TY - RPRT AN - 01613756 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Horizontal Curve Virtual Peer Exchange PY - 2014/06/17 SP - 6p AB - This report summarizes the Horizontal Curve Virtual Peer Exchange sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety’s Roadway Safety Professional Capacity Building Program on June 17, 2014. This virtual peer exchange was the fourth in a series of FHWA-sponsored peer exchanges on horizontal curves and roadway departures. The FHWA Office of Safety and FHWA Resource Center convened representatives from eleven States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming; several Tribal and county agencies; and the Western and Central Federal Lands Highway Divisions. The purpose of this event was to facilitate the exchange of information between States regarding approaches to safety on horizontal curves and to explore opportunities for collaboration between FHWA, State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), and Tribal and local agencies to improve safety on horizontal curves. Key themes that emerged included the advantages of high friction surface treatments (HFST) and systematic signing treatments; challenges related to the implementation of horizontal curve safety projects; opportunities for innovative pilot programs; and strategies for locating horizontal curves and prioritizing curve safety projects. KW - Friction course KW - Highway curves KW - Highway safety KW - Implementation KW - Peer exchange KW - Ran off road crashes KW - State departments of transportation KW - Traffic signs UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/59000/59400/59499/horizcurves_June2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1425508 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535704 AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service TI - Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Interagency Transportation Assistance Group: Transportation Observations, Considerations and Recommendations PY - 2014/06/17 SP - 38p AB - In March 2014, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) hosted a Transportation Assistance Group at the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. The purpose of the meeting was to identify transportation issues impacting the refuge, ways to improve access to and within the refuge, as well as opportunities to address the issues raised and potential funding sources for their implementation. This report summarizes recommendations for coordinated local and regional planning, and implementation related to bicycle, pedestrian and transit routes connecting the local communities to the refuge. KW - Bicycling KW - Financing KW - Great Dismal Swamp KW - Pedestrians KW - Public transit KW - Recommendations KW - Regional planning KW - Transportation planning KW - Virginia UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52200/52276/GDS_TAG_Report_FINAL_2014_07_21.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1319589 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530895 AU - Department of Transportation TI - FAA Faces Significant Obstacles in Advancing the Implementation and Use of Performance-Based Navigation Procedures PY - 2014/06/17 SP - 23p AB - To date, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented over 1,000 Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures, but airline representatives have expressed concerns with the procedures’ benefits and timeliness. In response to a September 2009 Federal Government-industry task force report, FAA conducted a study of its internal processes for developing and implementing flight procedures. The study, known as the NAV Lean Project, was published in September 2010 and established 21 recommendations to improve and streamline FAA’s policies and processes for developing and implementing flight procedures. FAA committed to improving the process and reported in June 2011 that it would take an estimated 5 years—until the year 2016—to implement all 21 recommendations. Concerned with FAA’s efforts in this area, the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation requested that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) assess the Agency’s progress in providing “high-value” Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedures—those that provide measurable benefits to airspace users such as shorter flight paths, improved on-time aircraft arrival rates, and greater fuel savings. The Chairmen also requested that OIG assess FAA’s progress with streamlining its processes for flight procedure development. Accordingly, OIG assessed (1) FAA’s progress in providing high-value PBN routes and procedures that encourage widespread use, and (2) the degree to which the NAV Lean Project is meeting the demand for improved flight procedure development processes. KW - Air traffic control KW - Aircraft pilotage KW - Implementation KW - National Airspace System KW - Navigation systems KW - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/FAA%20PBN%20Flight%20Procedures%20Audit%20Report%5E06-17-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316028 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01552132 AU - New Hampshire Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - New Hampshire DOT Transportation Asset Management Implementation Plan PY - 2014/06/16/Final Report SP - 47p AB - This plan was developed in four steps. The first step was performance of a strategic self-assessment. As part of this process, forty-four Agency staff participated in an online Gap Analysis survey (AMEC, 2013) based on the American Society of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Transportation Asset Management Guide, Volume 1 (AASHTO, 2002). The second step included in-depth face-to-face interviews with internal stakeholders to drill down into the results of the online survey and inform the Gap Analysis process (AMEC, 2014). The third step was an asset management workshop with Major Staff and Executive Staff that served as a forum to formulate and discuss New Hampshire Department of Transportation's (NHDOT’s) asset management vision and goals resulting in development of specific prioritized initiatives for transportation asset management (TAM) implementation (AMEC, 2014). Finally, the draft implementation plan was developed, reviewed, and presented to Executive Staff. The input received during this step was incorporated into this final TAM Implementation Plan. The following sections of this plan contain the building blocks NHDOT will use to implement the TAM method of doing business within the Agency. The report is organized into 5 sections including: Section 2 introduces the topic of TAM. This material is adopted from the TAM Guide that was developed through National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 20-24(11), Asset Management Guidance for Transportation Agencies. (AASHTO, 2002); Section 3 summarizes current asset management practice at NHDOT using the state-of-the-practice asset management framework in the AASHTO TAM Guide as a benchmark; Section 4 establishes a vision and goals for integrating TAM in the Agency business model; Section 5 recommends an asset management work plan with practical implementation steps that support the vision and goals. KW - Asset management KW - Implementation KW - New Hampshire Department of Transportation UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/gap/nhgap.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341308 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529445 AU - Gayah, Vikash V AU - Stieffenhofer, Krae AU - Shankar, Venky AU - Pennsylvania State University, University Park AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - How Can We Maximize Efficiency and Increase Person Occupancy at Overcrowded Park and Rides? PY - 2014/06/16/Final Report SP - 135p AB - This study was conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration. The purpose of this project was to provide the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), King County Metro Transit, and Sound Transit with more detailed information on the use of 17 of the busiest park and ride facilities in the Central Puget Sound Region. These park and ride lots, like a large fraction of lots across the region, are currently operating at or near capacity. The agencies would like to obtain detailed information on their use to inform potential parking management strategies in the future. In particular, the long-term objective is to eventually implement strategies to increase the number of people served by the limited parking spaces. Two empirical data collection efforts were performed. The first was an on-site audit of the existing use of 10 of the 17 facilities. The second data collection effort was a user intercept survey administered both in-person at all 17 lots and electronically to the set of registered vanpool users at these facilities and those who could not complete the survey on site. The survey collected more detailed information from individual park and ride users, including trip purpose, origin-destination information, mode of entry and exit, reasons for using park and rides, and user reactions to potential strategies that WSDOT and the other agencies are considering to help increase person efficiency of these lots. The report details a few major findings from this work. The data suggest that the following strategies might be successful at improving person efficiency at overcrowded park and ride facilities: (1) implement parking fees for single-occupant vehicles to disincentivize their use; (2) dedicate a portion of parking spaces at each lot for multi-occupant vehicle use only; (3) revise local transit service near these locations to increase the fraction of drivers that have feasible transit options to the park and rides; and (4) examine the use of parking at available lots near the park and ride facilities for overflow or single-occupant vehicle parking. KW - Origin and destination KW - Park and ride KW - Parking KW - Parking facilities KW - Parking fees KW - Puget Sound Region KW - Ridesharing KW - Surveys KW - Trip purpose UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/PSU-2013-04.pdf UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/830.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313588 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530880 AU - Heaslip, Kevin AU - Bosworth, Ryan AU - Barnes, Ryan AU - Sobh, Ali Soltani AU - Thomas, Michael AU - Song, Ziqi AU - Utah State University, Logan AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Mountain Plains Consortium TI - Effects of Natural Gas Vehicles and Fuel Prices on Key Transportation Economic Metrics PY - 2014/06/15/Final Report SP - 114p AB - The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for planning, operating, and maintaining a highway network consisting of over 18,500 lane-miles of highway. Planning and building highways is, by nature, a long-range enterprise. It requires making many assumptions about future travel demand as well as estimating future fuel tax revenue. In recent years the growing uncertainty about oil prices and availability has made long-range transportation planning even more challenging. Rather than relying on trend extrapolation, this study uses market mechanisms to shed light on key long-range transportation planning assumptions. Although WSDOT is pursuing a variety of alternative fuels and energy sources including Electric Vehicles (EV), biofuels, propane, natural gas, etc. and their respective infrastructures, this study focuses primarily on natural gas. In particular, this study will help WSDOT assess the likelihood natural gas will substitute for petroleum fuels and estimate the impacts changes in fuel prices will have on travel demand, fuel consumption, Greenhouse Gas emissions, and fuel tax revenues. The results of the modeling show that the potential impacts of Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) have the potential to have effects on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), emissions, and fuel tax revenue. The effects of these vehicles are muted by the current lack of natural gas vehicles in the fleet. The usage of natural gas vehicles is limited to fleet vehicles and vehicles with high mileage usage. Challenges with widespread integration currently include the increased upfront capital costs associated with vehicles with natural gas, decreased power for heavy vehicles, and range anxiety in locations without developed natural gas fueling infrastructure. Currently the NGV market in the state of Washington is hampered by these factors. The modeling and analysis provided in the document can be used to analyze changing conditions in the NGV market and the effects on key transportation metrics. KW - Alternate fuels KW - Compressed natural gas KW - Economic impacts KW - Fuel consumption KW - Fuel taxes KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Market assessment KW - Natural gas KW - Natural gas vehicles KW - Pollutants KW - Travel demand KW - Vehicle miles of travel KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/829.1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52141/829.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316012 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01594435 AU - Zinke, Scott AU - Mahoney, James AU - Morison, Kelly AU - University of Connecticut, Storrs AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Connecticut WMA Pilot Projects 2010-2011 Final Report PY - 2014/06/12/Final Report SP - 82p AB - Warm mix asphalt (WMA) overlays were placed in several pilot projects in Connecticut during the 2010 and 2011 construction seasons. These technologies included Sasobit®, Evotherm™, Advera®, Double-Barrel® Green foamed asphalt as well as SonneWarmix™. The research team observed placement and collected mix for laboratory testing. Laboratory testing consisted of rut testing and moisture susceptibility testing both with the Hamburg wheel-track test and with tensile strength testing. One of the pilot projects included SBS polymer modified asphalt binder. While the WMA mixes containing the polymer seemed to outperform the others overall in the laboratory, all of the WMA mixes appeared to perform satisfactorily in the laboratory. Temperature reductions were observed in the field. With the exception of a couple compaction related problems in the field (not believed to be caused by WMA technology) all mixes appeared to perform satisfactorily during placement. Upon revisit to the sites during 2013, all sections were still performing well. The research team recommends further monitoring of these sections during the coming years. KW - Bituminous overlays KW - Connecticut KW - Field studies KW - Laboratory tests KW - Mix design KW - Moisture content KW - Pavement performance KW - Polymer asphalt KW - Ruts (Pavements) KW - Warm mix paving mixtures UR - http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dresearch/CT-2269-F-13-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1401063 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577969 TI - MT7 EM-High Percentage Recycle Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Usage Deployment and Field Services (7.6.1.05) AB - No summary provided. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Field studies KW - Recycled materials UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371319 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538232 AU - Miller-Hooks, Elise AU - Faturechi, Reza AU - Feng, Lei AU - Isaac, Shabtai AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - University of Maryland, College Park AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Multi-hazard Evacuation Route and Shelter Planning for Buildings PY - 2014/06/12/Final Report SP - 50p AB - A bi-level, two-stage, binary stochastic program with equilibrium constraints, and three variants, are presented that support the planning and design of shelters and exits, along with hallway fortification strategies and associated evacuation paths in buildings. At the upper level, decisions are made regarding exit design, hallway fortification, and the location of shelters, their size and level of protection, with the objective of minimizing the expected maximum endured risk over all scenarios. At the lower level, the choice of evacuation routes by the users, following the upper-level design decisions, is modeled as a user equilibrium problem, where each individual seeks to minimize his/her risk exposure. Model variants involve both stochastic programming and robust optimization concepts under both user equilibrium (selfish) and system optimal (altruistic) conditions. Piecewise linearization of travel time functions and a disjunctive constraints transformation method that converts the single-level equivalent math program with complementarity constraints to a mixed integer program are employed to eliminate model nonlinearities. Integer L-shaped decomposition is adopted for solution of all four variants. KW - Evacuation KW - Hazards and emergency operations KW - Mixed integer programming KW - Optimization KW - Risk KW - Routes KW - Shelters KW - Stochastic programming KW - Structures KW - Travel time UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/UMD-2012-01.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323100 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535760 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Weak Processes Have Led to a Backlog of Flight Standards Certification Applications PY - 2014/06/12 SP - 16p AB - Each year, hundreds of commercial air carriers, aircraft repair stations, pilot schools, and other entities apply to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for certificates authorizing them to operate in the National Airspace System (NAS). FAA’s Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) are responsible for reviewing and approving these new applications, in addition to their primary duty of maintaining the safety of existing operators and entities. In a May 2013 letter to our office, Congressman Cory Gardner expressed concerns that the Denver FSDO had been negligent in processing new certification applications for both commercial and agricultural aviation operations. Based on the concerns raised by Congressman Gardner, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review of certifications at the Denver FSDO and examined whether similar issues existed at other FAA district offices and regions. The audit objectives were to (1) review the status of aviation certification applications at the Denver FSDO and nationwide and (2) identify the causes for certification delays at the Denver FSDO and determine their potential impact nationally. KW - Aviation safety KW - Certification KW - Denver Flight Standards District Office KW - Flight Standards Service KW - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/Denver%20Certification%20Final_signed_508.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320028 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530877 AU - Department of Transportation TI - New Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Firms Face Barriers to Obtaining Work at the Nation's Largest Airports PY - 2014/06/12 SP - 29p AB - Each year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) distributes more than $3 billion in Federal grants for airport projects. In accepting these grants, airports are required to establish disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) and airport concession DBE (ACDBE) programs. These programs provide small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (i.e., women and minorities) with opportunities to compete for construction, professional services, and concession contracts. In the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Congress directed the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to report annually on new DBE participation at the Nation’s largest airports and to identify reasons why some airports have been more successful than others at hiring new DBEs. Congress raised concerns that discrimination and related barriers continue to pose obstacles to disadvantaged firms seeking to do business at U.S. airports. Further, the April 2013 report noted that only 20 percent of certified DBE firms in a six-State sample received work on federally funded programs. Accordingly, the objectives were to determine (1) the number of new and existing DBE/ACDBE firms receiving contracts or leases at the Nation’s largest airports in fiscal year 2012 and (2) what factors led some airports to award more contracts or leases to new DBE/ACDBE firms. To answer the objectives, OIG collected and analyzed FAA data on new and existing DBE/ACDBE firms and associated contract awards and lease revenues for the 64 largest airports. OIG also interviewed officials from over one-third of these airports regarding factors that encouraged or hindered their hiring of new DBE/ACDBE firms. Finally, OIG interviewed a stratified random sample of 26 new DBE/ACDBE firms about their experiences obtaining their first contract or lease. KW - Airports KW - Businesses KW - Concessions KW - Contract administration KW - Disadvantaged business enterprises KW - FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 KW - Grant aid KW - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration KW - United States UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/FAA%20airport%20new%20DBEs%20final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315396 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577880 TI - 2014-130 (RSDP) State Traffic Records Coordinating Committee Good Practices Guide AB - No summary provided. KW - Best practices KW - Crash records KW - Guides to information KW - State departments of transportation KW - Traffic UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371185 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567476 AU - Fratta, Dante AU - Bozkurt, M Gizem AU - University of Wisconsin, Madison AU - Wisconsin Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Lateral Deflection Contribution to Settlement Estimates PY - 2014/06/11/Final Report SP - 153p AB - The construction of tall embankments on soft soils requires staged construction, which leads to the consolidation of foundation soils, an increase in their effective stress, reduction in void ratio, and gain in shear strength. However, tall embankments are not fully constrained, which contributes to the generation of lateral movements that magnify vertical settlements of the embankments, potentially leading to global failure of the foundation soil and embankment system. This study systematically presents how material properties and embankment geometries influence the safety of the embankment and the relationship between lateral movements to the magnitude of vertical settlement on embankments using numerical analyses and analytical methods. PLAXIS, a finite element package, is used for modeling and analyzing deformation of soil embankments and foundations. The methods presented herein are validated using different case studies from cross-sections of a newly constructed STH 29 / USH 41 interchange in the State of Wisconsin in the United States. Parametric studies were conducted that involved combinations of embankment geometries and soft soil conditions to assess failure mechanisms and the contribution of lateral deflection to vertical settlement. These results are validated using vertical settlement measurements at the edge of the embankment and pore pressure measurement under the embankment. KW - Case studies KW - Deformation KW - Embankments KW - Finite element method KW - Ground settlement KW - Soft soils KW - Wisconsin UR - http://wisdotresearch.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/WisDOT-WHRP-project-0092-12-03-final-report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1356960 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535782 AU - Peckett, Haley AU - Daddio, David AU - Lyons, William AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Role of Regional Planning Organizations in Transportation Planning Across Boundaries PY - 2014/06/11/Final Report SP - 66p AB - The Volpe Center conducted research for the Federal Highway Administration Office of Planning that explores the implications of Regional Planning Organizations (RPO) engaging in transportation planning partnerships and projects of megaregions significance. The research assesses the benefits of this participation to rural areas and to their State and metropolitan partners, specifically in the areas of economic development, freight, and natural resources. Considering the limited resources of RPO staff, the research describes the institutional barriers to entry for RPOs in cross-regional transportation planning and considers partnerships that may lead to greater involvement in megaregions initiatives. Through three case studies, the paper outlines the benefits for rural areas, including economic and transportation benefits, and suggests recommendations and best practices for RPOs to consider in partnering with metropolitan planning organizations and State Departments of Transportation. The recommendations also demonstrate how transportation planning can be the mechanism to support rural participation in plans and projects at a megaregions scale bringing value to rural and urban areas alike. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Economic development KW - Freight transportation KW - Megaregions KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Natural resources KW - Regional planning KW - Rural areas KW - State departments of transportation KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/megaregions/reports/regional_planning_organizations/fhwahep14043.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52163/RPOsMegaregions.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52163/RPOsMegaregions.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1319587 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529319 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Process Inefficiencies and Costs Discourage Participation in FRA's RRIF Program PY - 2014/06/10/Audit Report SP - 25p AB - The Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, established in 1998 and administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), provides loans and loan guarantees to railroads and other entities to finance rail infrastructure projects. To date, FRA has issued 33 RRIF loans totaling roughly $1.7 billion—less than 5 percent of the program’s authorized $35 billion spending limit. Members of Congress have expressed concerns that the program’s lengthy application process and the associated costs may be contributing to this low participation rate. As a result of these concerns, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to assess FRA’s policies and procedures for evaluating and selecting RRIF applications; and identify factors that affect applicants’ decisions to apply for RRIF financing. OIG recommends that FRA: (1) Develop comprehensive guidance for applicants that details the information needed to submit complete applications. (2) Make pre-application meetings mandatory and provide clear program guidance and related materials to applicants in advance of the meetings. (3) Develop a tool to track the progress of applications and establish a process for timely communication with applicants about the status of their applications. (4) Provide timely information to applicants on the reasons for denials. (5) Work with the Credit Council to streamline the application review process and develop a risk based approach for reviewing applications. KW - Applications KW - Financing KW - Loans KW - Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing KW - Railroads KW - U.S. Federal Railroad Administration UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/RRIF%20final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313573 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01579233 AU - Scopatz, Robert AU - Zhou, Yuying AU - Wojtowicz, Angela AU - Carter, Daniel AU - Smith, Sarah AU - Harrison, Patricia AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Michigan Roadsoft: Integration of State and Local Safety Data PY - 2014/06/06/Case Study SP - 16p AB - This case study presents the Michigan Roadsoft system for local roadway data and analysis. With funding provided by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), Michigan Technological University’s Center for Technology and Training (CTT) developed Roadsoft to integrate the local road system into the State database by assigning a consistent linear referencing system to the local roads. The program provides roadway asset management, field data collection, maintenance management, and safety analysis tools to local agencies. Each local agency maintains its own data in a local copy of Roadsoft and shares that information with the State upon request. KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Data quality KW - Databases KW - Highway safety KW - Michigan KW - Roads UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/downloads/michigan_case_study.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371763 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01579217 AU - Scopatz, Robert AU - Zhou, Yuying AU - Wojtowicz, Angela AU - Carter, Daniel AU - Smith, Sarah AU - Harrison, Patricia AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Wisconsin Information System Local Roads: State and Local Data Integration PY - 2014/06/06/Case Study SP - 18p AB - This case study presents the Wisconsin Information System for Local Roads (WISLR) project for safety and asset management. WISLR is an example of integrating State and local road data in a spatial framework that differs from the one already in place for State-maintained roads. The integration of spatial information uses an “on/at/towards” location referencing system for local road and crash information along with a translation from the linear reference system (LRS) that applies to State-maintained routes (route and milepoint). The result is an all-public-roads database using a single LRS and basemap. Local agencies collect and own the data, but the centralized system is available to all authorized users. The case study also examines how Wisconsin plans to use WISLR to meet Federal requirements and how the system has improved Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s (WisDOT) ability to locate crashes accurately. KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Data quality KW - Databases KW - Information systems KW - Location KW - Roads KW - Wisconsin UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/downloads/wisconsin_case_study.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371766 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01579206 AU - Scopatz, Robert AU - Zhou, Yuying AU - Wojtowicz, Angela AU - Carter, Daniel AU - Smith, Sarah AU - Harrison, Patricia AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Ohio Location Based Response System: State and Local Data Integration PY - 2014/06/06/Case Study SP - 14p AB - This case study presents the Ohio Location Based Response System (LBRS) integrating State and local roadway data for analysis. LBRS is an initiative under the Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program (OGRIP), a Governor-appointed geographic information system (GIS) coordinating body for State and local government. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) provides support, technical guidance, and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) services for LBRS and is responsible for integrating the data into the State’s linear reference system (LRS) to create the official transportation base-map for Ohio. The program provides consistent location referencing for all public roadways. ODOT maintains the statewide roadway inventory database and integrates data owned and supplied by the local agencies. KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Data quality KW - Databases KW - Location KW - Ohio KW - Roads UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/downloads/ohio_case_study.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371764 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01579194 AU - Scopatz, Robert AU - Zhou, Yuying AU - Wojtowicz, Angela AU - Carter, Daniel AU - Smith, Sarah AU - Harrison, Patricia AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Tennessee Roadway Information System: State and Local Data Integration PY - 2014/06/06/Case Study SP - 18p AB - This case study outlines a centralized, State-led data collection effort for safety data and analysis. The Tennessee Roadway Information Management System (TRIMS) is a single integrated system that includes State and local roadways, structures, pavement, traffic, photo logs, and crash data. Roadway inventory and crash data for all public roads are included. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) implemented TRIMS as a mainframe database in 1972 and moved to a client server Oracle database in 1996. TDOT has had a great track record of success with TRIMS achieved by developing a tool that the State DOT and local agencies (as well as contractors) could all use. The local roadway data collection effort (conducted as a 5-year project that began in 2007) resulted in a product that includes the same information on local roads as is collected for State roads. KW - Case studies KW - Crash data KW - Data collection KW - Data quality KW - Databases KW - Highway safety KW - Information systems KW - Roads KW - Tennessee UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/downloads/tncasestudy.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371762 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575518 TI - Test of COTS Satellite Communications Systems AB - The objectives of this research project are to: (1) test of Satellite Communications Systems on-board Suborbital Platforms to provide low-cost data communications for Research Payloads, Payload Operators, and Space Vehicle Operators, and government agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The satellite systems to be tested include, but are not limited to, Iridium, Globalstar, and Inmarsat; and (2) develop payloads, processing processes and facilities for university and government payloads in collaboration with New Mexico State University. KW - Data communications KW - National Aeronautic Space Administration KW - Operators (Persons) KW - Satellite communication KW - Space shuttles KW - Space stations UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367924 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575517 TI - Definition and Delimitation of Outer Space AB - This paper contends that given the accelerated contemporary development of emerging aerospace activities and technologies, many of which utilize near space for their activities, and a desire to foster continued commercial development of space, the time has come to find an agreeable solution to the question of the inner frontier of outer space, and the outer frontier of airspace. KW - Aerospace industry KW - Airspace (Aeronautics) KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Definitions KW - Outer space UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367923 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575515 TI - Space Operational Framework AB - RELEVANCE TO COMMERCIAL SPACE INDUSTRY: Establishing a framework to capture a body of knowledge for commercial spaceport best practices will help current and future spaceport operation personnel by providing commercial and government documents that encompass commercial spaceport operations. KW - Best practices KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Facilities KW - Operations KW - Personnel KW - Space shuttles KW - Spacecraft UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367921 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575513 TI - Human Rating of Commercially Operated Spacecraft AB - Human Rating is a broad-reaching topic that brings together the process of integrating a human into a spacecraft system for safe and reliable operations. This process first requires ensuring that fundamental human physiological needs are satisfied, makes use of human capabilities as an integral element of design and operation of the vehicle, and controls hazards and manages safety risks intended to protect the public, the flight crew and passengers, and ground personnel to the maximum extent possible during all phases of the mission. The commercial space industry has no clear definition for the criteria for human-rating of an integrated commercial spacecraft and launch vehicle system. This information will support the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA’s) safety regulatory responsibilities. KW - Aircraft operations KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Flight crews KW - Human factors KW - Physiological aspects KW - Ratings KW - Spacecraft UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367919 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575180 TI - Joint Bar Integrity Studies AB - This project will examine joint bar failures in revenue service on two Class I railroads and at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) for determination of the incipient conditions for joint bar failures. KW - Bars (Building materials) KW - Failure KW - Maintenance of way KW - Railroad tracks UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367424 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573859 TI - Evaluation of New Rail Flaw Detection Technologies and Assessment of Detection Performance AB - This project will evaluate new rail flaw detection technologies and procedures for the assessment of detection performance relative to the probability of detection under the variety of rail wear conditions and a valid test conditions for reliable results. KW - Flaw detection KW - Maintenance of way KW - Railroad tracks KW - Tests for suitability, service and quality UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366936 ER - TY - SER AN - 01593929 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - EMS Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - EMS System Demographics PY - 2014/06 SP - 7p AB - The Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS) sponsored the first nationwide assessment ever conducted of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems in the United States. This research note extracts information from the 2011 National EMS Assessment about EMS system demographics. The purpose of the assessment was to describe EMS, EMS emergency preparedness, and 911 systems at the State and national levels using existing data. Data for the National EMS Assessment were compiled from four principal data sources, the National EMS Database, the “2011 EMS Industry Snapshot” conducted by the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), the EMS for Children (EMSC) performance measure Federal reporting system, and the 2007 Indian Health Services Tribal EMSC Pediatric Assessment. The data used for this Research Note came from the 2011 EMS Industry Snapshot, a member survey conducted by the NASEMSO. Responses were obtained from all 50 State EMS Offices and from four of the six Territorial EMS Offices. American Samoa and the District of Columbia did not participate. KW - 911 Emergency Telephone System KW - Emergency management KW - Emergency medical services KW - Emergency medical technicians KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Statistics KW - United States UR - http://www.ems.gov/pdf/812041-Natl_EMS_Assessment_2011.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1400247 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576260 AU - Schultz, Grant G AU - Mitchell, David K AU - Pulver, Zane AU - Mineer, Samuel AU - Burris, Mark W AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - I-15 EXPRESS LANES STUDY Phase I: System Evaluation PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 109p AB - The primary objectives of this research included an identification of literature in Utah and nationally on how changing toll rates, occupancies, and violation rates have had an effect on Express Lane use and an examination of the utilization of the Express Lanes under a limited number of congestion and pricing scenarios. The results of this study indicate that while the majority of the Express Lane corridor within the state of Utah is operating within acceptable ranges set by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), there are several zones where 10th percentile speeds have dropped below the 55 mph goal set by UDOT including Zones 140 and 145 in the AM peak and Zones 145, 250, and 260 in the PM peak. Additionally, the 10th percentile speeds in Zone 255 in the PM peak have dropped below the FHWA requirement of 45 mph. There are several methods to reduce the volume in the Express Lanes, which, if implemented, are anticipated to increase the speeds within these lanes. These methods include: 1) increase Express Lane tolls during peak periods; 2) increase the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) limits in the Express Lanes; 3) reduce violation rates along the corridor through methods such as improved enforcement, education, campaigns, etc. and 4) enforce current cap for “C” decal vehicles in the Express Lanes and consider options for increasing the number of “C” decals issued for off-peak travel and/or travel outside of the congested areas during peak periods. To better understand the impacts of the alternatives additional research is necessary including a detailed analysis of average vehicle occupancy (AVO) in the Express Lanes and the General Purpose (GP) lanes and a more detailed analysis of enforcement alternatives for the state. Additional research could also include a survey of travelers to better estimate their toll price elasticity, and a detailed analysis of the geometry of the Express Lane corridor. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Evaluation KW - Express lanes KW - Literature reviews KW - Peak periods KW - Tolls KW - Traffic speed KW - Traffic violations KW - Traffic volume KW - Utah UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=23088712844004064 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369253 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01570295 AU - Chase, Steven B AU - University of Virginia, Charlottesville AU - Rutgers University, Piscataway AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Virginia Bridge Information Systems Laboratory PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 73p AB - This report presents the results of applied data mining of legacy bridge databases, focusing on the Pontis and National Bridge Inventory databases maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Data analysis was performed using a variety of information technology tools and statistical methods including Microsoft Access and Excel and the R Statistics System. The resulting information consists of models which were of interest to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Deterioration models were developed for Interstate bridges in Virginia. Two sub-studies were conducted in response to VDOT interests. First, Markov Chain models were developed for condition states for the most common Pontis bridge elements on the Interstate bridges. Second, regression models for condition ratings were developed for these same elements. Two additional special studies were conducted by the Virginia Bridge Information Systems Laboratory. A special study at the National Scale was performed, examining 20 years of NBI data. This study summarized typical changes in bridge performance metrics by identifying a sample of bridges with temporally contiguous data for the period from 1992 to 2012. This study uncovered the significance of maintenance and repair actions on bridge performance. Another special study examined the characteristics of bridges which were taken out of service in this same 20 year period. Statistical summaries of service life data were developed. KW - Bridge management systems KW - Bridges KW - Data analysis KW - Data mining KW - Deterioration KW - Markov chains KW - National Bridge Inventory KW - Pontis (Computer program) KW - Regression analysis KW - Service life KW - Virginia Department of Transportation UR - https://cait.rutgers.edu/files/CAIT-UTC-005-final.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55200/55235/CAIT-UTC-005-final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1359779 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01562605 AU - Flynn, Jennifer AU - Staes, Lisa AU - University of South Florida, Tampa AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - State of Bus Safety in the U.S.: Summary of Federal and State Regulations PY - 2014/06 SP - 132p AB - This report provides a comprehensive overview of transit bus safety regulations and standards developed by all 50 states, as well as information on how state departments of transportation (DOT) regulate the maintenance or operation of transit/paratransit vehicles operated by public transit agencies. For quick reference, this document is accompanied by a spreadsheet containing basic information on state DOT regulation of transit bus safety, state requirements for annual transit bus inspections, and a list of laws/regulations with hyperlinks to each statutory reference. The spreadsheet and map with hyperlinks are available at www.transitsafetycenter.org. Since many of the state laws contain references to federal regulations, this report begins with a summary of federal laws and regulations. KW - Inspection KW - Laws and legislation KW - Public transit KW - Regulations KW - Standards KW - State departments of transportation KW - Transit buses KW - Transit safety KW - United States UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0078.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55560/FTA_Report_No._0078.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1352129 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01561012 AU - Klein, Hans AU - Watkins, Kari E AU - Wong, James AU - Reed, Landon AU - Wanningen, Victor AU - Zhang, Bingling AU - Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta AU - Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Information Services in Social Networked Transportation: Governance and ITS PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 209p AB - The purpose of this research seeks to understand the functions and the benefits of social networked transportation (SNT), the processes that make SNT possible, and the institutional innovations needed to facilitate those processes. First, this research examines the design of procedures for standards-setting, using real-time transit data standards from both public and private organizations as a set of case studies. Secondly, this research has identified and analyzed an emerging data network in transportation, traffic management centers and third-party data providers via a web-based survey of traffic management center (TMC) managers. Thirdly, this research pursues understanding foundational principles of and strategies for social networking, taking lessons from successful social networks in the information technology (IT) sector (i.e. the Internet), and lessons from emergent social networks in other sectors (i.e. energy). Finally, a graduate level course and an application developer conference called Transportation Camp South are discussed as methods to move into the future. It is expected that the results of this research will interest a wide audience, from transportation researchers to field practitioners. KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Education and training KW - Information dissemination KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Public transit KW - Real time information KW - Social networking KW - Standards KW - Surveys KW - Traffic control centers UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/12-26.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347964 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560905 AU - Ashuri, Baabak AU - Ilbeigi, Mohammad AU - Shayegh, Soheil AU - Hui, Yang AU - Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of Risk Management Strategies for State DOTs to Effectively Deal with Volatile Prices of Transportation Construction Materials PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 193p AB - Volatility in price of critical materials used in transportation projects, such as asphalt cement, leads to considerable uncertainty about project cost. This uncertainty may lead to price speculation and inflated bid prices submitted by highway contractors to protect themselves against possible price increases. One of the most common risk sharing strategies widely used by transportation agencies is price adjustment clauses (PAC) that divide potential upside and downside risk of material prices between contractors and owners. However, it is not clear whether offering PAC reduces risk premium of bids submitted by highway contractors. The research objective of this study is to explore whether offering PAC for asphalt cement can explain the variation of submitted bids for asphalt line items by highway contractors. Data on 3,749 highway projects bid out in the State of Georgia from January 1998 to July 2013 were collected to analyze the impacts of PAC on bid prices. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of several factors, such as project size, number of bidders, asphalt cement price, and availability of PAC on unit price bids submitted by highway contractors for major asphalt line items. The results show that a linear combination of several explanatory variables such as quantity of the item, total bid price, and asphalt cement price index can explain the variations of the submitted bid prices appropriately. Eligibility for the PAC program is not a statistically significant explanatory variable in most of the models. In addition, several time series models were created to forecast the short-term variation of the asphalt cement price in Georgia. KW - Asphalt cement KW - Bids KW - Building materials KW - Construction projects KW - Contract administration KW - Contractors KW - Cost estimating KW - Georgia KW - Prices KW - Regression analysis KW - Risk management KW - State departments of transportation UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/12-20.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349696 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560380 AU - Brewer, Marcus AU - Murillo, Debbie AU - Pate, Alan AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station AU - Battelle AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 428p AB - The original "Older Driver Highway Design Handbook" was published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 1998 (FHWA-RD-97-135). The 2nd edition, titled "Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and Pedestrians" (FHWA-RD-01-103) was published in 2001. This 3rd edition, under a new title, incorporates new research findings and treatments to improve the safety of the transportation system for the aging population. The Handbook is divided into three sections. The first section explains how to use the Handbook to select treatments to address problems for aging drivers and pedestrians. The second section includes treatments for 51 proven and promising traffic control and design elements distributed among five categories: Intersections, Interchanges, Roadway Segments, Construction/Work Zones, and Highway-Rail Grade Crossings. The final section of the Handbook includes the rationale and supporting evidence for the treatments. A website including all of the content of the Handbook is available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/older_users/#training. KW - Aged KW - Aged drivers KW - Handbooks KW - Highway design KW - Highway safety KW - Highway traffic control KW - Human factors KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Traffic safety UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/older_users/handbook/aging_driver_handbook_2014_final%20.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1349705 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01555759 AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - The Economic Impact of Civil Aviation on the U.S. Economy PY - 2014/06 SP - 26p AB - Civil aviation connects passengers and freight almost anywhere in the world. Civil aviation connectivity is a key facilitator of economic growth.This concise report, ideal for policymakers and industry officials, offers the latest data on the economic impact of civil aviation. It discusses the economic benefits of passenger and cargo transportation, from activities by commercial airlines, air couriers, airports, tourism, and manufacturing. This version also estimates the economic impact of general aviation, a uniquely American achievement. In addition to 2012, this report also includes revised economic impact estimates for the years 2000 to 2009 and newly estimated economic impacts for 2010 and 2011. KW - Air transportation KW - Airports KW - Civil aviation KW - Economic impacts KW - General aviation KW - United States UR - http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/2014-economic-impact-report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1344316 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554225 AU - Sun, Carlos AU - Edara, Praveen AU - Brown, Henry AU - Zhu, Zhongyuan (Eric) AU - Rahmani, Roozbeh AU - University of Missouri, Columbia AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Iowa State University, Ames TI - Calibration of Highway Safety Manual Work Zone Crash Modification Factors PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 42p AB - The Highway Safety Manual is the national safety manual that provides quantitative methods for analyzing highway safety. The HSM presents crash modification factors related to work zone characteristics such as work zone duration and length. These crash modification factors were based on high-impact work zones in California. Therefore there was a need to use work zone and safety data from the Midwest to calibrate these crash modification factors for use in the Midwest. Almost 11,000 Missouri freeway work zones were analyzed to derive a representative and stratified sample of 162 work zones. The 162 work zones was more than four times the number of work zones used in the HSM. This dataset was used for modeling and testing crash modification factors applicable to the Midwest. The dataset contained work zones ranging from 0.76 mile to 9.24 miles and with durations from 16 days to 590 days. A combined fatal/injury/non-injury model produced a R2 fit of 0.9079 and a prediction slope of 0.963. The resulting crash modification factors of 1.01 for duration and 0.58 for length were smaller than the values in the HSM. Two practical application examples illustrate the use of the crash modification factors for comparing alternate work zone setups. KW - Calibration KW - Highway safety KW - Highway Safety Manual KW - Length KW - Midwestern States KW - Missouri KW - Time duration KW - Traffic crashes KW - Work zones UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/18676/1/IADOT_SWZDI_UMC_Sun_Calibration_Highway_Safety_Manual_Work_Zone_Crash_Mod_Factors_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342435 ER - TY - SER AN - 01551324 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Starnes, M TI - Estimating Lives Saved by Electronic Stability Control, 2008–2012 PY - 2014/06 SP - 4p AB - In 2012, electronic stability control (ESC) saved an estimated 446 lives among passenger car (PC) occupants, and 698 lives among light truck and van (LTV) occupants, for a total of 1,144 lives saved among passenger vehicle (PV) occupants. PVs consist of PCs and LTVs. This estimate of 1,144 lives saved in 2012 is a substantial increase over the estimated 859 lives saved in 2011, 736 lives saved in 2010, 598 lives saved in 2009, and 551 lives saved in 2008. Combining these annual counts shows that ESC has saved close to 4,000 lives during the 5-year period from 2008 to 2012. Note: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) effectiveness estimates for ESC have been updated in “Updated Estimates of Fatality Reduction by Electronic Stability Control” (Kahane, in review) and this update is discussed in the Background section of this research note. KW - Crash data KW - Electronic stability control KW - Fatalities KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Passenger vehicles KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic safety KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812042.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1339704 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01549002 AU - Zimmerman, Rae AU - Restrepo, Carlos E AU - Sellers, Joshua AU - Amirapu, Arundathi AU - Pearson, Theodore R AU - New York University, New York AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Promoting Transportation Flexibility in Extreme Events Through Multi-Modal Connectivity PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 65p AB - Extreme events of all kinds are increasing in number, severity, or impacts. Transportation provides a vital support service for people in such circumstances in the short-term for evacuation and providing supplies where evacuation is not undertaken, yet, transportation services are often disabled in disasters. Nationwide and in New York (NY) and New Jersey (NJ) record-setting weather disasters have occurred and are expected to continue. Disadvantaged populations are particularly vulnerable. Network theories provide insights into vulnerability and directions for adaptation by defining interconnections, such as multi-modality. Multi-modal connectivity provides passenger flexibility and reduces risks in extreme events, and these benefits are evaluated in the NY area. Focusing on public transit, selected passenger multimodal facilities are identified that connect to transit, emphasizing rail-bus connectivity. Publicly available databases are used from Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), NJ rail, and U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT’s) Intermodal Passenger Connectivity Database (IPCD). For New York City (NYC), statistical analyses suggest there may be some differences by poverty levels. For NYC and three northeastern NJ cities connectivity differs for stations that are terminuses and have high rail convergence. This report provides statistical summaries, cases, and a literature review to characterize multi-modal facilities and their use in extreme events. Recommendations and future research directions are provided for the role of passenger multi-modality to enhance transit flexibility. KW - Case studies KW - Connectivity KW - Disasters and emergency operations KW - Literature reviews KW - Multimodal transportation KW - New Jersey KW - New York (New York) KW - New York (State) KW - Public transit KW - Recommendations KW - Statistical analysis KW - Transportation disadvantaged persons UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/Final-NYU-Extreme-Events-Research-Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1336276 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548535 AU - Roelofs, Tina AU - Brookes, Chris AU - Athey Creek Consultants AU - Michigan Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Synthesis of Intelligent Work Zone Practices PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 49p AB - The ENTERPRISE Pooled Fund Program initiated a project to document the resources available as well as uses and benefits regarding the following Intelligent Work Zone (IWZ) technologies: queue warning systems, dynamic merge systems, alternate routes and variable speed limits in work zones. A detailed literature search was conducted to summarize work zone materials available related to the four work zone technologies. In addition, intelligent work zone representatives from transportation agencies were contacted to provide details on recent related deployments and provide input to the project. The purpose of this report is to understand the current status of work on IWZ activities by combining the resources gathered through a literature search with the information collected from the transportation agencies on recent deployments. Also included is a summary of the four IWZ technologies including examples of successes, any guidance possible when technologies are most effective, and the configurations that demonstrated the best results. KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Literature reviews KW - Merging traffic KW - Routes and routing KW - Traffic control devices KW - Traffic queuing KW - Variable speed limits KW - Warning systems KW - Work zone traffic control KW - Work zones UR - http://enterprise.prog.org/Projects/2010_Present/iwz/ENT_SynthesisofIWZPractices_FINALReport_June2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333219 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548504 AU - Hatcher, Greg AU - Burnier, Carolina AU - Greer, Elizabeth AU - Hardesty, Dawn AU - Hicks, Drennan AU - Jacobi, Amy AU - Lowrance, Cheryl AU - Mercer, Mike AU - Noblis AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Intelligent Transportation Systems Benefits, Costs, and Lessons Learned: 2014 Update Report PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 136p AB - Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provide a proven set of strategies for advancing transportation safety, mobility, and environmental sustainability by integrating communication and information technology applications into the management and operation of the transportation system across all modes. In the future, ITS technologies will transform surface transportation by offering a connected environment among vehicles, the infrastructure and passengers' wireless devices, allowing drivers to send and receive real-time information about potential hazards and road conditions. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) ITS research program focuses on the overall advancement of ITS through investments in emerging ITS technologies, as well as supporting the evaluation of deployed ITS. This report presents information on the benefits, costs, and lessons learned regarding ITS planning, deployment, and operations obtained from almost twenty years of evaluation data. The report is based upon three related Web-based databases, known collectively as the ITS Knowledge Resources (KRs). The Knowledge Resources were developed by the U.S. DOT’s ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) evaluation program to support informed decision making regarding ITS investments by tracking the effectiveness of deployed ITS. The Knowledge Resources contain over eighteen years of summaries of the benefits, costs, and lessons learned of specific ITS implementations, drawn primarily from written sources such as ITS evaluation studies, research syntheses, handbooks, journal articles, and conference papers. They can be accessed online at www.itskrs.its.dot.gov. The report has been developed as a collection of factsheets presenting information on the performance of deployed ITS, as well as information on the costs, and lessons learned regarding ITS deployment and operations. The report has been designed to be flexible for the user. There are a total of 20 factsheets representing the 16 taxonomy areas. Four of the taxonomy areas (arterial management, freeway management, transit management, and driver assistance) have enough data to require more than one factsheet. KW - Benefits KW - Case studies KW - Costs KW - Evaluation KW - Implementation KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Technological innovations UR - http://www.itsknowledgeresources.its.dot.gov/its/bcllupdate/pdf/BCLL_2014_Combined_JPO-FINAL.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54200/54247/BCLL_2014_Combined_JPO-FINAL5.