VAA Virginia Asphalt Spring/Summer 2021

VAASPHALT.ORG 09 GETTING TO KNOW VTRC’S DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH: CATHERINE C. MCGHEE Providing a safe, efficient, and effective transportation system requires partnerships across a diverse set of stakeholders. We don’t always see things the same way but at the end of the day, we all have the same destination in mind. see the future of transportation being impacted by CAVs—both pas- senger vehicles and trucking? MCGHEE→ I am a huge supporter of connected automation, but at the same time, I’m realistic about how soon we’ll see large numbers of fully automated vehicles moving around on our roadways. It turns out that the driving task includes many, many individual decisions and judgments that are not at all simple to convert into lines of code. As a result, we’ll likely see automation rolling out in places where those vehicles can be physically separated from tradi- tional, human-driven vehicles. For example, dedicated truck or bus lanes will provide an opportunity for earlier deployments, as could managed lanes for passenger vehicles. We’ve all seen an increase in e-commerce during the pandemic, which has led to an increased interest in automated delivery vehicles and automated ride-sharing vehicles. At one point, I think we all had in our mind a system that would see dramatically fewer crashes and less congestion as automated systems took over for human drivers. I still believe in the potential safety benefits (automated systems don’t get distracted!), but I’m less convinced we’ll see significant reductions in congestion, at least in the early days. The potential for automation to draw commuters away from traditional transit is real. Time will tell. VAA→ To wrap up, what is one thing people who don’t know you will find interesting? MCGHEE→ For many years, I’ve been run- ning with a group of women. We all work full time, and when we started, we had children at home. Because of the many demands on our time, we started doing our weekday runs at 5:10 am. Three days a week, we head out with our flashlights and run the back roads of Madison County. We’ve seen all kinds of wildlife and rescued more than one abandoned kitten along the way. Since the pandemic started and my commute most days is reduced to a walk out the back door to my she-shed (custom remodeled garden shed complete with a deck for working outside when the weather is nice!), I’ve had more time for morning runs. In addition to my flashlight runs with the group, I’ve added solo runs on other days and have a running streak that currently stands at 215 days. Check back with me to see how long it lasts! VAA→ Any other thoughts you would like to share with our readers? MCGHEE→ Without a doubt, providing a safe, efficient, and effective transportation system requires partnerships across a diverse set of stakeholders. We don’t always see things the same way or agree on the exact steps to get us where we are going, but at the end of the day, we all have the same destina- tion in mind. The partnerships the Research Council continues to have with the Virginia Asphalt Association and its members are vital to the progress we’ve made in increasing our roadways’ service life, safety, and perfor- mance. I thank you for all you have done and look forward to all we’ll accomplish together in the years to come. Cathy McGhee and Mike Dudley at Virginia Pavement Research and Innovation Symposium Cathy’s Running Group