Preparing the Transportation Workforce for Emerging Technologies: Developing a Guide (2026)
Chapter: Front Matter
Preparing the
Transportation
Workforce for Emerging
Technologies
DEVELOPING A GUIDE
Britton Hammit
Kyla D’Sa
Samantha Anderson
Kimley-Horn
Boston, MA
Rhonda Young
Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA
Conduct of Research Report for NCHRP Project 20-102(20)
Submitted October 2025
NCHRP Web-Only Document 445
Preparing the Transportation Workforce for Emerging Technologies: Developing a Guide
© 2026 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state department of transportation (DOT) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
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The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) grants permission to reproduce written material in this publication for classroom and non-commercial purposes subject to the rights of any third parties and appropriate attribution. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply NAS, TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. For other uses of the written material, users must request permission from the National Academies Press.
DISCLAIMER
This material is based upon work supported by the FHWA under Agreement No. 693JJ32350025. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submission of the author(s). This material has not been edited by TRB.
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The Transportation Research Board is one of four centers of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 5,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.
Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 445
Monique R. Evans,Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab,Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Jennifer Libby Weeks,Senior Program Officer
Anthony P. Avery,Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes,Director of Publications
Brian Haefs,Associate Director of Publications
Janet M. McNaughton,Senior Editor
Jennifer J. Weeks,Publishing Projects Manager
NCHRP PROJECT 20-102(20) PANEL
Field of Special Projects
James Mahugh, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA (Chair)
Rich Granger, Ohio Department of Transportation, Columbus, OH
Lyn Hellegaard, Missoula Ravali Transportation Management Association, Missoula, MT
Dave L. Huft, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre, SD
Christopher L. Melson, Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, OR
Nadereh Moini, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Lyndhurst, NJ
Nikesh S. Patel, City of Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
Monica Jo Harwood Duncan, FHWA Liaison
Ray Murphy, FHWA Liaison
Contents
Conclusions and Suggested Research
Emerging Technologies in Transportation Industry
Workforce Challenges Associated with Emerging Technology
Chapter 3: Foundational Research
What We Heard: Emerging Topics and Challenges
Chapter 4: Workforce Gap Analysis
Workforce Gap Analysis Approach
Chapter 5: Guide Overview and Resources
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Suggested Research
Appendix A: Implementation Plan
NCHRP Web-Only Document 445 contains the conduct of research report for NCHRP Project 20-102(20) and accompanies NCHRP Research Report 1174: Preparing the Transportation Workforce for Emerging Technologies: A Guide. Readers can read or purchase NCHRP Research Report 1174 at nationalacademies.org/publications.
List of Figures
Figure 1: NCHRP 20-102(20) Research Approach
Figure 2: Gap Analysis Themes and Root Causes
Figure 3: Connections between different technologies and infrastructure
Figure 4: Emerging Transportation Technology Deployments
Figure 5: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Levels of Automation
Figure 6: NCHRP 20-102(20) Research Approach
Figure 7: Summary of Stakeholder Outreach
Figure 8: Factors influencing the ability for agencies to prepare their workforce
Figure 9: TRB Survey Responses - Workforce Development Needs (205 responses)
Figure 10: Industry and Organization Preparedness for New Technologies
Figure 11: Spectrum of Agency Adoption of Emerging Technologies
Figure 12: Top Three Themes and Root Causes
List of Tables
Table 1: Foundational Research Themes and Brief Descriptions
Table 2: Guide Resources and Descriptions
Table 3: Stakeholder Outreach ‘By-the-Numbers’
Table 4: Workforce Gap Analysis Emerging Themes
Table 5: Institutional Agility Root Causes and Workforce Gaps Matrix
Table 7: Fostering the Workforce Pipeline Gaps Matrix
Table 8: Outline of the Guide’s Main Chapters
Table 9: Institutional Agility Resources
Table 10: Institutional Agility Guide Resources
Table 11: Staffing Adaptability Resources
Table 12: Staffing Adaptability Guide Resources
Table 13: Workforce Pipeline Resources
Table 14: Workforce Pipeline Guide Resources
Acronyms
| AEVs | All-electric Vehicles |
| ATCMTD | Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Program |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence |
| BSM | Basic Safety Message (related to connected vehicles) |
| CAV | Connected and Autonomous Vehicles |
| DOT | Department of Transportation |
| EV | Electric Vehicles |
| FHWA | Federal Highway Administration |
| IOOs | Infrastructure Owners and Operators |
| IoT | Internet of Things |
| ITS | Intelligent Transportation Systems |
| ITS JPO | Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office |
| MaaS | Mobility as a Service |
| ML | Machine Learning |
| MoD | Mobility on Demand |
| NCHRP | National Cooperative Highway Research Program |
| NHI | National Highway Institute |
| NOCoE | National Operations Center of Excellence |
| OBUs | Onboard units (related to connected vehicles) |
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturers |
| PCB | Professional Capacity Building Program |
| ROW | Right of Way |
| RSUs | Roadside units (related to connected vehicles) |
| STRIDE | Summer Transportation Recruitment Internship for Diverse Employment |
| TMC | Transportation Management Center |
| TMC PFS | Transportation Management Center Pooled Fund Study |
| TNCs | Transportation Network Companies |
| TSMO | Transportation Systems Management and Operations |
| TOCs | Traffic Operation Centers |
| V2V | Vehicle-to-Vehicle |
| V2I | Vehicle-to-infrastructure |