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334694 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548498 AU - Dyre, Brian P AU - Abdel-Rahim, Ahmed AU - University of Idaho, Moscow AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Improving Passing Lane Safety and Efficiency for Alaska's Rural Non-divided Highways PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 112p AB - A series of experiments using a fixed-base driving simulator were conducted to examine the potential safety and operational benefits of several highway safety interventions for reducing collision risk. The approach sought to go beyond typical mitigations of collision risk that use explicit behavioral interventions, such as enforcing lower speed limits (regulation) and public education (safety warnings). Instead, the authors examined whether semi-permanent alterations to the visual appearance of the unsafe zones might implicitly reduce risky driver behaviors by slowing traffic and inducing better passing decisions without drivers being consciously aware that their behavior is being affected. Such implicit changes in behavior may be more efficient and long-lasting since they do not require conscious compliance from drivers nor engagement from law enforcement. Taken together, the results of the experiments clearly show that regulatory signs early in a passing zone that limit the speed of right-lane drivers relative to left-lane drivers offer the greatest opportunity for increasing the efficiency—and perhaps also the safety—of rural passing zones. KW - Alaska KW - Behavior KW - Driving simulators KW - Highway safety KW - Passing lanes KW - Rural highways KW - Speed signs KW - Traffic speed UR - http://tundra.ine.uaf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/passinglanefinalreport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333136 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548313 AU - Frosch, Robert J AU - Bobet, Antonio AU - Khasawneh, Yazen AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Reduction of Bridge Construction and Maintenance Costs through Coupled Geotechnical and Structural Design of Integral Abutment Bridges SN - 9781622603077 PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 180p AB - Elimination of expansion joints in the superstructure of integral abutment bridges offers the advantage of reducing the initial and life cycle costs of the structure. However, such elimination may have an adverse effect on the displacement demand at the pile-abutment connection and on the earth pressures on the abutment wall due to the thermal expansion/contraction cycles of the bridge. These adverse effects have resulted in regulations that impose restrictions on the maximum length and skew angle of integral abutment bridges. This research consisted of a deep analysis of the problem by considering soil-structure interaction. The approach was multifaceted as it included experimental and numerical analysis. Upon calibration and verification of the constitutive model, it was used as part of a parametric analysis to provide recommendations for the design limits of integral abutment bridges. The analysis results showed that active state earth pressure is reached after the first contraction cycle. The displacement demand on piles is a function of the abutment wall displacement. Larger displacement demand of the pile at the acute corner when compared to the obtuse corner was observed during expansion and contraction cycles. The inflection point of the piles deformed shape was found to be at relatively shallow depth. Concrete shrinkage and sequence of loading affected significantly the displacement demand of the supporting piles, lower displacement demand of piles during the expansion cycle and larger displacement demand during contraction cycles. The analysis showed that a 500 ft bridge with 60° skew will provide acceptable long term performance. KW - Bridge abutments KW - Bridge design KW - Constitutive models KW - Design limits KW - Displacement (Structural) KW - Earth pressure KW - Geotechnical engineering KW - Jointless bridges KW - Piles (Supports) KW - Skew angle KW - Soil structure interaction KW - Span length KW - Structural connection UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315500 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1335454 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01545306 AU - Ewing, Reid AU - Tian, Guang AU - Spain, Allison AU - University of Utah, Salt Lake City AU - National Institute for Transportation and Communities AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Effect of Light-Rail Transit on Traffic in a Travel Corridor PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 41p AB - This study seeks to quantify the effect of the University TRAX light-rail line on traffic near the University of Utah, providing quantitative data that can be used to shape future transportation policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion, energy consumption, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and parking costs. Travel demand models have long been used to estimate and evaluate the effects of transportation improvements, like light-rail transit (LRT) investments, on network travel flows and times as part of long-range planning studies, using four-step models or more sophisticated urban simulation studies. However, these are usually ex ante studies. Few ex post evaluations have been done, and in this sense, the effects of transit on traffic volumes and associated energy consumption and air pollution have not been rigorously evaluated to support or refute the justification for subsidized transit. Such quantification is required for a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. The aim of this study is to provide the first hard evidence of light-rail’s impact on traffic in a travel corridor, to quantify the associated savings on energy consumption, air pollution, and parking costs, and to compare cost savings to transit subsidies. KW - Air pollution KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Costs KW - Energy consumption KW - Evaluation KW - Impacts KW - Light rail transit KW - Parking KW - Subsidies KW - Traffic volume KW - University of Utah UR - http://ppms.otrec.us/media/project_files/NITC-RR-611_Effect_of_Light-Rail_Transit_on_Traffic_in_a_Travel_Corridor.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322927 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544602 AU - Chen, Genda AU - Zoughi, Reza AU - Ghasr, M T AU - Bao, Yue AU - Ying, K AU - Combs, K M AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Nondestructive Evaluation of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls with Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FM-CW) Radar PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 40p AB - Effective techniques for a nondestructive evaluation of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls during normal operation or immediately after an earthquake event are yet to be developed. MSE walls often have a rough surface finishing for the purpose of decoration and are reinforced with both horizontal and vertical steel bars. Two wide-band microwave inspection approaches were investigated for detecting and evaluating characteristics of materials behind an MSE wall section. The first approach used spot measurements with a wide-band frequency-modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) radar system. While effective to penetrate through mortar blocks in the laboratory, the radar system was found to have limited applications in MSE walls due to its thick layer, material heterogeneity, surface roughness, and the presence of steel bars. The second approach took wide-band measurements on a two-dimensional (2D) grid and produced three-dimensional (3D) images using a synthetic aperture radar algorithm. Imaging allows for signal averaging and relatively easy distinction of localized features such as steel bars from undesired flaws. Two-dimensional slice images at the location of the anomalies were produced. Several different anomalies placed behind the wall can be detected, demonstrating the effectiveness of the imaging technique as a potential approach for back-fill soil inspection (e.g., moisture, void) behind an MSE wall. KW - Continuous wave radar KW - Earth walls KW - Earthquakes KW - Frequency modulation KW - Image analysis KW - Mechanically stabilized earth KW - Nondestructive tests UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Chen_NondestructiveEvaluationofMechanicallyStabilizedEarthWallswithFrequency-ModulatedContinuous-Wave(FM-CW)Radar.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1331074 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544587 AU - Wesson, Michael D AU - Pavelchak, Matthew A AU - Frosch, Robert J AU - Kreger, Michael E AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Improving the Design of U‐Beams for Indiana SN - 9781622603060 PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 202p AB - The use of prestressed U‐beams, developed as an economical and aesthetic alternative to traditional I‐beams, is becoming increasingly common. While U‐beams are seeing increased use, questions have arisen in the design of bridges utilizing this girder type. Specific issues include live load distribution, bridge deck behavior, and debonding limits. First, since the U‐beam is a new girder type, limited guidance exists for the live load distributions to be used in design. Second, due to the increased stiffness and strength of this girder, fewer girder lines are required resulting in increased deck spans. Finally, current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) debonding limits severely restrict the efficiency and economy of the section. The objective of this research program is to develop design strategies to improve the efficiency and optimize the design of the Indiana modified U‐beam with a focus on the concerns related to the design of U‐beams. In particular, this research program will evaluate the live load distribution appropriate for the design of U‐beams, assess the behavior and design of the bridge deck when supported by U‐beams, and evaluate both the shear strength and shear design of the composite U‐beam system. It is important that the strength of pretensioned concrete beams with debonded strand be fully evaluated. Five phases of research were conducted. The first phase consisted of evaluation of a U‐beam bridge constructed in Indianapolis, Indiana to assess the live load distribution factors and flexural deck behavior of this bridge. The second phase evaluated the effectiveness of debonding sheathing to ensure that proper debonding is being achieved. The third phase evaluated the influence of the percentage of debonded strands on shear strength using rectangular and I‐shaped cross sections to investigate flexure‐shear and web‐shear strengths, respectively. While this phase concentrated on the shear strength resisted by the concrete, the influence of transverse reinforcement was also evaluated. The fourth phase evaluated the influence of varying strength concretes, which are commonly used in composite sections, on shear strength. Finally, the fifth phase evaluated the shear strength of a 50% debonded U‐beam both with and without transverse reinforcement. From the results, an improved understanding of the influence of debonding on shear strength is obtained. Recommendations are provided to improve the analysis, design, and construction of U‐beams as well as the design and construction of girders utilizing debonded strand in general. KW - Beams KW - Bridge decks KW - Bridge design KW - Debonding KW - Girders KW - Indiana KW - Live loads KW - Recommendations KW - Shear strength KW - U beams UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315501 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1329667 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544524 AU - Marshall, Dawn AU - Chrysler, Susan AU - Smith, Kayla AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Older Drivers’ Acceptance of In-Vehicle Systems and the Effect it has on Safety PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 91p AB - Older drivers make up the fastest growing segment of the driving population and are, in general, underrepresented in vehicle crashes due to their self-restrictive driving habits. However, as the baby-boomer generation ages into the population of older drivers, the presence of in-vehicle systems designed to counteract the physical and psychological changes of aging could change their habits. Using a literature review to identify systems, effects of aging, and crash statistics of older drivers, various in-vehicle system types were identified and rated for their potential to mitigate the effects of aging on driving performance and behavior. Focus groups were then held with two age groups of older drivers (55-64 and 65-75) to assess their acceptance of four different systems identified by the literature review. Data from the focus groups were factored into a final in-vehicle system matrix that rates system types’ benefits to older drivers based on their generalized ability to counteract the effects of aging, and older drivers’ acceptance of them. In-vehicle systems that alert drivers to potential hazards (e.g., a forward collision warning system) resulted in the highest safety rating while systems that facilitated a driver’s ability to control the vehicle (e.g., an anti-lock braking system) had the lowest safety rating. Overall, the younger age groups of older drivers were more trusting of the various safety systems and felt that drivers their age would want the various systems compared to the older age group. In contrast, the 65-75 year olds were less anxious and less concerned about becoming overly reliant on the different systems compared to the 55-64 year olds. KW - Active safety systems KW - Age groups KW - Aged drivers KW - Driver support systems KW - Focus groups KW - Literature reviews KW - Navigation systems KW - Traffic safety UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Marshall_OlderDriversAcceptanceofIn-vehicleSystemsandtheEffectithasonSafety.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1331080 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544519 AU - McCormack, Sarah M AU - Sturgill, Roy AU - Howell, Brian AU - Van Dyke, Chris AU - Kreis, Doug AU - University of Kentucky, Lexington AU - Kentucky Transportation Cabinet AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Green Infrastructure PY - 2014/06//Year 3 Final Report SP - 136p AB - The transportation industry has increasingly recognized the vital role sustainability serves in promoting and protecting the transportation infrastructure of the nation. Many state Departments of Transportation have correspondingly increased efforts to incorporate concepts of sustainability into the planning, design, and construction phases of projects and congruently adopted sustainability measures into their internal standard policies and procedures. Sustainably constructed highways foster economic development, promote stewardship of the environment, and solicit citizen involvement for an integrated, comprehensive approach to project planning. As part of an effort to understand the extent to which sustainable design and construction principles are being used, this report selects and analyzes three case studies involving previously completed Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) projects and assesses their commitment to sustainable concepts. Specifically, this report examines the extent to which KYTC utilized sustainable concepts for each case study as described in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA’s) INVEST rating system. This research effort comprised three components. First, Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers analyzed KYTC’s policies and manuals for project planning, design, and construction and determined the extent to which INVEST criteria and related principles were incorporated into their standard processes. Second, KTC analyzed the individual case studies themselves, to include project plans and other relevant documentation. Finally, KTC conducted interviews with each of the KYTC district offices responsible for managing those previously completed projects and obtained feedback on the INVEST criteria used for each particular project. Following this approach, KTC validated and finalized the assigned scoring ratings for each case study in accordance with the INVEST scoring guidance. In summary, this report describes the sustainable concepts and corresponding INVEST scores for each project, presents a summary of the main findings, and provides recommendations for the way ahead. KW - Case studies KW - Construction projects KW - Infrastructure KW - Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST) KW - Kentucky Transportation Cabinet KW - Policy analysis KW - Project management KW - Recommendations KW - Sustainable development UR - http://www.ktc.uky.edu/files/2014/11/KTC_14_10_SPR_447_12_1F_.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1329863 ER - TY - SER AN - 01543178 JO - TechBrief PB - Federal Highway Administration TI - Long-Term Bridge Performance High Priority Bridge Performance Issues PY - 2014/06 SP - 8p AB - This document is a technical summary of the published Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) report "Long-Term Bridge Performance High Priority Bridge Performance Issues" (FHWA-HRT-14-052). The objective of this TechBrief is to describe the bridge performance issues that will be studied under the Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program, including how they were identified and prioritized with the assistance of bridge owners and other key stakeholders in the bridge community. It is intended for bridge owners and the bridge community at large (i.e., bridge engineers, bridge inspectors, and bridge asset managers) interested in the activities of the LTBP Program. The LTBP Program is designed in part to collect critical performance data that are not available elsewhere and merge them with data gathered from available sources. The four primary issues in bridge performance are the following: Structural condition—durability and serviceability (including fatigue); Functionality—user safety and service; Costs (to State transportation departments and users); and Structural integrity—safety and stability in failure modes. KW - Bridges KW - Costs KW - Data collection KW - Durability KW - Long term performance KW - Long-Term Bridge Performance Program KW - Safety KW - Serviceability KW - Structural integrity KW - Structural stability UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/ltbp/14043/14043.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1330059 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01541402 AU - Zatar, Wael AU - Nguyen, Hai AU - Marshall University AU - West Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Weathering Steel Overhead Sign Structures in West Virginia PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 322p AB - This report presents the results and findings of the research work aimed at evaluating 82 weathering steel sign structures in Charleston Interstate System in West Virginia. Twenty-six comprehensive inspection forms were developed to objectively evaluate the current condition of the following sign structure types: single and double arm ground mount cantilever structures; bridge superstructure mount cantilever structures; retaining wall mount cantilever structures; retaining wall mount truss structures; two-dimensional and three-dimensional ground mount truss structures; bridge parapet mount truss structures; and bridge frame mount structures. The work included performing extensive field inspection of the elements of each sign structure including the foundations, drainage issues, grout pads, base plates, anchor bolts/nuts/washers, connections between base plates and vertical columns, vertical columns and horizontal chords, connections between vertical columns and horizontal chords, welded splice connections, and attachments. An element condition rating was developed. The element condition rating took into consideration specific rating criteria ranging from severe to good condition. Current condition of each sign structure was then evaluated by an overall condition rating system. The overall condition rating is estimated based on calculating the ratio between the total score of each structure (S) and its maximum possible total score (Smax). Following the developed rating methodology presented in the report for the inspected weathering steel sign structures, seven percent were found to be at high risk, 50 percent were at moderate risk, and 43 percent were at low risk. The rating system is intended to assist the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) to make rational decisions on whether there is a need to repair or replace at-risk elements or connections. In-depth evaluations are recommended for the sign structures with the highest risk rating. Further evaluations are recommended for the sign structures with a moderate risk rating to detect any serious defects which may endanger the structure or the traveling public. Normal periodic inspections are recommended for the sign structures with a low risk rating. KW - Condition surveys KW - Evaluation KW - Forms (Documents) KW - Inspection KW - Ratings KW - Sign supports KW - Traffic signs KW - Weathering steel KW - West Virginia UR - http://www.mticutc.org/assets/pdf/Final_Report-_Weathering_Steel_Overhead_Sign_Structures.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1326941 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01539268 AU - Agrawal, Asha Weinstein AU - Nixon, Hilary AU - San Jose State University AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options to Support Public Transit, Highways, and Local Streets and Roads? Results from Year Five of a National Survey PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 114p AB - This report summarizes the results of year five of a national poll asking 1,503 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues, with a special focus on understanding support for increasing revenues for public transit. Eleven specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. Other questions probed various perceptions related to public transit, including knowledge and opinions about federal taxes to support transit. The survey results show that a majority of Americans would support higher taxes for transportation under certain conditions. For example, a gas tax increase of 10¢ per gallon to improve road maintenance was supported by 69 percent of respondents, whereas support levels dropped to just 25 percent if the revenues were to be used more generally to maintain and improve the transportation system. For tax options where the revenues were to be spent for undefined transportation purposes, support levels varied considerably by what kind of tax would be imposed, with a sales tax much more popular than either a gas tax increase or a new mileage tax. With respect to public transit, results show that most people want good public transit service and nearly two-thirds support spending gas tax revenues on transit. However, questions exploring different methods to raise new revenues found relatively low levels of support for raising gas tax or transit fare rates. Also, not all respondents were well informed about how transit is funded, with only half knowing that fares do not cover the full cost of transit. KW - Fares KW - Federal aid KW - Fuel taxes KW - Government funding KW - Public opinion KW - Public transit KW - Revenues KW - Surveys KW - Taxation UR - http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1328-road-tax-public-opinion-poll-2014.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm5tb2n37/1/producer%2F883791031.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52143/1328-road-tax-public-opinion-poll-2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315407 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01539264 AU - Standridge, Charles R AU - Corneal, Lindsay AU - Mineta National Transit Research Consortium AU - San Jose State University AU - Grand Valley State University AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Remanufacturing, Repurposing, and Recycling of Post-Vehicle-Application Lithium-Ion Batteries PY - 2014/06 SP - 70p AB - As lithium-ion batteries are an efficient energy storage mechanism, their use in vehicles is increasing to support electrification to meet increasing average mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas emission standards. Principles of environmentalism and sustainability suggest the development of processes for the remanufacturing, repurposing, and recycling of post-vehicle-application lithium-ion batteries. Proprietary commercial processes for remanufacturing for reuse in vehicles require safe battery testing that is supported by a newly developed workbench. Repurposing, with a focus on stationary energy storage applications and the development of battery management systems, is demonstrated. Recycling to recover the battery component materials using manual disassembly and acid leaching at relatively low temperatures and in short time periods is shown to be effective. A cost benefit-analysis shows that remanufacturing is profitable. Repurposing is profitable if the development cost is no more than $83/kWh to $114/kWh, depending on research and development expenses. Recycling, driven by environmental and sustainability principles, is not profitable in isolation. The cost of recycling must be borne by remanufacturing and repurposing. A forecasting model shows that the number of post-vehicle-application lithium-ion batteries will be sufficient to support remanufacturing, repurposing, and recycling. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Costs KW - Economic analysis KW - Energy storage systems KW - Forecasting KW - Lithium batteries KW - Recycling KW - Salvage UR - http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1137-post-vehicle-Li-Ion-recycling.pdf UR - http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/RC1604_462068_7.pdf?20140708092141 UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm5z33cv0/1/producer%2F883331185.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313474 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538338 AU - Guthrie, W Spencer AU - Bytheway, Rachel AU - Dye, Jeremy B AU - Eggett, Dennis L AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Comparison of Wintertime Asphalt and Concrete Pavement Surface Temperatures on U.S. Route 40 Near Heber, Utah PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 39p AB - Asphalt and concrete pavement surface temperatures were compared at a location on U.S. Route 40 in northern Utah where asphalt and concrete meet end to end at the base of the mountain pass. An environmental sensor station was installed to facilitate monitoring of asphalt and concrete pavement surface temperatures, as well as selected climatic variables, at the site. To compare the surface temperatures of the concrete and asphalt pavements during freezing conditions, multivariate regression analyses were performed on data collected during the three winter seasons from 2009 to 2012. Equations were generated for three response variables, including the asphalt surface temperature, concrete surface temperature, and difference in temperatures between the asphalt and concrete surfaces. The statistical models developed in the analyses show that the surface temperature of both asphalt and concrete pavement increases with increasing air temperature and decreases with increasing relative humidity and wind speed and that the difference in pavement temperatures decreases with decreasing air temperature. For the studied site, the data indicate that concrete pavement will experience freezing before asphalt pavement for all time periods except late afternoon, when the pavement types are predicted to freeze at the same air temperature. Therefore, for material properties and environmental conditions similar to those evaluated in this study, asphalt would require less winter maintenance, on average, than concrete. Due to the interactions among albedo, specific heat, and thermal conductivity, the actual thermal behavior of a given pavement will depend on the material properties and environmental conditions specific to the site. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Concrete pavements KW - Freezing KW - Regression analysis KW - Statistical analysis KW - Surface temperature KW - Time periods KW - Utah KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=15640513143397303 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322291 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538277 AU - ICF International AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: The Gulf Coast Study, Phase 2, Task 3.1: Screening for Vulnerability PY - 2014/06 SP - 375p AB - As part of Gulf Coast Study Phase 2, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) sought to improve its understanding of how a metropolitan transportation system—including highways, ports, airports, rail, transit, and pipelines—could be affected by climate change. Building on previous work under this project that determined which transportation assets were critical and that developed climate projection data and scenarios, the U.S. DOT developed and tested methodologies for conducting a transportation system-wide climate vulnerability assessment. The goals of this effort were two-fold: (1) to develop and pilot novel approaches for conducting system-wide climate change vulnerability assessments with the intention that the methodologies could be replicated by other transportation agencies, and (2) to understand where important transportation-related climate vulnerabilities may exist in Mobile, Alabama, the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) serving as the pilot for all methodologies developed under the Gulf Coast project. KW - Climate change KW - Gulf Coast KW - Infrastructure KW - Methodology KW - Metropolitan areas KW - Mobile (Alabama) KW - Risk assessment UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/climate_change/adaptation/ongoing_and_current_research/gulf_coast_study/phase2_task3/task_3.1/phase2task3.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322515 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538255 AU - Rogers, Maile A AU - Guthrie, W Spencer AU - Flerchinger, Gerald N AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Water Vapor Movement in Freezing Aggregate Base Materials PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 281p AB - The objectives of this research were to 1) measure the extent to which water vapor movement results in water accumulation in freezing base materials; 2) evaluate the effect of soil stabilization on water vapor movement in freezing base materials; 3) determine if the corresponding changes in water content are sufficient to cause frost heave during winter; 4) determine if the corresponding changes in water content are sufficient to cause reductions in stiffness during spring; 5) evaluate relationships between selected material properties, freezing conditions, and the occurrence and impact of water vapor movement; and 6) numerically simulate heat and water movement in selected pavement design scenarios. The research involved extensive laboratory and field testing, statistical analyses, and numerical modeling. For a pavement section with a base layer underlain by a capillary barrier, water vapor movement may be expected to increase the water content of the base layer by 1 to 3 percent during a typical winter season in northern Utah, with the effect of stabilization depending on the soil properties. Accumulation of water from long-term water vapor movement into a frost-susceptible base material can lead to frost heave of the base layer as it approaches saturation but may not cause measurable increases in thaw weakening of the base layer during spring. Because water in the base layer cannot drain until nearly reaching positive pore pressures, only non-frost-susceptible base materials should be specified for use in cold climates in conjunction with capillary barriers, and the base material should be assumed to remain in a saturated condition during the entire service life of the pavement. KW - Aggregates KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Freezing KW - Frost heaving KW - Moisture content KW - Pavement design KW - Soil stabilization KW - Stiffness KW - Utah KW - Water vapor UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=15640614097416474 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322297 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538187 AU - Guthrie, W Spencer AU - Thomas, Chase D AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Deicer Usage on Concrete and Asphalt Pavements in Utah PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 110p AB - The objectives of this research were to 1) compile winter maintenance data for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to directly compare concrete and asphalt pavements with regards to deicer usage and 2) determine if there is a statistical difference in deicer usage on concrete and asphalt pavements. To this end, three data sources were consulted for this research: Maintenance Management Quality Assurance (MMQA) database, UDOT road database, and Google Maps. The final compiled data set prepared for analysis in this research contained deicer quantities by deicer type, pavement surface areas by pavement material type, traffic, longitude, latitude, and elevation data. The deicer data evaluated in this analysis represented the total quantities of each deicer distributed during the 8-year period during which the MMQA database was used by UDOT. Several multiple linear regression analyses were performed to determine if concrete or asphalt pavements required different amounts of deicers, including salt, Redmond salt, brine, wetted salt, magnesium chloride, sand, pre-mix, and wetted pre-mix, during the winter seasons evaluated in this research. From the results of the statistical analyses, concrete proportion was statistically significant in models for three of the dependent variables, including brine, wetted salt, and wetted pre-mix. However, neither the full nor the reduced regression model prepared for the sum of all deicers had concrete proportion as one of the significant variables. The absence of concrete proportion as an independent variable in these models shows that, on average, after correcting for differences in traffic volume and pavement area, deicer usage in Utah is not affected by pavement type. Therefore, except in areas where applications of brine, wetted salt, and wetted pre-mix are common, winter maintenance costs should not be a factor in the determination of pavement type. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Concrete pavements KW - Deicing chemicals KW - Linear regression analysis KW - Statistical analysis KW - Traffic volume KW - Utah KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=15631113189708784 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322287 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537858 AU - Stanley, Laura AU - Plumb, Carolyn AU - Pimley, Eric AU - Borden, Kelly AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Montana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Final Report: A Peer-to-Peer Traffic Safety Campaign PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 201p AB - The purpose of this project was to implement a peer-to-peer driver’s safety program designed for high school students. This project builds upon an effective peer-to-peer outreach effort in Texas entitled Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS), the nation’s first peer-to-peer driving safety program run by teens for teens. This program is based on the idea that teens will pay more attention to ideas that are presented by their peers than to those that come from adults. The peer-to-peer traffic safety campaign program empowers high school students to create methods of outreach to their peers. The implementation of this project followed that of the TDS high school program developed by the Texas Transportation Institute, and was assessed using a case–control experimental design across two urban and two rural Montana high schools that included approximately 2,700 students. Results did show some early success in improving teens’ awareness of the most dangerous risk factors for teen drivers. Moreover, the program was found to be effective in reaching even those teens in the schools that were not affiliated with the program. These results were more prominent in the rural group than the urban group. However, self-reported driving behaviors did not reflect this change (except for an increase in seatbelt usage). Urban teens reported being influenced most by their peers, closely followed by a parent, whereas rural teens reported being nearly equally influenced by their peers and a parent. Another key finding was that the effectiveness of certain types of peer-to-peer media, such as posters,differed by school size. KW - Attitudes KW - Behavior modification KW - High school students KW - Montana KW - Outreach KW - Parents KW - Peer groups KW - Rural areas KW - Safety campaigns KW - Teenage drivers KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic safety education KW - Urban areas UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/peer-to-peer/FINAL_REPORT_14.pdf UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/peer-to-peer/GUIDEBOOK_MAR14.PDF UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323232 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537850 AU - Carpenter, Michael G AU - Moury, M Todd AU - Skvarce, Jeffrey R AU - Struck, Matthias AU - Zwicky, Timothy D AU - Kiger, Steven M AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Objective Tests for Forward Looking Pedestrian Crash Avoidance/Mitigation Systems PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 264p AB - This report documents the work completed by the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) Consortium during the project titled “Objective Tests for Forward Looking Pedestrian Crash Avoidance/Mitigation Systems.” Participating companies in the CIB Consortium were Continental, Delphi Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz. The purpose of the project was to attempt to define minimum performance requirements and objective test procedures for pedestrian crash avoidance and mitigations systems. Two types of tests were examined in this study. Functional tests evaluate the intended performance of pedestrian crash avoidance/mitigation (PCAM) systems in their ability to avoid or mitigate a potential pedestrian crash. Operational tests assess the propensity of a PCAM system to trigger false (unintentional) activations where no system activation is desired. Based on data obtained during test track and on-road testing, test procedures were recommended for both types of tests. KW - Active safety systems KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Test procedures UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash Avoidance/Technical Publications/2014/812040_CAMP_FLV_MitigationReport .pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323287 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537481 AU - Donnell, Kristen M AU - Ghasr, Mohammad Tayeb AU - Kinzel, Edward C AU - Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety/NUTC program AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Novel Integrated Nondestructive Testing Methodology for Detection and Evaluation of Corrosion in Cement-Based Materials PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 21p AB - The objective of this project focused on the development of a hybrid nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) methodology that combines the benefits of microwave NDT and thermography into one new technique. In this way, unique features of both NDT methods can be brought together to achieve new results that one method alone cannot achieve. Preliminary results have shown the combination of microwave and infrared (IR) methods as a promising technique for detection of corrosion in metals. The objective of this project is to build upon these preliminary results to investigate the feasibility of this new technique, herein referred to as Active Microwave Thermography (AMT), to detect and evaluate the presence of corrosion in cement-based materials (e.g., corrosion of reinforcing steel bars, or rebar), which is of critical importance to the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Included in this investigation was the acquisition of a small AMT system (designed and built by the graduate student supported by this project) to allow investigators to perform properly controlled experiments with consideration given to incident microwave power, distribution of the microwave energy, frequency, polarization of the incident signal, etc. KW - Corrosion KW - Infrared imagery KW - Infrared thermography KW - Microwaves KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Reinforced concrete KW - Reinforcing bars KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Technological innovations KW - Thermographs UR - http://transportation.mst.edu/media/research/transportation/documents/R341%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323190 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536632 AU - Mehta, Yusuf AU - Guercio, Maria Chiara AU - McCarthy, Leslie AU - Rowan University AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - New Jersey Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Determine Viscoelastic Mechanical Properties of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA)-Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Mixes under High Stresses in Airfield Flexible Pavements and Its Impacts on Design Life PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 24p AB - The introduction of larger aircrafts on flexible airfield pavements has led to a need for asphalt mixtures capable of sustaining such heavy loads. This laboratory and analytical study investigated the mechanical responses of a number of modified asphalt mixtures to identify their potential for use in airfield aprons and taxiways that are subjected to heavy, static or slow-moving aircraft loads. The mixtures analyzed in this study consisted of a P-401 mixture (used as baseline); a warm mix asphalt (WMA) with 35% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) added to the aggregate portion; a stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixture; two hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures with two different modified binder grades (PG82-22 and PG70-22); a dense-graded asphalt (DGA) mixture; and a bottom rich intermediate course (BRIC) mixture. The airfield flexible pavement section constructed at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Airport Pavement Test Facility Construction Cycle – 1 was modeled using the three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) software ABAQUS™. Laboratory-compacted specimens of each modified asphalt mixture were tested using American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards to determine volumetric properties and mechanical responses. The effects of static and dynamic aircraft loading were evaluated in ABAQUS™ using the material properties of the mixtures determined in the laboratory. Flow time and overlay tester results were found to be closely related to the performance of the modified asphalt mixtures. Higher flow time values resulted in lower stresses and deflections in the asphalt surface course. Higher cycles to failure resulted in lower tensile strains at the bottom of the surface course. The rutting performance of all mixtures analyzed in this study, except for HMA PG70-22 and DGA mixtures was comparable to the performance of the baseline (FAA P-401) mixture. Based on the overlay test results, it was found that all of the mixtures analyzed in this study, except for the SMA, exceeded the minimum threshold value and might be comparable to the baseline (FAA P-401) mixture. Based on the findings of this study, it appears that a number of mixtures more commonly used in highway pavements, including modified mixtures, warm mix asphalt, and reclaimed asphalt pavement perform similarly to or even outperform the FAA standard asphalt mixture. The results of this initial study support the idea that an opportunity exists for airports to implement emerging asphalt paving materials without compromising the pavement design life. KW - Airport runways KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Finite element method KW - Flexible pavements KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Loads KW - Pavement design KW - Reclaimed asphalt pavements KW - Rutting KW - Service life KW - Stone matrix asphalt KW - Viscoelasticity KW - Warm mix paving mixtures UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/Final-Viscoelastic-Properties-Warm-Mix-Asphalt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321364 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536074 AU - Santasieri, Colette L AU - Vroom, Sean C AU - Hughey, Robert AU - Bay, Paul AU - Dunphy, Robert AU - New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - AECOM Planning+Design AU - Citiventure Associates, LLC AU - E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC AU - PlaceMatters, Inc. AU - Van Meter, Williams, Pollack, LLP TI - Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner's Guide—Section 1: Introduction PY - 2014/06 SP - 26p AB - This guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected officials, staff, land use planners, and transit planners integrate transit planning with local land use planning. This guide includes best practices, guidance, success stories, useful techniques, transferable examples, and lessons learned, aimed at providing planners at the regional, corridor, and local levels with ideas on how to integrate, accommodate, and assess transit-supportive development and transit investment. Included are numerous success stories for integrating transit planning and land use planning. This guide seeks to go beyond just highlighting case studies by providing a link between the regional, corridor, and local planning processes for integrating land use and transit and examining regions that have successfully developed and integrated plans. The guide is meant to be a resource for planners to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to integrate transit and land use planning in an effort to encourage transit-supportive development. “Section 1—Introduction” provides an overview of the guide, highlights challenges to transit-supportive development, discusses planning coordination, describes the publication development process, and presents information on the guide’s format and use. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Land use planning KW - Public transit KW - Regional planning KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation corridors KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0053.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55540/FTA_Report_No._0053.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320937 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536072 AU - Santasieri, Colette L AU - Vroom, Sean C AU - Hughey, Robert AU - Bay, Paul AU - Dunphy, Robert AU - New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - AECOM Planning+Design AU - Citiventure Associates, LLC AU - E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC AU - PlaceMatters, Inc. AU - Van Meter, Williams, Pollack, LLP TI - Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner's Guide—Section 5: Local Planning and Transit-Supportive Development PY - 2014/06 SP - 106p AB - “Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner’s Guide” is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected officials, staff, land use planners, and transit planners integrate transit planning with local land use planning. This guide includes best practices, guidance, success stories, useful techniques, transferable examples, and lessons learned, aimed at providing planners at the regional, corridor, and local levels with ideas on how to integrate, accommodate, and assess transit-supportive development and transit investment. Included are numerous success stories for integrating transit planning and land use planning. This guide seeks to go beyond just highlighting case studies by providing a link between the regional, corridor, and local planning processes for integrating land use and transit and examining regions that have successfully developed and integrated plans. The guide is meant to be a resource for planners to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to integrate transit and land use planning in an effort to encourage transit-supportive development. “Section 5: Local Planning and Transit-Supportive Development” presents information on station and transit-supportive development characteristics, and station neighborhood planning case studies KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Land use planning KW - Public transit KW - Rail transit stations KW - Regional planning KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation corridors KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0057.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55544/FTA_Report_No._0057.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320968 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536068 AU - Santasieri, Colette L AU - Vroom, Sean C AU - Hughey, Robert AU - Bay, Paul AU - Dunphy, Robert AU - New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - AECOM Planning+Design AU - Citiventure Associates, LLC AU - E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC AU - PlaceMatters, Inc. AU - Van Meter, Williams, Pollack, LLP TI - Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner's Guide—Section 4: Corridor Planning and Transit-Supportive Development PY - 2014/06 SP - 300p AB - “Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner’s Guide” is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected officials, staff, land use planners, and transit planners integrate transit planning with local land use planning. This guide includes best practices, guidance, success stories, useful techniques, transferable examples, and lessons learned, aimed at providing planners at the regional, corridor, and local levels with ideas on how to integrate, accommodate, and assess transit-supportive development and transit investment. Included are numerous success stories for integrating transit planning and land use planning. This guide seeks to go beyond just highlighting case studies by providing a link between the regional, corridor, and local planning processes for integrating land use and transit and examining regions that have successfully developed and integrated plans. The guide is meant to be a resource for planners to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to integrate transit and land use planning in an effort to encourage transit-supportive development. “Section 4: Corridor Planning and Transit-Supportive Development” presents information on premium transit modes, corridor planning case studies, and guidance on integrating transit-supportive development considerations into the transit corridor planning and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Land use planning KW - National Environmental Policy Act KW - Public transit KW - Regional planning KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation corridors KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0056.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55543/FTA_Report_No._0056.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320967 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536067 AU - Santasieri, Colette L AU - Vroom, Sean C AU - Hughey, Robert AU - Bay, Paul AU - Dunphy, Robert AU - New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - AECOM Planning+Design AU - Citiventure Associates, LLC AU - E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC AU - PlaceMatters, Inc. AU - Van Meter, Williams, Pollack, LLP TI - Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner's Guide—Section 2: General Transit-Supportive Development Planning Topics PY - 2014/06 SP - 172p AB - “Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner’s Guide” is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected officials, staff, land use planners, and transit planners integrate transit planning with local land use planning. This guide includes best practices, guidance, success stories, useful techniques, transferable examples, and lessons learned, aimed at providing planners at the regional, corridor, and local levels with ideas on how to integrate, accommodate, and assess transit-supportive development and transit investment. Included are numerous success stories for integrating transit planning and land use planning. This guide seeks to go beyond just highlighting case studies by providing a link between the regional, corridor, and local planning processes for integrating land use and transit and examining regions that have successfully developed and integrated plans. The guide is meant to be a resource for planners to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to integrate transit and land use planning in an effort to encourage transit-supportive development. “Section 2—General Transit-Supportive Development Planning Topics” presents information on issues that affect all three planning levels, including leadership and champions, regulatory tools, funding and financing, economic benefits, and visualization tools. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Economic benefits KW - Financing KW - Land use planning KW - Public transit KW - Regional planning KW - Regulation KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation corridors KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0054.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55541/FTA_Report_No._0054.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320938 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536066 AU - Santasieri, Colette L AU - Vroom, Sean C AU - Hughey, Robert AU - Bay, Paul AU - Dunphy, Robert AU - New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - AECOM Planning+Design AU - Citiventure Associates, LLC AU - E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC AU - PlaceMatters, Inc. AU - Van Meter, Williams, Pollack, LLP TI - Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner's Guide—Section 3: Regional Vision Planning and Transit-Supportive Development PY - 2014/06 SP - 31p AB - “Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner’s Guide” is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected officials, staff, land use planners, and transit planners integrate transit planning with local land use planning. This guide includes best practices, guidance, success stories, useful techniques, transferable examples, and lessons learned, aimed at providing planners at the regional, corridor, and local levels with ideas on how to integrate, accommodate, and assess transit-supportive development and transit investment. Included are numerous success stories for integrating transit planning and land use planning. This guide seeks to go beyond just highlighting case studies by providing a link between the regional, corridor, and local planning processes for integrating land use and transit and examining regions that have successfully developed and integrated plans. The guide is meant to be a resource for planners to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to integrate transit and land use planning in an effort to encourage transit-supportive development. “Section 3: Regional Vision Planning and Transit-Supportive Development” presents key ingredients for developing regional vision plans and methods for forecasting regional markets. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Land use planning KW - Public transit KW - Regional planning KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation corridors KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0055.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55542/FTA_Report_No._0055.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320939 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535813 AU - Pecheux, Kelley Klaver AU - Geiselbrecht, Tina S AU - Kraus, Edgar AU - Simek, Chris AU - Kennedy, Jason AU - Bricka, Stacey G AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Applied Engineering Management (AEM) Corporation AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute TI - Creation of a Customer Relations Development System PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 181p AB - The objective of this project was to conduct research that would lead to the development of recommendations and specifications for a system that could facilitate efficient two-way communications between Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and its customers and that could efficiently and accurately gather, process, and quantify the needs and requirements of ODOT’s customers. A variety of data collection activities were employed, including: a best practices review of peer organizations, an assessment of available customer relations tools and software, interviews and a focus group with ODOT staff, an assessment of the quantity and quality of ODOT customer communications data and an analysis of individual communications, and a limited customer survey. The findings were used to conduct in-depth gap and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analyses. The gaps, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were all assessed across four areas: internal processes and communications; customer communications portals/tools; customer communications, information, and service; and customer communications data. The results of these analyses elucidated a number of gaps and challenges standing in the way of ODOT realizing its goals for improved two-way communications and customer service. On the other hand, the research also identified a wide variety of available opportunities (both immediate and longer term) that could help ODOT achieve its goals. KW - Best practices KW - Communication systems KW - Customer satisfaction KW - Customer service KW - Data collection KW - Databases KW - Ohio Department of Transportation UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/889248467/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1318829 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535769 AU - Liu, Xiaofeng AU - Ashraf, Fahmidah AU - Strom, Kyle B AU - Wang, Keh-Han AU - Briaud, Jean-Louis AU - Sharif, Hatim AU - Bin-Shafique, Sazzad AU - University of Texas, San Antonio AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessment of the Effects of Regional Channel Stability and Sediment Transport on Roadway Hydraulic Structures PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 236p AB - This report includes a literature review on the subject of degradation and aggradation, bank erosion, channel stability, fluvial geomorphology, river hydraulics, and erosion countermeasures. Researchers also collected and integrated data from all possible sources into a geographic information system (GIS) database which can be used by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) engineers. Then the research team surveyed existing numerical models with the aim of identifying tools to evaluate different design options. The selected tools were tested on six sites in Texas where field observations and measurements were carried out in this project. Sediment samples were taken from both the river bottom and the banks. Samples were processed in the lab for grain size distributions. They were also tested using the Erosion Function Apparatus (EFA) at Texas A&M University (TAMU). The results from these tests were used in the predictive models. The final product is the analysis procedures and design guidelines for structures in unstable streams. The document is written in the format which can readily replace the relevant section in the current TxDOT Hydraulic Design Manual. KW - Channel stabilization KW - Channels (Waterways) KW - Computer models KW - Databases KW - Field studies KW - Geographic information systems KW - Geomorphology KW - Hydraulic structures KW - Hydraulics KW - Literature reviews KW - Rivers KW - Scour KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6724-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317302 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535732 AU - Wang, Yinhai AU - Araghi, Bahar Namaki AU - Malinovskiy, Yegor AU - Corey, Jonathan AU - Cheng, Tianxing AU - Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Error Assessment for Emerging Traffic Data Collection Devices PY - 2014/06//Research Report SP - 122p AB - Because access to travel time information can significantly influence the decision making of both agencies and travelers, accurate and reliable travel time information is increasingly needed. One important step in providing that information is to identify the sensors best suited to provide travel time data for a given corridor. Currently, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of various travel time data collection technologies side-by-side. This evaluation was intended to provide decision support for transportation agencies looking to select travel time systems on the basis of accuracy, reliability, and cost. This study focused on two test corridors: State Route 522 (SR 522) (an urban arterial with frequent intersections) between the NE 153rd Street and 83rd Place NE intersections, and I-90 (rural freeway built over Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade mountains) from milepost 109 (Ellensburg, Washington) to milepost 32 (North Bend, Wash). The sensor systems tested were Washington State Department of Transportation’s pre-existing automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system, Sensys emplacements, the TrafficCast BlueTOAD system, Blip Systems BlipTrack sensors, and a third-party feed from Inrix. This study’s approach was to look at the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) to judge the expected magnitude of error, then examine the Mean Percent Error (MPE) to find any systematic biases in the data. The Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) was useful for finding the relative magnitude of the error, and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was used to determine whether a few large errors or many smaller errors were occurring. Each system in the analysis demonstrated different strengths and weaknesses that should be considered in addition to its accuracy and sample rates. Some systems can provide additional data; others trade accuracy and coverage for cost or portability. Ultimately, engineers will need to weigh their requirements for accuracy and sample rates against the other engineering constraints imposed on their system. KW - Accuracy KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Costs KW - Data collection KW - Reliability KW - Sensors KW - Technology assessment KW - Traffic data KW - Travel time KW - Washington (State) UR - http://depts.washington.edu/pactrans/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PacTrans-18-624909-McCormack-Edward-Small-Project.pdf UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/810.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320031 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535687 AU - McAvoy, Deborah S AU - Theberge, Ryan AU - Ohio University, Athens AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Comparison and Testing of Various Noise Wall Materials PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 224p AB - Noise barriers are a necessary structure along the highway to protect the local residents from excessive road noise. There are many different materials from which noise barriers can be constructed. As of 2004, the most widely used noise barrier material was concrete which accounts for approximately 80 percent of all the noise barriers in the United States. Other noise barrier materials include metal, plastic, wood or soil. Each of the materials used to construct noise barriers has advantages and disadvantages both acoustically and aesthetically. This study was done to determine which of the currently used noise barrier materials in Ohio produced the largest noise reduction. There were seven different materials field tested across the State of Ohio; absorptive concrete walls, reflective concrete walls, hollow fiberglass walls, rubber-filled fiberglass walls, steel walls, clear walls and earthen berms. The noise barriers were tested by measuring noise levels in front of the barrier, above the barrier and behind the barrier while recording traffic data (volume, class, and lane position) and atmospheric conditions. The noise reduction results across the various barrier materials were then compared to determine which material yielded the greatest noise reduction. The Traffic Noise Model (TNM) parameters were set to replicate each site that was tested and the noise reduction results from the model were recorded. The results from the model and the field were then compared to determine if the model is an accurate representation of the field. KW - Berms KW - Concrete KW - Fiberglass KW - Materials tests KW - Noise barriers KW - Ohio KW - Retaining walls KW - Sound level KW - Sound transmission KW - Steel KW - Traffic noise KW - Traffic Noise Model UR - http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/SPR/Research/reportsandplans/Reports/2014/Environmental/134697_FR.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52400/52456/134697_Underway.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1318682 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535673 AU - Gabree, Scott AU - Chase, Stephanie AU - Cardosi, Kim AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Use of Color on Airport Moving Maps and Cockpit Displays of Traffic Information (CDTIs) PY - 2014/06//Preliminary Draft Report SP - 38p AB - Color can be an effective method for coding visual information, making it easier to find and identify symbols on a display (Christ, 1975). However, careful consideration should be given when applying color because excessive or inappropriate use of color can add confusion to an already complex display. A wealth of guidance exists for how to effectively use color in electronic displays, but it is spread across both Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulatory and guidance material and general human factors technical reports. Additionally, this information may not be presented in a way that clearly specifies how it can be applied to color use on an airport moving map or other avionics displays. The purpose of this document is to present known issues related to color which have been identified on current airport moving maps and Cockpit Displays of Traffic Information (CDTIs). This document also compiles FAA regulatory and guidance material, industry documents, and human factors research recommendations which address the use of color. Potential evaluation criteria for how an evaluator may assess the use of color on airport moving maps or other avionics displays are proposed. KW - Airborne navigational aids KW - Color KW - Human factors KW - Information display systems KW - Maps KW - Recommendations UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51993/Use_of_Color_on_Airport_Moving_Maps_and_CDTI.