FHWA Will Repeal Ban On Patented or Proprietary Materials

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Sept. 26 announced a landmark decision that will give states the flexibility to use federal highway funds to deploy patented or proprietary technologies on transportation projects. The change will take effect Oct. 28.

The agency formally repealed the 1916-era rule banning utilization of such technologies.

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) began petitioning for the change in 2018, after researching the issue for years. "The rule has prohibited state transportation agencies from utilizing patented or proprietary materials, specifications or processes on federal-aid highway projects, subject to some narrow exceptions and potential waivers. It has had the practical effect of hindering innovation and development of potentially life-saving technologies for use throughout the nation’s highway and bridge system," ARTBA said in a statement.

FHWA said its decision is intended to “promote innovation by empowering states to choose which state-of-the-art materials, tools, and products best meet their needs for the construction and upkeep of America’s transportation infrastructure.”

John Hillman, creator of the Hybrid Composite Beam, praised the development. "The potential for accelerating innovation in our industry has never been greater," he says.

Aileen Cho, ENR's senior transportation editor, is a native of Los Angeles and recovering New Yorker. She studied English and theater at Occidental College, where a reporter teaching the one existing journalism course encouraged her to apply for the LA Times Minority Editing Training Program. Her journalism training led to her first stories about transportation, working as a cub reporter with the Greenwich Time. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. Many of her experiences with engineers and contractors have inspired material for her alternative theater productions way, way off Broadway. For ENR, Aileen has traveled the world, clambering over bridges in China, touring an airport in Abu Dhabi and descending into dark subway tunnels in New York City. She is a regular at transportation conferences, where she finds that airport and mass transit engineers really know how to have fun. Aileen is always eager to hop on another flight because there are so many interesting projects and people, and she gets tired of throwing her cats off her computer in her home office in Long Beach, California. She is a very conflicted Mets/Dodgers fan.

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