| VIDEO | AUDIO |
| OPEN WITH A CAR DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, THEN CUT TO A
SHOT OF A LAB, THEN CUT TO A TRUCK GOING OVER A BRIDGE, THEN TO A DIFFERENT LAB, THEN
TO TRAFFIC ON AN INTERSTATE, AND SO ON. |
SOUND: Open with upbeat music. |
| MONTAGE OF DIFFERENT DRIVING SHOTS. |
ANNCR: There are nearly 4 million miles of road in the
United States today... over ½ a million bridges. Increased
usage demands improving their efficiency and safety. Yet,
tighter transportation budgets demand practical, cost-effective
solutions. How do you close this gap? |
BEAUTY SHOT OF CAMPUS. BELOW,
SUPER GRAPHIC:
THE TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER.
CHANGE GRAPHIC TO READ:
FOCUS ON INNOVATION. |
SOUND: Music up and under. |
| LAYERED SHOTS OF SNOWPLOW AND LAB, MIXED
WITH GRAPHIC SHOWING CHEMICAL FORMULA FOR
CALCIUM MAGNESIUM ACETATE. |
ANNCR: Here in McLean, Virginia, these scientists have
applied years of research to develop a host of new chemical
compounds. If you apply them to a road, just before a winter
storm hits, ice will not bond to the pavement. The ice can
then be easily removed from the road, making winter travel
safer... longer. |
| LAYERED SHOT OF BRIDGE, MIXED WITH SCIENTIST
TESTING TOOL, MIXED WITH CLOSEUPS OF THE TOOL'S READOUT. |
ANNCR: In another lab, a team of engineers is answering an
age old question: How do you perform a thorough bridge
inspection while leaving the structure intact? A newly
designed tool combines magnetic field measurements with
ultrasonic methods. Since cracks will cause a change in the
magnetic field, the device allows the operator to quickly and
precisely detect hidden and potentially disastrous steel
fractures. |
| LAYERED SHOT OF LAB, MIXED WITH SHOT OF
ROAD SIGNS, MIXED WITH SHOT OF DRIVING ON ROAD IN BAD WEATHER AT NIGHT. |
ANNCR: In yet another lab, researchers are studying the
effects of retroreflectivity. Future highway signs and road
markings using these new reflective properties will give
drivers the opportunity, in effect, to see further down the road
- at night and in bad weather. |
| MONTAGE OF PEOPLE SHOTS. |
Welcome to the world of our highway's problem solvers.
Welcome to the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center -
the nation's most advanced surface transportation research,
development and training facility. |
LAB SHOTS. BRING IN GRAPHIC OVERLAY:
MISSION: INVESTIGATE NEW TECHNOLOGIES |
As part of the Federal Highway Administration's research and
technology program, the Center performs a dual mission: it
investigates new technologies to improve the safety,
efficiency and operation of our national highway system, |
CHANGE GRAPHIC OVERLAY TO:
TRANSFER RESULTS |
and it helps transfer the results to state, local, and
international highway communities. In effect, this is where
state- of-the-art becomes state-of-the-practice. |
| LAYERED LAB SHOTS WITH GRAPHIC OVERLAY OF
ALL 40 LAB NAMES |
With more than 40 indoor and outdoor laboratories and
support facilities at its disposal, the center conducts ground-breaking research throughout its 44 acre site. |
| SHOT OF WIND TUNNEL. |
Here you can find a wind tunnel that will mimic the effect of
damaging winds on suspension bridges... |
| ELECTRON MICROSCOPE |
Or an electron microscope probing deep into the materials
that can greatly reduce the effects of corrosion, and aging on
our infrastructure. |
| FIBER OPTIC CABLE INSTALLATION |
You'll see fiber optic cables being embedded in pavements
and bridge decks to measure stress and |
| HYDRAULIC TANKS |
A giant hydraulic flume used to analyze new anti-scouring
designs. |
| LOADING FACILITY |
Outside, you'll find a punishing accelerated loading facility
that can test pavements for 20 years worth of wear in just five
months |
| CRASH TEST |
And an even more punishing crash test laboratory. |
| HUMAN FACTORS LAB WITH RESEARCHER "DRIVING" SIMULATED CAR. |
While most of these laboratories are used to investigate a
road's structure, how a driver will act and react with respect
to that road is just as important to many of the center's
researchers. They investigate the human factors - the driver's
understanding and response to highway signs, traffic
congestion, lighting, and roadside markings. |