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=july%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1319588 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535660 AU - Chang, Carlos M AU - Saenz, Daniel AU - Abdallah, Imad N AU - Wimsatt, Andrew AU - Freeman, Tom AU - Fernando, Emmanuel G AU - University of Texas, El Paso AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - TxDOT Guidelines to Assign PMIS Treatment Levels PY - 2014/06//Technical Report SP - 72p AB - This report has been developed to provide Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with guidelines to assign Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) treatment levels for asphalt and rigid pavements which include Preventive Maintenance (PM), Light Rehabilitation (LRhb), Medium Rehabilitation (MRhb), and Heavy Rehabilitation (HRhb). The treatment level definitions were presented as well as their respective construction projects and frequency of use by TxDOT. The work treatments were defined with focus on the description, conditions for use, advantages, limitations, and expected performance. A decision-support matrix is also included for asphalt and concrete pavements with the aim of identifying the best treatment, based on the severity of existing distresses, traffic levels, functionality of the road, and extent of surface imperfections. In the case of asphalt pavements, an approach was presented to include available structural indices in the network-level decision making process. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Concrete pavements KW - Decision support systems KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement Management Information System KW - Pavement management systems KW - Preventive maintenance KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Rigid pavements KW - Texas Department of Transportation UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6673-P1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320001 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535655 AU - Chase, Stephanie G AU - Hiltunen, Danielle AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Incorporated AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - An Examination of Safety Reports Involving Electronic Flight Bags and Portable Electronic Devices PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 130p AB - The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of safety considerations with the use of Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) and Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) by examining safety reports from Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Runway Safety Office (RSO) and Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB), Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), and French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). A total of 335 human factors concerns were identified from the ASRS and CAA reports; most human factors concerns pertained to the use of electronic charts, and in particular scrolling and zooming. Pilots also noted the presentation of incorrect or out-of-date information, and information presented differently on electronic charts than on paper charts. Additional human factors concerns were related to inexperience/lack of expertise and distraction with the PED/EFB. Four FAA runway incursion and accident/incident reports cited EFB/PED distraction, head-down time and erroneous aircraft performance parameters (e.g., incorrect temperature). The two NTSB accident reports that involved an EFB as a contributory factor both involved pilot misinterpretation of performance calculation data during landing, one due to inadequate training and the other the result of hidden assumptions underlying performance calculations. The reports from ATSB, BEA, and TSB primarily cited take-off performance data errors as a primary factor which led to increased workload (e.g., last-minute change which could lead to errors in calculating take-off speeds). KW - Aeronautical charts KW - Air pilots KW - Aviation safety KW - Aviation Safety Reporting System KW - Crash data KW - Electronic equipment KW - Electronic flight bags KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Information display systems UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51968/An_Examination_of_Safety_Reports_Involving_EFBs_and_PEDs.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317676 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01534772 AU - Miller, John S AU - Turner, Bethany L AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Determinants of Variability in Preliminary Engineering Funding PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 184p AB - For the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), preliminary engineering (PE) is a phase in the project development process whose expenditures are differentiated from the right of way (RW) and construction (CN) phases. PE funds support tasks such as planning studies, preliminary and final design, public involvement, and environmental processes. At the program level—that is, the aggregate funds from all projects that are to be allocated to PE as opposed to RW or CN—PE expenditures must be large enough to prepare future projects for construction yet small enough to build existing projects. The initial interest in this study resulted from the fact that, assuming a fixed program amount, higher PE spending will be associated with lower CN spending, and construction spending is logically of interest to VDOT’s stakeholders. At the project level—that is, the PE funds available for a specific project—forecast PE expenditures provide project managers with a guideline regarding what resources will be needed to prepare a specific project for construction. This report analyzes the extent and causes of this variability in PE expenditures at the program and project levels. At the program level, the mean statewide PE pooled percentage was 14.7% based on data reflecting FY 2004-2012. The mean annual district PE percentage for the same period ranged from 11.3% to 21.3%, and much of this variation (89%) was explained by three statistically significant variables: the percent of expenditures spent on minimum-plan or no-plan jobs (as opposed to complete plan jobs); the percent of projects in the development phase (e.g., projects for which PE or RW but not CN funds were spent); and the percent of expenditures spent each year on large projects (defined as universal project codes [UPCs] in the 99th percentile for a given district and year). At the project level, variations in PE expenditures were explained by statistically significant variables such as the estimated construction cost, the project’s duration, whether it is administered by VDOT or some other entity, the length of the project in miles, and whether the project has a categorical exclusion. Based on a testing set of data that was not used to build the project-level forecasting models, the results suggested that the forecasting error—that is, the difference between forecast PE expenditures and actual PE expenditures for a given project—can be reduced from a mean value of about $195,000 (when one considers construction expenditures only as is currently the case) to about $109,000 (when one considers these other variables in a recalibrated model). The study recommends that the project-specific model developed herein be further piloted to determine if it continues to offer improved accuracy relative to an existing approach that relies only on the construction cost estimate. The study also recommends that the experiences one district has had of providing historical PE percentages to stakeholders in the planning and programming process be shared with other VDOT districts. Because the study showed that interviews of district staff were essential for understanding how to interpret PE expenditures, the two recommendations offered were applied at the district level. KW - Expenditures KW - Financing KW - Forecasting KW - Highway engineering KW - Highway projects KW - Preliminary engineering KW - Programming (Planning) KW - Resource allocation KW - Virginia Department of Transportation UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320127 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01533076 AU - Haas, Peter J AU - Mineta Transportation Institute AU - San Jose State University AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Modal Shift and High-Speed Rail: A Review of the Current Literature PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - x, 50p AB - This report provides a review of scholarly literature on the topic of modal shift and high-speed rail (HSR). HSR system planners assume they will attract "choice" riders who would have chosen other modes such as air, automobile, bus, etc. had the HSR not been created. Identifying and measuring the actual ability of HSR to effect modal shift is therefore critical. This report examines the evidence concerning HSR and modal shift in both secondary analyses of six previous studies and in thirteen newer studies that use primarily original data. The studies comprise a large variety of HSR systems, time periods, data sources, and means of analysis. The literature affirms that HSR has resulted in significant-to-dramatic mode shifts where it has been systematically evaluated. The most extensive and convincing information concerns HSR versus airline service, while research concerning direct competition with automobiles, express buses, and other modes is much less highly developed. KW - Airlines KW - Competition KW - Forecasting KW - High speed rail KW - Literature reviews KW - Market share KW - Modal shift KW - Mode choice KW - Ridership UR - http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1223-modal-shift-high-speed-rail-literature-review.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm5qj8xgw/1/producer%2F883917280.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52142/1223-modal-shift-high-speed-rail-literature-review.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315405 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01533065 AU - Noland, Robert B AU - Chatman, Daniel G AU - Klein, Nicholas J AU - Mineta National Transit Research Consortium AU - San Jose State University AU - Rutgers University, New Brunswick AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transit Access and the Agglomeration of New Firms: A Case Study of Portland and Dallas PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - xll, 50p AB - This research examines whether new firms are more likely to form near rail transit stations. Two relatively new light-rail systems in Portland, Oregon, and Dallas, Texas form the basis of the analysis. A geocoded, time-series database of firm births from 1991 through 2008 is analyzed using all firm births, firm births of various sizes, and firm births of specific industry sectors. A random effects, negative binomial model is used to examine associations between proximity to rail stations and other spatially defined variables. Results show that newly formed firms tend to cluster around stations in the Portland region but not in the Dallas region. There is a much stronger association between transit proximity and new firm birth in the Portland region compared to the Dallas-Ft. Worth region. In both regions, births of larger firms tend to be associated with greater proximity to transit stations, perhaps reflecting the greater agglomeration benefits that they receive. Different planning and zoning criteria in Portland versus those in Dallas may explain the relative success of Portland in achieving clusters of new firms near transit. KW - Accessibility KW - Agglomeration KW - Businesses KW - City planning KW - Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area KW - Economic development KW - Industries KW - Light rail transit KW - Location KW - Portland (Oregon) KW - Rail transit stations KW - Urban areas KW - Urban transportation policy KW - Zoning UR - http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1145-transit-access-and-firm-births-portland-dallas.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm52v3w7n/1/producer%2F883324314.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312250 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532322 AU - Ozyildirim, Celik AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Lightweight High-Performance Concrete Bulb-T Beams With Self-Consolidating Concrete in a Bridge Structure PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 26p AB - Lightweight high-performance concrete (LWHPC) with a pozzolan (fly ash or silica fume) or slag cement is expected to provide high strength and high durability with reduced dead load. Reduced dead load may provide savings in the substructure elements. Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a new technology with a very high level of workability as it easily fills formwork under the influence of its own mass, typically without any additional consolidation energy. In this study, self-consolidating LWHPC with slag cement was used in the prestressed bulb-T beams for the bridge on Route 17 over Route 15/29 in Fauquier County, Virginia. The deck has LWHPC with slag cement. The bridge has two spans, each 128 ft long. Test beams 65 ft long with the same cross section as the actual beams were cast and tested prior to the fabrication of the bridge beams. The LWHPC provided satisfactory strength and permeability in the test beams and bridge beams that were also SCC. The bridge deck concrete had satisfactory strength and durability with no cracks after two winters. The study recommends that lightweight SCCs with pozzolans or slag cement be considered in beams when there are long spans, poor soil conditions, and congested reinforcement. It is also recommended that lightweight concretes be considered for reducing deck cracking. KW - Bridge decks KW - Cracking KW - Durability KW - Lightweight concrete KW - Permeability KW - Pozzolan KW - Self compacting concrete KW - Slag cement KW - T beams KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r15.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317289 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532316 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Motorcycles PY - 2014/06 AB - In 2012, 4,957 motorcyclists were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes—an increase of 7 percent from the 4,630 motorcyclists killed in 2011. There were 93,000 motorcyclists injured during 2012, a 15-percent increase from 81,000 in 2011. In 2012, two-wheeled motorcycles accounted for 93 percent of all motorcycles in fatal crashes. In 2012, motorcyclists accounted for 15 percent of all traffic fatalities, 18 percent of all occupant (driver and passenger) fatalities, and 4 percent of all occupants injured. Motorcycles made up 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2012 and accounted for only 0.7 percent of all vehicle miles traveled. Per vehicle mile traveled in 2012, motorcyclists were more than 26 times likely than passenger car occupants to die in motor vehicle traffic crashes and 5 times more likely to be injured. Per registered vehicle, the fatality rate for motorcyclists in 2012 was 6 times the fatality rate for passenger car occupants. The injury rate for motorcyclists was about the same as the injury rate for passenger car occupants. Additional statistics on motorcyclist involvement in traffic accidents in 2012 are provided in this traffic safety fact sheet. KW - Fatalities KW - Injury rates KW - Motorcycle crashes KW - Motorcyclists KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812035.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317287 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532312 AU - Gar, Shobeir Pirayeh AU - Hurlebaus, Stefan AU - Mander, John B AU - Cummings, Wesley AU - Prouty, Michelle J AU - Head, Monique H AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Sustainability of Transportation Structures Using Composite Materials to Support Trade and Growth PY - 2014/06//Research Report SP - 126p AB - Corrosion-induced deterioration of steel rebar is one of the main reasons for repair and rehabilitation programs for conventional steel-reinforced concrete bridge decks. According to the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE), of all bridges in the United States, over 50 percent are constructed of conventional steel-reinforced or prestressed concrete, and one in three bridges is considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete due to corrosion of steel reinforcement. NACE has estimated the annual cost of corrosion-related maintenance of highway bridges in the United States at $8.3 billion. To overcome corrosion-induced structural issues, researchers have introduced and applied fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars, over the past couple of decades, as a corrosion-resistant candidate for either conventional reinforcing steel or prestressing strands. High strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and accelerated construction due to ease of placement of the bars and implementation are the special characteristics that make these bars an appealing alternative for either steel-reinforcing bars or prestressing strands. This report presents the experimental and analytical investigations of structural performance of a full-scale American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) I-girder Type I, reinforced and prestressed with aramid-fiber-reinforced polymer (AFRP) bars, where the bridge girder is composite with a topping deck. The major objectives of this research included evaluating (1) the constructability, (2) the load and deformation capacities under either flexure or shear tests, and (3) the structural performance per AASHTO load and resistance factor design (LRFD) criteria. The results of this research confirm the adequate strength and deformation capacities of the composite girder, satisfying the AASHTO LRFD criteria. The flexural capacity of the composite girder was about 1582 kNm (1167 kft.), which is 20 percent greater than the maximum factored load, 1326 kNm (978 kft.), per AASHTO LRFD. Under the flexure test, the failure mode of the girder was recognized as the tendon rupture in the bottom flange, where the maximum compressive strain in the topping deck did not reach a failure value equal to −0.003. Such a failure mode was expected because it is not practical to fit too many FRP bars within the bottom flange of the girder to over-reinforce the section and change the failure mode from tendon rupture to concrete crushing in the top fiber of the section. KW - AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications KW - Aramid fibers KW - Deformation KW - Fiber composites KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Flexural strength KW - Girders KW - Load and resistance factor design KW - Shear tests KW - Structural analysis UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00009-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317276 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531524 AU - Washburn, Leslie D AU - Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - UF Workforce Development Efforts PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 20p AB - Workforce development activities aim to attract new entrants into the transportation field and improve the skills of the existing workforce to effectively address today’s transportation system challenges. The University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) participated in three planned K-12 outreach activities for the Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE), as well as several other activities. (1) LEGO® Robot Vehicle Lesson Plans for Secondary Education: UFTI used the “Introduction to Transportation” curriculum developed at the University of Florida (UF) for students in grades 5-8 in local schools, afterschool programs, and summer camps. Students learned various fundamentals of Transportation Engineering and how the use of advanced technology is integral to solving current and future transportation problems. They also learned how much transportation affects the quality of life in our society and touches safety, livability, and economic competitiveness. (2) Transportation Career Day: Designed to introduce high school-aged students to transportation careers, the day-long event featured a presentation, lab tour, and hands-on traffic simulation exercise. (3) Family Engineering Events: UFTI hosted an informal engineering education program at local elementary schools to team up children aged 7-12 and their parents or caregivers to experience fun, hands-on engineering activities. In addition to the programs planned for STRIDE, UFTI participated in outreach with assistance from university student chapter members and through local partnerships. Students provided a booth at the College of Engineering’s Engineering Fair, and hosted morning workshops on transportation engineering in partnership with GatorTRAX, a university student run organization that hosts engineering and math workshops for K-12 students. The Cade Museum for Creativity and Innovation in Gainesville provides hands-on classes and labs that focus thematic-based learning using inventors and inventions to teach and inspire creativity in the next generation. UFTI partnered with the Cade Museum to provide workshops not only with the LEGO® robotic curriculum, but also with newly-developed straw bridge challenge, roller coaster design challenge, and engineering day curricula. KW - Elementary school students KW - Florida KW - High school students KW - Outreach KW - Transportation careers KW - Transportation engineering UR - http://stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/l_washburn_UF_workforce_final_report_2014.pdf UR - http://www.stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/l_washburn_UF_workforce_final_report_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316741 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531520 AU - Hines, Paul AU - Frolik, Jeff AU - Marshall, Jeffrey AU - Rezaei, Pooya AU - Seier, Andrew AU - Fuhrmann, Andrew AU - Dowds, Jonathan AU - Hilshey, Alexander AU - University of Vermont, Burlington AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Understanding and Managing the Impacts of Electric Vehicles on Electric Power Distribution Systems PY - 2014/06 SP - 83p AB - While there are a number of useful studies on the greenhouse gas impacts of transportation electrification, only recently have researchers begun to understand the impacts of electricity on electric power infrastructure. Thus, the primary goals of this research project were to understand these impacts in detail and to develop new methods for reducing the impact of transportation electrification on the electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure. In particular, this report focuses on understanding and mitigating the impact of transportation electrification on the medium and low voltage distribution infrastructure, through which electricity is transported from the bulk power grid, through neighborhoods, to individual homes and businesses. This project focused specifically on the impacts of electric vehicles on two key components of power distribution systems: residential service transformers, and underground cables. This project also studied new methods to dynamically adjust the number of electric vehicles that are charging simultaneously, in order to mitigate the risk of electricity infrastructure damage from electric vehicle charging. KW - Electric cables KW - Electric power transmission KW - Electric power transmission facilities KW - Electric vehicle charging KW - Electric vehicles KW - Energy consumption KW - Transformers UR - http://www.uvm.edu/~transctr/research/trc_reports/UVM-TRC-14-010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317072 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531519 AU - Sisiopiku, Virginia P AU - Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - UAB Transportation Workforce Development PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 27p AB - Transportation engineering supports safe and efficient movement of people and goods through planning, design, operation and management of transportation systems. As needs for transportation continue to grow, the future needs for qualified transportation engineers is expected to grow as well. Moreover, retirements of the baby boomers will create a new need to recruit more students in the transportation engineering field in order to address existing and future workforce needs. Despite the career development opportunities in transportation engineering and related fields, many young students lack a clear understanding of the opportunities that lie within the science and engineering fields. Thus a need exists to expose young students to the engineering field at an early age and foster interest in transportation engineering profession as a potential career choice in the future. The 2013 Kids in Engineering Day (KIED) field day event hosted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) introduced various engineering activities to elementary school students from the Birmingham-Hoover surrounding areas as a solution to overcome the unfamiliarity with the engineering field. Student participants learned about engineering disciplines and participated in fun hands-on activities. While children worked on experiments, UAB faculty and other engineering professionals offered presentations to educate parents about engineering career options, including careers in transportation. KW - Birmingham (Alabama) KW - Elementary school students KW - Transportation careers KW - Transportation engineering UR - http://stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/sisiopiku_UAB_workforce_final_report_2014.pdf UR - http://www.stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/sisiopiku_UAB_workforce_final_report_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316740 ER - TY - SER AN - 01531513 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Sivinski, Bob TI - The Effect of ESC on Passenger Vehicle Rollover Fatality Trends PY - 2014/06 SP - 4p AB - Electronic stability control (ESC) is highly effective at preventing certain types of crashes, including rollovers that result from loss of vehicle control. Although crash data does not show a significant decrease in the overall rate of rollover fatalities relative to all other traffic fatalities over the last several years, when analysis is restricted to newer vehicles and to the types of rollovers that ESC is designed to prevent, there is an obvious decline that is likely to be partially due to the effects of ESC. As ESC saturates the on-road fleet in the coming years, it is likely that rollovers resulting from loss of vehicle control will continue to decline. Other types of rollovers, such as those caused by an impact with another vehicle, are not likely to be affected by the spread of ESC in the population. KW - Crash rates KW - Electronic control KW - Electronic stability control KW - Fatalities KW - Passenger vehicles KW - Rollover crashes KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812031.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316729 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531512 AU - Druta, Christian AU - Wang, Linbing AU - Lane, D Stephen AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of the MMLS3 for Accelerated Wearing of Asphalt Pavement Mixtures Containing Carbonate Aggregates PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 33p AB - The purpose of this study was to develop an accelerated wearing protocol for assessing the susceptibility of asphalt surface mixtures to polishing. This was the second phase of the study. The first phase focused on assessing the characteristics of selected carbonate aggregates available in Virginia that are normally classified as “polishing” and thus not considered suitable for use in pavements except for those roads with an average daily traffic of less than 750 vehicles per day. The selection of aggregates used in pavements is critical in producing surfaces that will continue to provide good skid resistance through a lengthy service life. The specifications of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) call for “non-polishing aggregate” for use in most surface layers. The study was aimed at making use of locally available polishing aggregates that can reduce the cost of asphalt mixtures while maintaining satisfactory wearing and skid characteristics of the pavements. The objectives of the research were (1) to evaluate the polishing/wear features of mixtures containing limestone aggregate in the laboratory using an accelerated method; (2) to compare friction properties of the laboratory-polished specimens with actual pavement friction measurements; and (3) to compare friction properties of mixtures containing carbonate rock or blends with those of mixtures with non-carbonate rocks. The study included three types of aggregates, i.e., limestone, quartzite, and granite, and blends of these aggregates. The surface mixtures studied were conventional SM-9.5 and SM-12.5 mixtures containing various percentages of limestone, limestone recycled asphalt pavement, and limestone-granite/quartzite blends. The suggested test protocol to evaluate the polishing of asphalt concrete specimens prepared in the laboratory was developed using the third-scale model mobile load simulator (MMLS3). The MMLS3 is capable of applying realistic rolling wheel contact stresses similar to those on highways from the moving traffic. The skid resistance, friction, and texture of actual pavement surfaces and laboratory-fabricated specimens were measured after different polishing intervals. Skid resistance and frictional characteristics were measured by the British pendulum tester (BPT), dynamic friction tester, and locked-wheel skid tester; the circular texture meter was used to measure surface macrotexture. Results showed that the MMLS3 can be used to simulate traffic wearing of asphalt concrete specimens of different shapes and sizes in the laboratory including core specimens removed from existing pavements and that the BPT is effective in characterizing changes in friction on specimens that are subjected to simulated trafficking via the MMLS3. Further, test specimens should have a high initial macrotexture and mixtures should have good stability so that the wearing effects are focused on the aggregates. The study recommends that the Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research (VCTIR) work with Virginia Tech and VDOT’s western districts to design and conduct an experiment to explore a series of carbonate / non-carbonate aggregate blends for asphalt mixtures and that the mixture gradations be designed to prevent the absence of macrotexture from impacting the ability to measure the “polish” of the coarse aggregate structure of the experimental mixtures. VCTIR should purchase tires with different tread patterns and try them on the MMLS3 to evaluate the polishing rate of specimens in more detail. KW - Accelerated tests KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Carbonate rocks KW - Durability KW - Friction tests KW - Granite KW - Limestone aggregates KW - Polishing (Aggregates) KW - Quartzite KW - Skid resistance KW - Texture KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r17.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316732 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531508 AU - Casey, Patrick C AU - Alwan, Clarence W AU - Kline, Christine F AU - Landgraf, Gregory K AU - Linsenmayer, Kimberly R AU - CTC & Associates LLC AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Impacts of Using Salt and Salt Brine for Roadway Deicing PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 152p AB - Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) uses a variety of methods to help ensure safe travel on the state highway system following winter storm events. These methods include plowing, use of sand to improve traction, and use of salt and chemical compounds for deicing. While the use of salt and salt brines can help keep roads free of snow and ice, improving safety and mobility, questions have been raised about their contribution to wildlife-vehicle collisions (big-game animals may be attracted to salt used on roadways), their environmental impacts, and the corrosive effects on vehicles. To better understand these impacts, ITD requested a review of literature and state practices in each of these three areas of concern. KW - Corrosion KW - Deicing chemicals KW - Environmental impacts KW - Idaho KW - Literature reviews KW - State of the practice KW - Wildlife KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://www.itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/archived/reports/RP231FINALImpactsOfUsingSaltAndSaltBrineSynthesisWithLinks06192014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316730 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531505 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Comparison of Differences in Insurance Costs for Passenger Cars, Station Wagons, Passenger Vans, Pickups, and Utility Vehicles on the Basis of Damage Susceptibility PY - 2014/06 SP - 21p AB - This booklet, published annually, compares differences in insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger cars, station wagons, passenger vans, pickups, and utility vehicles on the basis of damage susceptibility. It does not, however, indicate a vehicle's relative safety for occupants. The information was taken from data compiled by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) in its December 2013 Insurance Collision Report, and reflects the collision loss experience of passenger cars, station wagons, passenger vans, pickups, and utility vehicles sold in the United States in terms of the average loss payment per insured vehicle year for model years 2011-2013. KW - Automobiles KW - Insurance rates KW - Loss and damage KW - Pickup trucks KW - Station wagons KW - United States KW - Utility vehicles KW - Vans UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/2014-Comparison-Insurance-Costs-812039.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315881 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531036 AU - Adams, Teresa AU - Bloom, Eleanor AU - Edil, Tuncer AU - Hanz, Andrew AU - Schroeckenthaler, Kyle AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Minnesota Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Cost Effective Means to Managing Pavements in Poor Condition PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 74p AB - Tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue hinder efforts of transportation agencies to resurrect pavements in poor condition. As a “stop-gap” measure, some agencies simply allow roads to deteriorate to gravel. However, this approach can be costly over the long-term and often results in dissatisfied users. This research project will identify construction treatments and/or materials that can be used to extend the service life of pavements in poor condition. These treatments are intended to be economical and practical “stop-gap” measures until permanent and affordable solutions are available. They are not an “alternative” to reconstruction. New emerging pavement rehabilitation strategies are being developed and tested at the Recycled Materials Resource Center (RMRC) at University of Wisconsin-Madison using superior properties of recycled materials (e.g., fly ash stabilized reclaimed asphalt pavement and recycled concrete aggregate) to extend service lives of roadways. Efforts are underway to evaluate their performance by comparative economic and environmental life cycle analyses. These methods show great promise as cost-effective measures to treat poor pavements to achieve stop-gap or longer life cycle results. The research will create tools for selecting and analyzing strategies for pavements in poor condition. The tools, created for Minnesota, will support future decision-making based on cost effectiveness by providing a synthesized method of life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). This research will illustrate design strategies that offer Minnesota greater economic and environmental sustainability in resurrecting dead roads, resulting in maintaining a healthy road system. KW - Cost effectiveness KW - Life cycle analysis KW - Life cycle costing KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Pavement management systems KW - Reclaimed asphalt pavements KW - Recycled materials KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Service life UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/CFIRE-05-03-Final-Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316830 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530981 AU - Toma, Samuel AU - Swanson, Elizabeth AU - Smith, John D AU - Najm, Wassim G AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Heavy Truck Pre-Crash Scenarios for Safety Applications Based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications PY - 2014/06 SP - 86p AB - This report describes pre-crash scenarios involving at least one heavy truck (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds), which might be addressed with crash-imminent warning systems based on short range vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. The analysis focuses on 17 target pre-crash scenarios that are statistically described using the 2004-2008 General Estimates System (GES) crash databases and the Large-Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) database. GES data is queried to quantify the societal cost and describe the driving environment, driver characteristics, and crash contributing factors of target pre-crash scenarios. LTCCS data is analyzed to portray crash causal factors. Approximately 233,000 annual police-reported crashes involving at least one heavy truck were associated with the 17 target pre-crash scenarios. These police-reported crashes contributed to about 21 billion dollars in comprehensive economic costs based on 2007 economics and 153,000 functional years lost annually. Heavy-truck drivers of interest accounted for about 57 percent of all drivers involved in these crashes. KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Crash causes KW - Crash data KW - Crash severity KW - General Estimates System KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Large Truck Crash Causation Study KW - Truck drivers KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51946/812023-Heavy_Truck_Pre-Crash_Scenarios.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314138 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530978 AU - Figliozzi, Miguel AU - Monsere, Chris AU - Nordback, Krista AU - Johnson, Pamela AU - Blanc, Bryan AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Design and Implementation of Pedestrian and Bicycle-Specific Data Collection Methods in Oregon: Pilot Study PY - 2014/06//Pilot Study Report SP - 61p AB - Although there is a growing need to access accurate and reliable pedestrian and bicycle data, there is no statewide system to collect data or plan future data collection efforts in the state of Oregon. To address these issues this research conducted a comprehensive review of pedestrian and bicycle data collection methods and counting technologies. Oregon data sources were also compiled and average annual daily traffic (AADT) estimation techniques were reviewed and applied to Oregon data. A pilot study was conducted to test bicycle and pedestrian counting methods at signalized intersections with 2070 controllers. The report also provides a summary of recommendations regarding factoring methods and the implementation of a statewide non-motorized data collection system. KW - Annual average daily traffic KW - Bicycle counts KW - Cyclists KW - Data collection KW - Implementation KW - Oregon KW - Pedestrian counts KW - Pedestrians KW - Pilot studies KW - Traffic counting UR - http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP_RES/ResearchReports/SPR754_Ped_and_Bicycle_PilotStudy.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315665 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530977 AU - Sharp, Stephen R AU - Ozyildirim, Celik AU - Mokarem, David W AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Corrosion Sensitivity of Concrete Mix Designs PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 32p AB - This study compared the durability of concrete mixtures containing supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) by evaluating the permeability, absorption, and corrosion resistance of seven mix designs and two types of reinforcement. Permeability and alkalinity are contributing factors to the durability of portland cement concrete and can strongly influence the service life and corrosion resistance of the embedded steel. In reinforced concrete systems, the ingress of chloride ions increases the probability of corrosion of the reinforcing steel. Reducing the permeability of concrete enhances its durability by hindering the ingress of chloride ions from reaching the embedded steel surface and initiating corrosion. SCMs such as Class F fly ash, silica fume, and slag cement are widely used in concrete in an effort to reduce permeability. In addition, the alkaline environment of concrete enables the formation of a passive film on the surface of the steel. As long as this protective environment is maintained, the corrosion rate of the reinforcing bar will be insignificant for the majority of applications. The results of this study indicated that the use of SCMs can reduce the permeability and absorption of the concrete, leading to more durable structures than those with plain concretes; therefore, their continued use in structures by the Virginia Department of Transportation is recommended. However, different SCMs have varying levels of durability, and the agency should consider this information when selecting SCMs for specific applications. The absorption test results in this study provided a reasonable correlation with the corrosion test results. Therefore, the absorption test should be more closely investigated as a means of evaluating the corrosion protection provided by SCMs. This study also demonstrated that the corrosion-resistant reinforcement plays the most vital role in minimizing corrosion. SCMs provide durable concretes and in combination with the corrosion-resistant reinforcement ensure reinforced concrete structures with longer service lives. KW - Absorption KW - Admixtures KW - Corrosion resistance KW - Durability KW - Fly ash KW - Mix design KW - Permeability KW - Reinforced concrete KW - Silica fume KW - Slag cement UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r19.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316029 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530975 AU - Pai, Jia-Ern AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of FMVSS No. 301, Fuel System Integrity, as Upgraded in 2005 to 2009 PY - 2014/06 SP - 46p AB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a final rule to upgrade Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 301, Fuel System Integrity, on December 1, 2003, to amend the prior standards in rear and side impacts. By increasing the impact speeds and using a moving deformable barrier, the amended test conditions are more comparable with real-world crashes than the prior standards. The rear impact upgrade phased in during model years 2007 to 2009, whereas the new side impact test went into effect in model year 2005. The analysis of the rear impact upgrade shows a statistically significant reduction in post-crash fires ranging from 50 to 60 percent. In addition, the rear impact upgrade would reduce 35 percent of the fatalities caused by rear impact fires. NHTSA believes that the rear impact upgrade will save an estimated 23 lives per year, if all vehicles meet the rear impact upgrade. However, the data do not currently show that the side impact upgrade resulted in a statistically significant reduction in side impact fires. The statistical analysis does not show any significant affiliated effect of the rear impact upgrade on frontal impact fires and first-event-rollover fires. The statistical inference of the rear impact upgrade should not apply to other crash modes. KW - Fatalities KW - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards KW - Fuel systems KW - Rear end crashes KW - Side crashes KW - Statistical analysis KW - Vehicle fires UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812038.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315394 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530973 AU - Gibbons, Ronald AU - Guo, Feng AU - Medina, Alejandra AU - Terry, Travis AU - Du, Jianhe AU - Lutkevich, Paul AU - Corkum, David AU - Vetere, Peter AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Guidelines for the Implementation of Reduced Lighting on Roadways PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 46p AB - This report provides guidelines for the implementation of an adaptive lighting system for roadway lighting. Based on the analysis of crashes and lighting performance, a series of criteria and the associated design levels have been developed to provide an approach for light level selection and the adjustability of the light level based on the needs of the driving environment. The application, the technology needs, the benefit cost, and the legal implications of adaptive lighting are also considered in this guideline document. KW - Adaptive control KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Implementation KW - Legal factors KW - Street lighting UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/14050/14050.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313860 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530971 AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Advancing a Sustainable Highway System: Highlights of FHWA Sustainability Activities PY - 2014/06 SP - 65p AB - The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is undertaking a significant amount of work related to sustainability across a number of program areas throughout the Agency. The purpose of this report is to showcase some of the ways in which FHWA is incorporating and embedding sustainability into its programs, projects, policies, processes, and partnerships. This report will highlight several agency initiatives and programs including “Action Areas” developed in consultation and collaboration with the FHWA Sustainability Working Group. The Action Areas are those in which there is currently a focus on sustainability, or are emerging activities that support the “triple bottom line” principles of sustainability. While sustainability is fully supported in other long-standing and well-established programs throughout the agency, the featured Action Areas represent significant opportunities for new growth and advancement in this area and have high potential for achieving sustainability goals and benefits in the near term. Action areas in this report are organized by topic, including: Safety, Freight and Good Movement, Asset Management, Human Environment, Financial Assessment, Roadway Maintenance, Climate Change, Air Quality, and Environmental Streamlining. This report will serve as a resource to the public, transportation professionals, and those working within FHWA to help them better understand the various sustainability activities and initiatives moving forward within the Agency. KW - Air quality KW - Asset management KW - Case studies KW - Climate change KW - Economic analysis KW - Freight traffic KW - Highway maintenance KW - Highway safety KW - Land use KW - Sustainable development KW - Sustainable transportation KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - http://www.sustainablehighways.dot.gov/documents/FHWA_Sustainability_Activities_June2014.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51985/Sustainability_Report_Final_June2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315395 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530961 AU - Franke, Kevin W AU - Ekstrom, Levi T AU - Ulmer, Kristin J AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Simplified SPT Performance-Based Assessment of Liquefaction and Effects: Tasks 1 and 2 PY - 2014/06 SP - 64p AB - The purpose of the research being performed is to provide the benefit of the full performance-based probabilistic earthquake hazard analysis, without requiring special software, training, and experience. To do this, simplified models of liquefaction triggering and lateral spread displacements that approximate the results of the full probabilistic analysis were developed. This report provides the derivation and validation of these simplified models, addressing Tasks 1 and 2 of the TPF-5(296) research contract. These simplified procedures are based on retrieving a reference value from a hazard-targeted liquefaction parameter map and calculating site-specific correction factors to adjust the reference value to represent the parameter for the site-specific soil profile. Site-specific values calculated using the simplified method are compared to those calculated using a full probabilistic method for ten cities in the United States. The difference between the full and simplified procedures for both liquefaction triggering and lateral spread displacement models is shown to be within an acceptable amount. This shows that the simplified procedures derived in this report can reasonably approximate the results of a full probabilistic procedure. KW - Dislocation (Geology) KW - Hazard analysis KW - Liquefaction KW - Seismicity KW - Soil penetration test KW - United States KW - Validation UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Document/Download/5091 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316037 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530960 AU - Ashar, Asaf AU - Amdal, James R AU - University of New Orleans AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - The Impact of Modifying the Jones Act on US Coastal Shipping PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 117p AB - The study assesses exempt coastal shipping defined as exempted from the U.S.-built stipulation of the Jones Act, operating with functional crews and exempted from Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT). The study focuses on two research questions: (a) the impact of the U.S.-built exemption on the cost of coastal shipping; and (b) the competitiveness of exempt services. The assessment is based on three typical case studies, the first two involving short and long-range services for domestic cargoes (containers and trailers) provided by Roll-on, Roll-off (RoRo) ships; the third, short-range feeder service for international containers provided by Lift-on, Lift off (LoLo) ships. The study finds that building coastal ships in foreign yards could save about 40% of the capital cost of the RoRo ships and 60% for the LoLo ships. However, due to favorable financing terms for using U.S. shipyards (Title XI), the savings in capital cost would only amount to 13%, 11%, and 4% reductions in door-to-door shipping cost for the three case studies. Because of these minor reductions, along with other structural factors, the study concludes that exempt coastal services in all three case studies are uncompetitive with present truck and rail services. KW - Case studies KW - Coastwise shipping KW - Competition KW - Costs KW - Financing KW - Freight transportation KW - Merchant Marine Act, 1920 KW - Railroad transportation KW - Roll on roll off shipping KW - Roll on roll off ships KW - Shipbuilding KW - Trucking UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2014/fr_525.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313575 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530958 AU - Guthy, Catherine AU - Rosenhand, Hadar AU - Bisch, Alison AU - Nadler, Eric AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Safety of Railroad Employees’ Use of Personal Electronic Devices PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 114p AB - This report describes two studies sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration that examined distraction from personal electronic device (PED) usage among safety-critical railroad employees. Study I considered railroad rules, railroad efficiency testing results and accident databases, as well as first-hand accounts of PED usage and the safety issues that can result from the distraction that they can cause. The Study I participants were non-operating employees, specifically maintenance of way employees and signalmen. Study II expanded upon Study I to gather a wider “snapshot” of PED usage among operating and non-operating safety critical employees, specifically locomotive engineers, conductors, car inspectors, and dispatchers. In both studies, the researchers listened to input from employees about both PEDs and company-issued electronic communication devices. The findings provide a qualitative baseline for education and outreach programs that are intended to reduce distraction related to PED use in the workplace and address the extension of existing FRA regulations that prohibit or restrict their use to non-operating employees. KW - Distraction KW - Maintenance personnel KW - Personal communication devices KW - Railroad crashes KW - Railroad safety KW - Railroad transportation KW - Regulation KW - Train crews UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3908 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52160/Railroad_Use_of_Electronic_Devices_20140620_FINAL.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313904 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530952 AU - Starnes, Marc AU - Burgess, Marilouise AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Passenger Vehicle Occupant Fatalities: The Decline for Six Years in a Row From 2005 to 2011 PY - 2014/06 SP - 55p AB - For six years in a row, the overall number of motor vehicle fatalities in the United States declined, from 43,510 in 2005 to 32,367 in 2011, a drop of 26%. During this time period, the number of passenger car (PC) occupant fatalities declined every year, from 18,512 in 2005 to 11,981 in 2011, a drop of 35%, and the number of light truck/van (LTV) occupant fatalities declined every year, from 13,037 in 2005 to 9,272 in 2011, a drop of 29%. This report examines data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Passenger vehicles (PVs) consist of PCs and LTVs. The decline in PV occupant fatalities can be better understood by examining six fatal crash types. These six types of PV occupant fatal crashes consist of two groups of single-vehicle (SV) crashes (SV PC, SV LTV), three groups of two-vehicle crashes (PC-PC, LTV-LTV, and PC-LTV), and 3+ PV crashes. These crash types each experienced large drops in fatalities from 2005 to 2011, ranging from 25% and 32% for SV LTV and SV PC fatalities respectively, to between 35% and 39% for each of the three different two-vehicle crash types, and up to 43% for fatalities in 3+ vehicle fatal crashes. For each of the six crash groups, many factors are examined, including occupant age, seat position, vehicle body type, restraint use, ejection, crash location, crash time, alcohol-impaired driving, rollover, road type, manner of collision, and more. The percentage decline in PV occupant fatalities since 2005 was higher for age groups <16 (46%), 16 to 20 (43%) and 35 to 34 (41%), and lower for groups 45 to 64 (27%) and 65+ (22%). Driver fatalities declined by 30% compared to the 39% decline in passenger fatalities. Van occupant fatalities dropped by 46%, compared to the decline in fatalities to occupants of passenger cars (36%), pickups (30%) and sport utility vehicles (21%). The 37 years of FARS data since 1975 shows that the largest fatality declines coincided with the three biggest recessions in the United States economy (1980-1982, 1990-1991, 2007-2009). From 1975 to 2011, of the 10 largest annual percentage declines in PC occupant fatality rates per vehicle miles traveled (VMT), 8 of them occurred either during or immediately following a recession. Similarly, of the 8 largest annual percentage declines in LTV occupant fatality rates per VMT, 6 of them occurred either during or immediately following a recession. Many important safety improvements to roadways (e.g., improved lighting, rumble strips), vehicles (e.g., air bags, electronic stability control) and occupant behavior (e.g., restraint use, reduced alcohol-impaired driving, moving children to the back seat) contributed to the occupant fatality reduction. This report does not focus on estimating the relative magnitude of these safety improvements. KW - Age groups KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - Multiple vehicle crashes KW - Passenger vehicles KW - Single vehicle crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States KW - Vehicle occupants UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812034.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314055 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530951 AU - Figliozzi, Miguel AU - Monsere, Chris AU - Nordback, Krista AU - Johnson, Pamela AU - Blanc, Bryan AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Design and Implementation of Pedestrian and Bicycle Specific Data Collection Methods in Oregon PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 123p AB - Although there is a growing need to access accurate and reliable pedestrian and bicycle data, there is no statewide system to collect data or plan future data collection efforts in the state of Oregon. To address these issues this research conducted a comprehensive review of pedestrian and bicycle data collection methods and counting technologies. Oregon data sources were also compiled and average annual daily traffic (AADT) estimation techniques were reviewed and applied to Oregon data. A pilot study was conducted to test bicycle and pedestrian counting methods at signalized intersections with 2070 controllers. The report also provides a summary of recommendations regarding factoring methods and the implementation of a statewide non-motorized data collection system. KW - Annual average daily traffic KW - Bicycle counts KW - Cyclists KW - Data collection KW - Implementation KW - Oregon KW - Pedestrian counts KW - Pedestrians KW - Traffic counting UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52175/SPR754_Ped_and_Bicycle.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315664 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530946 AU - Santasieri, Colette L AU - Vroom, Sean C AU - Hughey, Robert AU - Bay, Paul AU - Dunphy, Robert AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioner's Guide PY - 2014/06//Executive Summary SP - 34p AB - This guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected officials, staff, land use planners, and transit planners integrate transit planning with local land use planning. This guide includes best practices, guidance, success stories, useful techniques, transferable examples, and lessons learned, aimed at providing planners at the regional, corridor, and local levels with ideas on how to integrate, accommodate, and assess transit-supportive development and transit investment. Included are numerous success stories for integrating transit planning and land use planning. This guide seeks to go beyond just highlighting case studies by providing a link between the regional, corridor, and local planning processes for integrating land use and transit and examining regions that have successfully developed and integrated plans. The guide is meant to be a resource for planners to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to integrate transit and land use planning in an effort to encourage transit-supportive development. KW - Best practices KW - Case studies KW - Land use planning KW - Public transit KW - Transit oriented development KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0052.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55539/FTA_Report_No._0052.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314056 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530941 AU - Walsh, Colin AU - Vaisala, Incorporated AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - CDOT Thermal Mapping Report PY - 2014/06 SP - 46p AB - Thermal Mapping surveys were carried out on approximately 1000 miles of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT’s) roads. The purpose of these surveys was to identify road surface variations across the network to determine whether forecast Thermal Maps or the data from the surveys would be useful to decision-makers in the CDOT regions. The distribution of road surface temperatures across the network and identifying Climatic Domains for the regions enabled Vaisala to look at current weather station locations and whether there were any gaps in coverage. The use of forecast Thermal Maps is one that will be determined by the Boulder maintenance area in winter 2014/15. The Thermal Maps will be tested using Vaisala RoadsDSS and the final decision on whether the Thermal Mapping could be valuable to CDOT operations will be made in conjunction with the decision-makers prior to any statewide implementation plan. Vaisala has advised on potential weather station locations based on the Thermal Map findings which would complement the current setup. KW - Colorado KW - Decision making KW - Maps KW - Surface course (Pavements) KW - Surface temperature KW - Thermal imagery KW - Weather stations KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/research/pdfs/2014/thermal.pdf/at_download/file UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52145/2014-5.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315564 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530939 AU - Corotis, Ross B. AU - Liel, Abbie B AU - Lin, Yolanda C AU - Paul, Abhishek AU - University of Colorado, Boulder AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of Risk-Based Decision Methodology for Facility Design PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 167p AB - This report develops a methodology for Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to use in the risk analysis of various types of facilities and provides illustrative examples for the use of the proposed framework. An overview of the current practices and applications to illustrate the context from which the proposed methodology has been developed is presented first. Next, the report introduces the proposed methodology for CDOT. In order to understand how the framework operates in practice, two illustrative examples are presented. The first example demonstrates the framework through the context of allocating resources for the operation and maintenance of a portfolio of signalized mast arms. Two risk assessment methods are introduced through the first example, and it is shown that mast arms could benefit from varied inspection frequencies based on current structural defects present. The second illustrative example uses the framework in the context of making design decisions with regard to seismic hazard in Colorado. A quantitative risk assessment method is introduced, and the illustration suggests that seismic hazard is not a controlling hazard in Colorado. Through the literature review and presented examples, CDOT is equipped with the resources and information necessary to implement a risk-based methodology in decision-making across its organization. In the near term, the report recommends the following action items for CDOT: (1) implementation of a varied mast arm inspection routine based on structural state; (2) modification of the mast arm inspection records database to make information amenable to data-mining for risk assessment; and (3) adoption of the proposed common vocabulary and framework to discuss risk and address issues that face the organization. KW - Bridge design KW - Colorado Department of Transportation KW - Decision making KW - Design standards KW - Maintenance KW - Methodology KW - Parts of traffic signals KW - Resource allocation KW - Risk analysis KW - Risk assessment UR - http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/research/pdfs/2014/risk.pdf/at_download/file UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52144/2014-4.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315565 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530914 AU - Pickrell, Timothy M AU - Choi, Eun-Ha AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The 2013 National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats PY - 2014/06//Technical Report SP - 41p AB - This technical report presents results from the 2013 National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats (NSUBS). NSUBS is the only probability-based nationwide child restraint use survey in the United States that observes restraint use and interviews an adult occupant to collect race, ethnicity, and other data. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) National Center for Statistics and Analysis conducts the NSUBS. The 2013 NSUBS found that 46 percent of 4- to 7-year-old children were restrained in booster seats in 2013 as compared to 47 percent in 2011. Restraint use for all children under 13 remained the same at 91 percent in 2013. Although there were some indications of premature graduation to restraint types that are not appropriate for children’s age, height and weight, there were some improvements in use of appropriate restraint types in 2013 as compared to 2011. KW - Age groups KW - Booster seats KW - Child restraint systems KW - Occupant protection devices KW - Persons by race and ethnicity KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812037.