This article defines Transportation Asset Management (TAM) as a systematic process of operating, maintaining, and upgrading physical assets cost-effectively. TAM combines engineering and mathematical analyses with sound business practice and economic theory. State efforts to adopt TAM include Michigan’s TAM Council and Indiana’s Highway Asset Management System software program. This article also describes research initiatives sponsored by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, the Midwest Regional University Transportation Center, and private sector firms. Finally, this article summarizes the main articles in this focus issue.
MadisonT he passing of Dr. Michael C. "Mike" Robinson at his home in Vicksburg, Mississippi last November was a tragically premature end to the outstanding career of one of the preeminent public works historians of our time. But his work will leave a lasting impact on the many others who came to share his vision of the ways in which history and the historian can contribute to the practice of public works-its planning, policy, and management.At the center of Mike Robinson's view of historical causation was the individual. Robinson saw people-their knowledge and character, their decisions and actions-as the key factors shaping history, and he tailored his approach to public works history accordingly.He understood that most public works engineers are self-effacing, preferring their work to speak for them; as a result, their profession has traditionally had a weak historical identity. Looking more toward the future than the past, they have had few role models and even fewer heroes. Mike Robinson's work shed light on his heroes, those public works engineers who blended exceptional technical skills with the highest integrity, humanity, and vision. For him, their selfless dedication and professionalism and their ability to motivate others to community service made them heroes. And Robinson held in the highest esteem those few engineers who also had a strong sense of history, who understood how the knowledge of the past could enable them to be more effective public works officials. In his personal pantheon were such figures as
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.