For more than 20 years, the FHWA has led the coordination of opportunities for collaboration, technology deployment, and best practice information sharing among transportation hydraulic engineers and practitioners. In recent years, FHWA has partnered with the AASHTO Technical Committee on Hydrology and Hydraulics and the TRB AFB60 Subcommittee to coordinate the opportunities. These coordinated opportunities have improved the state of the practice of transportation hydraulic engineers and practitioners.

1. Provide opportunities for communication and information sharing among state hydraulic engineers, federal agencies, and national technical organizations (AASHTO TCHH and TRB AFB60). 2. Provide a technology and knowledge exchange forum to enhance the practical knowledge of member states concerning transportation hydraulic engineering, including advanced modeling technologies, FHWA initiatives, and best practices.

The Steering Committee will serve as lead for the execution of this Pooled Fund project. The principle tasks are: 1. Coordinate web-meetings amongst committee members and with host state to plan biennial conference. 2. Select Host State for Biennial National Hydraulic Engineering Conference. 3. Solicit abstracts and select viable presentations that will communicate latest research and best practices on transportation hydraulic engineering. 4. Develop workshops to train conference attendees. 5. Develop Field Trips to highlight best practices in host state. 6. Facilitate AASHTO TCHH Meeting. This meeting in conjunction with the Biennial conference discusses current state of the practice and issues and potential research initiatives. 7. Facilitate TRB AFB60/AFB65 Meetings. This meeting in conjunction with the Biennial conference discusses current state of the practice and issues and potential research initiatives. 8. Facilitate conference – including registration, name badges, etc. 9. Record conference presentations for post-conference training.

The first conference is proposed for August 2018, with subsequent conferences tentatively planned for 2020 and 2022. The required commitment per year for a state is $500. Commitments may be used for registration fees and travel expenses for one or more of the conferences for one or more staff, as funds permit. Conference Planning Committees: For each of the conferences, a Conference Planning Committee will be formed by AASHTO TCHH, TRB AFB60, TRB AFB65, FHWA, and the host state. Deliverables will include quarterly report updates, at least one webinar as a follow-up to each conference, and a final summary report of each conference. The Federal Highway Administration will serve as the coordinator for this pooled-fund project. State DOT's will be solicited for their interest and participation.