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316026 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530912 AU - Liang, Yu-chang AU - Gallaher, Benjamin AU - Xi, Yunping AU - University of Colorado, Boulder AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Bridge Deck Sealers PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 65p AB - This study focuses on the evaluation of bridge deck sealers commonly used on highway bridge decks and their relative performance. After reviewing the most up-to-date research findings on chemical sealers used by state departments of transportation (DOTs), four sealer products that could potentially be used by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) were selected for evaluation. High molecular weight methacrylate (HMWM), two epoxies, and a silane were assessed for their skid resistance and ability to block or slow down moisture and chloride ion penetration into concrete bridge decks. Bridge structure E-17-QM (westbound US 36 to I-270 over I-25) was selected for the field study. The four sealers were installed on the deck surface of Bridge E-17-QM by professional contractors on 06/02/2010. Skid resistance, temperature variation, moisture fluctuation, and chloride concentration profiles in concrete were selected as the four experimental parameters for evaluating the performance of the four sealers. Eighteen integrated sensors were installed in the bridge decks in the five testing sections and at different depths for monitoring the internal temperature and relative humidity distributions in concrete. Concrete cores were taken at four periods during the project to test for chloride concentration profiles. The British Pendulum Tester (BPT) was used to measure the skid resistance of the concrete surface with and without sealers. From the analysis and comparisons of the test data, the performances of the four sealers were ranked in terms of the four experimental parameters. Without further long-term data, the use of sealers is recommended as a viable short-term protection system. If CDOT chooses to use a long-term bridge deck sealing system, HMWM is recommended over the other sealers. Eligible bridge decks should be selected based on the assessment of percent deck deterioration, estimated time to corrosion, deck surface condition, and concrete quality KW - Bridge decks KW - Chloride content KW - Colorado KW - Epoxides KW - Methyl methacrylate KW - Moisture content KW - Pendulum tests KW - Sealing compounds KW - Silane KW - Skid resistance UR - http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/research/pdfs/2014/sealers.pdf/at_download/file UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52146/2014-6.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315566 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530890 AU - Regan, Terry AU - Middleton, Scott AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Developing Formal Asset Management Plans: A TPCB Peer Exchange PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 23p AB - This report highlights key recommendations and best practices identified at the peer exchange on Transportation Asset Management Plans (TAMP), held on February 5 and 6, 2014, in Columbia, South Carolina. This event was sponsored by the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) Peer Program, which is jointly funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Through this peer exchange South Carolina Department of Transportation sought to gain a better understanding of the asset management process. The peers agencies represented were Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Minnesota Department of Transportation and North Carolina Department of Transportation. KW - Asset management KW - Best practices KW - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development KW - Minnesota Department of Transportation KW - North Carolina Department of Transportation KW - Peer exchange KW - South Carolina Department of Transportation KW - State departments of transportation KW - Transportation planning UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51869/SCDOT_Asset_Management_Peer_Exchange-_Columbia_February_2014__2_.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314141 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530888 AU - Schug, Jason AU - Neeraj, Vyom AU - Paul, James AU - Wiseman, Marc AU - Ricardo Strategic Consulting AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Review Codes, Standards, and Regulations for Natural Gas Locomotives PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 35p AB - This report identified, collected, and summarized relevant international codes, standards, and regulations with potential applicability to the use of natural gas as a locomotive fuel. Few international or country-specific codes, standards, and regulations specifically written for natural gas fueled locomotives and tender cars were found, so the search was expanded to include natural gas as a transportation fuel. The inquiry yielded 181 documents primarily from countries that were reviewed as part of this project. KW - Coding systems KW - Countries KW - International KW - Locomotives KW - Natural gas KW - Natural gas vehicles KW - Regulations KW - Standards UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3907 UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3909 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313905 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530876 AU - Young, Logan Michael AU - Durham, Stephan AU - Liu, Rui AU - University of Colorado, Denver AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance of Thin Bonded Epoxy Overlays on Asphalt and Concrete Bridge Deck Surfaces PY - 2014/06 SP - 268p AB - This study is the evaluation of two thin bonded epoxy overlays: SafeLane (marketed by Cargill), and Flexogrid (developed by PolyCarb). SafeLane is advertised as an anti-skid/anti-icing overlay that stores deicing chemicals for release during winter events. Flexogrid is an anti-skid overlay. These two products were compared on the basis of physical properties, including mean texture depth, surface friction, bond strength, ability to stop chloride intrusion, and anti-icing properties, as well as traffic safety and cost. Both overlays worked as intended when they were initially applied on the bridge decks. Mean texture depth and friction testing have shown that they both provide a durable wearing surface with good traction. All the SafeLane bond tests exceeded 250 psi (1.72 MPa). Flexogrid had initial high bond strengths, but had varied failure modes. However, the delamination of the Flexogrid overlay was identified on the bridge deck even after this product was reapplied. Permeability and chloride testing of the underlying concrete decks indicated that both overlays work well to protect bridge decks from chloride ingress. Permeability was high, but the chloride counts did not increase with age. The anti-icing property of SafeLane is effective when pre-charged with deicing chemicals. The three sites evaluated in this study indicate a reduction in crashes, but further study is needed to monitor the long-term performance in crash reduction. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) should use the information contained within this report to develop construction specifications for thin bonded overlays. SafeLane can be considered for use on high crash rate bridges, where its high cost can be offset by an increase in traffic safety. If SafeLane is to be used as an anti-icing overlay, it should have deicing chemicals applied more often, and in smaller amounts. Pre-charging should be used when possible. Installation of Flexogrid should not be considered on bridges before the reasons causing the delamination are investigated. Studies of both overlays should continue so their long-term impacts on traffic safety can be analyzed. KW - Anti-icing KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Bridge decks KW - Colorado KW - Costs KW - Crash rates KW - Epoxides KW - Overlays (Pavements) KW - Permeability KW - Skid resistance KW - Surface texture tests UR - http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/research/pdfs/2014/thinbonded.pdf/at_download/file UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52169/2014-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315568 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530870 AU - Asare, Sampson K AU - Smith, Brian L AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Identifying and Prototyping Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Strategies for Application in Virginia PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 59p AB - Highway congestion is a major problem in urban transportation, and the search for feasible mitigation measures continues to evolve with advancement in technology and better understanding of traveler behavior. Due to institutional barriers and traditional practices, individual subsystems within a “corridor”—for example, arterial signal control systems and transit systems—have been operated independently, in isolation from each other. This management approach often leads to improving the performance of one subsystem at the expense of others. A more efficient approach that has the potential to improve corridor-wide mobility is to coordinate the management of the individual transportation subsystems in order to make them operate collaboratively. This holistic approach is referred to as integrated corridor management (ICM). In order to explore and demonstrate the potential for ICM application in Virginia, an investigation into the factors that are critical to its successful implementation and operation was conducted. Critical success factors were identified from the eight ICM “pioneer” sites sponsored by a U.S. Department of Transportation ICM initiative. The three most critical factors identified include (1) a robust Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) infrastructure; (2) the need for stakeholder partnerships and development of institutional frameworks within which ICM will be implemented and operated; and (3) the need to adopt standards and protocols through which information will be disseminated. Additionally, the potential effectiveness of ICM as a congestion mitigation measure in Virginia was explored by prototyping the application of a set of ICM strategies in a simulation environment using a segment of the I-95/I-395 corridor (between mile marker 152 and mile marker 163) as a test bed. The strategies implemented include variable speed limits; ramp metering; transit signal priority; financial incentives (reduction in transit and parking fees); high occupancy toll (HOT)/high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and HOV bypass; and increased transit and parking capacity. Analysis of the simulation results revealed that corridor person flow per hour had the potential to be increased by 14% under non-incident traffic conditions, compared to 38% during incident conditions. In terms of average travel time, the I-95 general purpose lanes could potentially experience a reduction of 48% and 58% under non-incident and incident traffic conditions, respectively. Whereas the average travel time on the HOV lanes remained essentially unchanged, average travel times on the primary arterial (U.S. 1N) improved by 29% under both non-incident and incident conditions. Additionally, the amount of fuel usage was reduced by 34% and 33% during non-incident and incident conditions, respectively. Although the cost of ICM implementation is high, benefit-cost ratios of 4:1 and 6:1 were obtained for non-incident and incident conditions, respectively. Based on the analysis results, it is recommended that variable speed limits, increased transit and parking capacities, HOV bypass lanes, and HOV/HOT lanes be considered the most promising for future ICM implementation in Virginia. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Congestion management systems KW - High occupancy toll lanes KW - High occupancy vehicle lanes KW - Integrated corridor management KW - Parking KW - Public transit KW - Simulation KW - Travel time KW - Urban areas KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r10.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314059 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529439 AU - Qi, Yi AU - Chen, Xiaoming AU - Cheu, Ruey Kelvin AU - Yu, Lei AU - Wu, Jianing AU - Wang, Yubian AU - Liu, Haixia AU - Liu, Guanqi AU - Lu, Yan AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Design and Scope of Impact of Auxiliary Lanes PY - 2014/06//Technical Report SP - 212p AB - For decades, Texas Department of Transportation districts have constructed auxiliary lanes to support interchange ramp operations and to resolve congestion proximate to freeway entrance and exit ramps. While auxiliary lanes are built throughout Texas, the existing roadway design manuals/guidelines do not present all of the necessary design tools and details for design engineers. The objective of this research project was to develop implementation-oriented guidelines on the use of auxiliary lanes. To fulfill this goal, the researchers (1) reviewed and synthesized national and peer states’ practices, (2) conducted a survey of traffic engineers, (3) analyzed operational benefits from adding auxiliary lanes at the segment level, (4) used micro-simulation to identify scope of impacts of auxiliary lanes at the corridor level, (5) analyzed safety impacts of adding auxiliary lanes, and (6) developed guidelines and recommended best practices. The outcomes of this study provide important recommendations and numerical tools (e.g., the look-up tables) in implementing and designing freeway auxiliary lanes for new construction or rehabilitation projects. The developed methodologies and outcomes will complement the provisions in current state roadway design manuals/guidelines. KW - Auxiliary lanes KW - Best practices KW - Freeways KW - Guidelines KW - Highway design KW - Highway safety KW - Implementation KW - Microsimulation KW - Recommendations KW - State of the practice KW - Surveys KW - Texas KW - Traffic engineers UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6706-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312416 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529424 AU - Qi, Yi AU - Chen, Xiaoming AU - Yu, Lei AU - Wu, Jianing AU - Liu, Haixia AU - Liu, Guanqi AU - Lu, Yan AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Training Strategies and Materials PY - 2014/06 SP - 68p AB - Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) project 0-6706 “Design and Scope of Impact of Auxiliary Lanes” has developed guidelines for implementation of auxiliary lanes including general guidelines on the use of auxiliary lanes and design guidelines for auxiliary lanes. To facilitate the implementation of the guidelines developed by this project, training strategies and materials have been developed for providing a training session for personnel within TxDOT who are involved in the design of freeway interchanges and ramps. This document consists of two parts. Part I “Training Strategies” provides details on the purpose, method, scheduling, and location for the training. Part II “Training Materials” provides a list of the developed training materials along with the printouts of these training materials including a PowerPoint presentation and workbook materials for Guidelines for Designing and Methods for Assessing Auxiliary Lanes. KW - Auxiliary lanes KW - Education and training methods KW - Guidelines KW - Highway design KW - Implementation KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6706-P1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312417 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529385 AU - Sanborn, Devon AU - Vermont Agency of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Epoplex Glomarc 90 Polyurea Pavement Marking PY - 2014/06//Initial Report SP - 18p AB - Pavement markings provide an important means of communication for all roadway users and must be capable of conveying information during inclement weather and evening hours when there may be little to no contribution from overhead lighting. Recently the Vermont Agency of Transportation has been applying recessed polyurea markings on most interstate rehabilitation projects. Recessing has proven effective in extending the service life of pavement markings by protecting them from wear induced by tire abrasion and shearing effects generated by snow plows. This research was conducted to evaluate the application of an experimental pavement marking, known as Epoplex Glomarc 90 Polyurea, with respect to long line application. The Epoplex Glomarc 90 Polyurea was applied on the Derby IM 091-3(46) project, located along Interstate-91 northbound and southbound between mile marker (MM) 169.8 and 177.4. Five test sites were established in the southbound lanes of the project, all of which were experimental. Following the placement of the markings, retroreflectivity and wear readings were collected using uniform methods. Retroreflectivity readings were taken on each line (white edge, white skip, yellow edge) within the southbound test site limits using the LTL 2000 Retroreflectometer. Each test site is 40 feet in length, with readings sampled every 10 linear feet. White skip lines that coincide transversely with any sample point were also tested. All markings were found to be in compliance with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommended minimum Retroreflective values, and above the Agency’s required initial retroreflective values of 500 mcdl/lx/m2 for white, and 400 mcdl/lx/m2 for yellow. The most notable observation during the site visit was that on average, the yellow markings were presenting higher retroreflective values than the white lines. Research personnel will continue to monitor and collect additional information concerning the overall durability and retroreflectivity of all test sites in accordance with the work plan. KW - Durability KW - Elastomers KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Road marking materials KW - Road markings UR - http://vtransengineering.vermont.gov/sites/aot_program_development/files/documents/materialsandresearch/completedprojects/2014%20-%2006%20Epoplex%20Glomarc%2090%20Polyurea%20Pavement%20Marking%20-%20Initial.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312804 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529377 AU - Monsere, Chris AU - Dill, Jennifer AU - McNeil, Nathan AU - Clifton, Kelly AU - Foster, Nick AU - Goddard, Tara AU - Berkow, Matt AU - Gilpin, Joe AU - Voros, Kim AU - van Hengel, Drusilla AU - Parks, Jamie AU - National Institute for Transportation and Communities AU - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Lessons From The Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes In the U.S. PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 179p AB - This report presents finding from research evaluating U.S. protected bicycle lanes (cycle tracks) in terms of their use, perception, benefits, and impacts. This research examines protected bicycle lanes in five cities: Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; and Washington, D.C., using video, surveys of intercepted bicyclists and nearby residents, and count data. A total of 168 hours were analyzed in this report where 16,393 bicyclists and 19,724 turning and merging vehicles were observed. These data were analyzed to assess actual behavior of bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers to determine how well each user type understands the design of the facility and to identify potential conflicts between bicyclists, motor vehicles and pedestrians. City count data from before and after installation, along with counts from video observation, were used to analyze change in ridership. A resident survey (n=2,283 or 23% of those who received the survey in the mail) provided the perspective of people who live, drive, and walk near the new lanes, as well as residents who bike on the new lanes. A bicyclist intercept survey (n= 1,111; or 33% of those invited to participate) focused more on people’s experiences riding in the protected lanes. A measured increase was observed in ridership on all facilities after the installation of the protected cycling facilities, ranging from +21% to +171%. Survey data indicates that 10% of current riders switched from other modes, and 24% shifted from other bicycle routes. Over a quarter of riders indicated they are riding more in general because of the protected bike lanes. A large majority of drivers and bicyclists stated that they understood the intent of the intersection designs and were observed to use them as intended, though specific designs perform better than others on certain tasks. No collisions or near-collisions were observed over 144 hours of video review for safety at intersections, including 12,900 bicyclists. Residents and bicyclists indicated that any type of buffer shows a considerable increase in self-reported comfort levels over a striped bike lane, though designs with more physical separation had the highest scores. Buffers with vertical physical objects (those that would be considered protected lanes - e.g. with flexposts, planters, curbs, or parked cars) all resulted in considerably higher comfort levels than buffers created only with paint. Flexpost buffers got very high ratings even though they provide little actual physical protection from vehicle intrusions— cyclists perceive them as an effective means of positive separation. Support for the protected lanes among residents was generally strong with 75% saying that they would support building more protected bike lanes at other locations, and 91% of surveyed residents agreed with the statement, “I support separating bikes from cars.” This agreement was high among primary users of all modes (driving, walking, transit, and bicycling), though motorists expressed concerns about the impacts of protected lanes on congestion and parking. Most residents also agreed with the statement “I would be more likely to ride a bicycle if motor vehicles and bicycles were physically separated by a barrier,” with “Interested but Concerned” residents expressing the highest level of agreement at 85%. Nearly three times as many residents felt that the protected bike lanes had led to an increase in the desirability of living in their neighborhood, as opposed to a decrease in desirability (43% vs 14%). KW - Austin (Texas) KW - Bicycle counts KW - Bicycle lanes KW - Chicago (Illinois) KW - Cyclists KW - Drivers KW - Intersections KW - Merging traffic KW - Portland (Oregon) KW - San Francisco (California) KW - Surveys KW - Traffic conflicts KW - Turning traffic KW - United States KW - Video KW - Washington (District of Columbia) UR - http://ppms.otrec.us/media/project_files/NITC-RR-583_ProtectedLanes_FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312752 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529359 AU - Zurk, Lisa M AU - Siderius, T Martin AU - Laws, Nathan AU - Schecklman, Scott AU - Portland State University AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Underwater Acoustic Noise Generation and Propagation Resulting from Pile Driving for Oregon Bridge Construction PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 78p AB - There is growing concern about noise levels from pile driving activities associated with the construction of highway bridges and other in-water structures. It has been demonstrated that noise generated from pile driving with an impact hammer can be harmful to aquatic species protected by the state and federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). To comply with current environmental regulations and noise level attenuation criteria, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) needs to develop hydro-acoustic monitoring protocol and predictive models so projects can develop appropriate sound attenuation strategies based on site specific conditions. This research project addresses several concerns related to hydro-acoustic impacts and will ultimately help highway projects stay in compliance with established noise level criteria. The research project included: 1) identification of sound generation mechanisms from pile driving and how sound propagates into the surrounding underwater environment, 2) development of an acoustic monitoring procedure and predictive model that will help assure compliance and 3) validation and verification of predictive models. KW - Algorithms KW - Aquatic life KW - Bridge construction KW - Environmental impacts KW - Noise KW - Oregon KW - Pile driving KW - Sound attenuation KW - Sound level KW - Underwater construction KW - Underwater sound UR - http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP_RES/ResearchReports/SPR731_PileDriving.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312713 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529323 AU - Deng, Jun AU - Lorenzini, Karen AU - Kraus, Edgar AU - Paleti, Rajesh AU - Castro, Marisol AU - Bhat, Chandra AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Business Process and Logical Model to Support a Tour-Based Travel Demand PY - 2014/06//Technical Report SP - 91p AB - Changing modeling needs over the past few years, spurred by the evolving policy contexts of transportation planning and emerging technologies, have led the planning community to explore tour-based and activity-based modeling paradigms as an alternative to the traditional trip-based modeling paradigm. As a leading travel model practitioner, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Transportation Planning and Programming Division sponsored an earlier study to synthesize tour-based modeling approaches in the country and identify potential benefits and costs of transitioning to this emerging modeling paradigm in Texas. Based on the results of that study, the current research effort developed a business case for a tour-based travel demand model system. The business case discusses the justification and need for a tour-based model, and includes a business process model and a logical data model that provide the step-by-step actions and procedures needed to support the design and development of a tour-based travel model. The business case not only justifies the need for tour-based models, but also proactively identifies potential challenges and constraints that may arise in implementation, and provides pathways to address them. It also addresses the need to continue to operate trip-based models in parallel with tour-based where needed or required, and assesses any impacts of tour-based modeling on the Technological Services Division of TxDOT. Although TxDOT has not yet transitioned towards a tour-based modeling approach, the current study can facilitate the model’s implementation if TxDOT decides to move forward. KW - Implementation KW - Texas KW - Texas Department of Transportation KW - Transportation planning KW - Travel demand UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/0-6759-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312799 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529082 AU - Williams, Kristine M AU - Seggerman, Karen E AU - National Center for Transit Research AU - Florida Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Multimodal Transportation Best Practices and Model Element PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 248p AB - This report provides guidance in developing a multimodal transportation element of a local government comprehensive plan. Two model elements were developed to address differences in statutory requirements for communities of different sizes and planning context. The first model element includes guidance for large local governments and those within the boundary of a metropolitan planning organization (MPO). The second includes guidance for smaller or more rural communities outside of MPO boundaries. Each model element encourages a range of best practices in multimodal transportation planning as identified through a review of the literature, agency plans, and related documents. The guidance is designed for consistency with §163.3177(6)(b), Florida Statutes (F.S.), of the 2011 Florida Community Planning Act. As such, emphasis is placed on ensuring a multimodal transportation system appropriate to the size and character of the community, providing for public transportation as feasible, improving accessibility and connectivity between modes, and coordination with land use and plans of other transportation agencies and modal providers. Contents include guidance on establishing a community vision and priorities, relevant and professionally accepted data sources and analysis procedures/tools, guidance on existing and future conditions analysis and mapping, establishing quality/ level of service standards and other performance measures or benchmarks, future transportation system network planning strategies, and example goals, objectives, policies, and strategies. KW - Best practices KW - Florida KW - Land use planning KW - Local government KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Transportation planning KW - Transportation policy UR - http://www.fdot.gov/research/Completed_Proj/Summary_PL/FDOT-BDK85-977-49-rpt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312800 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01525747 AU - Abu-Farsakh, Murad Y AU - Chen, Qiming AU - Louisiana Transportation Research Center AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Field Demonstration of New Bridge Approach Slab Designs and Performance PY - 2014/06//Final Report SP - 72p AB - The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has initiated a major effort to minimize the bridge end bump problem associated with differential settlement. As a result, a new design for the approach slab was proposed, which requires increasing the slab flexural rigidity (EI), and using reinforced soil foundation (RSF) to support the slab and traffic loads at the roadway pavement/approach slab joint (R/S joint). Reinforcing the soil underneath the strip footing will result in increasing the soil’s bearing capacity and reducing the embankment settlement by redistributing the loads imposed by the slab and traffic over a wider area. Bayou Courtableau Bridge was selected as a demonstration project to evaluate, validate, and verify the new bridge approach slab design method proposed in a previous study. The east and west approach slabs at Bayou Courtableau Bridge are 40 ft. long by 40 ft. wide. The west approach slab was designed using the proposed new method with slab thickness of 16 in., while the east approach slab was designed using the traditional method with slab thickness of 12 in. The pavement end side of the approach slab was supported by a 4.0-ft. wide strip footing with the soil underneath it reinforced by six layers of geogrid placed at a vertical spacing of 12 in. The geosynthetic reinforced soil below the strip footing was designed according to the methodology proposed in previous study. The west approach slab was instrumented with pressure cells to measure the pressure distribution underneath the footing and contact pressure underneath the slabs. Strain gauges were used to measure strain distribution along geogrid reinforcement and sister-bar strain gauges to measure strains within the slab. The east approach slab was instrumented with pressure cells to measure the contact pressure underneath slab. Two static load tests were conducted on both the west and east approach slabs at two different times after construction. The performance of the approach slabs, including deformation and internal stresses of concrete slab, contact stresses between slab and embankment, stress distributions within reinforced soil foundation, and strain distributions along the geogrid, was monitored during the tests. The test results indicated that the west approach slab (with new design) lost most of its supports from the soil; while the east approach slab (with traditional design) kept losing its contacts from the soil starting from the bridge side towards the pavement side after about a year and half. The roughness profiles show better performance of the new approach slab system with much lower International Roughness Index (IRI) values. The year and a half monitoring program at Bayou Courtableau Bridge demonstrated much better performance of the new approach slab design system (west approach slab) compared to the traditional design. The magnitude and rate of embankment settlement at Bayou Courtableau Bridge site was also monitored (for the two embankment sides) during and after the construction, and the results were compared with the laboratory calculated settlements and the piezocone penetration test (PCPT)-based settlement prediction methods. The results showed better predictions using PCPT methods as compared to laboratory results. KW - Bearing capacity KW - Bridge approaches KW - Bridge decks KW - Bridge design KW - Louisiana KW - Performance KW - Settlement (Structures) KW - Traffic loads UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2014/FR_520.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51855/FR_520.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310667 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530872 AU - Volz, Jeffery S AU - Chandrashekhara, K AU - Birman, Victor AU - Hawkins, Stephen AU - Hopkins, Matthew AU - Huo, Zhen AU - Mohamed, Mohaned AU - Tuwair, Hesham AU - Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Polyurethane Foam Infill for Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Bridge Deck Panels PY - 2014/05/31/Final Report SP - 122p AB - Although still in their infancy, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bridges have shown great promise in eliminating corrosion concerns and meeting (or exceeding) the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA’s) goal of 100-year life spans for bridges. While FRP bridges are cost-effective in terms of life cycle analyses, the combination of higher first costs and limited state department of transportation (DOT) budgets has restricted their use. One area that has shown some headway is the use of FRP for bridge decks, focusing on the location where the majority of corrosion-related damage normally occurs. However, first costs still hamper widespread use of this approach. FRP bridge deck panels offer superior corrosion resistance, at one-fifth the weight of reinforced concrete. However, current FRP bridge deck panels typically rely on an intricate geometric honeycomb system between the top and bottom layers of the sandwich panel. This labor-intensive honeycomb construction more than doubles the cost of FRP panels compared to reinforced concrete. Although cost-effective in terms of longevity of the bridge and overall reductions in weight, the lower first cost of reinforced concrete precludes the use of FRP bridge decks in the majority of situations. Closed-cell, high-density polyurethane foams lower first cost, offering a cost-effective alternative to the complex honeycomb construction. Structural sandwich panels with a polyurethane foam infill are well established in other commercial applications, such as automobiles, aircraft, and prefabricated buildings. Several recent advances in polyurethane foam formulations have resulted in a material that can resist the localized compressive stresses and fatigue loading beneath a truck wheel, making this type of sandwich panel construction a viable alternative for bridge decks. Once these panels can compete against reinforced concrete on a first-cost basis, their significantly longer life expectancies will save considerable money for Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and the residents of Missouri. The objective of the research was to develop, test, and evaluate fiber-reinforced, polyurethane (PU) foams to replace the costly honeycomb construction currently used to manufacture FRP bridge deck panels. Initially, the effort focused on developing an FRP sandwich panel to replace the precast, stay-in-place forms currently used to construct reinforced concrete bridge decks. However, during the course of the project, the research effort expanded to include full-depth bridge deck panels as well. This report documents the results of this study. KW - Bridge construction KW - Bridge decks KW - Compressive strength KW - Durability tests KW - Evaluation KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Missouri KW - Panels KW - Polyurethane foams UR - http://library.modot.mo.gov/RDT/reports/TRyy1203/cmr14-016.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52181/cmr14-016.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315399 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01618690 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Asset Management Exchanges: Georgia Department of Transportation and NETIVEI Israel Synthesis Report PY - 2014/05/30/Draft Final Report SP - 18p AB - The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) and NETIVEI Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company (formerly Israel National Road Company) participated in a knowledge exchange agreement since it was formalized by a Memorandum of Collaboration in 2009. Transportation asset management was a topic included among the exchange activities, which took the form of webinars and technical discussions. The purpose of this report is to summarize some of the information exchanges conducted between the Georgia DOT and Israel’s National Transport Infrastructure Company (NETIVEI Israel), with a focus on asset management, and identify recommendations regarding possible topics for future exchanges. KW - Asset management KW - Georgia Department of Transportation KW - Information exchange KW - Infrastructure KW - Knowledge KW - National Transport Infrastructure Company (NETIVEI Israel) KW - Transportation UR - http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/georgia_israel_synthesis_report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1436156 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01570478 TI - Performance and Load Response of Rigid Pavement Systems AB - This project has these objectives: (1) Collecting load response and performance data and environmental monitoring at selected test pavements for four years. (2) Installing new instrumented sections as needed for a better understanding of rigid pavement response, including monitoring for the duration of the project. (3) Determining the impact of a base on long-term performance of rigid pavement utilizing the data acquired and other nationally available data on the topic. (4) Documentation of the processes, procedures, and findings. (5) Finalization of the rigid pavement design catalog with local validation and calibration of mechanistic-empirical models. KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Environmental monitoring KW - Loads KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Monitoring KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement performance KW - Rigid pavements UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/544 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1362119 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544687 AU - Burt, M AU - Zimmer, R E AU - Zink, G J AU - Valentine, D A AU - Knox, W J AU - Battelle Memorial Institute AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Transit Safety Retrofit Package Development: TRP Concept of Operations PY - 2014/05/28/Final Report SP - 56p AB - This document describes the Concept of Operations (ConOps) for the Transit Safety Retrofit Package (TRP). The ConOps describes the current state of operations with respect to the integration of Connected Vehicle technology in transit buses, establishes the reasons for change, and describes the TRP in terms of its features and operations. To achieve the objective of the study, the TRP project includes developing, testing, installing, and maintaining retrofit packages on three transit buses drawn from the University of Michigan transit fleets; developing two new transit safety applications (Pedestrian Warning and Vehicle Turning Right in Front of a Transit Vehicle); and collecting and providing data from the equipped buses to the Volpe Center for an independent evaluation. The specific objective of the TRP project is to design and develop safety applications for transit vehicles that can communicate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) for enhanced transit vehicle and pedestrian safety. Ultimately, it is of interest to determine if Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) technologies can be combined with on-board applications to provide real-time alerting of pedestrians in crosswalks as well as right turning vehicles in front of the transit vehicle. KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Michigan KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Navigational aids KW - Pedestrians KW - Transit buses KW - Transit safety KW - Turning traffic KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54000/54069/14-117.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1329836 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544588 AU - Burt, M AU - Zimmer, R E AU - Zink, G J AU - Valentine, D A AU - Knox, W J AU - Battelle Memorial Institute AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Transit Safety Retrofit Package Development: Applications Requirements Document PY - 2014/05/28/Final Report SP - 41p AB - This Application Requirements Document for the Transit Safety Retrofit Package (TRP) Development captures the system, hardware and software requirements towards fulfilling the technical objectives stated within the contract. To achieve the objective of the study, the TRP project includes developing, testing, installing, and maintaining retrofit packages on three transit buses drawn from the University of Michigan transit fleets; developing two new transit safety applications (Pedestrian Warning and Vehicle Turning Right in Front of a Transit Vehicle); and collecting and providing data from the equipped buses to the Volpe Center for an independent evaluation. The specific objective of the TRP project is to design and develop safety applications for transit vehicles that can communicate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) for enhanced transit vehicle and pedestrian safety. Ultimately, it is of interest to determine if Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) technologies can be combined with on-board applications to provide real-time alerting of pedestrians in crosswalks as well as right turning vehicles in front of the transit vehicle. KW - Bus transit KW - Computers KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Michigan KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Navigational aids KW - Software KW - Transit safety KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54000/54070/14-118.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1329837 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530986 AU - Luna, Ronaldo AU - Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Pile Load Tests for Use in Missouri LRFD Guidelines PY - 2014/05/28/Final Report SP - 99p AB - This research studied the use of pile load tests for the development of resistance factors in the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) design specifications currently adopted by the Missouri Department of Transportation (DOT). To this end, three bridge sites were identified to conduct a pile load test in conjunction with the normal bridge contracting activities. This allowed a side by side comparisons with production piles and the impact to the design. Since most of the issues with pile driving and pile capacities are for friction piles that require dynamic testing, the pile load tests locations were selected in geologic regions with relatively deep firm ground or bedrock. In this way, an end bearing condition was avoided. Two sites were selected in the Southeastern Lowlands region and one in the Northern Glaciated Plains region. The pile load tests yielded high resolution data for both the load capacity and load transfer distributions. The different pile and soil types produced different degrees of pile setup and these conditions were examined with a series of restrikes, as necessary. Full displacement piles in overconsolidated clays had unexpected results and the highest restrike capacities compared to the other sites. All the static and dynamic pile load tests produced capacities higher than the ones estimated by the design engineers. The resistance factors back calculated based on the pile load test data generated higher resistance factors than the 0.65 suggested by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) LRFD specifications. Additionally, pile load tests data from other sources in Missouri and the neighboring states were collected and compiled for future use by the Missouri DOT. KW - Bridge construction KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Load and resistance factor design KW - Load tests KW - Missouri KW - Piles (Supports) KW - Resistance tests UR - http://library.modot.mo.gov/RDT/reports/TRyy1226/cmr14-015.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314058 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529413 AU - Troy, Austin AU - Voigt, Brian AU - Sullivan, Jim AU - Azaria, Dale AU - Lanute, Brad AU - Sadek, Adel AU - Lawe, Stephen AU - Hershey, David AU - Grady, Brian AU - Broussard, John AU - Lobb, John AU - UVM Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Signature Project 1B – Integrated Land-Use, Transportation and Environmental Modeling PY - 2014/05/23/Final Report SP - 37p AB - Land use and transportation are inextricably linked. Models that capture the dynamics and interactions of both systems are indispensable for evaluating alternative courses of action in policy and investment. The Integrated Modeling Project seeks to implement several versions of an integrated land-use / transportation model for Chittenden County, Vermont. Based on those results, the authors hope to evaluate the benefits of increased complexity and disaggregation in modeling of land-use, travel demand, and travel supply (route choice and traffic assignment) relative to the costs. Working collaboratively with local and regional planners, the project also seeks to develop alternative policy scenarios that can be evaluated using these different model configurations. By evaluating the sensitivities of baseline and alternative policy scenarios to different configurations and complexity levels for the integrated model, the authors hope to gain insight about how the appropriateness of model disaggregation and complexity may also vary with policy application. Towards this end the project compares an integration of the dynamic UrbanSim land use model with a static traffic assignment (TransCAD) to a more complex integration of UrbanSim with a traffic simulation (TRANSIMS) and trip generation from TransCAD. Finally, the Environmental Metrics Project seeks to develop tools for generating environmental indicators from the outputs of the integrated models, which will allow for evaluation of scenarios on the basis of environmental metrics. KW - Chittenden County (Vermont) KW - Costs KW - Disaggregate analysis KW - Environment KW - Land use models KW - Policy KW - Traffic simulation KW - TransCAD (Computer program) KW - TRANSIMS (Computer model) KW - Travel demand KW - UrbanSim (Computer model) UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51964/Troy-Final-Report-14-005.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312591 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577988 TI - H&G 2-Develop and Evaluate the Effectiveness of Design and Construction AB - No summary provided. KW - Construction KW - Design KW - Development KW - Evaluation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371357 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01610857 AU - Bell, Lansford C AU - Brandenburg, Stefanie G AU - Ogle, Jennifer H AU - Reinke, Mike AU - Clemson University AU - South Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Utility Relocation Costs and Best Management Practices PY - 2014/05/21/Final Report SP - 96p AB - In recent years, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has experienced a significant variation in estimated costs for the relocation of utilities on many projects. This has led to cost overruns and caused headaches for the district engineers responsible for the projects. Through meetings with SCDOT personnel and utility provider representatives it was determined that a standardized cost estimate form combined with improved change order management and cost management strategies was needed. Recently submitted estimates were analyzed and rated on multiple criteria to generate a list of “poor”, “good”, and “excellent” estimates. The “excellent” estimates provided insight into the development of the standard estimate form and the deficiencies noted in all of the estimates were addressed in the standard. The standardized cost estimate form should be simple, easy to use, and flexible for use on all types of utility relocation projects. It is recommended that this format be used by all utility companies on all utility relocation cost estimates submitted to the SCDOT. This report presents the standardized estimate format and makes recommendations for improvements to the SCDOT’s cost management database while utilizing cost management best practices. Further recommendations involve incorporating a utility relocation program within the safety office to encourage active participation of utility owners in resolution of severe safety problems, as well as standardizing CAD plan mark-up procedures for early project development to aid in obtaining more accurate estimates. Finally, a pilot unit cost database was developed from Progress Energy and Black River estimates and provides the basis for entry of historical cost data for checking the validity of cost estimates. KW - Best practices KW - Construction projects KW - Cost estimating KW - Costs KW - Databases KW - Evaluation KW - Location KW - Public utilities KW - Recommendations KW - South Carolina Department of Transportation KW - Standards UR - http://www.scdot.scltap.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/final-report-12.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1421147 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01587300 TI - Pavement Marking Presence Tool AB - This research project has two objectives. The first objective is to develop a mobile (smart phone) tool to allow users the ability to assess the existing pavement marking presence (the amount of pavement marking on the pavement surface) and also help with quality assurance of newly installed pavement marking products that are not made up of a continuous solid line (MMA splatter pattern is one example). The second objective is to develop an easy to use tool that inspectors can use to assess retroreflectivity and color using their smart phone or tablet. KW - Airport runways KW - Color KW - Information technology KW - Marking materials KW - Pavement components KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Smartphones UR - https://www.pegasas.aero/projects.php?p=10 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1392182 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01570475 TI - Modified Binder (PG+) Specifications and Quality Control Criteria AB - Based on the stated needs and goals, the main objectives of the proposed pooled fund research include: (1) Perform detailed assessment of current PG+ and modified binder quality control procedures in partnering states in terms of reliability, applicability, and relevance to performance and quality of modified asphalt binders. (2) Use a range of modified binders, representative of the products currently specified by partner states, to develop unified test procedures and specification criteria based on products placed in the field. (3) Improve product quality and reliability through conduct of ruggedness studies and development of precision and bias statements for selected tests. (4) Introduce consistency to current products supplied by elimination or reduction of differences in modified binder acceptance tests and criteria throughout member states. (5) Validate and establish relevance of suggested PG+ and quality control procedures in terms of mixture performance. The pavement material research group at the University of Wisconsin Madison and the Modified Asphalt Research Center (MARC) under the directorship of Professor Hussain Bahia has had extensive experience evaluating, improving, and developing asphalt binder characterization methods and test procedures. Such efforts notably include the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project 9-10 on design of asphalt mixtures using modified asphalt binders which led to the development of the repeated creep test which later became the basis for development of the Multiple Stress Creep and Recovery (MCSR) test. Through the Asphalt Research Consortium (ARC) project, the team has been involved in evaluating and validating existing modified binder testing procedures and development of standards /specification criteria. The project involved collaboration with the Western Cooperative Test Group (WCTG), the Rocky Mountain Asphalt User-Produce Group (RMAUPG), state highway agencies and industry to improve PG+ specifications currently in use through documentation of benefits and costs associated with these tests, development of protocols for new binder tests, and development of specification criteria for new tests based on field evaluation of construction and performance. Additionally, interviews and surveys for soliciting feedback on binder tests and specifications were conducted among a large number of state highway agencies as part of this effort. As part of ARC, MARC has also been involved in validating newly developed asphalt binder procedures using comparison with field performance of Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) and MnROAD test sections. As part of MARC's involvement in regional modified binder specifications, the group completed Phase 1 of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) project for development of "Modified Asphalt Binder Guidelines" and is currently the principal on a follow up study intended to identify test methods and specification limits based on field performance measurements from modified asphalt pavement sections constructed in the early 2000s across Wisconsin. KW - Acceptance tests KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Binders KW - Creep KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Modified binders KW - Multistress creep and recovery test KW - Pavement performance KW - Quality control KW - Specifications UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/546 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1362116 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530923 AU - Koopmann, Jonathan AU - Solman, Gina Barberio AU - Dinges, Eric AU - Biederman, Andrew AU - Rickel, Denise AU - Tran, Elaine AU - Augustine, Stephen AU - Baker, Jesse AU - White, Tyler AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - ATAC Corporation AU - Metron Aviation AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT) Uncertainty Quantification Supplemental Report Version 2a Service Pack 2 (SP2) PY - 2014/05/21 SP - 31p AB - The Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Environment and Energy (FAA-AEE) has developed the Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT) version 2a software system with the support of the following development team: FAA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), ATAC Corporation, Metron Aviation, Wyle Laboratories, CSSI, Inc., Foliage, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Georgia Tech. AEDT 2a is designed to dynamically model aircraft performance in space and time to compute aircraft noise, emissions, and fuel burn. This document is the AEDT 2a Service Pack 2 Uncertainty Quantification Supplemental Report, which compares changes between AEDT 2a and Service Pack 2 based on verification and validation and capability demonstrations of the software’s methodologies and performance in comparison with legacy models. KW - Aircraft noise KW - Aircraft operations KW - Aviation Environmental Design Tool KW - Fuel consumption KW - Pollutants KW - Software KW - Uncertainty KW - Validation UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51867/20140520_AEDT_2a_SP2_UQ_Supplement.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314142 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577888 TI - SI-12-07.03: Develop Advanced Data Analytics and Visualization Capability AB - Funding for this project will be used to deliver data analytic visualization services to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in order to improve information sharing related to large dynamic and important data sets. Through the development of these visualization products this task order will demonstrate the utility of visualization techniques for enhanced communication of data within the FHWA with FHWA partners and with project stakeholders. KW - Data analysis KW - Information dissemination KW - Stakeholders KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - Visualization UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371194 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577832 TI - PG-1: Evaluate Current State Infrastructure Performance Programs and Make Recommendations AB - This research project will establish national bridge and pavement asset preservation rehabilitation and reconstruction costs to help define achievable targets to refine the needs assessment results and to enhance return-on-investment analyses. KW - Asset management KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Infrastructure KW - Performance measurement KW - Preservation KW - Return on investment KW - State of the practice UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370874 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544647 AU - Li, Peng AU - Liu, Juanyu AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Characterization of Alaskan HMA Mixtures with the Simple Performance Tester PY - 2014/05/16/Final Report SP - 179p AB - Material characterization provides basic and essential information for pavement design and the evaluation of hot mix asphalt (HMA). This study focused on the accurate characterization of an Alaskan HMA mixture using an asphalt mixture performance tester (AMPT) and an asphalt pavement analyzer (APA). The tests performed on the AMPT included dynamic modulus (|E*|), flow number (FN), and flow time (FT). The APA was used to measure the rutting resistance of HMA. A catalog of |E*| for typical Alaskan HMA mixtures is provided, and the prediction models of |E*| have been verified. The modified Witczak model (G* based) is recommended for estimating |E*| HMA when measured G* of binder is available, and the Witczak model (ŋ based) is recommended when default inputs of binder are used. The correlations between the results from the AMPT (i.e., |E*|, FN, FT) and the rutting depth obtained from the APA have been statistically analyzed. KW - Alaska KW - Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester KW - Asphalt Pavement Analyzer KW - Dynamic modulus of elasticity KW - Flow KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Materials tests KW - Rutting UR - http://tundra.ine.uaf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/SPT-Report_061614_fp.pdf UR - http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwddes/research/assets/pdf/4000-092.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1329344 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01567108 TI - Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiatives (SWZDI) AB - This program represents an on-going effort among cooperating states departments of transportation (DOTs), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), universities, and industry to evaluate new products and conduct related research focused on the enhancement of safety and mobility in highway work zones. Over 80 studies and evaluations have been completed since the inception of the Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiatives (SWZDI) and final reports are posted in the Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative web site at www.intrans.iastate.edu/smartwz/. KW - Mobility KW - Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative KW - State departments of transportation KW - Traffic safety KW - Work zone safety KW - Work zone traffic control UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/537 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358892 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01549019 AU - Barbaresso, Jim AU - Cordahi, Gustave AU - Garcia, Dominie AU - Hill, Christopher AU - Jendzejec, Alex AU - Wright, Karissa AU - Booz Allen Hamilton AU - Department of Transportation TI - USDOT's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) ITS Strategic Plan 2015-2019 PY - 2014/05/15 SP - 97p AB - This document constitutes the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Strategic Plan covering the years 2015 to 2019; it builds on the progress of the 2010-2014 plan and presents a wide array of technical, policy, institutional, and organizational concepts. It provides a comprehensive perspective that is based on an inclusive, collaborative, interactive, and iterative process, with a wide mix of stakeholder engagement opportunities that ensured that the Strategic Plan reflects the aspirations of the multi-faceted ITS community across the nation. This new Plan: identifies a vision - "Transform the Way Society Moves," and the ITS Joint Program Office's (JPO's) associated mission of advancing research that cuts across all surface modes; outlines technology lifecycle stages and strategic themes articulating outcomes and performance goals that define six program categories; describes "Realizing Connected Vehicle Implementation" and "Advancing Automation" as the primary technological drivers of current and future ITS work across many sectors; and, presents enterprise data, interoperability, ITS deployment support, and emerging ITS capabilities as additional program categories that are supplemental and interdependent activities critical to achieving the program's vision. The plan further identifies research questions aligned to every program category in each stage of the technology lifecycle, in addition to cross-cutting organizational and operational disciplines that relate to the program categories. KW - Automation KW - Implementation KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Mobility KW - Strategic planning KW - Technological innovations KW - U.S. Department of Transportation UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/strategicplan/ UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1336267 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536616 AU - Wayson, Roger L AU - MacDonald, John M AU - Martin, Anjoli AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Florida Department of Transportation TI - On-Board Sound Intensity (OBSI) Study: Phase 2 PY - 2014/05/15/Final Report SP - 145p AB - This is a continuation effort of previous research (Modeling of Quieter Pavement in Florida) and as such is a sister report to the previous final report. Both research efforts pertain to the noise created at the tire/pavement interface, which continues to gather considerable interest because of the potential benefits and a general desire by the public for quieter highways. A short review of important information is included from the Phase 1 report. Key findings from both reports (Phase 1 and Phase 2) are included and a detailed examination of the collected data is included. Additionally, the overall equipment is described as well as data collection procedures. KW - Data collection KW - Florida KW - On Board Sound Intensity KW - Rolling contact KW - Sound intensity KW - Testing equipment KW - Tire/pavement noise UR - http://www.fdot.gov/research/Completed_Proj/Summary_SMO/FDOT-BDT06-rpt.