VTRC - History

The Research Section


	Tilton E. Shelburne

The Virginia Transportation Research Council began in 1944 as the Research Section of the Virginia Department of Highway’s Division of Tests, with a budget of $20,000. Tilton E. Shelburne, formerly a Research Engineer at the Joint Highway Research Project at Purdue University, was chosen as the first head of research; the initial staff consisted only of Mr. Shelburne and a secretary.

At first, the activities of the Research Section were limited to field studies. Early research projects primarily involved materials studies (such as soils, aggregates, portland cement, bituminous concrete, bituminous mixtures, and stabilized mixtures), although other projects went beyond traditional materials testing and research.

The Virginia Council of Highway Investigation and Research

On November 1, 1948, officials of the Department of Highways and the University of Virginia finalized an agreement establishing a cooperative research unit, to take effect early the following year. On February 1, 1949, the Research Section, Division of Tests ceased to exist, and evolved into a new entity, the Virginia Council of Highway Investigation and Research (now the Virginia Transportation Research Council), headquartered at the University of Virginia. In the early years of operation, the Research Council focused exclusively on materials. This research led to the establishment of standards for skid resistance and major advancements in the types of materials and construction techniques used to build highways.

The Virginia Highway Research Council

In January 1966, the original 1948 agreement between the Council and the University of Virginia was modified, with several significant changes. The lengthy name of the Virginia Council of Highway Investigation and Research was shortened to the Virginia Highway Research Council. The Administration Board, charged with establishing policy “in all matters pertaining to


	First Administration Board and Advisory Members

personnel, finances, facilities and the research program” was enlarged, with one additional member being appointed by the Highway Commissioner and another by the President of the University. Another new provision allowed the Board to appoint “a Research Advisory Committee, or Committees, at its discretion, to assist in the formation of plans and policies.”

As the scope of the Council’s activities broadened, we added research into economics, traffic management, safety, maintenance, structures, environmental and historical concerns. By 1970, the Council’s research projects ranged from traditional materials research to developing methods for preparing environmental impact statements and establishing standards for constructing the first noise barriers in Virginia.

By the last half of the 1960s, the Council had grown to the extent that it could no longer fit into its Thornton Hall quarters at the University of Virginia, with the result that the Council negotiated with U.Va. and the Highway Department to build a new facility on the slopes of Observatory Hill on the western edge of the U.Va.grounds.

The construction of a separate, modern building wholly dedicated to the Research Council was a radical departure from previous housing of the operation: the new 42,000 square foot structure, completed at a cost of $1.3 million, contained space for over a hundred employees, laboratories, and a library, all under one roof. Although he did not live to see its construction, it was appropriate that the new building was named after the man who, more than anyone else, had shaped the Research Council. The Tilton E. Shelburne Building was completed in 1973.

Along with the new building, the Council got a new title in the first half of the 70s: with the Departmental name change to the Department of Highways & Transportation came the rechristening of the Council to the Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council in 1974. The 1948 agreement with U.Va., modified in 1966, was revised again in 1975 to confirm the relationship and meet present conditions.

The scope of Council studies would broaden tremendously during the 70s. The new decade also brought a completely new emphasis to the Council: that of environmental research. In response to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Department’s increased


	Infrared Thermography of Bridge Decks, 1970's

sensitivity to the environment, the Council saw an explosion of environmentally-related projects in the early 1970s, which led to an unprecedented amount of work by non-engineers at the Council.

A sampling of Council studies during the 1980s shows a continuation of the same trends that started during the 70s, with an ever-increasing emphasis upon technology and the environment. Materials and engineering research continued, but with changes in scope, and there is no clearer illustration of this than the end of the venerable Council skid testing program in 1984 (although the Council continued to oversee District skid tests for a few more years, until 1988). In 1982, members of the Council’s Safety Section served as staff support for Governor’s Task Group on drunken driving (legislation passed in 1984), and also provided staff support for studies on mandatory seat belt use--legislation that was finally passed in 1987. The Safety Section continued to provide research support for the Division of Highway Safety, which functioned as an independent unit until 1983, when the General Assembly merged it into the Department of Motor Vehicles, creating a Transportation Safety Administration within the DMV. Thereafter, the Safety Section provided research support to this administrative unit within the DMV, and received DMV funding for its operations.

In 1986, the Council’s Technology Transfer Center was established, funded by allocations from the federal Rural Technical Assistance Program and from VDOT, part of a national network of technology transfer centers which provide technology information and support services to all transportation agencies in the host state.

Virginia Transportation Research Council


	The Smart Travel Lab

With the renaming of the Virginia Department of Highways & Transportation to the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Council received its current name of Virginia Transportation Research Council in 1987. In the 1990's, innovations at the Research Council continued, and were exemplified by efforts in establishing a new Asphalt Binder Lab and taking a leading role among states in implementation of SuperPAVE. Also, the Research Council collaborated in the establishment of Virginia's Smart Travel Lab, built in concert with the University of Virginia and staffed jointly by the Council and U.Va. The state of the art laboratory is tied directly to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s major traffic control systems, the Lab trains and provides support to traffic control operators around the state.

As has been the case throughout the Council’s history, contacts and cooperation with other research organizations and agencies are a major part of the Council, with Council staff continuing to serve on various committees of organizations such as the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Concrete Institute, American Society for Testing and Materials, Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. There is extensive involvement in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the Strategic Highway Research Program, plus numerous organizational memberships.

Technical assistance (informal or on-site consulting between Council researchers and other individuals or organizations) harks back to one of the Council’s original objectives: to communicate and cooperate with other researchers and groups. Technical assistance has formed a major part of the Council’s work, accounting for a hefty percentage of many Council researchers’ schedules. Inquiries can come from a variety of sources: from other Council staff, from the Department, private citizens, other state agencies, the legislature, the Governor’s office, federal agencies, or academic or private organizations.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council has played a leading role in innovation for transportation in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the country for over 50 years. As the transportation profession and VDOT’s responsibility have become more complicated, the Research Council's research program has played a key role in applying the most advanced technology to transportation.