program Evaluation Report and recommendations. Discuss the evaluation and its findings. Prior to the RTCC meeting, present the materials to and participate in a virtual meeting with FHWA. The RTCC will review the final report and issue any recommendations to FHWA that RTCC deems appropriate in the form of a letter report.

STATUS: Proposals have been received in response to the RFP. The project panel will meet to select a contractor to perform the work.