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52500/52540/FDOT-BDT06-rpt.pdf?utm_source=Govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TRB UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320966 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530896 AU - Song, Dongyoon AU - He, Xiaozheng AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Field Deployment to Quantify the Value of Real-time Information by Integrating Driver Routing Decisions and Route Assignment Strategies PY - 2014/05/15/Final Report AB - Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) have been proposed as a mechanism to generate and distribute real-time travel information to drivers for the purpose of improving travel experience represented by experienced travel time and enhancing the performance of the vehicular traffic networks. From the system operator’s perspective, it is desired that a driver would fully comply with such information. Traditionally, the prediction of system performance under real-time information provision has been studied using dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) models in which individuals are assigned to time-dependent routes from their origins or en-route locations to their destinations so as to satisfy some system-wide objective and/or individual user level constraints. However, these models primarily focus on prescribing the traffic flow propagation robustly, while the role of driver behavior in the evolution of network dynamics has largely been subsumed by making potentially restrictive a priori assumptions, which include one or more of the following: (i) travel time is the only basis for route choice decision-making, (ii) users are behaviorally homogeneous, and/or (iii) pre-specified behavior classes are available whose fractions are known in the ambient traffic stream. In this context, a comprehensive modeling framework is proposed to understand individual drivers’ behavioral responses in route choice under real-time travel information provision based on driving simulator experiment data. An interactive driving simulator experiment is developed to collect various data related to driving and decision-making with real-time travel information. The associated surveys are also precisely designed to measure drivers’ perception of the information and evaluation of the travel experience. KW - Advanced traveler information systems KW - Behavior KW - Decision making KW - Drivers KW - Driving simulators KW - Real time information KW - Route choice UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/058PY03%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52140/058PY03_Final_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313907 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529393 AU - Lee, Choungryeol AU - He, Xiaozheng AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - Chu, Chih-Peng AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Highway Reservation System Design and Its Application to Freight Transportation PY - 2014/05/15/Final Report SP - 46p AB - Congestion and safety associated with freight trucks are key issues that arise in the context of highway transportation, especially in the heavily-traveled commercial corridors. To address these issues, truck-only lanes for freight trucks have been proposed as a solution to improve the productivity and reduce congestion, safety hazards and emissions. Truck-only lanes combined with a reservation system can potentially enable efficient operations and reliable demand management to guarantee high quality of service. In this regard, a reservation system with a real options approach can address key issues associated with the user-pays principle (i.e., the beneficiaries of truck-only lanes pay the toll) and fair reservation fees for both highway operators and the users for truck-only lanes. This research seeks to develop an option-pricing mechanism consistent with the highway system’s operation and to formulate a closed-form pricing-function on reservation options on truck-only lanes to guarantee a threshold level of service, given the vulnerability associated with system management failure. KW - Freight transportation KW - Highways KW - Rates, fares and tolls KW - Reservations KW - Travel demand management KW - Truck lanes KW - Truck traffic KW - User charges UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/057PY03%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312524 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529452 AU - Peters, Jeffrey C AU - Han, En-Pei AU - Kumar, Amit AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - Delaurentis, Daniel AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Incorporating High Speed Passenger Rail into a Multimodal Network Model for Improved Regional Transportation Planning PY - 2014/05/14/Final Report SP - 60p AB - With increasing demand and rising fuel costs, both travel time and cost of intercity passenger transportation are becoming increasingly significant. Around the world, high-speed rail (HSR) is seen as a way to mitigate the risk of volatile petroleum prices while alleviating demand on highways and at airports. Ridership is the critical element in determining the viability of a large capital, long-term transportation investment in terms of costs, revenue, and the resulting societal impacts. This research provides a systematic, consistent methodology for analyzing system wide modal ridership. The proposed methodology can be used to estimate the modal ridership under the proposed HSR network scenarios. The study analyzes the potential for high-speed rail as a part of the existing multimodal transportation system in a region in terms of ridership. Although this study does not explicitly consider capital costs, capital investment (e.g., network design and HSR speed), along with exogenous demographic, technological, economic, and policy trends, are used to project ridership over time. Population, fuel efficiency, HSR speed, and fuel price trends are the important variables considered for this study. The application of the methodology is two-fold, and the modeling approach makes a case for a fundamental shift from the current perspective of HSR viability. First, a user and community impact assessment (i.e., travel time, safety, and vehicle operating cost savings) of HSR is conducted in the same manner as traditional transportation system evaluation to provide comparative conclusions regarding intercity transportation alternatives. Emissions and energy consumption impacts are also considered due to the increasing national relevance of environmental sustainability and energy security. Second, the model presented in this study analyzes both ridership and impacts within the same systematic framework to assess the long-term impacts on the individual transportation modes, total system metrics, and efficacy of alternate policies. Although the methodology is extendable and modular to incorporate any mode in any region, experiments are conducted for the Midwest corridor in the United States. Average HSR speed is tested to demonstrate the model's ability to capture the sensitivity of ridership to a specific design consideration. This study represents an important step toward a consistent, comprehensive economic analysis of HSR in the United States KW - Economic analysis KW - Fuel consumption KW - High speed rail KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Pollutants KW - Population KW - Regional transportation KW - Ridership KW - Speed UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/055PY03-%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312522 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529361 AU - Peters, Jeffrey C AU - Kumar, Amit AU - Zheng, Hong AU - Agrawal, Shubham AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrated Framework to Capture the Interdependencies between Transportation and Energy Sectors due to Policy Decisions PY - 2014/05/14/Final Report SP - 38p AB - Currently, transportation and energy sectors are developed, managed, and operated independently of one another. Due to the non-renewable nature of fossil fuels, energy security has evolved into a strategic goal for the United States. The transportation sector accounts for about 30% of the energy consumed by the U.S. As the emergent and strategic linkages between the two sectors are becoming increasingly apparent from a qualitative perspective, there is an evolving consensus that national, regional, and local policy goals may not be achievable completely or effectively by focusing on one sector at a time. For example, the increase in the market penetration of electric vehicle has brought many advantages and challenges along with it on both transportation as well as the energy sector. Such challenges for transportation sector include reduction of highway maintenance budgets due to a reduction in gasoline sales, and that for energy sector include increased power demand during specific times of the day, thereby affecting daily power generation operations. This motivates the need to develop an analytical framework to capture the interdependencies between these two infrastructure systems. This study provides a system-of-systems based infrastructure computable general equilibrium framework for analyzing the interdependencies between the transportation and energy sectors. KW - Electric vehicles KW - Electricity KW - Energy KW - Energy resources KW - Policy KW - Systems analysis KW - Transportation KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/079PY04-Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312519 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529303 AU - Song, Dongyoon AU - He, Xiaozheng AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - Zhou, Xuesong AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrated Deployment Architecture for Predictive Real-Time Traffic Routing Incorporating Human Factors Considerations PY - 2014/05/14/Final Report SP - 48p AB - As Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) are being more widely accessed by drivers, understanding drivers’ behavioral responses to real-time travel information through ATIS and its consequential benefits are important to the widespread deployment of ATIS technologies. Traditionally, the benefits of real-time travel information have been explored in two dimensions: (i) improving personal travel experience by reducing travel time and its uncertainty in drivers’ decision-making, and (ii) enhancing the performance of the entire traffic network by motivating drivers to use less congested routes. However, despite the strengthened effectiveness of real-time travel information with the recent increased deployment of ATIS through various sources, the increasing amount of information from multiple sources may cause extra stresses in perception of the information in relation to drivers’ cognitive ability and the particular travel context. In addition, the psychological benefits from the information in relation to the better knowledge or reassured feeling have not been addressed in the literature. In this context, this study proposes an analytical framework to understand the comprehensive benefits of real-time travel information with consideration of the qualitative and cognitive limitations in the processing procedure. Human factor issues play a critical role in the framework, especially when multiple and heterogeneous sources of information exist. The proposed framework from the psychological aspect allows systematic analysis of the benefits of real-time information that include conventional values such as travel time savings as well as the qualitative and psychological attributes that affect behavioral responses to the real-time information. KW - Advanced traveler information systems KW - Behavior KW - Cognition KW - Drivers KW - Human factors KW - Human information processing KW - Psychological aspects KW - Real time information UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/080PY04%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312520 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554441 AU - Pickrell, Don AU - Pace, David AU - Wishart, Jacob AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - FHWA Travel Analysis Framework: Development of VMT Forecasting Models for Use by the Federal Highway Administration PY - 2014/05/12 SP - 31p AB - This document details the process that the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) used to develop travel forecasting models for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The purpose of these models is to allow FHWA to forecast future changes in passenger and freight vehicle use (as measured by the number of vehicle-miles traveled, or VMT) that is likely to occur in response to predicted demographic trends and changes in future economic conditions. These models also provide estimates of the volumes of gasoline, diesel, and other fuels consumed by motor vehicles, which are derived from its projections of future vehicle travel and fuel economy. Forecasts of VMT developed using this model will inform and support the development of future Federal transportation planning and policy. KW - Forecasting KW - Methodology KW - Passenger vehicles KW - Travel demand KW - Trucks KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54493/vmt_model_dev.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342279 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577150 TI - Using Long-Term Pavement Performance Program Distress Data to Support Performance-Based Reporting AB - The project approach will include an assessment of both Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) and State agency performance data for the same pavement sections that have been collected by State agencies. Historical pavement performance information will be extracted from the LTPP database for selected test section locations, and the State agency data will also be evaluated for these same locations. Additionally, a record of pavement treatments is available in the maintenance and rehabilitation tables in the LTPP databases. This treatment information is very important because ultimately the consistency of the pavement management recommendation for treatment is the important measure of performance data reliability from the network level perspective. Multiple analyses of these two datasets will be performed to compare the uniformity of results. Statistical and quantitative-based comparisons will be made to demonstrate that the data meet the required level of consistency to support network level applications. From this comparative analysis, the metrics necessary to support network level use of the data, and the objective of providing recommendations for supporting performance-based reporting requirements, will be developed. KW - Databases KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Pavement management systems KW - Pavement performance KW - Test sections UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370385 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535811 AU - Miller, Bruno AU - Johnson, Donovan AU - Thompson, Terry AU - Rosenberg, Frank L AU - Driver, Judith AU - Biscardi, Gerard P AU - Mohtadi, Madalina K AU - Mohtadi, Nabil J AU - Metron Aviation, Incorporated AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - R&D Control Study: Plan for Future Jet Fuel Distribution Quality Control and Description of Fuel Properties Catalog PY - 2014/05/09 SP - 67p AB - The main objective of this study is to investigate and provide recommendations for any unique quality control requirements that the production and distribution of alternative jet fuels may require, ultimately producing a quality control handbook for alternative jet fuel entrants and others along the supply chain. As experience is gained with the production and distribution of alternative jet fuels, the quality control of those fuels can be examined relative to this handbook by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Aviation Fuels Subcommittee and by stakeholders that are engaged in the supply chain that produces, distributes, and uses jet fuel. To reach the objective stated above, this study will a) highlight best practices for maintaining quality control of jet fuel, b) identify gaps in current quality and performance procedures that may emerge with the introduction of alternative fuels, c) suggest areas for improvement in current jet fuel quality control practices to accommodate the introduction of alternative fuels, and d) provide recommendations for an improved method of collection of fuel property and quality measurements. KW - Alternate fuels KW - Best practices KW - Jet engine fuels KW - Jet propelled aircraft KW - Quality control KW - Recommendations UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51805/DOT-VNTSC-FAA-14-11.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317674 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01587299 TI - Aviation Rumble Strips to Enhance Aviation Safety AB - Rumble strips have proven to be a cost effective way to increase safety on roadways and the application of this technology may be appropriate to provide a warning of an upcoming intersection with an active runway to reduce runway incursions. The proposed research project includes two phases: (1) Preliminary Evaluation of Aviation Rumble Strips at a Single Site. Identification, installation, testing and evaluation of rumble strip alternatives at one field site. Phase I will result in a recommended rumble strip design configuration for deployment in Phase II. Due to the experimental nature of Phase I work, rumble strips will be constructed in an apron area that is not routinely taxied over by aircraft, but where aircraft can operate solely for the purposes of this project. The contract for Phase I will extend through May 2015 which will allow flexibility to expand the scope and budget if Phase II is warranted. (2) Field Evaluation of Aviation Rumble Strips at Multiple General Aviation (GA) Airports. Installation, testing and evaluation of proposed rumble strip on airfields at two or three GA airports, with data collection for both aircraft and ground vehicles. Rumble strips have proven to be a cost effective way to increase safety on roadways and the application of this technology may be appropriate to provide a warning of an upcoming intersection with an active runway to reduce runway incursions KW - Air traffic control KW - Aircraft KW - Airport ground transportation KW - Airport operations KW - Aprons (Airports) KW - Aviation safety KW - Ground vehicles KW - Rumble strips KW - Runway incursions KW - Warning systems UR - https://www.pegasas.aero/projects.php?p=11 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1392183 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527900 AU - Department of Transportation TI - PHMSA’s State Pipeline Safety Program Lacks Effective Management and Oversight PY - 2014/05/07/Audit Report SP - 26p AB - The Nation’s network of approximately 2.5 million miles of pipelines moves millions of gallons of hazardous liquids and 55 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day. Eighty-five percent of these pipelines are under State authority. The Department of Transportation’s (DOT's) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) authorizes States to oversee and enforce operators’ compliance with Federal pipeline safety regulations through its State Pipeline Safety Program. PHMSA also allocates grants to State programs. Between 2008 and 2013, funding for these grants more than doubled from $19.5 million to over $46 million. In September 2010, an intra-State natural gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, resulting in 8 fatalities, 58 injuries, and 38 destroyed homes. The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB's) investigation found weaknesses in PHMSA’s oversight of State programs. Because of these weaknesses, NTSB recommended that DOT assess the effectiveness of PHMSA’s oversight of intra-State pipeline safety and whether State programs use Federal grants effectively. In a January 2012 letter to NTSB, the Secretary of Transportation stated that the DOT's Office of Inspector General (OIG) would conduct the audit. Accordingly, OIG assessed PHMSA’s (1) policies and procedures for managing its State Pipeline Safety Program, including guidelines to participating States, and (2) oversight of State pipeline safety programs. OIG conducted this audit in accordance with generally accepted Government auditing standards. OIG's review is limited to States certified under PHMSA’s Natural Gas Program. Exhibit A provides details on the scope and methodology. Exhibit B lists organizations visited or contacted. In brief, it was found that PHMSA’s guidelines, policies, and procedures for State pipeline safety programs—such as inspector staffing, training, scheduling, and inspection forms—lack elements to ensure State inspections cover all Federal requirements and pipeline operators maintain safety standards. It was also found that PHMSA’s oversight of State pipeline safety programs is not sufficient to ensure States comply with program evaluation requirements and properly use suspension grant funds. This report makes recommendations to improve PHMSA’s oversight of State pipeline safety programs and grants. KW - Compliance KW - Management KW - Oversight KW - Pipeline safety KW - Recommendations KW - Regulations KW - U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/PHMSA%20State%20Pipline%20Safety%20Program%20Audit%5E5-7-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310603 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01587301 TI - Runway Centerline Deviation Study AB - The objective of this project is to analyze the deviations from centerline of departing and arriving aircraft from active runways. The purpose of the project is toestimate the positions of aircraft relative to runway centerline along the course of aircraft departure and arrival profiles, so as to determine the amount of safety area may be required for specifications such as total pavement width, taxi lane separation, and safety area width to ensure against wingtip conflicts and base landing gear deviations from pavement, for relatively large aircraft on relatively small taxiways and runways.The estimation of deviations from runway and taxiway centerlines of moving aircraft was studied with some significance for the entry of new large aircraft, such as the Airbus A-380 and Boeing 787-800 into the commercial airport environment. Such aircraft, often categorized as Group VI aircraft (aircraft with wingspans greater than 217’ wingspans), were studied for the possibility of their use on runways and taxiways originally designed for smaller (group V) aircraft. However, as general aviation aircraft evolve, from the proliferation of larger piston aircraft to the introduction of personal jet aircraft (such as the Embraer Phenom 100 and Cirrus Jet), there may be a desire to allow these aircraft to utilize runways and taxiways of narrower width, which exist at many smaller general aviation airports. In addition, for an existing fleet using the latest avionics technologies, the accuracy of landings, particularly in inclement weather, may be improving with respect to proximity to centerline on landing. If such is the case, there may be some justification to consider reductions in required spacing between taxi lanes or distances from runway center line to pavement edges. In other instances, however, there may be situations where aircraft unintentionally deviate from centerline due to adverse wind conditions, for example, or situations where aircraft intentionally deviate from centerline on arrival, for example, to make quick turns to an exit taxiway. In any case, a more complete understanding of how and when aircraft deviate from centerlines is of great interest. This study will consist of a comprehensive empirical analysis of departures and arrivals of a variety of aircraft utilizing a number of general aviation airports, in particular, those that are owned, operated, or otherwise affiliated with Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS) universities. From data collected, a statistical analysis of centerline deviations will be performed. From these results a risk model may be developed to determine the best allowance of aircraft of varying landing gear configurations, wing spans, and approach speeds, to utilize runways and taxiways of various dimensional standards. KW - Air traffic control KW - Aircraft by size KW - Airport runways KW - Approach control KW - Arrivals and departures KW - Aviation safety KW - Center lines KW - Risk assessment KW - Taxiways KW - Weather conditions UR - https://www.pegasas.aero/projects.php?p=9 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1392181 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01596849 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Operations Performance Measures and Management (OPMM) Program Road Map PY - 2014/05/01 SP - 28p AB - This report documents the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Operations Performance Measures and Management (OPMM) Program Road Map covering the 5-year period from 2014 through 2018. The Program Road Map aligns with the following FHWA OPMM Program goals: (1) Assist internal/external stakeholders with implementing Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) measure requirements and the measurement of congestion/reliability, and (2) Assist internal/external stakeholders with implementing performance management for operations. This document includes 18 projects. The projects are grouped around four subject areas that are critical to OPMM Program goals: MAP-21 Implementation (6 projects), Performance Measures (Congestion, Reliability) (6 projects), Performance Management (5 projects), and Operations Performance Measures Coordination (1 project). The projects are sub-categorized by three project types: Technical Assistance (Guidance/Training), Outreach/Coordination, and Research/Implementation. The project descriptions include: Project number/title, Subject area, Project type(s), Time period, Project objective, Deliverable, Project lead, Project description, Possible coordination opportunities, and OPMM Road Map coordination. KW - Highway operations KW - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) KW - Operations Performance Measures and Management Program KW - Performance measurement KW - Research KW - Stakeholders KW - Traffic congestion UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop14012/fhwahop14012.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1402005 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01590710 TI - Improving Specifications to Resist Frost Damage in Modern Concrete Mixtures AB - The goal of the research is to produce improved specifications, and test methods; while, improving the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of frost damage. Specifically, this work will seek to develop new test procedures that may be faster and/or more reliable than the existing methods. The objectives of this project are to: determine the necessary properties of the air-void system to provide satisfactory frost durability in laboratory testing of laboratory and field concretes with different combinations of admixtures, cements, and mixing temperatures in salt environments; (2) determine the accuracy of a simple field test method that measures air void system quality with field and laboratory concrete; (3) determine the critical combinations of absorption and the critical degree of saturation on the frost durability in accelerated laboratory testing in the presence of deicer salts; and (4) establish new test methods and specifications for fresh and hardened concrete to determine frost durability and field performance. Understanding the research on freeze-thaw mechanisms is important for two main groups: practicing professionals and graduating undergraduate and graduate students. A portion of this project will be dedicated to development of a strong educational technology transfer program. Develop a short course that utilizes streaming video (and could be placed on a DVD for widespread dissemination). Practicing professionals frequently require information in a short time frame to respond to practice-based problems. The DVD/streaming video approach provides the information as it is needed and as such it is perfect for this application. KW - Admixtures KW - Air voids KW - Concrete pavements KW - Deicing chemicals KW - Freeze thaw durability KW - Frost damage KW - Information dissemination KW - Test procedures UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/541 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1398618 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577148 TI - Validation of Pavement Performance Measures AB - The project will provide a means for mapping the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) defined distresses to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Rule. The project assumed that the distress definitions will be those identified in the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). This mapping will be documented in the final report.The project will perform a review of the performance measure as defined in the FHWA Rule. As part of the review, any recommended revisions to the performance measure will be identified in the final report. The project will develop an estimate of error in the performance measure associated with traditional approaches to performance modeling as performed for typical pavement management processes.This portion of the project will illustrate how the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) software may be useful in pavement management processes. The use of the MEPDG will be documented in the final report along with the estimated error. The final report will include a set of guidelines for using the error estimate in performing a risk analysis. These guidelines will describe for the reader how to incorporate this sort of error within a larger risk analysis to be performed by the State department of transportation (DOT) as part of the development of the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) as required by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act.This project will expand understanding of how the performance measure performs over time and with respect to various repair strategies.It will provide a level of comfort to both the FHWA and the State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) associated with the performance measure and how that measure may be expected to perform over time. Advancement of knowledge may be required in developing improvements to the performance measure. It would be anticipated this advancement could be undertaken through additional applied research.The estimated error associated with performance modeling of the performance measure may be used to better understand the risks associated with typical budgeting processes.The error term would identify a general estimate of error for the performance models developed. Each State DOT would be able to refine the error term for the pavements within their jurisdiction. This refinement would require additional work by the State DOT. However, this project will provide a guideline for the DOT to perform that effort. KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement management systems KW - Pavement performance KW - Validation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370422 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01576650 TI - Development of Long-Term Bridge Performance Program Protocols for Steel Bridge Coatings AB - This project will help the Long-Term Bridge Performance program identify what types of data need to be collected and analyzed to assess the performance of steel bridge coatings. KW - Coatings KW - Development KW - Long-Term Bridge Performance Program KW - Maintenance KW - Steel bridges UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370354 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01593745 AU - Wells, Danny AU - Palle, Sudhir AU - Meade, Bobby AU - Hopwood, Theodore AU - Kentucky Transportation Center AU - Kentucky Transportation Cabinet AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Sealants, Treatments and Deicing Salt Practices to Limit Bridge Deck Corrosion and Experimental Deck Sealants and Pier Cap Coating on Interstate 471 PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 52p AB - This project evaluated the ability of concrete sealants to impede the ingress of chloride ions into concrete bridge decks. Laboratory testing evaluated 24 concrete-penetrating sealants and four film-forming products. The products were selected based on survey results from adjacent state transportation agencies. The Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) assisted the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) in developing Special Notes for applying four experimental sealants to two bridges (B00056L & B00056R) located on Interstate 471, over 6th Street in New Port, Kentucky. The sealants chosen for the field-testing were intended to reduce the ingress of chloride ions when deicing materials are applied to road surfaces. Pre- and post-application friction test data were collected – three of the four sealants increased friction resistance. The ongoing performance of sealants will be evaluated as part of a long-term monitoring plan. KW - Bridge decks KW - Chlorides KW - Concrete bridges KW - Corrosion protection KW - Evaluation KW - Field tests KW - Friction tests KW - Kentucky KW - Laboratory tests KW - Pile caps KW - Sealing compounds UR - http://www.ktc.uky.edu/files/2016/01/KTC_14_04_SPR388_12_1F.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1400068 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01592554 TI - Crash Risks by Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Driver Schedules AB - The objective of this project is to collect hours-of-service (HOS) and crash data to analyze how HOS provisions are being used and the impact of driver schedules on crash risk. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducted a study that evaluated the impact of driving hours, working hours, and breaks on safety critical events (SCEs) (Blanco, M., et. al., 2011). The study included 99 drivers who drove a total of 700,000 miles, during which naturalistic driving video and data were collected. That study found that (1) as the number of driving hours increased, so did the number of SCEs, (2) when evaluating the interaction between driving and non-driving work, a much greater time-on-task effect emerges for drivers driving late in their work shift, and (3) driving breaks decrease risk in the hour after a break. This study will collect additional data to answer important questions related to driver schedules and how these factors impact overall driver performance and fatigue. This study will be completed in phases. In Phase I, the research team will collect HOS and crash data. In Phase II, the research team will use the data collected in Phase I to analyze crash risk as it relates to various aspects of the HOS provisions. This study will analyze: (1) relative crash risk by hour of driving; (2) relative crash risk by hour of driving per week; (3) relative crash risk of driving breaks; (4) relative crash risk as a function of recovery periods; and (5) How each of the HOS provisions is being used. In addition, the study will design, develop, and deliver a database so that the data collected in this study can be used for future research efforts. A database of the HOS and crash data for use in future research efforts. KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Data analysis KW - Highways KW - Hours of Service Act KW - Motor carriers KW - Risk analysis KW - Schedules UR - www.fmcsa.dot.gov UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1400159 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01581084 AU - Brelin-Fornari, Janet AU - Janca, Sheryl AU - Kettering University AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Development of NHTSA’s Side Impact Test Procedure for Child Restraint Systems Using a Deceleration Sled: Final Report, Part 2 PY - 2014/05//Final Report, Part 2 SP - 62p AB - This report presents the results of the continued research and development of child seat side impact tests using the deceleration sled at Kettering University’s Crash Safety Center. The objective of this test series was to gain further insight into the sensitivity of the side impact test fixture response. Test variations included speed of impact, weight of the fixture, and impact characteristics. Additionally, 20 child restraint system (CRS) specific tests were conducted using a fixed set of test parameters. KW - Child restraint systems KW - Dummies KW - Side crashes KW - Sled tests KW - Test procedures KW - Testing equipment UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crashworthiness/Child Safety Crashworthiness Research/811995-SideImpctTest-ChRestraintDecelSled_Pt2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1375497 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01576264 AU - Wang, Yang AU - Uddin, Nasim AU - Jacobs, Laurence J AU - Kim, Jin-Yeon AU - Georgia Institute of Technology AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Next-Generation Wireless Bridge Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) System Integrated with Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Capability for Transportation Infrastructure Safety PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 82p AB - This project seeks to develop a rapidly deployable, low-cost, and wireless system for bridge weigh-in-motion (BWIM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The system is proposed to assist in monitoring transportation infrastructure safety, for the first time ever, in a two-fold approach: control of overloaded trucks and safety assessment/monitoring of transportation infrastructure. The system contains individual wireless sensing nodes that integrate state-of-the-art shear strain sensors suitable for concrete bridge components, and ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) devices suitable for steel components. KW - Highway bridges KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Sensors KW - Shear strain KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Weigh in motion KW - Weighing devices KW - Wireless communication systems UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/12-21%20RP.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369388 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563529 AU - Eigen, Ana Maria AU - Valdivieso, Rafael Olarte AU - Ahrari, Amir AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Photographic Data Extraction Feasibility and Pilot Study in Support of Roadside Safety and Roadway Departure Research PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 76p AB - This work represents the first phase of an ongoing low-cost in-house effort to perform data analysis, optimize internal data gathering in an informed fashion, make data requests to organizations, and obtain needed information. The work also calls on the definition of “roadway departure” prepared by a 2008 working group assembled by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety. The group provided a verbal and data definition in order to extract data and relate the data to the fatal crash population. Many applications exist for crashworthiness data and untapped resources from previously unqueried sources. The FHWA roadway departure definition provided a Fatality Analysis Reporting System data approach; however, other National Highway Traffic Safety Administration datasets exist with real-time or near real-time data. One such dataset is the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study (NMVCCS). The present work pursues photographic data extracted from the NMVCCS. This report provides further discussion regarding the surrogates adopted in framing roadway departure. KW - Crash data KW - Data collection KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Highway safety KW - Image analysis KW - National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey KW - Photographs KW - Pilot studies KW - Ran off road crashes UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/13088/13088.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1353190 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560964 AU - Lewis, Kristin AU - Porter, Read AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Biofuels and invasive species risks: assessing and managing risks through feedstock selection and cultivation strategies PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 92p AB - Biofuels are being pursued for their potential greenhouse gas emissions benefits, among other reasons. In order to maximize productivity, avoid food-fuel conflicts, and minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many “advanced” biofuel feedstock crops, such as those desired by the aviation community, are under consideration based on traits, such as high biomass and/or seed production, tolerance of marginal cultivation conditions, and short generation times, that may also be predictors of potential invasiveness risk. Biofuel-related invasion risks can be mitigated through careful feedstock crop selection and cultivation techniques developed from the invasion science literature. Existing voluntary best practices and some state and federal regulatory requirements in the United States recommend and/or require the use of such risk mitigation strategies. However, other policies and programs allow or provide incentives for biofuel production without conditions requiring the use of these strategies. This study synthesizes information on the scientific knowledge of invasive species predictors and their use (or absence) in voluntary codes and United States regulatory frameworks and incentive programs. The study highlights the existing tools and approaches for assessing invasion risk and avoiding the introduction and spread of invasive species as a result of biofuel feedstock cultivation. A well-coordinated combination of species restrictions, biosecurity requirements, and incentives for selection of less risky biofuel crops may effectively balance the desire for increased biofuel production while minimizing invasion risk. KW - Biomass fuels KW - Cultivation KW - Invasive plants KW - Policy KW - Regulations KW - Risk analysis KW - United States UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54445/Lewis_and_Porter_2014_12.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342203 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560962 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Speed Management Program Plan PY - 2014/05 SP - 40p AB - This document is an update of the Speed Management Strategic Initiative (retitled Speed Management Program Plan), originally published in 2005 and was developed jointly by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to address speeding as a contributor to highway crashes and fatalities. The strategies contained in this initiative incorporate recommendations of the Transportation Research Board contained in Special Report 254, Managing Speed: Review of Current Practice for Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits and parallel elements from Volume 23, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 500: A Guide for Reducing Speeding-Related Crashes. The goal of this Speed Management Program Plan is to improve public health and safety by reducing speeding-related fatalities and injuries. The plan identifies six primary focus areas: Data and Data-Driven Approaches, Research and Evaluation, Technology, Enforcement and Adjudication, Engineering, and Education and Communications. Specific goals, objectives, and action items are identified for each focus area. KW - Data collection KW - Evaluation KW - Highway design KW - Safety programs KW - Speed control KW - Speed limits KW - Speeding KW - Technological innovations KW - Traffic law enforcement KW - Traffic safety UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/docs/speedmgtprogplan812028.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1351072 ER - TY - SER AN - 01560471 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Thompson, Marshall R AU - Al-Qadi, Imad AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Mechanistic-Empirical Design, Implementation, and Monitoring for Flexible Pavements: A Project Summary PY - 2014/05 IS - 14-012 SP - 11p AB - This document is a summary of tasks performed for Project ICT-R27-060. Mechanistic-empirical (M-E)–based flexible pavement design concepts and procedures were developed in previous Illinois Cooperative Highway Research Program projects (IHR-510, IHR-524, and ICT- R28) and have been implemented by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT continues to support a variety of M-E flexible pavement analysis, design, implementation, and monitoring activities. The objective of Project ICT-R27-060 was for University of Illinois staff to continue to provide technical support and cooperate with IDOT in these activities. The cost savings (and probably reduced user delay time) from such designs will benefit IDOT, local roads agencies, and the traveling public. KW - Flexible pavements KW - Illinois KW - Implementation KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Monitoring KW - Technical support KW - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign UR - https://apps.ict.illinois.edu/projects/getfile.asp?id=3120 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1350334 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557287 AU - Miller, John S AU - Bellinger, William Y AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Distress Identification Manual for the Long-Term Pavement Performance Program (Fifth Revised Edition) PY - 2014/05//Fifth SP - 146p AB - Accurate, consistent, and repeatable distress evaluation surveys can be performed by using the Distress Identification Manual for the Long-Term Pavement Performance Program. Color photographs and drawings illustrate the distresses found in three basic pavement types: asphalt concrete-surfaced, jointed (plain and reinforced) portland cement concrete, and continuously reinforced concrete. Drawings of the distress types provide a reference to assess their severity. Methods for measuring the size of distresses and for assigning severity levels are given. The manual also describes how to conduct the distress survey and measure cracks in the pavement. Sample forms for recording and reporting the data are included. The manual also tells how to calibrate and operate fault measurement devices. KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Asphalt concrete pavements KW - Condition surveys KW - Continuously reinforced concrete pavements KW - Cracking KW - Forms (Documents) KW - Manuals KW - Measuring methods KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement performance KW - Portland cement concrete UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/13092/13092.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54700/54723/13092.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1346050 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01555806 AU - Rojas, Edyson AU - Barr, Paul J AU - Halling, Marv W AU - Utah State University, Logan AU - Rutgers University, Piscataway AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Bridge Response Due to Temperature Variations PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 137p AB - In order to more accurately quantify the behavior and degradation of bridges throughout their service life, the Federal Highway Administration launched the Long-Term Bridge Performance Program. As part of this program an I-girder, integral abutment bridge near Perry, Utah and a two span, box-girder bridge south of Sacramento, California were instrumented with foil strain gauges, velocity transducers, vibrating wire strain gauges, thermocouples, and tiltmeters. In this research study, data from the thermocouples were used to calculate average bridge temperature and compare it to the recommended design criteria in accordance to the 2010 LRFD Bridge Design Specifications of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The design maximum average bridge temperature defined in the 2010 LRFD Bridge Design Specifications was exceeded for both bridges. The accuracy of the 1991 Kuppa Method and the 1976 Black and Emerson Method to estimate the average bridge temperature based on ambient temperature was studied and a new method that was found to be more accurate was proposed. Long-term predictions of average bridge temperature for both bridges were calculated. Temperature gradients were measured and compared to the 2010 AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications and the 1978 Priestley Method. Calculated flexural stresses as a function of maximum positive and negative temperature gradients were found to exceed the service limit state established in the 2010 AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications in the case of the California bridge. KW - AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications KW - Bending stress KW - Box girder bridges KW - Jointless bridges KW - Long-Term Bridge Performance Program KW - Perry (Utah) KW - Sacramento (California) KW - Temperature KW - Temperature gradients UR - https://cait.rutgers.edu/files/CAIT-UTC-034-final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342955 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554292 AU - Hawkins, Neal AU - Albrecht, Chris AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Multi-Purpose ESS/ITS Data Collection Sites PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 42p AB - This document presents the results of a state-of-practice survey of transportation agencies that are installing intelligent transportation sensors (ITS) and other devices along with their environmental sensing stations (ESS) also referred to as roadway weather information system (RWIS) assets. KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Road weather information systems KW - Sensors KW - State departments of transportation KW - State of the practice UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/18673/1/IADOT_Aurora_InTrans_Hawkins_Multi_Purpose_ESS_ITS_Data_Collection_Sites_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342437 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554096 AU - Lowe, Nathan AU - American Probation and Parole Association AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Screening for Risk and Needs Using the Impaired Driving Assessment PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 48p AB - Drunk driving continues to be a serious public health concern and a threat to public safety in the United States. In recent years, greater efforts have been made to enhance assessment practices for those offenders convicted of driving while impaired (DWI) in order to increase the identification of predicting which offenders are most likely to continue to drive impaired from those who are less likely to engage in this behavior. Under a cooperative agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) prepared this report on their development of a screening tool, Impaired Driving Assessment (IDA), to identify a DWI offender's risk of engaging in future conduct of impaired driving, and to help determine the most effective community supervision that will reduce such risk. APPA conducted a literature review, analyzed assessment responses of DWI offenders, and interviewed experts in the field of impaired driving research and treatment to provide guidelines in selecting the measurement components of the most appropriate instrument. APPA identified several major risk areas of DWI recidivism. An individual's past behavior stood out across multiple risk areas, including prior DWI and non-DWI involvement in the justice system and prior involvement with alcohol and other drugs. In addition, resistance to and non-compliance with current and past involvement in the justice system was identified as a major risk area. These identified areas informed the inclusion of certain items in the IDA. APPA pilot tested IDA with DWI probationers in Brown County Adult Probation, Minnesota; Nicollet County Adult Probation, Minnesota; Westchester County Probation Department, New York; and Tarrant County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, Texas. The development of IDA and the pilot test results are shared in this document. KW - Drunk driving KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Recidivism KW - Risk analysis KW - Screening tools KW - Testing KW - United States UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812022-Screening_for_Risk_and_Needs.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1343067 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551285 AU - Abu-Hejleh, Naser M AU - Alzamora, Daniel AU - Mohamed, Khalid AU - Saad, Thomas AU - Anderson, Scott AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Implementation Guidance for Using Spread Footings on Soils to Support Highway Bridges PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 83p AB - Recent Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) national surveys revealed that State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have safely and economically constructed highway bridges supported on spread footings bearing on competent and improved natural soils as well as engineered granular and mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) fills, and that many State DOTs may be missing an opportunity to save time and costs by not doing so more often. The goal of this report is to promote the consideration and use of spread footings on soils when appropriate to support highway bridges. Initially, perceived obstacles in using spread footings are identified. Then, the report presents recommendations to address these obstacles and a guidance to help State DOTs implementing these recommendations that are centered around: 1) deployment of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official (AASHTO) and FHWA technical resources; 2) highlighting practices of State DOTs that actively use spread footings, especially for selection of spread footings; 3) a performance review of bridges constructed with spread footings bearing on soils; and 4) Load and resistance factor design (LRFD) implementation for spread footings. State DOTs’ concerns with using spread footings on engineered and MSE fills and with integral abutments are addressed. Consideration of load tests on spread footings, instrumentation programs for bridges with spread footings, and deployment of adequate subsurface investigation and construction programs are recommended. The main concern of State DOTs that do not consider spread footings is excessive settlement of bridges. This report advances a rational procedure for settlement analysis of bridges supported on spread footings bearing on soils. This procedure and the results of the national surveys demonstrate that bridges with spread footings on soil can perform very well with respect to settlement. Development of LRFD design bearing resistances for footings on various types of soils is discussed. Based on the previous recommendations, the report finally provides a technical resource for State DOTs to develop LRFD guidance that would allow selection of spread footings in design when appropriate, and development of accurate and economical design methods for spread footings. KW - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials KW - Highway bridges KW - Implementation KW - Instrumentation KW - Load and resistance factor design KW - Load tests KW - Mechanically stabilized earth KW - Settlement (Structures) KW - Spread footings KW - State departments of transportation KW - Surveys KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Engineering/Structures/Documents/2014-Final-spreadfooting.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341185 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544610 AU - Taylor, Peter AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Iowa Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - The Use of Ternary Mixtures in Concrete PY - 2014/05 SP - 31p AB - This manual is a summary of the findings of a comprehensive study. Its purpose is to provide engineers with the information they need to make educated decisions on the use of ternary mixtures for constructing concrete structures. It discusses the effects of ternary mixtures on fresh and hardened mixture properties and on concrete sustainability; factors that need to be considered for both structural and mixture design; quality control issues; and three example mixtures from constructed projects. KW - Admixtures KW - Concrete KW - Construction projects KW - Manuals KW - Mix design KW - Properties of materials KW - Quality control KW - Workability UR - http://publications.iowa.gov/17977/1/FHWA_IADOT_NCPTC_TPF_5_117_Taylor_Use_Ternary_Mixtures_in_Concrete_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1330359 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544606 AU - Washer, Glenn AU - Brooks, Steven AU - Looten, Daniel W AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Nondestructive Evaluation Tools to Improve the Inspection, Fabrication and Repair of Bridges PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 46p AB - The goal of this research project in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) is to improve the safety and reliability of bridges through the exploration of three innovative technologies: (1) ultrasonic measurement of in-situ stress levels in gusset plates, (2) evaluation of ultrasonic testing (UT) and phased array testing, and (3) development of vehicle-mounted infrared thermography for bridge condition assessment. The first task investigated a methodology for nondestructive assessment of total stress levels in gusset plates to support safety analysis. This methodology utilizes the acoustoelastic effect to evaluate total stress levels by assessing the acoustic birefringence in the plate. The report describes exploratory testing to evaluate the utility of the approach as a potential tool for the field evaluation of gusset plate adequacy. The second task sought to identify the limitations associated with UT technologies and compare the results to the more recently developed phased array ultrasonic technologies. Various tests were developed to illustrate the limitations of both technologies. Currently, tests are being performed using UT and will be performed using phased array at a later date. In the third task, a flexible, portable platform for infrared thermography that enables the technology to be vehicle-mounted for scanning bridge decks, bridge soffits and tunnels at normal or close to normal traffic speeds was developed although it has not yet been field tested. KW - Bridges KW - Condition surveys KW - Gusset plates KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Phased arrays KW - Strain measurement KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Technological innovations KW - Thermographs KW - Ultrasonic tests UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Washer_NondestructiveEvaluationTechnologiesforBridgeInspection.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1331082 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544584 AU - Civjan, Scott AU - Breña, Sergio AU - Kalayci, Emre AU - Quinn, Brooke AU - University of Massachusetts, Amherst AU - Vermont Agency of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance Monitoring of Jointless Bridges - Phase III PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 349p AB - The third phase of a research project investigating the field performance of jointless bridges is reported. Three integral abutment bridges in Vermont, U.S. have been instrumented and monitored as part of this research. In Part I, general descriptions of the bridges are reported along with the final instrumentation plan for each bridge. Installation procedures are described along with data obtained during the construction process. As the bridges were completed a series of load tests were performed. The live load truck positions and collected data are reported. Three dimensional finite element models of each bridge were developed and are described. The data collected during construction stages and live load testing are analyzed and compared with the results of finite element models. In Part II, the long term data collected including seasonal thermal fluctuations are analyzed and compared with the results of finite element models. KW - Finite element method KW - Instrumentation KW - Jointless bridges KW - Load tests KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Temperature measurement KW - Vermont UR - http://vtransplanning.vermont.gov/sites/aot_program_development/files/documents/materialsandresearch/completedprojects/2014%20-%2007%20Performance%20Monitoring%20of%20Jointless%20Bridges%20-%20Phase%20III.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1331768 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544539 AU - Soriano, Janice M AU - Ziebert, Jacci AU - Morales, Alfonso AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Cold Chain Food Distribution from the Driftless Area: Keys to Attaining Self-Reliance in the Circle City-Phase III PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 74p AB - In recent years, small- to mid-scale farms have increasingly emphasized the importance of branding and establishing the appropriate identity to enter the value-added market. Farms in the Driftless Area (mostly Southwest Wisconsin) are slowly developing a regional food system and their attempts to take advantage of its strategic location in supplying abundant, quality cold chain product to the metropolitan areas, recognized as the Circle City (Chicago to the Twin-Cities). A large proportion of Circle City’s food is imported from outside the Upper Midwest, while the Driftless area is capable of producing more food to meet the region’s needs. Farms specialize in small-scale and organic food production, but production must increase and producers must shift from direct marketing to intermediation in order to increase food supply from the area to the Circle City. At the same time, Driftless producers should continue and enhance their sustainable production methods and experiment with producing a more diverse array of food products; both of which are important dimensions to a self-reliant food system. This paper uses analyses of Transearch and ESRI ArcGIS Business Analyst to synthesize the supply-demand relationship of food products that the Driftless Area shares with the Circle City by quantifying the amount of cold chain food product that is transported on a regional level. This paper makes recommendations that small- to mid-scale farmers can follow to scale-up production and to enter wholesale markets by developing relationships between each other and logistics firms, and then developing and utilizing aggregation points, which reduce risk to the producers. KW - Farms KW - Market development KW - Metropolitan areas KW - Physical distribution KW - Recommendations KW - Supply chain management KW - Wisconsin UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_0705.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1330898 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01543180 AU - Daddio, David AU - Rasmussen, Benjamin AU - Frazier, Jonathan AU - Simmons, Erica AU - Mejias, Luis AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service TI - Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge: Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 183p AB - The Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan for Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma analyzes a range of transportation and resource management challenges and documents a holistic set of alternative transportation strategies that the refuge can implement in the short, medium, and long term. The Plan consists of four interrelated products: a traffic analysis study, a pedestrian and bicycle resource guide, a multi-modal network alternatives analysis, and a transit assessment. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Bicycling KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Pedestrians KW - Public transit KW - Recreation KW - Shuttle buses KW - Strategic planning KW - Traffic analysis KW - Transportation planning KW - Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52700/52788/DOT-VNTSC-FWS-14-01.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1329310 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01541515 AU - Cheesman, Fred AU - Kleiman, Matthew AU - Lee, Cynthia G AU - Holt, Kathryn AU - National Center for State Courts AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Ignition Interlock: An Investigation into Rural Arizona Judges’ Perceptions PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 41p AB - This study sought to answer several questions regarding 2007 Arizona legislation requiring ignition interlock for all offenders convicted of Driving-Under-the-Influence (DUI), including first time DUI offenders. At the time the law was passed, Arizona was only one of two States (New Mexico being the other) to require ignition interlock for first time offenders. Of particular focus in the study were the implications of the legislation for rural areas. The project staff obtained information from judges in rural Arizona jurisdictions that routinely hear DUI cases to obtain their impressions of the legislation. Several themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Judges perceived ignition interlock as a practical and effective sanction for DUI offenders. (2) Ignition interlock service providers were limited or non-existent in rural jurisdictions. (3) DUI sanctions were costly and may have served as a barrier for offenders attempting to get their licenses reinstated. (4) Repeat DUI offenders were often charged as first-time offenders in rural jurisdictions. (5) Judges were aware of ignition interlock and current DUI laws, but were interested in additional training and information. The researchers also investigated charge reduction behavior for convicted DUI offenders, before and after implementation of the legislation in both urban and rural jurisdictions. They found a historically increasing trend for charge reductions that was driven by charge reductions for Extreme and Felony DUIs. The trend for less serious offenders was flat in both urban and rural jurisdictions. The researchers concluded that judges have not modified their charge reduction behavior toward less serious offenders despite the logistical burdens that the legislation places on DUI offenders, especially those in rural jurisdictions. KW - Alcohol ignition interlock devices KW - Arizona KW - Before and after studies KW - Drunk driving KW - Judges KW - Offenders KW - Rural areas KW - State laws UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812025-Ignition-Interlock-Investigation-Rural-AZ-Judges.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1326311 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537438 AU - Luna, Ronaldo AU - Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety/NUTC program AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Effects of Road Construction Intensity and Operations on Rural Freeway Work Zone Capacity PY - 2014/05//Interim Report SP - 4p AB - Capacity has been defined and measured by many researchers. Capacity is dependent on many variables that can be broadly categorized as traffic, geometric and traffic control conditions. Capacity is also affected by construction type and its intensity on adjacent open traffic lanes. The effect on capacity is a function of vehicles moving in and out of the closed lanes of the work zone, and the presence of heavy construction vehicles. Construction activity and its intensity, however, are not commonly considered in estimating capacity of a highway lane. The main purpose of this project is to quantify the effects of construction type and intensity (e.g. maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and milling) on work zone capacity. The intensity of construction activity can be defined as the frequency of work zone vehicles ingress/egress from the open traffic lane, the presence of heavy construction vehicles like milling machines, etc., and the number of workers present at the work site. The objective will be to quantify the effects of construction type and its intensity on work zone capacity and to develop guidelines for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to estimate the specific operation type and intensity that will improve traffic flow and shorten the length of queues commonly associated with work zones. KW - Construction management KW - Freeways KW - Highway capacity KW - Missouri KW - Missouri Department of Transportation KW - Road construction KW - Rural areas KW - Work zone traffic control KW - Work zones UR - http://transportation.mst.edu/media/research/transportation/documents/R307.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321494 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537435 AU - Volz, Jeffery S AU - Gliha, Benjamin AU - Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety/NUTC program AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Polyurethane Foam Infill for Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Bridge Deck Panels PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 123p AB - The objective of the research was to develop, test, and evaluate fiber-reinforced, polyurethane (PU) foams to replace the costly honeycomb construction currently used to manufacture fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge deck panels. Initially, the effort focused on developing an FRP sandwich panel to replace the precast, stay-in-place forms currently used to construct reinforced concrete bridge decks. However, during the course of the project, the research effort expanded to include full-depth bridge deck panels as well. This report documents the results of this study. The report is composed of eight chapters. Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction to the subject area, explains the necessity of this research, and also presents the objectives and scope of work of the investigation. Chapter 2 explains the PU foams selected for component testing and decisions made concerning which materials to move forward for further testing and evaluation. Chapter 3 details the small-scale sandwich panel testing program and results. Chapter 4 contains the stiffness and strength analysis of the small-scale panel test results, including recommendations on which FRP/PU foam combination to advance to the next phase. Chapter 5 presents the mid-scale sandwich panel testing program and results, which includes static, fatigue, and durability testing of the prototype FRP/PU foam sandwich panel. Chapter 6 details construction and testing of a prototype full-scale FRP/PU foam deck panel. Chapter 7 contains a summary of the research investigation as well as recommendations on moving forward. Finally, Chapter 8 contains supplementary information on many unique aspects of FRP bridge decks. KW - Bridge decks KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Polyurethane foams KW - Sandwich panels KW - Stay-in-place forms KW - Testing UR - http://transportation.mst.edu/media/research/transportation/documents/R295%20-%20R302%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321495 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536055 AU - Center for Transit-Oriented Development AU - Center for Neighborhood Technology AU - Reconnecting America AU - Strategic Economics AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Trends in Transit-Oriented Development 2000-2010 PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 57p AB - After decades of decline, public transportation ridership grew 36 percent from 1995 through 2008, almost three times the growth rate of the U.S. population (14%) and substantially more than the growth for vehicle miles of travel on our nation’s streets and highways (21%). This report analyzes the trends in transit regions and transit-oriented developments (TOD) from 2000 to 2010, illuminating changes in how and where we live, travel, and work. This analysis focuses on the regions and the ½-mile radius around station areas that existed in 2000 and 2010 and provides a snapshot of station areas in systems that came on line after 2000. Three case studies provide a closer look at how TOD impacts local communities. Investment in new fixed-guideway transit systems surged, and the number of regions with systems increased 43 percent, from 28 to 40. More households chose to live near transit in compact, mixed-use TOD communities closer to jobs and daily destinations, with easy access to transit, less reliance on automobiles, and more cost-of-living protection from volatile gas price spikes. KW - Case studies KW - Households KW - Mixed use development KW - Population KW - Public transit KW - Transit oriented development KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FTA_Report_No._0050.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55537/FTA_Report_No._0050.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320927 ER - TY - JOUR AN - 01535601 JO - Public Roads PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - Do, Ann H AU - Balk, Stacy A AU - Shurbutt, Jim W TI - Why did the Pedestrian Cross the Road? PY - 2014/05 VL - 77 IS - 6 AB - The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted a study in 2012 to determine the environmental factors that influence where pedestrians cross the road. Pedestrian deaths account for over 14% of fatalities in roadway crashes. The study looked at risky crossings, such as during the “don’t walk” signal phase or outside marked crossings. FHWA researchers observed, coded, and analyzed the location, time, and other circumstances of pedestrian crossings at 20 locations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The results of the study helped FHWA to develop a model to predict pedestrian behavior, which will help to design crossings that will increase safety. KW - Behavior KW - Fatalities KW - Pedestrian movement KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrians KW - Risk taking KW - Traffic crashes KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - Washington Metropolitan Area UR - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/14mayjun/04.cfm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320088 ER - TY - JOUR AN - 01535580 JO - Public Roads PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - Dingman, Chris TI - Neighbors Helping Neighbors PY - 2014/05 VL - 77 IS - 6 AB - Wait time and delays at the United States-Canada border in recent years have been an impediment to free flow. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is working with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Transport Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency on projects and activities using technology to measure border wait time. The working group has developed a border wait-time project designed to investigate, test, and deploy an automated, technology-based system for measuring wait times at two crossing locations on the land border. Another project took place in Minnesota to develop a bridge border crossing. FHWA provided information assistance to the Minnesota Department of Transportation in order to facilitate this project. KW - Bridges and culverts KW - Cooperation KW - Delays KW - Free flow speeds KW - International borders KW - Measuring instruments KW - Minnesota Department of Transportation KW - Transport Canada KW - U.S. Customs and Border Protection KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - United States-Canada Border UR - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/14mayjun/01.cfm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320085 ER - TY - JOUR AN - 01535571 JO - Public Roads PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - Hayman, Sherry Barboza AU - Chiaparas, Courtney AU - Davis, Norah TI - Engineering Scenic Highways PY - 2014/05 VL - 77 IS - 6 AB - The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Federal Lands Highway (FLH) works on projects on roads that service federal and tribal lands. The Office was established one hundred years ago and today provides highway design and construction services for federal agencies that manage public lands, with a focus on project delivery and project management. Challenges addressed by FLH include bolstering the economy, providing disaster assistance, facilitating partnerships, managing complex projects, and confronting working conditions. FLH works in a wide variety of conditions and locations across the country, working on projects in many environmentally sensitive areas with significant historical and cultural resources. KW - Highway design KW - Project delivery KW - Project management KW - Public land KW - Road construction KW - Scenic highways KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/14mayjun/03.cfm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320087 ER - TY - JOUR AN - 01535553 JO - Public Roads PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - Saadatmand, Nastaran AU - Visintine, Beth AU - Rada, Gonzalo R TI - Predicting Your Pavement’s Future PY - 2014/05 VL - 77 IS - 6 AB - An important part of roadway management is the assessment of pavement performance. Many transportation agencies in the United States are improving the conditions of their roads through next-generation models and measures of pavement performance. Software programs such as Pavement ME Design can use data from an agency’s pavement management system to calibrate models for local conditions. Calibrations analyze data to estimate the damage accumulation over the service life of a pavement, therefore allowing transportation agencies to improve predictions of pavement performance. Pavement performance models improve pavement management by helping agencies to assess the deterioration of a pavement overtime and predict future performance. Next-generation models and measures will help advance pavement management and improve the road network. KW - Calibration KW - Data analysis KW - Pavement management systems KW - Pavement performance KW - Service life KW - Software KW - United States UR - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/14mayjun/02.cfm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320086 ER - TY - JOUR AN - 01535527 JO - Public Roads PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - White, Tom TI - Transportation Gets Social PY - 2014/05 VL - 77 IS - 6 AB - The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) launched its first social media sites in 2011 and has been expanding its social media presence since then. FHWA leaders recognize the effects of social media on people’s everyday lives and the opportunities for communication that social media provides. In 2010, before engaging, FHWA formed a study of the impacts of social media to determine whether it would be appropriate and beneficial for the agency’s use. FHWA is currently sanctioned by the Office of the Secretary to use Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube, though they are open to exploring additional social media applications in the future. KW - Communication KW - Internet KW - Outreach KW - Social media KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration UR - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/14mayjun/index.cfm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320089 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01534887 AU - Yu, Hua AU - Likos, William J AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Beneficial Use of Dredged Materials in Great Lakes Commercial Ports for Transportation Projects PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 66p AB - This report describes an effort to facilitate beneficial use of dredged materials (DM) from Great Lakes ports and harbors as an alternative construction material in transportation-related earthwork applications. The overall objective is to link together the following components: 1) identify applications for use of DM in transportation-related projects, 2) summarize required geotechnical properties in specific transportation applications, 3) identify available geotechnical test methods to determine those properties, 4) identify specific values of required geotechnical material properties for specific uses, and 5) identify locations within the Great Lakes region where dredged materials meeting these specifications may be sourced. This report pulls together available information on potential applications for the use of DM in transportation earthwork projects, the required geotechnical properties of materials according to federal and state construction specifications, and the geotechnical laboratory and field test methods available to determine these properties. Representative geotechnical properties of DM from select Great Lakes locations are synthesized from available literature and the results of laboratory tests conducted on DM sampled from the Milwaukee confined disposal facility (CDF). Results are evaluated within the framework developed above to assess the suitability of unamended DM from each location for beneficial use in transportation construction. Based on the information obtained, material potentially sourced from these locations has limited direct use in its raw or unamended form. Review of general sediment types in harbors throughout the region, however, indicates that there may be large potential for beneficial use of DM because the sediment type from numerous harbors in the region is predominantly coarse-grained. Fine-grained materials are also a potential source of material if amended or stabilized with other materials (e.g., fly ash). Future effort should focus on laboratory evaluation of stabilized fine-grained DM, detailed field characterization of the physical properties at DM sources throughout the region, and dissemination and outreach to promote the concept of beneficial use of dredged materials in transportation construction. KW - Building materials KW - Dredged materials KW - Dredging KW - Earthwork KW - Geotechnical engineering KW - Great Lakes KW - Port operations KW - Properties of materials KW - Recycling KW - Waste management UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_0706.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320002 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01534880 AU - Juni, Emil AU - Adams, Teresa M AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Wisconsin Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Compass 2012 Data Analysis and Reporting PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 92p AB - Past efforts include data analysis and reporting performance and outcomes for signs, pavement, shoulders, roadsides, drainage, traffic, and bridges. In the 2005 Compass report, measures for bridge inspection and maintenance were added, and historic data was transformed from District to Region-levels. In 2006, Compass reports began presenting trends for pavement condition associated with the agency’s biennial inspection cycle. In addition, starting from 2006 the Compass report took on a slightly more customer-focus by presenting overall results as a report card and by organizing the measures according to their maintenance objectives such as safety, stewardship, and aesthetics. Starting from 2008, pavement condition is presented based on the PMMS (Pavement Maintenance Management System) data. KW - Annual reports KW - Asset management KW - Bridges KW - Compass program (Wisconsin) KW - Condition surveys KW - Data analysis KW - Highway maintenance KW - Maintenance management KW - Pavement management systems KW - Performance measurement KW - State highways KW - Wisconsin UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_0802.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1320024 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532329 AU - Briaud, Jean-Louis AU - Montalvo-Bartolomei, Axel AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Observation Method to Predict Meander Migration and Vertical Degradation of Rivers PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 108p AB - Meander migration and vertical degradation of river bed are processes that have been studied for years. Different methods have been proposed to make predictions of the behavior of rivers with respect to these processes. These two erosion controlled processes consist of the gradual change of the geometry of the river due to the flow of water eroding the soil. This erosion may cause a shift that could be a threat to existing bridges, highways and useful lands. Therefore, there is need for a method that can accurately predict the amount of erosion that may occur in rivers. Six different sites in Texas were selected for this project. Four of the selected rivers have meander migration problems and two have vertical degradation problems. Each river has shown erosion problems that have been a threat to the bridges, roads or farm lands. Aerial photos and maps from different years were obtained from different sources to study the change of the geometry of the rivers. River hydrographs were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey to estimate the river velocity. Soil samples from each site were obtained for laboratory testing, using the Erosion Function Apparatus. A method to predict meander migration and vertical degradation was developed by using the three main factors: geometry, water flow and soil erodibility. A code was written in MATLAB and Excel to predict the future movement of the meander or the vertical degradation by using a model based on the erosion function obtained from the erosion tests of the soil at each site and the average daily velocity of each river. Because this method is based on observed data, it was called the Observation Method. KW - Degradation (Hydrology) KW - Erosion KW - Forecasting KW - Hydrographs KW - Meanders KW - Rivers KW - Scour KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6724-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317301 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532327 AU - Zhang, Yunlong AU - Tiaprasert, Kamonthep AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Enhanced Adaptive Signal Control Using Dedicated Short-Range Communications PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 84p AB - Connected vehicle technology with dedicated short-range communications can provide traffic information in a spatial domain that conventional fixed-point detectors cannot provide. However, because of low market penetration with this new data source, new measures to obtain other traffic parameters and new methodologies to use these new data for better signal control are needed. Arterial roads with multiple intersections and coordinate systems can benefit from these spatial domain data as it allows vehicles to move without being stopped. For a heterogeneous traffic flow, multi-class cell transmission (M-CTM) is used to optimize signal timing control. M-CTM should work well in modeling traffic flow with signal coordination along an arterial where the platoon dispersion effect is significant and has to be accounted for in order to achieve accurate modeling results. Furthermore, queue length estimation was developed to use connected vehicle data without relying on a conventional detector. Lastly, an adaptive signal control based on the queue length estimation and connected vehicle technology was developed and compared with the pre-timed signal in various traffic conditions. The results show that the proposed control logic works well in both the free-flow condition and the congested condition, can decrease total delay, and can prevent queue overflow. KW - Arterial highways KW - Data collection KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Mobile communication systems KW - Queuing KW - Real time information KW - Traffic flow KW - Traffic signal control systems KW - Traffic signal timing UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00010-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317275 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532314 AU - Farley, Robert AU - Ellis, David AU - Weldon, Allison AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Strategic Transportation Finance Clearinghouse PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 44p AB - Between now and 2030, there will be a significant gap, well in excess of $100 million, between the amount of revenue needed to funded infrastructure projects and the amount of revenue available to fund those projects in Texas. At the same time, there is private capital seeking to invest in infrastructure projects. Despite the need for capital on the part of the public sector and the willingness to supply capital on the part of the private sector, to date, there have been only a limited number of public-private partnership projects. This paper seeks to begin a process to construct an environment in which more projects can be funded with private capital to the benefit of both the public and private sectors. KW - Construction projects KW - Financing KW - Public private partnerships KW - Texas UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161305-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317278 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01532302 AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - NextGen Investments for Operators and Airports PY - 2014/05 SP - 18p AB - Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a collaborative effort between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation community. Benefits depend on all stakeholders investing in the airspace modernization effort. Improvements in aircraft engines, airframes and fuel technologies, advances in avionics capabilities and changes to airport infrastructure contribute just as much to NextGen as FAA ground-and space-based systems. This pamphlet outlines the investment opportunities open to operators and airports. It also provides an overview of existing and planned capabilities, the benefits these capabilities enable and which technologies and equipment can take advantage of specific NextGen capabilities. KW - Air traffic control KW - Aircraft KW - Aircraft operations KW - Airports KW - Equipment KW - Investments KW - Next Generation Air Transportation System KW - Stakeholders KW - Technological innovations UR - http://www.nasao.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/NextGen-investments-for-operators-and-airports-brochure.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1317311 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531514 AU - Shurland, Melissa AU - Smith, Wade AU - Fritz, Steve G AU - Frey, H Christopher AU - Amtrak AU - Southwest Research Institute AU - North Carolina State University, Raleigh AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Locomotive Biofuel Study: Preliminary Study of the Use and Effects of Biodiesel in Locomotive Engines PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 101p AB - Section 404 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA), 2008, mandated that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) undertake a Locomotive Biofuel Study to investigate the feasibility of using biofuel blends as locomotive engine fuel. This report summarizes three research initiatives undertaken by FRA to assess the viability of biodiesel as an alternative fuel for locomotives. The first initiative consisted of using a 20 percent blend of biodiesel in a passenger locomotive in revenue service to study air emissions and engine wear. The second initiative measured the emissions of Tier 1+ and Tier 2 locomotives operating on 5 percent and 20 percent blends of biodiesel, respectively. Those emissions were compared with those generated by conventional diesel fuel. The third initiative investigated the availability of biodiesel, rail yard and revenue service engine performance and emissions on various blends of biodiesel, as well as the practicability of using an alternative method to measure those emissions. The results from these research initiatives show that while it may be feasible to use biodiesel in blends of up to 20 percent in locomotive engines and reveal some impact on emissions, additional research is needed to understand the long term effects of high blends of biodiesel on locomotive engine components. KW - Alternate fuels KW - Biodiesel fuels KW - Diesel fuels KW - Engine performance KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Locomotives KW - Pollutants UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3937 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315882 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531017 AU - Mahmoudifard, Seyed Mehdi AU - Ko, Sanghyeon AU - Mohammadian, Kouros AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Assessing Sustainable Freight Policies PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 46p AB - The main aim of the study was to examine transportation demand management strategies related to long haul freight. It investigates freight movements and truck vehicle miles traveled (TVMT) changes in response to certain transportation policies, including a national-level and two local policies. In the first scenario, the effects of Panama Canal expansion project and expected shifting of demands between ports on truck volumes of the interstate highway system are studied. This essentially results in a new freight origin and destination matrix that was consequently assigned to the highway network. Such a network analysis reveals the changes in the entire truck network and the congested areas, as well as the total Truck Mileage Traveled. In addition, establishing truck consolidation centers scenario was considered in that shipments that are less than truck load are banned from entering a specific region. The results show that such policies can potentially reduce the total Truck Mileage Traveled, and therefore generating less emission. The last policy prescription was to implement a truck curfew policy in Chicago region. The study examines the effects of such policies and presents sensitivity analysis with respect to each scenario. Furthermore, the study presents an efficient method for disaggregating Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) data. FAF provides estimates of tonnages and values for different types of commodities between states and major metropolitan areas. This database establishes a good resource for analyzing the movements and behavior of freight in the U.S. However FAF data is aggregated and transportation planners and decision makers need to disaggregate the data to obtain more detailed picture of freight movements in the U.S. The study successfully disaggregates FAF data into county level. KW - Disaggregate analysis KW - Freight traffic measurement KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Illinois KW - Panama Canal KW - Policy analysis KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Travel demand management KW - Truck traffic KW - United States KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_0704.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316827 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530979 AU - Qi, Yi AU - Chen, Xiaoming AU - Wang, Yubian AU - Liu, Guanqi AU - Lu, Yan AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Use of Directional Median Openings on Urban Roadways PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 55p AB - Over the past decades, many states and local transportation agencies have installed directional median openings on divided roadways to improve arterial safety and operational performance. A directional opening is normally used to restrict crossing and left-turn movements from minor streets to help avoid potential conflicts. A series of potential benefits may be achieved by installing directional-median openings, including reduced crash rates, increased traffic capacity, and better operational performance. However, the benefits of directional median openings depend largely on proper implementation and on various factors, including geometric, traffic control, environmental conditions, and the type and placement of the downstream U-turn provisions. The goal of this research is to investigate the safety impacts of installing directional openings on median-divided urban roadways. To achieve this goal, the research : 1) synthesized existing related research; 2) compared the safety performance of directional median openings and full median openings, at subject opening locations and downstream U-turn locations; and 3) analyzed the contributing factors to the crashes occurring at the downstream U-turn locations of a directional median opening. The studies led to a number of findings. Some of the highlighted findings include: 1) Converting a full median opening to directional median opening will reduce the crash frequency at the subject opening location. Although directional median opening might increase the crash frequencies at downstream U-turn locations, the total crashes at subject openings and downstream U-turn locations are still lower than that at full median openings.; 2) The total numbers of crashes at downstream U-turn locations of directional median openings were significantly affected by downstream U-turn volume, downstream left-turn volume, and distance to downstream U-turn opening. Higher downstream U-turn volume and downstream left-turn volume would result in more crashes at downstream U-turn locations. The closer the downstream U-turn location to the subject opening, the more crashes at downstream U-turn location. These findings indicate that, since converting a full median opening to a directional median opening will generate more U-turns at downstream opening of directional opening, the selection of U-turn location is critical for the safety performance of directional openings. Diverted left-turn traffic should not be allowed to make U-turns at closely spaced openings that already have significant U-turns or left-turn volumes. KW - Crash rates KW - Divided highways KW - Highway safety KW - Highway traffic control KW - Left turns KW - Median openings KW - Traffic crashes KW - U turns KW - Urban highways UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161342-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313974 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530972 AU - Rodriguez, Daniel A AU - Turochy, Rod AU - Sundstrom, Carl AU - Sandt, Laura AU - Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Development of Pedestrian & Bicycle Transportation Course Modules PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 18p AB - According to a 2012 report by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, crashes involving bicyclists and/or pedestrians account for almost 15% of all traffic crashes. The states that house Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE) consortium universities, including Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Mississippi, are among the top seven states with the highest pedestrian and bicyclist fatality rates in the nation. Training the next generation of planners and engineers to consider pedestrian and bicyclist needs is critical to addressing safety and livability concerns and creating more balanced, integrated, and efficient transportation systems. The authors developed and evaluated three short teaching modules for undergraduate students on planning and design for pedestrians and bicyclists (available at http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/training/courses_short.cfm). Each module includes a PowerPoint file and a narrative accompanying the file. The third module also contains a mini exercise or capstone case, bringing together the concepts presented in the three previous modules. The aim is that the instructor can choose between one, two, or all three modules. Modules were tested and evaluated by students at Auburn University enrolled in a junior-level introductory Transportation Engineering course. Since being made available to the public in August 2013, the materials were downloaded more than 120 times by individuals affiliated with educational and non-educational institutions. Although the main use of the modules is educational and training activities, they have also been used for advocacy and practice. KW - Bicycle facilities KW - Education and training KW - Pedestrian areas KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Planning and design KW - Transportation engineering KW - Transportation planning KW - Universities and colleges UR - http://stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/STRIDE_final_report_bikeped_modules_2014.pdf UR - http://www.stride.ce.ufl.edu/uploads/docs/STRIDE_final_report_bikeped_modules_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314848 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530964 AU - Lyons, William AU - Rasmussen, Benjamin AU - Daddio, David AU - Fijalkowski, Jared AU - Simmons, Erica AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program: Continued Progress in Developing Walking and Bicycling Networks PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 82p AB - In 2005, the United States Congress directed the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to develop the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP). The program provided over $25 million in contract authority to four pilot communities (Columbia, Missouri; Marin County, California; Minneapolis area, Minnesota; and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin) for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and nonmotorized programs. This report summarizes the progress and results of the NTPP from August 2005 through December 2013, updating and expanding upon the analysis from the Report to the U.S. Congress on the Outcomes of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program, submitted by the Federal Highway Administration in April 2012. This report analyzes the results through December 2013 of the NTPP in terms of program implementation, transportation mode shift toward walking and bicycling and associated improvements pertaining to access and mobility, safety and public health, and the environment and energy. From 2007 to 2013, the pilot communities observed an estimated 22.8 percent increase in the number of walking trips and an estimated 48.3 percent increase in the number of bicycling trips. This report examines how the NTPP pilot communities provide examples to other communities interested in implementing and evaluating nonmotorized investments. KW - Accessibility KW - Bicycle travel KW - Columbia (Missouri) KW - Environmental impacts KW - Implementation KW - Marin County (California) KW - Minneapolis (Minnesota) KW - Mobility KW - Modal shift KW - Nonmotorized transportation KW - Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Public health KW - Sheboygan County (Wisconsin) KW - Walking UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/ntpp/2014_report/hep14035.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51902/hep14035.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313570 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530956 AU - Honary, Lou AU - Shurland, Melissa AU - University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls AU - Federal Railroad Administration AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - A Study of the Use of Bio-Based Technologies (Lubricant and Grease) in Railroad Applications PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 127p AB - The objective of the project was to study the efficacy of using bio-based lubricant and grease technologies in railroad applications (locomotives and maintenance of way equipment). Several commercially available rail curve greases were identified and tested. Three mineral oil-based and three bio-based rail curve greases were selected for comparative testing. Greases included a summer and a winter version. Testing was conducted in an environmental chamber using two grease dispensers from two Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) at different temperatures. Field testing was conducted at two different sites on a revenue service railroad. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Biodegradability KW - Field tests KW - Grease KW - Lubricants KW - Maintenance equipment KW - Railroad transportation UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3936 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1315883 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530950 AU - Lee, Seung-Kyoung AU - Zielske, James AU - Rutgers University, Piscataway AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - An FHWA Special Study: Post-Tensioning Tendon Grout Chloride Thresholds PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 200p AB - Elevated levels of chloride were recently discovered in a commercially available pre-bagged grout product made for post-tensioned (PT) tendons. Chloride concentrations were reported to be as high as 5.27 percent by weight of cement. These numbers exceed the current limits set by all of the domestic and international regulatory committees. For example, the chloride limits for prestressed concrete imposed by American Concrete Institute committees are either 0.06 percent water-soluble chloride by weight of cement or 0.08 percent acid-soluble chloride by weight of cement. Chloride threshold is defined as a minimum chloride concentration needed to induce corrosion. However, there is limited information reported in the literature pertaining to actual chloride threshold of seven-wire PT strands. For this reason, the Federal Highway Administration sponsored a 6-month accelerated corrosion testing program to determine chloride threshold(s) of PT strands exposed to chloride-contaminated grout. Based on the test results obtained through the 6-month accelerated corrosion testing program and subsequent autopsy of the specimens, two chloride threshold values were determined for the PT strands fully encased in normal grout. The first threshold is 0.4 percent chloride concentration by weight of cement, which is the lowest amount needed to initiate corrosion of strands. At this threshold, rust spots can be formed, and a small number of pits start to form beneath some of the rust spots. The second critical chloride threshold is found in association with corrosion propagation. At this threshold, corrosion starts to intensify in terms of the number of pits and pit depth. Test data and autopsy results obtained in this study indicated that 0.8 percent chloride by weight of cement is the critical threshold. Once chloride concentration exceeds the critical threshold, significant corrosion damage can occur rapidly, and structural integrity of the PT bridges may be compromised in the near future. The actual deterioration rate will be influenced by many factors. These threshold values are applicable to normal grout condition only. They may not be adequate in other conditions such as carbonated grout, segregated grout, duct cracks, grout voids filled with water with or without chloride ions, or free sulfate ions in contact with the strands. In these circumstances, corrosion should start below the proposed threshold values. KW - Chloride content KW - Concrete bridges KW - Corrosion KW - Corrosion tests KW - Grout KW - Posttensioning KW - Tendons (Materials) UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/bridge/14039/14039.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52159/fhwa14039.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313861 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530893 AU - Goodwin, Gwen AU - Sabaroche, Sascha AU - Council, Walter AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Exploring Sustainable Transportation for Texas Southern University PY - 2014/05//Final Report AB - Texas Southern University (TSU) is a commuter campus with students, faculty, and staff traveling from the Greater Houston area to the university. Over the past few years, the TSU campus has made marked improvements to move towards a “greener” more sustainable campus with less impervious coverage. Despite this commitment, the campus still has not addressed how the university will decrease its carbon footprint and change the way people arrive at the campus. Adopting a multi-facetted approach to commuting where faculty, staff, and students have the sustainable commuting options: i.e. rideshare, transit, drive, and bicycle, as viable alternatives to get to the university. The literature and practices currently in use show these strategies are already working well at other campuses and could prove success at TSU as well. KW - Bicycle commuting KW - Commuting KW - Literature reviews KW - Public transit KW - Ridesharing KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Texas Southern University KW - Universities and colleges UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00042-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313973 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530892 AU - Nordback, Krista AU - Sellinger, Michael AU - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Methods for Estimating Bicycling and Walking in Washington State PY - 2014/05//Research Report SP - 76p AB - This report presents the work performed in the first and second phases in the process of creating a method to calculate Bicycle and Pedestrian Miles Traveled (BMT/PMT) for the state of Washington. First, the authors recommend improvements to the existing Washington State Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Program to provide data for BMT/PMT estimates, including expanding the program geographically and installing permanent automated bicycle and pedestrian counters to complement the short duration count program. The method to estimate BMT/PMT relies on the assumption of a stratified random sample drawn from the set of all roads and paths divided into 16 groups. These groups are based on three spatial attributes, which were gathered from a review of the literature: (1) Level of urbanism (two categories): Urban and Rural; (2) Facility type (two categories): Highway/Arterial and Other; and (3) Geographic/climatic regions (four regions): Coast Range, Puget Lowland, Cascades, Eastern Washington This report describes the first steps being taken toward the goal of computing this metric. Count data from Seattle, Olympia, and the State’s Count Program have been gathered. To account for temporal variation, seasonal, daily and hourly adjustment factors have been computed based on one year of count data collected from the Fremont Bridge in Seattle. The short duration count sites have been grouped by the attributes described above, though most fall into just two groups: Puget Lowland Urban Arterial/Highway and Puget Lowland Urban Local/Collector/Path. Little or no data are available in most of the other groups. The roads in the state have also been divided into these 16 groups in order to compute total centerline miles for each group. This report outlines a sample-based method that could be used to compute BMT/PMT for the state and identifies both the data available for such a computation as well as the data gaps. It also suggests other methods that could also be used to estimate BMT/PMT to compare to the count-based method. KW - Bicycle travel KW - Cyclists KW - Data collection KW - Estimating KW - Pedestrian counts KW - Pedestrians KW - Person miles of travel KW - Walking distance KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/828.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314060 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529481 AU - Kurker, Michael AU - Fournier, Chris AU - Zhao, Qun AU - Hakimi, Shadi AU - Qi, Yi AU - Tang, Shoupeng AU - Liu, Rouyu AU - Juri, Natalia Ruiz AU - Duthie, Jennifer AU - Machemehl, Randy AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Southern University AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Minimizing User Delay and Crash Potential through Highway Work Zone Planning PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 155p AB - Lane closures due to highway work zones introduce many challenges to ensuring smooth traffic operations and a safe environment for drivers and workers. In addition, merging has been found to be one of the most stressful aspects of driving and a merge process that is viewed as “unfair” through actions like queue jumping can lead to further unsafe behaviors stemming from “road rage.” To address these issues, the work in this project will focus on lane control solutions for intermediate and long-term highway work zones. In order to evaluate network performance, driver behavior, driver operations, and impacts on safety, several tools were used. Using a combination of field observations, microsimulation, and dynamic traffic assignment tools, the main objective was to develop a procedural guide or decision tree for freeway work zone traffic control planning. This procedural guide would then be presented to the Texas Department of Transportation in a pilot training workshop. Using microsimulation software, with a focus on VISSIM, the analysis of different applications of merge concepts through delay and safety is presented in the project. In order to appropriately draw conclusions about and identify trends of different merge concepts from the microsimulation software, early merge, late merge, and signal merge were first explored in a thorough literature review. In addition to delay and queuing analysis completed using VISSIM, the Federal Highway Administration’s Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) was used to address the effects of implementing signal merge on rear-end and lane-change conflicts. Compiling the data collection, VISSIM microsimulation outputs, and SSAM signal merge safety outputs, general conclusions and decisions were provided. KW - Decision trees KW - Dynamic traffic assignment KW - Lane changing KW - Merging control KW - Microsimulation KW - Surrogate Safety Assessment Model KW - Traffic control KW - VISSIM (Computer model) KW - Work zone safety KW - Work zones UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/0-6704-1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52138/0-6704-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311875 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529466 AU - Zeng, Xiaosi AU - Balke, Kevin AU - Songchitruksa, Praprut AU - Zhang, Yunlong AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Real-time Transit Signal Priority Control System that Considers Stochastic Bus Arrival Times PY - 2014/05//Research Report SP - 91p AB - Transit Signal Priority (TSP) is an effective strategy for providing preferential treatment to move transit vehicles through intersections with minimum delay. However, TSP can disrupt traffic on non-priority phases if not properly implemented. To produce a good TSP strategy, advance planning with enough lead time is usually preferred; this means added uncertainty about the bus arrival at the stop bar, which has been difficult to be accounted for. Researchers proposed a stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear model (SMINP) to be used as the core component of a real-time transit signal priority control system. The SMINP was implemented in a simulation evaluation platform. An analysis was performed to compare the proposed control model with the standard check-in/check-out TSP system implemented in the VISSIM Built-in Ring-Barrier Controller (RBC-TSP). The results showed the SMINP produced as much as 30 percent improvement of bus delay from the RBC-TSP in low to medium volume conditions. In high-volume conditions, the SMINP model automatically recognizes the level of congestion of the intersection and gives less priority to the bus so as to maintain a minimum impact to the traffic on its conflicting phases. In the case of multiple conflicting bus lines, a rolling optimization scheme was developed. A comparison indicated the RBC-TSP systems cannot handle a high degree of saturation when there are significant amount of conflicts between bus lines, while the SMINP can automatically give less priority to bus so as to cause much less impact to other traffic. KW - Bus priority KW - Bus transit operations KW - Mixed integer programming KW - Optimization KW - Real time control KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic signal priority KW - Traffic simulation KW - Transit buses UR - http://d2dtl5nnlpfr0r.cloudfront.net/swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00014-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313580 ER - TY - SER AN - 01529465 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Mahmoud, Enad AU - Ortiz, Eduardo AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Implementation of AIMS in Measuring Aggregate Resistance to Polishing, Abrasion, and Breakage PY - 2014/05 IS - 14-014 SP - 59p AB - The feasibility of using the Micro-Deval apparatus along with the second-generation Aggregate Imaging System (AIMS) to develop a procedure for measuring aggregate polishing resistance, and to measure aggregate shape properties was investigated. Eleven aggregate sources from the state of Illinois and neighboring states were selected to develop an aggregate polishing experimental procedure using AIMS and Micro-Deval. AIMS was used to measure aggregate shape properties with a special focus on aggregate angularity and surface texture, while Micro-Deval provided the needed polishing/degradation. Mathematical, statistical, and rate of texture loss analysis indicated that all aggregate sources reached terminal texture at 210 minutes or less. Aggregate angularity followed the same trend, and terminal angularity was achieved at 210 minutes or less. As the polishing procedure was finalized, aggregate shape properties were tested for 77 aggregate sources. Shape properties were measured before polishing and after polishing in Micro-Deval at 105 and 210 minutes, and a database was developed using Microsoft Excel. The research team also studied the number of aggregate particles that must be scanned in AIMS. Random sub-sampling and asymptotic analyses were conducted and it was concluded that 120 particles were required. This finding was further evaluated by manual sampling of 120 aggregate particles. The manual sampling proved that 120 particles were enough for AIMS angularity and texture measurements. KW - Abrasion resistance KW - Aggregates KW - Angularity KW - Illinois KW - Image analysis KW - Micro-Deval Abrasion Test KW - Polishing (Aggregates) KW - Properties of materials KW - Shape KW - Texture UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49941 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311857 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529458 AU - He, B Brian AU - Bi, Zheting AU - TranLIVE AU - National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology AU - Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - In situ Transesterification of Microalgal Oil to Produce Algal Biodiesel (Stage 2) PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 22p AB - Research on processing microalgae into algal biofuels is a needed step for commercialization. This report aimed at exploring a one-step processing technology that combines lipid extraction and transesterification in a single step or in situ transesterification. Specifically, the effects of process parameters on the process efficiency were investigated using whole microalgae as the feedstock. With the model microalga Schizochytrium limacinum, experiments were performed on the effects of lipid-to-methanol molar ratio (sRatio), operating temperature, reaction time, and CO₂ as a co-solvent based on a factorial experimental design. It was found that the operating temperature and the reaction time are the most influential process parameters. The effects on the product yield and selectivity were collectively contributed by the combinations of these two parameters. A product yield of 68.7% was achieved after 60 minutes at 210°C with a selectivity of 35%. Similar product yield of 68.6% but higher selectivity of 46.8% were obtained after 30 minutes at 250°C. The sRatio did not affect the product yield significantly due to the higher ratios tested. Despite a noticeable influence found in preliminary investigations, the addition of CO₂ did not display significant effects in low pressure operations. The conditions for optimum product yield and/or product selectivity were inconclusive. Further investigation is needed to gain a thorough understanding of the process. KW - Algae KW - Biodiesel fuels KW - Carbon dioxide KW - Fuel processing KW - Temperature KW - Transesterification UR - http://www.uidaho.edu/~/media/Files/orgs/ENGR/Research/NIATT/TranLIVE/Final%20Reports/UI_TranLIVE%20Final%20Report_Algal%20Biodiesel UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313587 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529456 AU - Antuñano, Melchor J AU - Wade, Katherine AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Index of International Publications in Aerospace Medicine PY - 2014/05//5th SP - 88p AB - The 5th edition of the Index of International Publications in Aerospace Medicine is a comprehensive listing of international publications in clinical aerospace medicine, operational aerospace medicine, aerospace physiology, environmental medicine/physiology, diving medicine/physiology, aerospace human factors, as well as other topics directly or indirectly related to aerospace medicine. The Index is divided into six major sections: I) Open Publications in General Aerospace Medicine, II) Government Publications in General Aerospace Medicine, III) Publications in Other Topics Related to Aerospace Medicine and Aerospace Human Factors, IV) Proceedings From Scientific Meetings in Aerospace Medicine and Psychology, V) Journals, Newsletters, and Bulletins in Aerospace Medicine and Aerospace Human Factors, and VI) On-line Databases Containing Bibliographic,Regulatory, and Safety Information in Aerospace Medicine and Related Disciplines. KW - Aviation medicine KW - Bibliographies KW - Crash investigation KW - Databases KW - Human factors KW - Indexes (Information management) KW - Periodicals KW - Physiology UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201407.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312158 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529449 AU - Kweon, Young-Jun AU - Lim, In-Kyu AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of Safety Performance Functions for Multilane Highway and Freeway Segments Maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 42p AB - The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) adopted the software Safety Analyst™ as its highway safety management tool in 2009. One of the requirements for implementation of Safety Analyst is to have appropriate safety performance functions (SPFs) reflecting Virginia conditions. The purpose of this study was to develop such SPFs for multilane highway and freeway segments that could replace Safety Analyst’s default SPFs. Five years (2004-2008) of data collected from 20,235 multilane highway segments and 2,905 directional freeway segments in Virginia were used in the development of the SPFs. Statewide SPFs were developed for 4 subtypes of multilane highway segments and 10 subtypes of freeway segments. VDOT district-group SPFs were developed for 4 subtypes of multilane highway segments. The default SPFs in Safety Analyst were found to be different than the developed Virginia SPFs with respect to their curve shapes, and, as a result, adjusting the default SPFs to Virginia conditions by calibration factors resulted in inaccurate crash predictions at low and high volumes of annual average daily traffic. Thus, the Virginia-specific statewide SPFs developed in this study should be used when implementing Safety Analyst in Virginia. Although the shapes of the multilane highway segment SPFs were found to vary across VDOT districts, incorporating variations through the creation of new subtypes was found to be inappropriate for the current version of Safety Analyst. As a consequence, district-group SPFs for the multilane highway segments cannot be implemented in Safety Analyst. However, all SPFs developed in this study, including district-group SPFs, can be implemented without the use of Safety Analyst. Therefore, use of the statewide SPFs developed in this study is recommended when Safety Analyst can be used and use of the statewide or district-group SPFs developed in this study is recommended when implementation of Safety Analyst is not feasible. KW - Crash data KW - Freeways KW - Highway safety KW - Multilane highways KW - Safety Analyst KW - Safety management KW - Safety Performance Functions KW - Software KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311856 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529443 AU - Betti, Raimondo AU - Khazem, Dyab AU - Carlos, Mark AU - Gostautas, Richard AU - Virmani, Y Paul AU - Columbia University AU - Parsons Transportation Group AU - Physical Acoustics Corporation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Corrosion Monitoring Research for City of New York Bridges PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 204p AB - Current inspection procedures for suspension bridge main cables mainly consist of visually inspecting the exterior covering of the cable every 2 years. An in-depth inspection is usually scheduled as necessary to assess the condition of the interior wires by wedging the cable at selected locations along the cable. However, such approaches were found to be deficient in uncovering the most deteriorated and weakest regions in the cables of several bridges during their full cable rehabilitation projects. In this study, an integrated methodology was developed that uses state-of-the-art sensing capabilities and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technologies to assess the cable condition. A smart sensor system integrated with NDE technologies is an approach that shows potential for assessing the condition of suspension bridge cables. NDE technologies for direct detection of the corrosion damage (i.e., main flux method, magnetostrictive technology, and acoustic emission technology) were implemented, validated, and tested for suspension bridge cable applications. In addition, a network of sensors that can monitor the external and internal environment of such cables and provide information that can be used to indirectly assess the cable’s deterioration conditions and their evolution over time were assembled and extensively tested. In the selection of the sensors to be used for indirect sensing, special consideration was placed in considering the performance of such sensors in realistic service conditions such as a harsh environment, extreme reversals in cyclic histories (temperature, humidity, strain, electrochemical activity byproducts, etc.), large compaction forces, etc. To recreate conditions as close as possible to real operating conditions, a cable mockup, which was 20 inches (508 mm) in diameter and 20 ft (6.1 m) long and subjected to 1,100 kips (4,893,043.76 N) and fully instrumented, was built at Columbia University and tested in an enclosed accelerated corrosion chamber. The results showed that the selected sensors were able to successfully measure temperature, humidity, and corrosion rate within the cable. The same system was then installed on two panels of the Manhattan Bridge, and measurements of temperature, relative humidity, and corrosion rate in the cable interior were successfully recorded for almost 1 year from November 2010 to September 2011. KW - Bridge cables KW - Corrosion KW - Field studies KW - Manhattan Bridge (New York, New York) KW - New York (New York) KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Sensors KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Suspension bridges UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/bridge/14023/14023.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312034 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529431 AU - Cuelho, Eli AU - Perkins, Steve AU - Morris, Zachary AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Montana Department of Transportation AU - Idaho Department of Transportation AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Oklahoma Department of Transportation AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - South Dakota Department of Transportation AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Wyoming Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Relative Operational Performance of Geosynthetics Used As Subgrade Stabilization PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 331p AB - Full-scale test sections were constructed, trafficked and monitored to compare the relative operational performance of geosynthetics used as subgrade stabilization as well as determine which material properties are most related to performance. Seventeen, 50-ft. long test sections were constructed – fourteen containing geosynthetic reinforcement and three without. A subgrade material was prepared and constructed to an average strength of 1.79 California Bearing Ratio (CBR) with the exception of two reinforced test sections which were constructed to greater and lesser strengths in order to determine the effect subgrade strength had on the performance of the test sections. The test sections were constructed with an average base course thickness of 10.9 in. with the exception of two controls where the base thickness was intentionally increased to evaluate the effect of base thickness on test section performance. Information from the test sections that were purposely constructed with different subgrade strength and base course thickness were used to correct any variability in the remaining reinforced test sections. Test sections were trafficked using a 45-kip, 3-axle dump truck. Rut, displacement, strain, and pore-water pressure were monitored during trafficking. Post-trafficking excavations were conducted to evaluate damage to the geosynthetic, base contamination from the subgrade, and strength and deformation of the layers. Longitudinal rut was the primary indicator of performance. Geosynthetic material properties were used in a linear regression analysis to determine which properties best related to performance of the test sections in this study as well as test sections from Phase I. It was determined that the strength and stiffness of the junctions and tensile strength properties in the cross-machine direction correlated well with performance. The woven and non-woven geotextiles also performed well, but further research is needed to determine which material properties correspond to performance. Additional work is needed to more confidently specify minimum values for geosynthetic material properties associated with good performance in subgrade stabilization applications KW - California bearing ratio KW - Geosynthetics KW - Linear regression analysis KW - Performance tests KW - Rutting KW - Soil stabilization KW - Subgrade (Pavements) KW - Tensile strength KW - Test sections UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/subgrade/final_report-2.pdf UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/479 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54100/54160/final_report-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312749 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529430 AU - Edgar, Thomas V AU - University of Wyoming, Laramie AU - Wyoming Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Instrumentation and Analysis of Frost Heave Mitigation on WY-70, Encampment, WY PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 125p AB - This project investigated a novel procedure to reduce or prevent subgrade freezing non-destructively by injecting a two-part polymer foam at the top of the subgrade. Controlled injection of Uretek Star, expanding structural polymer foam, created a continuous three-inch thick layer of insulation that significantly reduced the heat loss from the deeper soil and almost totally eliminated frost heave at a site on highway WY- 70, four and one-half miles west of Encampment, Wyoming. The foam layer also prevented the upward movement of water from the warmer regime under the foam to the upper frozen regime above the foam. This prevented any segregational freezing in the upper zone. The two-year research project consisted of measuring pavement elevation changes along five 300-foot long lines over the heave area and monitoring subsurface temperatures at six locations inside and outside of the injection zone. The construction time for the 100-foot section was one week for injection and milling the surface. Construction was contained in one lane, leaving a lane open for the entire duration without a detour, increasing safety and minimizing impact for the driving public. Additionally, a procedure is developed for estimating the thickness of the foam layer required for other sites with different average temperatures. KW - Freezing KW - Frost heaving KW - Frost heaving soils KW - Instrumentation KW - Polyurethane foams KW - Subgrade (Pavements) KW - Wyoming UR - http://www.dot.state.wy.us/files/live/sites/wydot/files/shared/Planning/Research/Frost%20Heave%20Report%205-22-2014.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51959/Frost_Heave_Report_5-22-2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312247 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529426 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Speeding PY - 2014/05 SP - 6p AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) considers a crash to be speeding-related if the driver was charged with a speeding-related offense or if an officer indicated that racing, driving too fast for conditions, or exceeding the posted speed limit was a contributing factor in the crash. Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes and at a tremendous cost. NHTSA estimates that the annual economic cost to society of speeding-related crashes is $40.4 billion. In 2012, speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes, and 10,219 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes. Speeding-related fatalities increased by 2 percent from 10,001 in 2011 to 10,219 in 2012. Additional data in this report includes alcohol involvement and seat belt use. KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Fatalities KW - Seat belt use KW - Speeding KW - States KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812021.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311853 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529425 AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - 2014 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics PY - 2014/05 SP - 48p AB - This document highlights the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's role in collecting and analyzing crash data and statistics to support the prevention of commercial vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. Sections include: The Motor Carrier Management Information System; Large trucks and buses overview; Roadside inspections and violations; Reviews; Crashes; and Data quality. KW - Bus crashes KW - Buses KW - Crash characteristics KW - Data quality KW - Fatalities KW - Inspection KW - Motor Carrier Management Information System KW - Motor carriers KW - Statistics KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - Truck crashes KW - Trucking safety KW - Trucks UR - http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/FMCSA%20Pocket%20Guide%20to%20Large%20Truck%20and%20Bus%20Statistics%20-%20October%202014%20Update%20%282%29.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51827/FMCSA_Pocket_Guide_to_Large_Truck_and_Bus_Statistics_-_2014_-_508C.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312246 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529410 AU - Trejo, David AU - Porter, Frank AU - Chen, Jiaming AU - Lee, Hyun Woo AU - Oregon State University, Corvallis AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Comparison of Pelletized Lime with Other Anti-Stripping Additives PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 70p AB - Stripping is a common problem in hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavements in Oregon, especially in Eastern Oregon. Stripping is the degradation of the bond between the aggregate and the asphalt binder due to the presence of water – this mechanism of degradation can lead to loss of capacity and cracking in the pavement. A common additive used in the industry to mitigate stripping damage is powdered lime. However, challenges with air-borne powdered lime have state highway agencies (SHAs) investigating alternatives to powdered lime. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of potential alternatives to powdered lime additive in preventing stripping. This research evaluated the moisture susceptibility of five anti-stripping additives with three separate aggregates. The aggregates exhibited a range of potential stripping from not susceptible to susceptible. Results indicate that Aggregates 1 and 3 are likely susceptible to stripping, with Aggregate 3 likely being the most susceptible. Powdered lime increased the tensile strength ratio (TSR) and environmental conditioning system (ECS) ratios for the susceptible aggregates. Mixtures with Additive 4 exhibited similar performance to mixes containing powdered lime. Additive 2 exhibited improved performance compared to the control but TSR and ECS ratios were lower than the specimens with powdered lime. Results from mixtures with Additive 3 exhibited limited improvements in TSR and ECS ratios. Additives 4 and 2 should be considered for future use in HMA when stripping could be an issue. One practice in Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is to inlay HMA pavements 15 years after construction. If the pavement is exhibiting damage resulting from stripping, the inlay can be specified to be 4 inches (102 mm) deep. If the pavement is not exhibiting damage from stripping, the inlay can be specified at 2 inches (51 mm) deep. Using this information, an economic analysis was performed. Other options are available but these were not included in the analysis. The economic analysis indicates that when a reduction in inlay thickness is realized, there is significant value in using additives. The sensitivity analyses indicated that large changes in the input variables do not make the cost of using additive cost ineffective – that is, there is significant value in using additives even when input variables (rate of return, number of future inlays, inlay depth, cost of inlay HMA, original construction cost, and additive cost) change significantly. KW - Aggregates KW - Antistrip additives KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Calcium oxide KW - Economic analysis KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Moisture damage KW - Oregon KW - Stripping (Pavements) KW - Tensile strength UR - http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP_RES/ResearchReports/SPR732_PelletizedLime_Final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312803 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529406 AU - McFalls, Jett AU - Rounce, David AU - Yi, Young-Jae AU - Cleveland, Ted AU - Storey, Beverly AU - Murphy, Holly AU - Barrett, Michael AU - Dalton, Desirae AU - Lawler, Desmond AU - Morse, Audra AU - Eck, Brad AU - Herrmann, George R AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance Testing of Coagulants to Reduce Stormwater Runoff Turbidity PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 86p AB - On December 1, 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a rule in the Federal Register establishing non-numeric and, for the first time, numeric effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs). The numeric ELGs included a turbidity limit of 280 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) and sampling requirements for stormwater discharges from construction sites that disturb 20 or more acres of land at one time. At that time, the EPA required Texas to implement these new requirements when the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) renewed their Texas Construction General Permit (CGP) in 2013. Due to litigation regarding the initial numeric ELG implementation, the EPA put numeric ELGs on hold in 2011 and on April 13, 2013, proposed to withdraw the numeric ELG as a requirement. This project was initiated in 2010 to prepare the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for changes to the CGP regarding the monitoring and sampling of their construction site to meet the anticipated numeric ELG requirements. The scope of the project was modified due to EPA’s actions. However, in light of anticipated future numeric limits, the project’s monitoring and testing experiments proceeded to 1) determine “typical turbidity” representative of TxDOT’s construction site discharges, 2) collect performance data on innovative erosion and sediment control measures that might be expected to achieve the discharge standard, and 3) provide update to TxDOT’s Stormwater Managements Guidelines for Construction Activities. KW - Coagulation KW - Construction sites KW - Effluents KW - Erosion control KW - Runoff KW - Sediments KW - Texas KW - Turbidity UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6638-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311876 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529375 AU - Kahane, Charles J AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Updated Estimates of Fatality Reduction by Electronic Stability Control PY - 2014/05//Evaluation Note SP - 10p AB - Electronic stability control (ESC) has dramatically enhanced drivers’ ability to keep vehicles under control in a wide variety of driving situations. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, Lives Saved by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 1960-2002, estimated that vehicle safety technologies had saved an estimated 328,551 lives through 2002. The agency is currently updating the analysis to 2012 and including the effects of more recent technologies, such as ESC. This research note will supply updated estimates of fatal-crash reduction by ESC, based on Fatality Analysis Report System (FARS) data through 2011, for the statistical model that computes lives saved by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). It is desirable to update the NHTSA’s previous estimates (based on FARS data through 2009) because: (1) The previous studies were not based on a representative cross-section of vehicles. Early installations of ESC were concentrated among luxury cars and the more expensive sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Not until model year (MY) 2010 was ESC available in the majority of new vehicles, including high-sales, relatively less expensive cars and pickup trucks. (2) A new effectiveness analysis provides the opportunity to define the various crash categories exactly as they will be defined in the model to compute lives saved – and assure that the effectiveness estimates match the target populations. (3) Rollover curtains are another life-saving technology introduced at the same time or nearly the same time as ESC in many light truck vehicles (LTVs). It is important to separate the effect of ESC from the effect of rollover curtains when analyzing the reduction of fatal first-event rollovers. (4) The 2011 report’s estimated effectiveness for cars in fixed-object crashes (47%) was implausibly high (even higher than the 45% in LTVs), probably a consequence of not enough data at that time. (5) The 2011 report’s estimate for culpable involvements of cars in collisions with other vehicles was not statistically significant, again probably due to insufficient data. KW - Automobiles KW - Electronic control KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - Highway safety KW - Light trucks KW - Rollover crashes KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - Statistical analysis KW - Traffic crashes KW - Vans UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812020.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312195 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529370 AU - Milburn, Nelda J AU - Gildea, Kevin M AU - Perry, Deborah L AU - Roberts, Carrie A AU - Peterson, Linda (Sarah) AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Usability of Light-Emitting Diodes in Precision Approach Path Indicator Systems by Individuals With Marginal Color Vision PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 34p AB - To save energy, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is planning to convert from incandescent lights to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in precision approach path indicator (PAPI) systems. Preliminary work on the usability of LEDs by color vision-waivered pilots (Bullough, Skinner, & Milburn, 2012) indicated that red weak (protan) individuals made a few errors identifying red. Hence, this follow-up study explored whether clustering LEDs of different chromaticities of the same hue would aid users with color vision deficiencies (CVD). Participants, aged 18-33 years, included 45 with normal color vision (NCV). Additionally, 48 were diagnosed using the Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test as 27 deutans (including five subjects with potential deutan deficiencies), 11 protans, two tritans, and eight subjects evidencing both red-green and yellow-blue deficiencies. Participants completed the Dvorine pseudoisochromatic plate test, the Signal Light Gun Test (which is the secondary test for issuing color vision waivers), the Cone Contrast Test, and a simulation of the PAPI system. Participants were asked to name the colors of a 4-light, color-coded PAPI simulation using typical red (R) and white (W) light configurations resulting in five possible patterns (WWWW, WWWR, WWRR, WRRR, and RRRR) composed of either incandescent lights, or clusters of three monochromatic or three heterochromatic 5mm cylindrical LEDs. Analyses did not indicate any significant differences between the incandescent, monochromatic, and heterochromatic conditions. A between-group analysis found that a group comprised of those with both red-green and yellow-blue deficiencies performed significantly worse than all other color vision groups. Performance was not significantly different among all other groups. The protan group performed perfectly on all light sources, even on the 16 trials without comparative color luminance cues. This finding suggests that color vision-waivered pilots will perform the same on red and white LED PAPI systems as with the current incandescent system. KW - Approach KW - Color vision KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Landing aids KW - Light emitting diodes KW - Vision tests UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201406.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312157 ER - TY - SER AN - 01529365 JO - Traffic Safety Facts PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Large Trucks PY - 2014/05 SP - 6p AB - In 2012, there were 3,921 people killed and 104,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds). In the United States, 333,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes during 2012. Fatalities in crashes involving large trucks showed a 4-percent increase from 3,781 in 2011 to 3,921 in 2012. Of these fatalities in 2012, 73 percent were occupants of other vehicles, 10 percent were nonoccupants, and 18 percent were occupants of large trucks. Between 2011 and 2012, fatalities in these crashes showed a 5-percent increase in the number of occupants of other vehicles killed and a 9-percent increase in the number of large-truck occupants killed. The number of nonoccupants killed decreased by 11 percent. In 2012, there were 104,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks—an increase of 18 percent from 88,000 in 2011. Of these people injured in 2012, 73 percent were occupants of other vehicles, 3 percent were nonoccupants, and 24 percent were occupants of large trucks. The 2012 percentages show non-significant change when compared to 2011. There was a 1-percentage-point increase in occupants of other vehicles injured and a 2-percentage-point decrease in large-truck occupants injured. The percentage of nonoccupants injured increased by 1 percentage point. Additional statistics on the involvement of large trucks in crashes in 2012 are provided in this fact sheet. KW - Crash characteristics KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Fatalities KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - Truck crashes KW - United States UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811868.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312702 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529352 AU - Romanoschi, Stefan AU - Scullion, Tom AU - University of Texas, Arlington AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Validation of the Maximum Allowable Amounts of Recycled Binder, RAP, and RAS Using Accelerated Pavement Testing—Interim Report PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 78p AB - This report summarizes the work conducted on Project 0-6682 up to August 31, 2013. The report is organized in five chapters corresponding to separate tasks in the project work plan, as follows: Chapter 1 presents the summary of the findings from the literature review. Chapter 2 presents the plan for the accelerated pavement testing. Chapter 3 reports on the establishment of the accelerated pavement testing facility. Chapter 4 presents the results of the laboratory testing conducted to design the mixes. Chapter 5 presents the construction of the hot mix asphalt layers and provides results of the in-situ tests done during construction. KW - Accelerated tests KW - Binders KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Mix design KW - Pavement cracking KW - Recycled materials KW - Shingles KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6682-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312415 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529349 AU - Goodchild, Anne AU - Wygonik, Erica AU - McMullen, B Starr AU - Holder, Daniel AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Multimodal Freight Project Prioritization PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 155p AB - As available data has increased and as the national transportation funding bills have moved toward objective evaluation, departments of transportation (DOTs) throughout the country have begun to develop tools to measure the impacts of different projects. Increasingly, DOTs recognize the freight transportation system is necessarily multimodal. However, few DOTs have clearly stated objective tools to make multimodal freight project comparisons. This report informs that gap by summarizing the existing academic literature on the state of the science for freight project impact estimation and reviewing methods currently used by select DOTs nationwide. These methods are analyzed to identify common themes and determine potential avenues for multimodal project evaluation. Most methods either take the form of benefit-cost analysis or a scorecard approach. Examples of each were reviewed in-depth and patterns evaluated. While most tools use similar measures, the supporting metrics vary widely and are not applicable to all modes. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Freight transportation KW - Literature reviews KW - Methodology KW - Multimodal transportation KW - State departments of transportation KW - Strategic planning KW - United States UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51858/SPR759_FreightPrioritization.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311854 ER - TY - SER AN - 01529348 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Crash Stats PB - National Center for Statistics and Analysis AU - Chen, Yuan Yan TI - Seat Belt Use in 2013—Use Rates in the States and Territories PY - 2014/05 SP - 2p AB - In 2013, seat belt use in the United States ranged from 68.7 percent in South Dakota to 98.2 percent in Oregon. These results are from probability-based observational surveys conducted by 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. These surveys are conducted in accordance with criteria established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ensure reliable results. Compliance with the criteria is verified annually by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) National Center for Statistics and Analysis. In 2011 NHTSA established new uniform criteria (23 CFR Part 1340) for observational surveys. In 2012, 27 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands used surveys that conformed to the new uniform criteria. In 2013 all the State and Territory observational surveys conformed to the new uniform criteria. Seat belt use rates in the States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, other U.S. Territories, and nationwide from 2006 to 2013 are listed in this report. KW - Seat belt use KW - States KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States KW - United States Territories UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812030.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313572 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529347 AU - Porter, J David AU - Kim, David S AU - Ghanbartehrani, Saeed AU - Oregon State University, Corvallis AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Proof Of Concept: GTFS Data As A Basis For Optimization Of Oregon’s Regional And Statewide Transit Networks PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 72p AB - Assessing the current "state of health" of individual transit networks is a fundamental part of studies aimed at planning changes and/or upgrades to the transportation network serving a region. To be able to effect changes that benefit both the individual transit networks as well as the larger transportation system, organizations need to develop meaningful strategies guided by specific performance metrics. A fundamental requirement for the development of these performance metrics is the availability of accurate data regarding transit networks. Prior to 2005, transit data was not readily available. This situation complicated the assessment of single transit networks, let alone performing a state-wide or region-wide study. The advent of the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) changed this constrained landscape and motivated transit operators to release their schedules and route information to third party developers. In this report, the development work conducted to create an open source software tool to help the Oregon Department of Transportation's Public Transit Division gain a better understanding and more efficient utilization of existing state-wide transit networks is described. The final product, referred to as the Transit Network Analysis software tool, incorporates GTFS data and census data as its main inputs and can be used to visualize, analyze and report on the Oregon transit network. KW - Data analysis KW - General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) KW - Network analysis (Planning) KW - Optimization KW - Oregon KW - Public transit KW - Software UR - http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP_RES/ResearchReports/SPR752_GTFS_Data.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312184 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529346 AU - Long, Kan AU - Wu, Hui AU - Zhang, Zhanmin AU - Murphy, Mike AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Quantitative Relationship between Crash Risks and Pavement Skid Resistance PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 71p AB - Faced with continuously increasing maintenance due to aging infrastructure, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is evaluating the potential impact of reduced funding on highway safety. The main objective of this report is to develop a methodological procedure to identify threshold levels of pavement skid resistance for highways in the context of traffic crashes, assisting TxDOT Administration and engineers in making proper maintenance decisions. As a result, the efficiency and safety of the highway system could be preserved. The scope of this study covers all types of state-maintained highways in Texas. KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Decision making KW - Highway safety KW - Maintenance management KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Skid resistance KW - Texas UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/0-6713-1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52100/52139/0-6713-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311877 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529327 AU - Collins, J AU - Mullins, G AU - Lewis, C AU - Winters, D AU - Foundation and Geotechnical Engineering, LLC AU - Engineering and Software Consultants, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - State of the Practice and Art for Structural Health Monitoring of Bridge Substructures PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 100p AB - In an age of technological advances, the ability to monitor the performance of bridge foundations has evolved such that both short- and long-term data acquisition of embedded gauges is not only available but also cost effective. Case studies were documented that show the merits of using embedded gauges and low-cost data collection systems to provide increased quality assurance during construction as well as a means to monitor the health of the foundations while in service. KW - Bridge foundations KW - Bridge substructures KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Measuring instruments KW - Quality assurance KW - State of the practice KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/bridge/09040/09040.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311861 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529296 AU - Simpson, Sherona P AU - Ozbek, Mehmet E AU - Clevenger, Caroline M AU - Atadero, Rebecca A AU - Colorado State University, Fort Collins AU - Colorado State University, Fort Collins AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Framework for Assessing Transportation Sustainability Rating Systems for Implementation in U.S. State Departments of Transportation PY - 2014/05 SP - 89p AB - Sustainability has increased in popularity as a key indicator for planning transportation projects. With that movement, evaluating the sustainability of transportation projects has become necessary for state departments of transportation (DOTs). Transportation Sustainability Rating Systems (TSRS) have been adopted for this purpose; however, different TSRSs employ different methods for determining or quantifying sustainability, and emphasize different sustainability factors. Given the number, variability, and specificity of TSRSs available, an evaluation and pairing exercise of available systems is needed to help state DOTs select a system by determining to what extent a given system suits each state DOT’s preferences. This thesis presents a four-step framework that identifies the most important capabilities in a TSRS as preferred by a state DOT and then facilitates weighting of those capabilities via a well-established methodology, the Analytical Hierarchy Process. The thesis also presents the implementation of this framework for Colorado DOT (CDOT), South Dakota DOT (SDDOT), Utah DOT (UDOT) and Wyoming DOT (WYDOT). The framework resulted in the identification of Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST) to be the most suitable TSRS for CDOT and WYDOT, Green Leadership in Transportation and Environmental Sustainability (GreenLITES) as the most suitable TSRS for SDDOT, and the results for UDOT were inconclusive. The framework developed for assessing TSRSs was proven to be a viable means for determining rank and suitability of TSRS for DOTs. KW - Colorado Department of Transportation KW - Implementation KW - Measuring methods KW - Ratings KW - South Dakota Department of Transportation KW - State departments of transportation KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Transportation planning KW - Utah Department of Transportation KW - Wyoming Department of Transportation UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-268.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312422 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529284 AU - Jansuwan, Sarawut AU - Ryu, Seungkyu AU - Chen, Anthony AU - Heaslip, Kevin AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Utah State University, Logan AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Two-Stage Approach for Estimating a Statewide Truck Trip Table PY - 2014/05 SP - 73p AB - The goal of this research is to develop a two-stage approach for estimating truck origin-destination (O-D) trip table using both commodity flows and truck counts. The specific objectives of this research include the following: (1) Investigate and update the statewide truck data from the following data sources: Freight Analysis Framework version 3 (FAF3), a newly released national commodity O-D database, the up-to-date statewide truck count programs, and the Utah Statewide Travel Model (USTM). (2) Develop a commodity-based truck trip table from FAF3 for the state of Utah. (3) Refine the commodity-based truck trip table using truck counts obtained from the statewide truck count program and the USTM. A case study using the Utah statewide freight transportation network is conducted to demonstrate the application of the proposed method. KW - Case studies KW - Commodity flow KW - Freight Analysis Framework KW - Origin and destination KW - Traffic estimation KW - Travel demand KW - Trip tables KW - Trucks KW - Utah UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-269.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312316 ER - TY - SER AN - 01527897 JO - TRAFFIC TECH PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Ignition Interlock: An Investigation Into Rural Arizona Judges’ Perceptions PY - 2014/05 SP - 2p AB - This study sought to answer several questions regarding 2007 Arizona legislation requiring ignition interlock for all offenders convicted of driving under the influence (DUI), including first-time DUI offenders. At the time the law was passed, Arizona was only one of two States (New Mexico being the other) to require ignition interlock for first-time offenders. Of particular focus in the study were the implications of the legislation for rural areas. The project staff interviewed judges from rural jurisdictions in Arizona who routinely hear DUI cases to gauge their perceptions of the legislation. KW - Alcohol ignition interlock devices KW - Arizona KW - Drunk driving KW - First time offenders KW - Interviewing KW - Judges KW - Rural areas KW - State laws UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812026-IgnitionInterlockInvestigation-TrafficTech.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311930 ER - TY - SER AN - 01527895 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Busby, Ryan AU - U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Native Vegetation Establishment for IDOT Erosion Control Best Management Practices PY - 2014/05//Research Report IS - 14-011 SP - 138p AB - The objective of this report was to develop native roadside vegetation best management practices for the Illinois Department of Transportation. A review of current practices was undertaken, along with a review of those of other state departments of transportation that routinely use native vegetation for roadsides. Additionally, literature was reviewed for site preparation and desirable qualities, seed and species selection and quality control, application of seed, and management of vegetation. To better understand current practices, the authors performed a study to assess the performance of existing native seed mixes and practices along Illinois roadsides. Multiple sites were identified where native seed mixes were applied to roadsides. Vegetation sampling was performed to identify which species were present and in what quantities, and was compared to the seed mixes that were applied, to determine which species were successful. Based on the literature review and study results, numerous recommendations for native roadside vegetation best management practices were made. KW - Best practices KW - Erosion control KW - Illinois Department of Transportation KW - Native plants KW - Roadside flora KW - Seeds KW - Vegetation control UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49300 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310609 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527894 AU - Zhou, Huaguo AU - Rouholamin, Mahdi Pour AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Guidelines for Reducing Wrong-Way Crashes on Freeways PY - 2014/05 SP - 92p AB - Each year, hundreds of fatal wrong-way driving (WWD) crashes occur across the United States, and thousands of injuries are reported in traffic crashes caused by wrong-way drivers. Although WWD crashes have been a concern since the advent of access-controlled, divided roadways, the problem persists despite efforts to address it over time. The objective of this book is to provide guidance for implementing traditional and advanced safety countermeasures to achieve a significant reduction in the number of WWD incidents and crashes on freeways. KW - Countermeasures KW - Freeways KW - Guidelines KW - Traffic safety KW - United States KW - Wrong way driving UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/48998 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310612 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527893 AU - Samra, Haifa AU - Qin, Xiao AU - He, Zhaoxiang AU - South Dakota State University, Brookings AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Improving Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) through Transportation System Enhancements PY - 2014/05 SP - 37p AB - Improved emergency medical services (EMS) will impact traffic safety and public health in rural communities. Better planned, designed, and operated roadway networks that connect hospitals with communities in need will enhance EMS performance. To provide safe, timely and quality services, it is necessary to obtain a realistic estimate of the medical demand and the capacity of current transportation infrastructure pertaining to the services. The gaps between service providers, patients, and transportation network connecting the two need to be identified and filled to support better EMS. The goal of this project was to identify issues with respect to the delivery of quality EMS to rural residents in South Dakota (SD) and to conduct a needs assessment from the rural transportation system perspective. Study objectives were: (1) Identify the service needs from the rural communities; (2) Evaluate the rural transportation system components in support of swift and safe EMS; and (3) Identify the existing issues with the SD EMS providers or first responders related to roads and traffic controls. Study objectives were achieved through a combination of literature review, spatial and temporal analysis of SD EMS data, and EMS personnel surveys and focus groups. In addition to survey results, this report summarizes the SD EMS data from the geographic (e.g., counties in SD) and temporal (e.g., time of day, day of week, and month of year) perspectives and concentrates on several time- and distance-dependent variables such as response time, en-route time, on-scene time, and transporting time as well as the distance to and from the incident scene. KW - Emergency medical services KW - Emergency response time KW - Improvements KW - Needs assessment KW - Rural areas KW - South Dakota KW - Traffic safety KW - Trip length UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC14-267.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51857/MPC_14-267.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310614 ER - TY - SER AN - 01527890 JO - TRAFFIC TECH PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Investigation of the Use and Feasibility of Speed Warning Systems PY - 2014/05 SP - 2p AB - This study examined the feasibility of a speed-monitoring system that provided feedback to at-risk drivers (chronic speeders). The research team first reviewed available monitoring and feedback products and selected a device for use in a naturalistic field study that provided real-time, tailored feedback to drivers on the posted speed limit for roads on which they were driving. A focus group was then conducted with a small group of habitual speeders to explore issues related to the study design and gather feedback on the selected device from the perspective of this target population. KW - Automatic data collection systems KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Focus groups KW - Offenders KW - Speeding KW - Warning devices UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811997-InvestUseFeasSpeedWarnSysTT.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311931 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527165 AU - Battistini, Anthony AU - Wang, Weihua AU - Donahue, Sean AU - Helwig, Todd AU - Engelhardt, Michael AU - Frank, Karl AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Improved Cross Frame Details for Steel Bridges PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 411p AB - Cross frames are critical members for the stability of straight and curved steel bridges. Conventional cross frames are often fabricated from steel angles; however these members have relatively poor structural behavior. Because of the low buckling strength, cross frames with angle diagonals are often designed as tension-only systems, therefore increasing the necessary steel. The angles are also connected through one leg resulting in eccentric connections causing bending of the members and potentially reducing the fatigue performance. Improved behavior may result if concentric members are utilized for the cross frames. The increased buckling strength of tubes and double angles results in effective members in both tension and compression, and a single diagonal cross frame can provide effective bracing. Although there are structural advantages of utilizing concentric members, a suitable connection must be developed. Tubes are often connected by slitting the tube in the center and welding to a connection plate, which requires precise fabrication and relatively poor fatigue behavior. One proposed solution is to use a steel casting designed to connect easily to the beams and to seal the end of the tube (preventing exposure to atmospheric conditions). In addition, the report covers in detail the categorization of the single angle detail for both X and K frame configurations. To date, the determination of the single angle fatigue detail has been largely based on component tests only. The project incorporated both component and full-scale cross frame fatigues tests to fully examine the interaction of the cross frame members with the overall structure. Finally, the project also examined the stiffness behavior of cross frames, using a combination of full-scale laboratory tests and computational finite element model analysis. KW - Bridge design KW - Bridge members KW - Fatigue tests KW - Finite element method KW - Frames KW - Laboratory tests KW - Steel bridges KW - Steel castings KW - Stiffness KW - Structural connection UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/0-6564-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310860 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527160 AU - Garcia, Jose AU - Sun, Wei AU - Kim, Changhyuk AU - Ghannoum, Wassim M AU - Jirsa, James O AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Procedures for the Installation and Quality Control of Anchored CFRP Sheets for Shear Strengthening of Concrete Bridge Girders PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 51p AB - The objective of the implementation study was to: (1) Provide guidance for installation of strengthening systems; (2) Provide training materials for personnel carrying out construction and inspection for shear strengthening of concrete beams using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) anchors and sheets on concrete beams; (3) Suggest quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures; and (4) Provide design recommendations and specifications for projects. KW - Bridge design KW - Carbon fibers KW - Concrete bridges KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Girders KW - Installation KW - Quality assurance KW - Quality control KW - Shear strength KW - Strengthening (Maintenance) KW - Texas UR - http://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/5-6306-01-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310861 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526777 AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Hours of Service Compliance Manual Passenger Operations PY - 2014/05 SP - 340p AB - The Federal Hours of Service Act was enacted by Congress on March 4, 1907, to promote the safety of employees and travelers on railroads by limiting the hours of service of railroad employees. The Hours of Service Act was amended several times, and in 1994, it was recodified and is now found at Title 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) Chapter 211, Sections 21101–21109. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and others now refer to it as the hours of service laws (HSL). The most significant changes to the HSL resulted from the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA). Most of the changes were to § 21103, limitations on duty hours of train employees, and include a monthly time limit on all service performed for a railroad and time spent waiting for or in deadhead transportation from duty to a point of final release after the 12-hour point in a consecutive service duty tour. The new provisions also restrict a train employee to 6 or 7 consecutive days of initiating on-duty periods followed by 48 or 72 consecutive hours off duty, and also require a minimum statutory off-duty period of 10 hours. In addition to changing some provisions and adding several more, the HSL, as amended by the RSIA, gave FRA the authority to create regulations governing the hours of service of train employees of commuter and intercity passenger railroad carriers. FRA published its final hours of service rules for train employees working in commuter or intercity passenger rail operations on August 12, 2011. The final rule became effective on October 15, 2011, and can be found at Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 228, Subpart F. This compliance manual specifically addresses commuter and intercity passenger rail operations, and it does not apply to train employees engaged in freight operations on freight railroads This manual provides clarification on hours of service requirements found at 49 CFR Part 228, Hours of Service Recordkeeping, and federal railroad administration (FRA) hours of service interpretations and policies. Because of the amount of guidance that exists to address the complexity of hours of service requirements, along with the diversity of railroad operations, it is necessary to provide comprehensive guidance and consolidate the majority of this information into one manual to ensure standardized application and compliance. This manual is not intended to be the primary reference document for hours of service requirements; 49 CFR Part 228, FRA Operating Practices Technical Bulletins, and official FRA letters addressing hours of service issues will remain the primary reference documents when dealing with Federal hours of service requirements. This manual also is not intended to apply to freight operations; a separate compliance manual addresses the different hours of service requirements for those types of operations. KW - Compliance KW - Employees KW - Hours of labor KW - Manuals KW - Passenger service KW - Policy KW - Railroad safety KW - Railroads KW - Recordkeeping UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3861 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308854 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526419 AU - Bligh, Roger P AU - Arrington, Dusty R AU - Menges, Wanda L AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Temporary Large Guide Signs PY - 2014/05 SP - 160p AB - A common issue during phased highway construction projects is the need to temporarily relocate large guide signs on the roadside or install new guide signs for temporary use. The conventional concrete foundations used for these signs are costly and time consuming to install and remove after construction is completed. Direct embed wood and steel post support systems for temporary large guide signs were developed and successfully crash tested in accordance with Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) guidelines. The designs considered wind loads, foundation requirements, and impact performance. The direct embedded support posts eliminate the need for reinforced concrete foundations. The results of the research can be used to establish acceptance of other less critical design configurations for other sizes of temporary guide signs. Variations include different post size, grade, and spacing. KW - Design KW - Guide signs KW - Impact tests KW - Posts KW - Sign supports KW - Steel KW - Temporary structures KW - Wood UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6782-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308911 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526418 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: State Alcohol-Impaired-Driving Estimates PY - 2014/05 SP - 12p AB - This fact sheet contains estimates of driver alcohol involvement in fatal crashes for the United States and individually for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2012. For comparison, data from 10 years ago (2003) is also presented. These estimates are based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). KW - Drunk driving KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - States KW - Tables (Data) KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812017.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1309743 ER - TY - CONF AN - 01526357 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Proceedings of the 2013 National Wrong-Way Driving Summit PY - 2014/05 AB - The first National Wrong-Way Driving (WWD) Summit was held July 18 and 19, 2013, at the Morris University Center (MUC) of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). The purpose of this summit, which was sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), was to provide a platform for practitioners and researchers to exchange ideas, evaluate current countermeasures, and develop best practices to reduce WWD crashes and incidents through a 4E’s approach (Engineering, Education, Enforcement, and Emergency Response). U1 - 2013 National Wrong-Way Driving SummitIllinois Center for TransportationIllinois Department of TransportationEdwardsville,Illinois,United States StartDate:20130718 EndDate:20130719 Sponsors:Illinois Center for Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation KW - Best practices KW - Conferences KW - Countermeasures KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic safety KW - Wrong way driving UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49045 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1309748 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526353 AU - Kenney, Megan AU - Castro, Marisol AU - Ramani, Tara AU - Zietsman, Josias AU - Bhat, Chandra AU - Farzaneh, Reza AU - Zhang, Yue AU - Bernardo, Chrissy AU - Narayanamoorthy, Sriram AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Incorporating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in Long Range Transportation Planning – Final Report PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 142p AB - Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to be an important focus area for state, local, and federal agencies. The transportation sector is the second biggest contributor to GHG emissions in the U.S., and Texas contributes the highest emissions among states in the country. Many transportation agencies are moving toward tackling the issue of GHG emissions on a voluntary or state-level policy basis. It is also expected that in the future, federal regulations could require transportation agencies to address GHG reductions in long-range transportation planning. This report presents a framework to link GHG emissions mitigation strategies with long-range transportation plans. The intent of the framework was to be flexible, practical, and equip Texas transportation practitioners with tools needed to address GHG emissions in the long-range transportation planning process. Each step of the framework involves different stakeholders, processes, and challenges that can occur and need to be taken into consideration. The framework can be used to supplement federal-level guidance or policy, or serve as a starting point for Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and its partner agencies in the absence of federal guidance on the subject of transportation GHG emissions reductions. The framework includes guidance on incorporating control strategies, performance measures, and evaluation tools into long-range planning process to reduce GHG emissions. KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Long range planning KW - Performance measurement KW - Pollutants KW - Stakeholders KW - Texas KW - Transportation planning UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6696-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308909 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526254 AU - Fitzpatrick, Kay AU - Iragavarapu, Vichika AU - Brewer, Marcus A AU - Lord, Dominique AU - Hudson, Joan AU - Avelar, Raul AU - Robertson, James AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Characteristics of Texas Pedestrian Crashes and Evaluation of Driver Yielding at Pedestrian Treatments PY - 2014/05//Technical Report SP - 290p AB - For Texas, the average number of pedestrian fatalities for 2007 to 2011 is about 400 per year. Due to the high number of pedestrian crashes, Texas is considered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to be a “focus” state. Researchers found that 2 percent of all Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)-reportable traffic crashes and 15 percent of all TxDOT-reportable fatal crashes were pedestrian related. Most non-fatal crashes are associated with daylight, at intersections, and on city streets, whereas most fatal crashes are associated with dark conditions, midblock locations, and high-speed roadways. Twenty-one percent of all fatal TxDOT-reportable pedestrian crashes occurred on freeways—a location where pedestrians are least expected. Additional research into how to address pedestrian crashes, especially freeway crashes, is needed, perhaps using FHWA’s new systematic safety project selection tool. In the past decade, the pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB) and rectangular rapid-flashing beacon (RRFB) have shown great potential in improving driver yielding rates and conditions for crossing pedestrians. Researchers conducted a field study at 7 traffic control signal (TCS) sites, 22 RRFB sites, and 32 PHB sites in Texas with the effectiveness measure being the percent of drivers yielding to a staged pedestrian. Results showed that driver yielding rates varied by type of treatment. Overall, TCSs in Texas have the highest driver yielding rates (98 percent), followed by PHBs (89 percent) and RRFBs (86 percent). Those cities with a greater number of a particular device (i.e., Austin for the PHB and Garland for the RRFB) had higher driver yielding rates as compared to cities where the device was only used at a few crossings. Also, as drivers became more familiar with the PHB, a greater proportion yielded, perhaps because they gained a better understanding of expectations or requirements over time. As part of this study, researchers conducted a before-and-after field study at four RRFB sites and one PHB site to identify the changes in driver yielding and selected pedestrian behaviors resulting from installing these treatments at previously untreated crosswalks. The installations resulted in noticeable improvement in the number of yielding vehicles. KW - Before and after studies KW - Crosswalks KW - Fatalities KW - Freeways KW - Highway beacons KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - Texas KW - Traffic control devices KW - Yielding UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6702-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1309291 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01525495 AU - Cavin, Glynn W AU - Coco, Mary Leah AU - Louisiana Transportation Research Center AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Knowledge Transfer in an Immersive Virtual Learning Environment for the Transportation Community PY - 2014/05//Final Report SP - 82p AB - Immersive Virtual Learning Environments (IVLEs) are extensively used in training, but few rigorous scientific investigations regarding the transfer of learning have been conducted. Measurement of learning transfer through evaluative methods is key for determining the likelihood of equivalent performance post-training intervention. Research has shown that immersive virtual learning environments are advantageous for training psychomotor activities and spatial activities, but it is unclear whether these environments are beneficial for memorizing a procedure. More important than the IVLE technology is the ability of IVLEs to provide higher critical thinking to learners. IVLEs are often implemented through the use of game-based technology, which is argued to hold the promise for fostering critical thinking skills and other 21st century skills. The role of a highway flagman is one that involves high-order problem solving and decision making skills due to variables, such as weather conditions, traffic complexity, multifaceted geographic settings, and multiple lane intersections, that impact a flagman’s final decisions regarding construction and/or maintenance work zone design and implementation. For this reason, it is critical for flaggers to receive highly transferable training so they can perform to the best of their ability. This research tested the use of an IVLE simulating real-world highway work zones. IVLEs go beyond traditional visual learning by presenting images that combine a new form of visual learning and virtual-experiential learning in away that is more congruent with an individual’s visual images stored in memory, thus improving knowledge transfer and retention. The visual cues that the learner experiences in the virtual world are so similar to the visual cues in the real world that recall of virtual world lessons stored in memory are triggered by the same cues in the real world. Additionally, the student can experiment, make mistakes, and repeat the activity as often as necessary, achieving a virtual-experiential understanding of the concept that can only be duplicated in real-world experiential learning, which is often not practical. Such immersive engagement in the learning activity will allow the learners to move beyond the memorization of the presented concepts and into the application and synthesis of the material. KW - Flaggers KW - Learning KW - Road construction workers KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic safety education KW - Training programs KW - Virtual reality KW - Work zone safety UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2014/FR_502.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310666 ER - TY - SER AN - 01523316 JO - Traffic Safety Facts PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Older Population PY - 2014/05 SP - 8p AB - In 2012, there were 5,560 people 65 and older killed and 214,000 injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. These older people made up 17 percent of all traffic fatalities and 9 percent of all people injured in traffic crashes during the year. Compared to 2011, fatalities among people 65 and older and injured people in this age group increased by 16 percent. In 2012, 14 percent of the total U.S. resident population (43.1 million people) were 65 and older. The older population fatality rate per 100,000 U.S. resident population steadily declined from 18.7 in 2003 to 12.9 in 2012. Additional statistics include: Age and Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes; Fatal Crashes by Age and Gender; Pedestrian Fatalities by Age Group and BAC; and Driver Involvement in Fatal Traffic Crashes by State and Age Group. KW - Aged KW - Aged drivers KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Crash rates KW - Fatalities KW - Gender KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes KW - States KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812005.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1306938 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01505838 AU - Pratt, Michael P AU - Geedipally, Srinivas R AU - Pike, Adam M AU - Carlson, Paul J AU - Lord, Dominique AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluating the Need for Surface Treatments to Reduce Crash Frequency on Horizontal Curves PY - 2014/05 SP - 118p AB - The application of high-friction surface treatments at appropriate horizontal curve locations throughout the state has the potential to improve driver performance and reduce the number of crashes experienced at horizontal curves. These treatments must be implemented judiciously due to their cost, but have the potential to improve safety at lower cost than geometric improvements like curve straightening, and with greater effectiveness than control-device treatments like installing delineators or Chevrons. An analysis framework has been developed to assess the need for surface treatments at curves based on the concept of margin of safety analysis. Models have been developed to predict vehicle speeds throughout a curve, and calibrated using data from Texas curve sites. Safety prediction models have also been developed to quantify the relationship between skid number and curve crash frequency. This information can be applied to evaluate the safety performance of a curve of interest and estimate the potential safety benefit of installing a high-friction surface treatment. KW - Crash rates KW - Driver performance KW - Friction course KW - Highway curves KW - Highway safety KW - Surface treating KW - Texas KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6714-1-CD.zip UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6714-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1286467 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01542851 AU - Guo, Yuntao AU - He, Xiaozheng (Sean) AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - Zheng, Hong AU - Barrett, Tim AU - Miller, Albert AU - Weiss, W Jason AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Internal Curing as a New Tool for Infrastructural Renewal: Reducing Repair Congestion, Increasing Service Life, and Improving Sustainability PY - 2014/04/30/Final Report SP - 58p AB - Internal curing has recently been developed as a new concrete technology that has the potential to dramatically extend the service life of concrete infrastructure elements like bridge decks. Internal curing uses prewetted lightweight aggregate (LWA) in low water to cement ratio, high performance concrete (HPC) to provide curing water at the opportune time to minimize restrained shrinkage cracking and increase hydration of the cement resulting in reduced chloride ingress and corrosion. Internal curing may be able to extend the service life of a concrete deck. The benefits of internally cured concrete bridge decks (either new or replacements) at a system level, in the context of traffic disruptions resulting from renewal/repair needs and varying traffic flow congestion levels across different timescales, is a relatively unexplored concept. This research seeks to understand the potential benefits of internally cured concrete mixtures compared to conventional mixture in a transportation system, thereby filling a key gap in the current internal curing literature. Findings from this research are as follows: Internal curing generally results in a significant reduction in cracking as well as an improvement in the transport properties of concrete. These benefits are due in part to the reduced self-dessication, extended degree of hydration and the densification of the interfacial regions around the LWA. It was shown that for the service life model presented herein the internally cured HPC concretes cast in the state of Indiana in 2013 achieve an estimated service life improvement of 3 to 4.5 times that of the conventional bridge deck concrete specified, while a field inspection of one of these bridges indicated no visible shrinkage cracking after six months of service. Recommendations are as follows: The research addressed in this project suggests that internally cured concrete mixtures can represent an important and viable option for a transportation system to replace conventional concrete mixtures. Further, this research serves as a building block for exploring a new generation of analytical frameworks for application of internally cured concrete mixture. KW - Bridge decks KW - High performance concrete KW - Indiana KW - Internal curing KW - Prewetted lightweight aggregate KW - Repairing KW - Service life UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/NEXTRANS%20Project%20No.%20082PY04%20Internal%20Curing%20as%20a%20New%20Tool%20for%20Infrastructural%20Renewal%20Reducing%20Repair%20Congestion,%20Increasing%20Service%20Life,%20and%20Improving%20Sustainability.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1328583 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529292 AU - Guo, Yuntao AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - Zheng, Hong AU - Cox, Bruce AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Exploring the Opportunities and Barriers to Intermodal Rail Freight PY - 2014/04/30/Final Report SP - 71p AB - Due to the effects of congestion and rising fuel costs, the need for green transportation and energy security, and the increasing revenue gaps to finance highway infrastructure construction and renewal, there is a critical need to explore the opportunities and barriers to rail-truck multimodal transportation paradigms involving all types of rail and truck assets in both modes. For truck freight carriers, the potential for the growing market also entails challenges such as increased highway congestion and energy consumption, and reduced operational safety, which can affect the reliability and competitiveness of truck freight carriers. In addition, truck driver shortage, high truck driver turnover rate, rising fuel cost, competition with rail freight carriers and third party logistics providers, and freight shippers’ increasing focus on choosing eco-friendly carriers also limit the ability of truck freight carriers to seamlessly capture the steadily growing freight transportation market. For freight shippers, there is urgency for freight shippers to improve the reliability of their logistic system and reduce the supply chain costs. This project aims to explore freight shipper and truck freight carrier perspective in the United State on the factors that foster or impede their usage of rail-truck multimodal freight carriers. KW - Carriers KW - Freight transportation KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Railroad transportation KW - Trucking KW - United States UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/078PY04-Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312518 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558249 AU - URS Corporation AU - New South Associates AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - GDOT Historic Landscape Mitigation Evaluation PY - 2014/04/29 SP - 621p AB - This document provides an in depth analysis of fourteen historic landscape mitigation projects implemented throughout Georgia in the last fifteen years by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) as part of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Prior to this document, no previous analysis of past GDOT Section 106 landscaping mitigation efforts had been performed. Included in this study is an assessment to determine if the landscaping mitigation 1) was true to the proposed mitigation, and 2) benefited the historic resource and the resource’s property owner. The analysis was done by professional historians and landscape architects from GDOT and the consulting firms of URS and New South Associates. KW - Case studies KW - Evaluation KW - Georgia KW - Georgia Department of Transportation KW - Historic preservation KW - History KW - Landscaping KW - Vegetation UR - http://g92018.eos-intl.net/eLibSQL14_G92018_Documents/11-32.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347059 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526329 AU - Mishalani, Rabi G AU - McCord, Mark R AU - Goel, Prem K AU - Reinhold, Herbert (Ted) AU - McLaughlin, Katharina A AU - Ohio State University, Columbus AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Research, Education, and Outreach Derived from Campus Transit Laboratory PY - 2014/04/28 SP - 48p AB - This report documents the research, outreach, and educational activities conducted within the context of the Ohio State University (OSU) Campus Transit Lab (CTL) based on recently and previously manually and automatically collected data. Section 2 details various outreach activities between the CTL investigators and Campus Area Bus Service (CABS) managers. This section also lists technical presentations and papers produced as a result of CTL activities. Section 3 summarizes the various research activities conducted in the CTL within the scope of this project. The data collected and processed by CTL investigators are used to support and develop modules, assignments, and exam questions for use in undergraduate and graduate courses. These educational activities are described in Section 4. Finally, the outreach, research, and educational activities and findings are summarized in Section 5. KW - Bus transit KW - Campus Transit Lab (Ohio State University) KW - Campus transportation KW - Curricula KW - Data collection KW - Education and training KW - Outreach KW - Research projects UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Final%20Report_089OY04_Mishalani%20et%20al_Campus%20Transit%20Lab.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308845 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526309 AU - McCord, Mark R AU - Mishalani, Rabi G AU - Goel, Prem K AU - Reinhold, Herbert (Ted) AU - McLaughlin, Katharina A AU - Ohio State University, Columbus AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Smart Campus Transit Laboratory for Research and Education PY - 2014/04/28 SP - 60p AB - This report documents the research, outreach, and educational activities conducted within the context of the Ohio State University (OSU) Campus Transit Lab (CTL), based on recently and previously manually and automatically collected data. Section 2 details various outreach activities between the CTL investigators and various stakeholders. This section also lists technical presentations and papers produced as a result of CTL activities. Section 3 summarizes the various research activities conducted in the CTL within the scope of this project. The data collected and processed by CTL investigators are used to support and develop modules, assignments, and exam questions for use in undergraduate and graduate courses. These educational activities are described in Section 4. Finally, the outreach, research, and educational activities and findings are summarized in Section 5. KW - Bus transit KW - Campus Transit Lab (Ohio State University) KW - Campus transportation KW - Curricula KW - Data collection KW - Education and training KW - Outreach KW - Research projects UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Final%20Report_068OY03_McCord%20et%20al_Campus%20Transit%20Lab.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308846 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536626 AU - Tang, Hansong AU - Qu, Ke AU - Kraatz, Simon AU - Cheng, Wenglong AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - New Jersey Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Potential Sites for Tidal Power in New Jersey PY - 2014/04/26/Final Report SP - 63p AB - High-resolution simulation is made to model tidal energy along the coastlines of New Jersey (NJ) and its neighbor states with an unprecedentedly fine grid. On the basis of the simulation, a thorough search is made for sites for tidal power generation, with special attention to locations near transportation infrastructures, considering factors such as power density, surface area, water depth, and environmentally sensitive zones, and it also examines effects of sea-level-rise (SLR). A list of 32 top sites with power density over 250 W/m² are identified at the coast, and among them, 21 sites with total surface area of 13 km² are at the NJ coast, and many sites are next to bridges. 10 favorable sites are also sorted out near ports, docks, and marinas along its coastlines. It is found that SLR could substantially affect tidal energy distribution at the identified sites, and it is a factor that has to be taken into consideration in site selections. The identified sites and estimates for their associated parameters will serve as a basis for actual development of tidal power in this region. KW - Electric power generation KW - Infrastructure KW - Location KW - New Jersey KW - Sea level KW - Simulation KW - Tidal power plants UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/final-tidal-energy.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321366 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529358 AU - Zheng, Hong AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Design of Personal Rapid Transit Networks for Transit-Oriented Development Cities PY - 2014/04/24/Final Report SP - 38p AB - Personal rapid transit (PRT) is an automated transit system in which vehicles are sized to transport a batch of passengers on demand to their destinations, by means of nonstop and non-transfer on its own right-of-way. PRT vehicles run exclusively on its tracks, called guideways. The guideways are designed as elevated facilities above the ground, for purpose of eliminating at-grade crossings or interferences with other transportation modes. In the recent planning practice for urban development in future, there has been an increasing and sustained emphasis in the global community in sustainable transportation systems. Transit-oriented development (TOD) has emerged as a promising alternative for sustainable communities by creating compact environments using convenient and efficient public transportation systems. To facilitate TOD development, an alternative to the personal car needs to provide a public transit mode which offers the same door-to-door flexibility at an acceptable cost. This could be achieved through a mixed design of high passenger-flows mass transit and flexible public transportation carrying low passenger-flows for the times or places. PRT is one of such flexible systems serving a supplement mode for the TOD development, where a PRT system functions as a local area network, connecting the traditional transit systems and other means of transit modes within its network. Two major downsides that restrict the PRT in the practical stage are the cost and line capacity. Both the cost and line capacity could be improved through an appropriate guideway network (GN) design, because a well-designed GN not only improves the connectivity and accessibility, but also provides more options in the route choice. This study investigates the methodology of PRT network design, to minimize both guideway construction cost and users’ travel cost. In particular it introduces a set of optional points, known as Steiner points, in the graph to reduce the guideway length. The model is formulated as a combined Steiner problem and assignment problem, and a Lagrangian relaxation based solution algorithm is developed to solve the problem. Numerical studies are carried on a realistic-sized network. The authors show the proposed model and solution algorithm can solve the PRT guideway network effectively. KW - Algorithms KW - Cities KW - Design KW - Guideways KW - Personal rapid transit KW - Public transit KW - Transit oriented development KW - Travel costs UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/081PY04%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312521 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01534428 AU - Zinke, Scott AU - Mahoney, James AU - Morison, Kelly AU - Clement, Stephen AU - University of Connecticut, Storrs AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of the Specification for Flat and Elongated Particles for Use in Hot Mix Asphalt in Connecticut PY - 2014/04/23/Final Report SP - 18p AB - This research was conducted to determine if the specification for flat and elongated aggregates for use in Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) in Connecticut can be reasonably achieved. Currently, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) specification allows for no more than 10 percent flat and elongated particles utilizing a 3:1 ratio. It has been speculated that this specification may not be achievable by most HMA producers in Connecticut. The research team evaluated specifications from numerous regional state agencies for comparison with the ConnDOT specification. The research team also sampled aggregates from 15 sources which produce HMA for ConnDOT. 3/8-inch and 1/2-inch aggregates were sampled from each source, and flat and elongated tests were conducted on both size aggregates from all 15 sources. This totaled 30 aggregate samples tested from which only six passed the 10 percent maximum at the 3:1 ratio. Recommendations are made to change the specification to reflect achievable percentages of aggregates which are not flat and elongated. It is the opinion of the research team that this percentage should be not more than 10 percent flat and elongated particles by weight utilizing a 5:1 caliper ratio, ASTM D4791, Method B. KW - Aggregates KW - Connecticut KW - Connecticut Department of Transportation KW - Grain shape (Geology) KW - Grain size (Geology) KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Specifications UR - http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dresearch/CT-2305-F-13-10.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1319742 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526302 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Reductions in Competition Increase Airline Flight Delays and Cancellations PY - 2014/04/23 SP - 29p AB - Since 2005, the U.S. airline industry’s service quality—airlines’ on-time performance and cancellation rates—has varied greatly. The percentage of late domestic flights has fluctuated between 11 and 33 percent per month, while the rate of cancellations has varied from under 1 percent to over 5 percent per month. Understanding the sources of these variations is important because airline delays and cancellations have affected a large number of flights. There has also been considerable industry consolidation since 2005. Public concerns over a possible relationship between the quality of airline service and industry consolidation led to congressional hearings and requests to the accountability community to review these issues. Section 406 of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 required the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to assess the effects of limited airline service options on the frequency of delays and cancellations. This report presents the results of the analyses of the relationship between competition, measured at the individual route level, and airline service quality, also measured at the individual route level. Specifically, it was determined whether (1) reductions in competition affected the percentage of late flights and the length of flight delays, (2) reductions in competition affected flight cancellation rates, and (3) the effects of reduced competition on airline service quality depended upon the initial level of competition. Audit work was conducted from October 2012 through March 2014, in accordance with generally accepted Government auditing standards. Data was collected on 2,530 domestic routes flown by 20 airlines from the fourth quarter of calendar year 2005 through the fourth quarter of calendar year 2012. KW - Airlines KW - Competition KW - Consolidations KW - Flight cancellations KW - Flight delays KW - On time performance KW - Quality of service KW - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration KW - United States UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/Report%20on%20the%20Effects%20of%20Limited%20Competition%20on%20Airline%20Flight%20Delays%20and%20Cancellations%5E4-23-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308827 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577872 TI - 2014-28 (PE) Evaluation of the Roadway Departure Safety Program AB - No summary provided. KW - Escape lanes KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Highway safety KW - Ran off road crashes KW - Safety programs UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371175 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01523301 AU - University of Central Florida, Orlando AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Semi-annual Program Progress Performance Report for Electric Vehicle Transportation Center PY - 2014/04/22 SP - 20p AB - The Electric Vehicle Transportation Center’s (EVTC) vision is to transform the country’s transportation network into a fully integrated "smart" electric vehicle deployment system coupled with a "smart" electric grid achieved with maximum efficiency and minimum time and disruption. To accomplish the EVTC vision, the Center’s goals are to serve as the focal point for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s strategic goal of planning for near-term integration of alternative fuel vehicles as a means to build a sustainable transportation system. The project will evaluate technologies, standards and policies to ensure seamless integration of EVs into a complex electricity grid and transportation network. The EVTC will bridge the gap between deployment of electric vehicles and the traditional transportation system. To meet the EVTC’s goals the EVTC will undertake five activities as follows: Research and Development, Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce Development, Technology Transfer and Diversity. KW - Education and training KW - Electric power KW - Electric Vehicle Transportation Center KW - Electric vehicles KW - Research projects KW - Strategic planning KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Technology transfer UR - http://evtc.fsec.ucf.edu/reports/EVTC-PPPR-01_2014-04-22.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1307059 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577736 TI - MT-1: Application of Laser Shearography to Asphalt Issues AB - No summary provided. KW - Asphalt KW - Laser materials KW - Materials KW - Pavements KW - Shear properties UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370798 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577473 TI - MT-7: Development of Concrete Technology Technical Advisories & Best Practices AB - No summary provided. KW - Best practices KW - Concrete pavements KW - Pavement performance KW - Technical assistance KW - Technological innovations UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370735 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560335 AU - Ray, Rosalie AU - Petrella, Margaret AU - Peirce, Sean AU - Minnice, Paul AU - Puckett, Sean AU - Lappin, Jane AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Exploring the Equity Impacts of Two Road Pricing Implementations Using a Traveler Behavior Survey: Full Facility Pricing on SR 520 in Seattle and the I-85 HOV-2 to HOT-3 Conversion in Atlanta PY - 2014/04/18/Final Report SP - 45p AB - This paper reports survey findings on the equity impacts of variable tolling programs implemented on SR 520 in Seattle (Urban Partnership Agreement) and on I-85 in Atlanta (Congestion Reduction Demonstration Program). The analysis utilizes data from panel surveys administered in Seattle and Atlanta, in which all adult members of sampled households were asked to complete surveys both before and after tolling. The analysis focuses on three types of equity impacts: income, geographic and modal. Income equity impacts were greater in Seattle, compared to Atlanta, as were geographic equity impacts. In Atlanta, modal equity, as measured through impacts to carpoolers, was a greater concern. In conclusion, the type and intensity of the equity impacts differed across the two sites as a result of the differences in the design of the pricing strategy as well as differences in regional context. KW - Atlanta (Georgia) KW - Before and after studies KW - Equity (Justice) KW - Geographic equity KW - High occupancy toll lanes KW - High occupancy vehicle lane to high occupancy toll lane conversion KW - Income KW - Panel studies KW - Road pricing KW - Seattle (Washington) KW - Transportation modes KW - Travel behavior UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54000/54064/UPA-CRD_Panel_Survey_Equity_Final_Report_Volpe.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345653 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548529 AU - Peirce, Sean AU - Petrella, Margaret AU - Puckett, Sean AU - Minnice, Paul AU - Lappin, Jane AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Urban Partnership Agreement and Congestion Reduction Demonstration Programs: Lessons Learned on Congestion Pricing from the Seattle and Atlanta Household Travel Behavior Surveys PY - 2014/04/17/Final Report SP - 22p AB - This paper presents lessons learned from household traveler surveys administered in Seattle and Atlanta as part of the evaluation of the Urban Partnership Agreement and Congestion Reduction Demonstration Programs. The surveys use a two-stage panel survey approach to analyze the impacts of the federally sponsored variable tolling programs on corridor users’ daily travel choices and opinions. Key lessons learned are that pricing does influence travel behavior (as expected), particularly with respect to route choice and the timing of trips. Pricing does not appear to have a noticeable impact on telecommuting, and impacts on mode choice and occupancy depend on the design of the tolling project and the regional context. In addition, the surveys found that travelers utilizing the priced facility notice and appreciate the improvement to traffic conditions and that attitudes toward tolling change with direct experience. The key implications of these lessons learned are that: near term shifts in mode or carpool size require programmatic support; public communication and community involvement are critical; and regional factors influence public attitudes toward tolling. KW - Atlanta (Georgia) KW - Attitudes KW - Congestion pricing KW - Households KW - Mode choice KW - Route choice KW - Seattle (Washington) KW - Travel behavior KW - Travel surveys KW - Variable tolls UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54000/54065/UPA-CRD_Panel_Survey_Lessons_Learned_Final_Report_Volpe.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334680 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526317 AU - Long, Suzanna AU - Qin, Ruwen AU - Crow, Mariesa AU - Wu, C H AU - Schmidt, Sean AU - Digraskar, Snehal AU - Kothapalli, Venkat Sravan AU - Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Longitudinal Useful Life Analysis and Replacement Strategies for LED Traffic Indicators PY - 2014/04/15/Final Report SP - 45p AB - The application of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting systems has experienced significant growth in the transportation sector over the past 10 years. LED indication lifespans have significantly greater durations than previous technologies, however, uncertainties in the duration of LED devices have unearthed challenges in developing a replacement schedule of LED traffic indications. This research evaluates two methods to approximate the useful life of LED traffic indicators. Previous research in LED indications used a lateral regression analysis to determine the lifetime of LED indications. A new methodology is used to incorporate longitudinal regression analysis as well as account for additional factors outside previous research methods. The findings of this report compare the results using the new methodology against previous research recommendations. A discussion on the impact of the updated results on transportation agencies’ policies is also included. Findings indicate that useful life of the majority of LED indications is approximately two years longer than previously estimated. KW - Equipment replacement KW - Light emitting diodes KW - Methodology KW - Regression analysis KW - Service life KW - Statistical analysis KW - Traffic signal indications UR - http://library.modot.mo.gov/RDT/reports/TRyy1310/cmr14-012.pdf UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Long_LongitudinalUsefulLifeAnalysisandReplacementStrategiesforLEDTrafficIndicators.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308552 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01560334 AU - Petrella, Margaret AU - Puckett, Sean AU - Peirce, Sean AU - Minnice, Paul AU - Lappin, Jane AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Full-Facility Variable Tolling on Traveler Behavior: Evidence from a Panel Study of the I-85 Corridor in Atlanta PY - 2014/04/11/Final Report SP - 187p AB - This paper uses a two-stage panel survey approach, with roughly 1,600 respondent households, to analyze the impacts of a federally sponsored variable tolling program on the I-85 corridor northeast of Atlanta. The focus is on corridor users’ daily travel choices and opinions. Key survey findings include a decrease in respondents’ travel in the corridor after tolling, including on I-85. However, changes in travel varied by lane; while travel declined in the general purpose lanes, there was an increase in both the number of trips, as well as the number of respondents utilizing the Express Lanes, as compared to the former high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. The largest share of trips in the Express Lanes (82%) was solo drivers who paid the toll. Vehicle occupancy declined dramatically in the Express Lanes, as carpoolers tended to shift onto the general purpose lanes, and conversely, there was a significant increase in vehicle occupancy in the general purpose lanes. There were small (but not statistically significant) increases in transit mode share in the corridor, while carpooling and telecommuting levels increased slightly, but the changes cannot be attributed to tolling. In the post-tolling survey, reported satisfaction with travel time, travel speed and reliability of individual trips varied by key user groups: Wave 1 HOV-2 users became significantly less satisfied, whereas Express Lane users became more satisfied. Overall, personal attitudes toward tolling became significantly more negative after the deployment of pricing. KW - Atlanta (Georgia) KW - Attitudes KW - Carpools KW - High occupancy toll lanes KW - High occupancy vehicle lane to high occupancy toll lane conversion KW - High occupancy vehicle lanes KW - Interstate 85 KW - Modal shift KW - Panel studies KW - Single occupant vehicles KW - Telecommuting KW - Travel behavior KW - Variable tolls UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54000/54062/CRD_Panel_Survey_Atlanta_Final_Report_Volpe.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345652 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538312 AU - Venner, Marie AU - Louis Berger Group, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Culvert and Storm Drain Management Case Study Vermont, Oregon, Ohio, and Los Angeles County PY - 2014/04/11 SP - 49p AB - Transportation agencies are responsible for the operation and maintenance of hydraulic control structures including culverts, drop systems, and storm drains. It is difficult for transportation agencies to develop accurate and effective performance measures, budgets, and maintenance plans for culverts because there is a lack of information on the condition and even the location of many of the structures they manage. In this 2013 set of interviews and case studies by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), three states (Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont) and one county (Los Angeles) describe how transportation agencies are tackling these challenges and increasing the resilience of their culvert systems. Through the development of effective culvert management systems and policies, they are developing operational protocols and establishing capital improvement budgets that address risks associated with hydraulic control structure failures. Generally, the culvert management systems they have developed are available for other public agencies to use and adapt. The culvert management case studies herein illustrate a path for other departments of transportation and transportation agencies to manage assets more efficiently, reduce risk, and improve public safety. KW - Asset management KW - Budgeting KW - Case studies KW - Culverts KW - Los Angeles County (California) KW - Maintenance management KW - Ohio KW - Oregon KW - Risk management KW - State departments of transportation KW - Storm sewers KW - Vermont UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/pubs/hif14008.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322514 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01551306 AU - Mahoney, James AU - University of Connecticut, Storrs AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Demonstration and Purchase of PG Binder Testing Equipment – Phase 1 and 2 Final Report PY - 2014/04/10/Final Report SP - 18p AB - A pooled fund project was undertaken to purchase new asphalt binder testing equipment for state transportation agencies. The seven states that agreed to participate included: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Within the region, there were two benefits with pooling resources for the equipment purchases. The first was the ability to purchase multiple units of the various pieces of equipment, thereby reducing the individual costs. The second was with each state transportation agency having the same equipment which reduces travel costs for preventative maintenance service and the ability to contact colleagues to discuss any issues they may be having. KW - Bituminous binders KW - New England KW - Pooled funds KW - Purchasing KW - Testing equipment KW - Transportation departments UR - http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dresearch/ct-tpf-5(236)-f-14-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1341193 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529291 AU - Hu, Shou-Ren AU - Liou, Han-Tsung AU - Peeta, Srinivas AU - Zheng, Hong AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Determination of Network Origin-Destination Matrices Using Partial Link Traffic Counts and Virtual Sensor Information in an Integrated Corridor Management Framework PY - 2014/04/07/Final Report SP - 46p AB - The performance of a network origin-destination (O-D) demand estimation model is strongly dependent on the quantity and quality of traffic data collected by different types of traffic sensors. The purpose of the Network Sensor Location Problem is to determine the optimal, minimum number of required traffic sensors and identify their corresponding installation locations, especially under the limited budget constraints of highway agencies. The collected partial link and path flow data are crucial inputs used to estimate corresponding O-D demands in a vehicular network. The strategic deployment of heterogeneous traffic sensors for network O-D demand estimation is a critical subject in transportation network science. The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated heterogeneous sensor deployment model to estimate network O-D demands. One of the unique aspects of the proposed model framework is that it does not require the unreasonable assumption of known prior O-D demand information, turning proportions, or route choice probabilities, enabling the network O-D demand and path flow estimation problems to be more practically traceable. KW - Integrated corridor management KW - Location KW - Origin and destination KW - Sensors KW - Traffic counts KW - Traffic flow KW - Travel demand UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/056PY03-Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312523 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01547576 AU - Kimley-Horn and Associates AU - Arizona Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Fort Mojave Indian Reservation Transit Study: Recommendations PY - 2014/04/02 SP - 66p AB - The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation Transit Study evaluates the feasibility of and provides recommendations for public transportation service for the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation and surrounding area. Three primary objectives guided the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation Transit Study: 1) Enhance the awareness and understanding of community transit needs through data analysis, stakeholder interviews, and public engagement and participation; 2) Develop feasible, multimodal strategies to increase mobility within the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation and regional interconnectivity to neighboring communities; and 3) Provide a road map for developing and implementing feasible transit service improvement recommendations. This report is organized into four chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the study including purpose and goals. Chapter 2 provides an estimate of transit needs and demand for trips consistent with methodology contained in Transit Cooperative Research (TCR) Program, Report 161: Methods for Forecasting Demand and Quantifying Need for Rural Passenger Transportation: Final Workbook. Chapter 3 provides a recommendation for the recommended transit mode. It presents a proposed transit route to serve key transit nodes, activity centers, and corridors. Transit operations options are also discussed. This chapter summarizes start-up capital costs. Chapter 4 summarizes funding options. KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Financing KW - Forecasting KW - Fort Mojave Indian Reservation KW - Indian reservations KW - Mobility KW - Operations KW - Public transit KW - Recommendations KW - Routes KW - Travel demand UR - https://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/planning/fort-mojave-final-report.pdf?sfvrsn=2 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1328298 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526378 AU - McCord, Mark R AU - Brooks, Colin N AU - Goel, Prem AU - Zaetz, Jiaqi AU - Sell, Nicole AU - Dean, David AU - Jessee, Nathanial AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Documenting Truck Activity Times at International Border Crossings PY - 2014/04/02 SP - 53p AB - In a previous report the authors described their geo-fence approach for determining truck activity times at the United States-Canadian border. The approach took advantage of onboard position, timing, and communication systems already installed on many truck fleets. In this study, the authors collected additional data and processed these and other recently collected data to produce updated activity times. The data collection and processing effort is summarized in Section 2. Parallel to past efforts, Transport Canada (TC) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation were using a Bluetooth-based approach to collect truck data at these major border crossings. In the project described in this report, the authors refined and expanded the empirical comparisons between their single carrier, geo-fence based crossing times and the TC crossing times determined from the broader population of carriers using the Bluetooth-based approach. The reprocessed data also allowed a better temporal match of “approximately concurrent” crossings in the two datasets. In Section 3, the authors present the revised investigations conducted with these reprocessed data and additional investigations that confirm the strong positive associations seen in the previous investigation for both directions of traffic at the Ambassador Bridge facility and for the Ontario-to-Michigan direction at the Blue Water Bridge facility. The authors also conducted multiple empirical studies using the newly processed data. In Section 4, empirical results are presented that quantify changes in geo-fence times resulting from a change in inspection facilities for Canada-bound traffic at the Blue Water Bridge, document the effect on truck times of the Black River Bridge construction project, identify systematic changes to duty free times for US bound trucks, and portray time-of-day patterns in times incurred on surface streets in Windsor. KW - Bluetooth technology KW - Data collection KW - Freight traffic KW - Information processing KW - International borders KW - Travel time KW - Truck traffic KW - United States-Canada Border UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Final%20Report_087OY04_%20McCord%20et%20al_Truck%20Activity.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308715 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526319 AU - McCord, Mark R AU - Goel, Prem AU - Brooks, Colin N AU - Sell, Nicole AU - Zaetz, Jiaqi AU - Dean, David AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Measuring and Documenting Truck Activity Times at International Border Crossings PY - 2014/04/02/Final Report SP - 36p AB - Documenting the times trucks incur when crossing an international border facility is valuable both to the private freight industry and to gateway facility operators and planners. Members of the project team previously developed and implemented an approach to document truck activity times associated with an international border crossing by using technologies that are already in use by truck fleets. The approach relies on position, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems in the form of on-board global positioning system (GPS)-enabled data units, virtual perimeters called geo-fences that surround areas of interest, and a mechanism for data transmission. The investigators teamed with a major North American freight hauler whose trucks regularly traverse two of the busiest North American freight border crossings – the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, connecting Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, and the publicly owned Blue Water Bridge, connecting Port Huron, MI, and Sarnia, ON – to determine times associated with the multiple activities associated with using the facilities at these border crossing sites. Data were collected from the fleet over several months and processed to produce distributions of overall crossing times, queuing times, and inspection times for U.S.-bound and Canada-bound trucks. Parallel to these efforts, Transport Canada (TC) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation were using a Bluetooth-based approach to collect truck data at these major border crossing facilities. In this study, the geo-fence approach and the data collection and processing efforts are described. Changes in roadway infrastructure at the border crossing facilities that could affect results obtained with presently implemented geo-fences are also summarized. Empirical comparisons are conducted between truck volumes and crossing times in the geo-fence and Transport Canada datasets. In addition, interest in the type of results produced from the geo-fence approach expressed by individuals associated with border crossing times is summarized. KW - Bluetooth technology KW - Data collection KW - Freight traffic KW - Global Positioning System KW - International borders KW - Traffic queuing KW - Travel time KW - Truck traffic KW - United States-Canada Border UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Final%20Report_067OY03_%20McCord%20et%20al_Truck%20Activity.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308706 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01522278 AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - ARRA Lessons Learned: FTA Needs to Improve Its Grant Oversight to Prevent Improper Payments PY - 2014/04/02 SP - 25p AB - In February 2009, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received an allocation of $8.4 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for economic stimulus and recovery grants. FTA and other Federal agencies reimburse grantees for project costs, and ARRA, along with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA), requires agencies to hold grantees accountable for their expenditures. In its implementation of these statutes, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed agencies to increase their oversight of grantees. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated this audit to assess FTA’s oversight of ARRA expenditures. Specifically, the objectives were to assess whether (1) FTA’s oversight of ARRA grantees has prevented and detected grantees’ improper payments for project costs, and (2) FTA’s oversight of grantees’ use of their own workforces for preventive maintenance work was effective. As part of this audit, OIG selected a statistical sample of 627 invoices/line items totaling over $380 million made to 16 transit grantees which allowed OIG to project the total amount and percentage of improper payments, if any, within the universe of FTA’s payments to its ARRA grantees. KW - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 KW - Expenditures KW - Grant aid KW - Oversight KW - Preventive maintenance KW - Public transit KW - U.S. Federal Transit Administration UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/FTA%20Oversight%20of%20ARRA%20Expenditures%5E04-02-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1306460 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577847 TI - ADTM KTT Option #1 AB - ATDM Knowledge and technology transfer activities (website workshops webinars research synthesis and informational briefs). KW - Data collection KW - Highway traffic control KW - Information dissemination KW - Knowledge KW - Technology transfer KW - Workshops UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371018 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538280 AU - Hess, Daniel B AU - Ray, Paul AU - Attard, Nathan AU - State University of New York, Buffalo AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Connections Beyond Campus: An Evaluation of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority-University at Buffalo Pilot Transit Pass Program PY - 2014/04/01/Final Report SP - 207p AB - Unlimited Access transit passes have become common sustainability programming at many colleges and universities in cities both large and small across the United States. In 2010, the University at Buffalo (UB), in partnership with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), established a pilot program to provide select students, faculty, and staff with unlimited prepaid use of the NFTA Metro Rail, a 6.2 mile light-rail rapid transit system which connects Downtown Buffalo and UB’s South Campus and the neighborhoods between the two. Though other colleges and universities in Buffalo have been providing transit passes to students at their institutions since 2003, this was the first time in which the UB, the region’s largest institution of higher education with 28,600 students, entered into a transit pass agreement with the NFTA. The UB-NFTA Pilot Transit Pass Program concluded after 20 months at the end of the summer 2012 session. Overall, 1,923 students and 300 faculty and staff took part in the program. As the program concluded, it was not officially evaluated by UB. This report seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in a number of focus areas, including the cost of the program to the parties involved, and also the benefits obtained both by the participating organizations and by individual transit pass users. This is accomplished through the use of both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results of a university-wide survey conducted by the research team in April 2013. The analysis of this project revealed many expected and unexpected results. Some users of the transit pass were new Metro Rail riders, and some previously paid their own fares. The UB-NFTA transit pass was underpriced, which benefited UB and led to lost revenue for the NFTA throughout the course of the program. The program allowed 72 survey respondents to cease owning a vehicle, and 179 respondents to delay owning a vehicle, effectively reducing the cost of a UB education by thousands of dollars a year for participants who could utilize Metro Rail to commute to campus in place of an automobile. The UB-NFTA Pilot Transit Pass Program increased transportation choices and for the first time provided university community members a transportation subsidy which did not take the form of a parking space. UB officials have stated, however, that the intent of the UB-NFTA transit pass program was to provide a link between the South and Downtown campuses, and was not to serve as a commute subsidy. The UB-NFTA Pilot Transit Pass program had the potential to change modes of travel for students, faculty, and staff to the three UB campuses, and did for a short period of time, even if it was done unintentionally. Many survey respondents reported that widening their travel options, using public transit more, driving less, and reducing their carbon footprints were important personal benefits of the pilot transit pass program. UB’s pilot transit program provided many benefits to community members, from increased access to new destinations and housing, to reduced demand for parking. The design of a permanent UB-NFTA transit pass program, if an agreement is reached in the future, should help the NFTA mitigate lost revenue from pass holders, and should be understood as a means for UB to reduce future capital expenses and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, in creating a sustainable transportation system to serve its campuses, UB must carefully consider the equity implications of its existing parking and transportation fee structure, which in its current form incentivizes driving and penalizes public transit users and non-motorized travelers. KW - Buffalo (New York) KW - Campus transportation KW - Costs KW - Evaluation KW - Fare prepayment KW - Free fares KW - Modal shift KW - Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority KW - Public transit KW - Subsidies KW - Surveys KW - Sustainable transportation UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/Final-NFTA-Transit-Pass.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321362 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529286 AU - Price, Craig W AU - Schmidt, Tyler L AU - Bielenberg, Robert W AU - Lechtenberg, Karla A AU - Faller, Ronald K AU - Reid, John D AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Nebraska Department of Roads AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Universal Breakaway Steel Post for Other Applications PY - 2014/04/01/Final Report SP - 109p AB - The Universal Breakaway Steel Post (UBSP) was developed and evaluated to replace the existing Controlled Release Terminal (CRT) wood posts which were used in the original bullnose guardrail system. Previously, three full-scale crash tests were performed on the thrie beam bullnose barrier with UBSPs, and the UBSP was determined to be a suitable alternative for the CRT posts. However, the UBSP was modified prior to the completion of the full-scale tests, and dynamic component testing was not conducted to compare the post behaviors. Therefore, a series of nine component tests were conducted in soil to compare the weak- and strong-axis properties between the UBSPs and CRT posts. As part of the component testing, one of the weak-axis tests involving the UBSP was conducted with a reused lower section of the post; since, the original development of the UBSP recommended reuse as long as the lower section was undamaged and displaced less than ½ in. (13 mm). From the testing series, it was determined that the performance of the UBSP indicated a strong potential for these posts to be utilized in other applications. However, UBSP should first be evaluated through engineering analysis and full-scale crash testing before implementation. KW - Breakaway supports KW - Dynamic tests KW - Guardrails KW - Highway safety KW - Impact tests KW - Posts KW - Steel KW - Wood UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51700/51737/FinalReportSuppl55.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311879 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526445 AU - Abbas, Montasir AU - Machiani, Sahar Ghanipoor AU - Garvey, Philip M AU - Farkas, Andrew AU - Lord-Attivor, Rene AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Pennsylvania State University, University Park AU - Morgan State University AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Modeling the Dynamics of Driver's Dilemma Zone Perception Using Machine Learning Methods for Safer Intersection Control PY - 2014/04/01/Final Report SP - 89p AB - The "dilemma zone" (DZ) is defined as the area where drivers approaching a signalized intersection must decide to either proceed or stop at the onset of the yellow indication. Drivers that might perceive themselves to be too close to an intersection for a safe stop, and too far to proceed without violating traffic regulations, are said to be caught in DZ. Despite the vast body of related literature, there is a critical gap in research related to the "dynamic nature of drivers' decision" in dilemma zones. In order to identify and capture all significant factors beyond existing research, a driver survey was administered in the three states of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. State-of-the-art techniques in human psychology, experimental design, and statistical analysis were used to design the survey and interpret the results. A driving simulator study was conducted to investigate the dynamic nature of driver perception of the dilemma zone and to assess significant factors affecting a driver's decision at the onset of yellow. In addition, the use of machine learning methods to capture the effect of a driver's learning/dynamic perception of DZ was investigated. Findings from this research suggest that drivers do learn from their experience and also that agent-based models can be used for modeling driver behavior in the dilemma zone more accurately than models that currently exist in the literature. The research team therefore recommends that agent-based modeling and simulation techniques should be used for assessing the impacts of dilemma zone mitigation strategies. KW - Decision making KW - Dilemma zone KW - Drivers KW - Driving simulators KW - Learning KW - Maryland KW - Pennsylvania KW - Perception KW - Surveys KW - Virginia UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/MAUTC-2012-04.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51825/MAUTC-2012-04.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1309529 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01618691 AU - Morse, Lindsey AU - Cotton, Benjamin AU - Filosa, Gina AU - Frazier, Jonathan AU - Daddio, David AU - Nash, Logan AU - Monty, Jay AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest TI - Mount Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest Alternative Transportation Feasibility Study. Phase II: Final Report PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 83p AB - The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is located near the Puget Sound metro area and is facing a number of transportation issues, such as increasing congestion and lack of access, which were identified in the Volpe Center’s Phase I report. This report proposes traveler information and transit solutions to help improve visitor transportation. The project team delivered a system that shares current road and trail status on a web map. This report includes recommendations for new trip planning maps and an app, updated visitor information pages, and integration with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) traveler information systems. The transit recommendations include a phased roll-out of bus service to make it easy to reach and travel around the forest without a car. This transit system would expand an existing winter shuttle, then scale up to a new summer circulator. Full implementation would connect forest destinations to communities year-round. However, current conditions are unfavorable for transit due to the essentially unlimited amount of unofficial parking available in established recreation areas. The most feasible services to pursue in the near future are expanding existing winter service, working to improve rental vans and buses for non-profits, and introducing transit to new forest corridors, especially the Middle Fork. KW - Access KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Bus transit KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest KW - Parking KW - Recreation KW - Transportation planning KW - Traveler information and communication systems KW - Visitor transportation systems KW - Washington (State) KW - Web applications KW - Websites (Information retrieval) UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/60000/60200/60298/MBS_ATFS_PhaseII.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1436169 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01604586 AU - Horton, Suzanne AU - DaSilva, Marco AU - Ngamdung, Tashi AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Railroad Administration AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Evaluation of Education and Outreach Methods and Strategies: A Case Study of a Web-Based Rail Safety Education Initiative PY - 2014/04//Technical Report SP - 49p AB - The U. S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of the U.S. DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D), conducted a research study to evaluate the impact of an education program on highway-rail grade crossing safety. The Volpe Center worked in collaboration with Operation Lifesaver, Inc., (OLI) to evaluate the impact of the Web-based Rail Safety for Professional Drivers e-Learning Challenge (ProDriver Challenge). The evaluation was conducted using Federal safety data and information on the ProDriver Challenge collected from users about their experiences. The evaluation of the ProDriver Challenge e-learning module showed that it was targeting the appropriate audience; it was expanding the number of participants in OLI training, and users valued the experience. The evaluation also revealed areas for program improvement as well as next steps for education and outreach. KW - Case studies KW - E-learning KW - Outreach KW - Railroad grade crossings KW - Railroad safety KW - Safety education KW - Strategic planning UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/56000/56800/56888/EducationOutreachPilotStudy_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1414859 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01577858 AU - Littleton, Paul AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Florida Demonstration Project: Precast Concrete Pavement System on US 92 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 38p AB - As part of a national initiative sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration under the Highways for LIFE (HfL) program, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was awarded a $1 million grant to demonstrate the use of a proven, innovative precast concrete pavement system (PCPS) in conjunction with traditional pavement restoration and concrete overlay on an important multilane highway. The project represents FDOT’s effort to introduce to the central Florida highway industry the PCPS, a construction option that is easy to build, easy to install, easy to maintain, and will have a long service life. This report details the installation of precast concrete panels to rehabilitate existing problem areas and to raise the profile of the roadway to reduce the occurrence of flooding. This report also contains other items relevant to HfL projects, including a description of HfL goals, other technology transfer activities on the project, and an analysis of data to evaluate if the HfL goals were satisfied. This demonstration project gave FDOT the opportunity to experience PCPS and to compare this innovative paving method with traditional concrete paving. The innovative method proved to be a positive experience in achieving the HfL performance goals of increasing safety, reducing congestion, and increasing quality. The experience gained on this successful project will help FDOT implement these innovations on future projects. KW - Demonstration projects KW - Florida KW - Highways for LIFE KW - Precast concrete pavements KW - Technological innovations UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdf_2/FL_US92%20PCPS_Final_Report_Apr_10_2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1370470 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01571977 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Report on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through April 2014 PY - 2014/04 SP - 59p AB - The purpose of the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) is to demonstrate whether, and to what extent, roadway congestion may be reduced through the application of congestion pricing strategies. The program seeks to measure the magnitude of the impact of such strategies on driver behavior, traffic volumes, transit ridership, air quality and availability of funds for transportation programs. Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 was the final year in which funding was available to solicit projects. Although the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) did not authorize additional funds after FY 2012 for the discretionary grant component of the VPPP, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) may still enter into cooperative agreements for projects that require tolling authority under this program for their implementation. This report provides an update on the various projects and studies that received funding through the VPPP and the Urban Partnership Agreement/Congestion Reduction Demonstration (UPA/CRD) initiatives. All projects described in this report received funding and assistance from the VPPP or the UPA/CRD initiatives, and the level of assistance each project received from the VPPP is listed in Appendix A. The report then discusses FHWA’s recent outreach and technical assistance efforts to advance congestion pricing beyond the VPPP and UPA/CRD project locations. Finally, the report provides an overview of emerging trends in congestion pricing and FHWA’s plan for encouraging these trends and innovations across the country. KW - Case studies KW - Government funding KW - High occupancy toll lanes KW - Implementation KW - Parking fees KW - Research projects KW - Ridesharing KW - Road pricing KW - Traffic congestion KW - Urban Partnership Agreements KW - Value Pricing Pilot Program UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/congestionpricing/value_pricing/pubs_reports/rpttocongress/pdf/vppp14rpt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1363079 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01558793 AU - Bae, Sang-Wook AU - Tate, Derrick AU - Wood, Timothy AU - Zuo, Delong AU - Bligh, Roger AU - Menges, Wanda L AU - Gonzalez, Victoria AU - Griggs, David AU - Yang, Quiwei AU - Texas Tech University, Lubbock AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Testing of Alternative Supporting Materials for Portable Roll-Up Signs Used for Maintenance Work Zones PY - 2014/04//Technical Report SP - 231p AB - Portable roll-up signs are currently used by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for identification of short-term maintenance/work zones and emergency operations. These signs have fiberglass frames to directly support diamond-shaped and rectangular flexible sign faces. It has been frequently reported that the fiberglass frames have failed due to bending caused by natural wind or gust generated by passing vehicles. The cost of these failures is more than the marginal cost of replacing the broken frame members. It includes the safety cost to workers and the traveling public. Research studies to date on sign structures have focused on permanent signs with rigid faces. However, there has been little formal and in-depth research on wind loading on roll-up signs with flexible facing materials. This research project was proposed to address three major issues: (1) understanding the nature of wind loading on portable roll-up signs, (2) identifying alternative materials for fiberglass frames, and (3) developing modified/new designs of portable roll-up signs. The work performed under this project revealed that the vertical frames failed due to progressive cracking at the fiber-matrix interfaces caused by torsion, instead of bending. Therefore, it was determined to increase the torsional stiffness of vertical frames by wrapping high-strength carbon fiber sheets around the existing fiberglass frames in a pre-determined direction to improve the resistance to wind loading. Prototype roll-up signs with the modified frame design were manufactured in the laboratory and were subjected to various tests including the full-scale vehicle impact tests per Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) impact performance criteria. The test results showed that the modified design showed better serviceability as well as higher resistance to torsion as compared to the original design. In addition, the prototype roll-up signs met MASH impact performance criteria. The outcome of the project can lead to a significant reduction of the cost for replacing failed roll-up signs, and more importantly, help improve the safety of workers and traveling public in maintenance/work zones KW - AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware KW - Carbon fibers KW - Design KW - Fiberglass KW - Frames KW - Loads KW - Materials selection KW - Portable equipment KW - Texas Department of Transportation KW - Traffic signs KW - Wind KW - Work zone traffic control UR - http://www.depts.ttu.edu/techmrtweb/reports/complete_reports/0-6639_1_FINAL.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1346363 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01554388 AU - Rasmussen, Benjamin AU - Fijalkowski, Jared AU - Deaderick, Lauren AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service TI - Regional Alternative Transportation Evaluation Report, Region 6 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 45p AB - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Volpe Center (Volpe Center) conducted a regional alternative transportation evaluation (RATE) in Region 6, which is comprised of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The RATE helps to ensure effective consideration and integration of alternative transportation systems into the goals and recommendations of the Region 6 long-range transportation plan (LRTP). KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Case studies KW - Colorado KW - Kansas KW - Long range planning KW - Montana KW - National Wildlife Refuge System KW - Nebraska KW - Nonmotorized transportation KW - North Dakota KW - Public transit KW - South Dakota KW - Transportation planning KW - Utah KW - Wyoming UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/54000/54400/54411/DOT-VNTSC-FWS-15-01.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1342225 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01549017 AU - Cruzado, Ivette AU - Valdés, Didier M AU - Calero, Carlos AU - University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Speed and Design Consistency of Combined Horizontal and Vertical Alignments in Two-Lane Rural Roads PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 38p AB - One of the most important equations in highway design is the formula for the minimum radius of horizontal curve which considers the design speed of the highway, the superelevation, and the side friction factor. Traditionally, differences in the highway vertical alignment features, which are prevalent at areas with rolling and mountainous terrains, are not considered in this part of the design process. Past research has indicated that drivers perceive horizontal curves differently when compared with highway sections in which both horizontal and vertical curves overlap. To address this issue, speed data from over 20,000 vehicles were collected at 41 horizontal curves on ten rural two-lane highway segments in Puerto Rico. Preliminary analyses identified that speed patterns vary across several categories of terrain type, vertical alignment, and horizontal radius. A decision tree algorithm was developed on the basis of the collected data to the database to model the mean speeds along horizontal curves. The results of the model identified the terrain type as the variable that explains the most variability in operational speeds. Changes in vertical alignment (type of vertical curve), lane width, and horizontal radius were also identified as being influential variables, and therefore provide evidence to support the notion that highway design standards should consider the overlapping of horizontal and vertical curves. KW - Algorithms KW - Alignment KW - Highway curves KW - Highway design KW - Puerto Rico KW - Rural highways KW - Traffic speed KW - Two lane highways UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/Final%20Report-Two-Lane-Rural-Roads.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1336275 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548667 AU - Athey Creek Consultants AU - Michigan Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessment of Telematics Service Provider Data Feeds PY - 2014/04//Project Summary Report SP - 20p AB - ENTERPRISE established a working relationship with General Motors OnStar during the Multi-Jurisdictional Mayday (MJM) project in the late 1990s to explore how automatic collision notification (ACN) technology could enhance roadway safety and traveler information if data from such systems were available to emergency medical staff and transportation agencies. In the years since, OnStar has worked diligently with the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) to establish parameters around the crash data that they can provide. Using those parameters, OnStar has published a data stream for emergency services and transportation agencies to use. In addition to the safety and convenience services offered by OnStar, similar telematics services are now being offered by other automobile manufacturers and even insurance providers. Given the evolution and potential value of crash notification technology, this project explored the data potentially available from OnStar and similar telematics service providers, assessed the value of such data for transportation operations, and worked with ENTERPRISE member agencies to understand their potential needs for this type of data. The results of this effort are presented in this summary report. KW - Assessments KW - Automatic crash notification KW - Crash data KW - Data sharing KW - OnStar (Motorist aid system) KW - Telematics UR - http://enterprise.prog.org/Projects/2010_Present/onstar/Project%20Summary%20Report-OnStar%20FINAL%20042414.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333220 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548615 AU - Athey Creek Consultants AU - Michigan Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - HAR Best Practices and Future Direction PY - 2014/04//Project Summary Report SP - 32p AB - This document presents the complete findings of the ENTERPRISE Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) Best Practices and Future Directions project. The overall intent of this project is to provide ENTERPRISE member states with guidance to help them better understand how they should pursue HAR technologies and approaches in the future. To accomplish this, the project goals are defined as follows: Goal 1: To help members understand how HAR is being used by transportation agencies today; Goal 2: To help members understand the potential value of HAR; and Goal 3: To help members understand the current and potential future state of HAR technology practices. The document presents a general background of HAR, a summary of HAR uses and value, as well as the current and potential future state of HAR technology practices. Information for this project was gathered through literature reviews and interviews with transportation agencies operating HAR and manufacturers of HAR systems. KW - Best practices KW - Highway advisory radio KW - Literature reviews KW - Technological innovations KW - Transportation departments UR - http://enterprise.prog.org/Projects/2010_Present/har/ENTERPRISE%20HAR%20Best%20Practices%20and%20Future%20Direction-Summary%20Report%20FINAL%20042414.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1333221 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548573 AU - Tarko, Andrew P AU - Li, Mingyang AU - Romero, Mario AU - Thomaz, Jose AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Systematic Approach to Identifying Traffic Safety Needs and Intervention Programs for Indiana: Volume II—SNIP2 User Manual SN - 9781622603206 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 80p AB - The research report in volume I presents the results of Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP) Project: “A Systematic Approach of Identifying Safety Intervention Programs for Indiana (SNIP2),” which aimed to develop the Safety Needs Identification Package (SNIP2) to support identification of roads that have excessive crashes of the types defined by the user. In addition, this tool is capable of selecting the best combination of high-crash roads and relevant safety interventions that maximizes the safety benefits and keeps the total cost within the budget and other user-defined constraints. Unlike other studies considering the implementation time of safety projects, the optimization objective of SNIP2 is to identify an optimal combination of countermeasures renewable within a long time horizon. This simplification is accomplished by representing the projects through their annualized costs and benefits. It allows consideration of many projects for large road networks and it makes the SNIP2 suitable for identification of safety focus areas in strategic safety plans. The SNIP optimizer – a heuristic approximation of a large-size mixed integer knapsack problem based on a greedy search was extensively tested and evaluated. It was found producing optimal or near-optimal solutions in a sufficiently short time. Another research result is a comprehensive catalog of countermeasures for Indiana – a list of countermeasure names, road and crash conditions for the countermeasure relevance, corresponding crash modification factors, and countermeasure costs. The SNIP2 is computer software developed with close collaboration with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) future users. It includes an updated crash and state road database. This user’s manual describes the necessary details of the software and various aspects of its use. Two example studies are also included in the manual to illustrate its use and to better present the SNIP2 features. KW - Benefits KW - Computer program documentation KW - Costs KW - Countermeasures KW - Databases KW - High risk locations KW - Highway safety KW - Indiana KW - Mixed integer programming KW - Software UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315498 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334699 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01548539 AU - Tarko, Andrew P AU - Li, Mingyang AU - Romero, Mario AU - Thomaz, Jose AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Systematic Approach to Identifying Traffic Safety Needs and Intervention Programs for Indiana: Volume I—Research Report SN - 978-1-62260-318-3 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 67p AB - This report presents the results of the Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP) Project: “A Systematic Approach of Identifying Safety Intervention Programs for Indiana (SNIP2),” which aimed to develop the Safety Needs Identification Package (SNIP2) to support identification of roads that have excessive crashes of the types defined by the user. In addition, this tool is capable of selecting the best combination of high-crash roads and relevant safety interventions that maximizes the safety benefits and keeps the total cost within the budget and other user-defined constraints. Unlike other studies considering the implementation time of safety projects, the optimization objective of SNIP2 is to identify an optimal combination of countermeasures renewable within a long time horizon. This simplification is accomplished by representing the projects through their annualized costs and benefits. It allows consideration of many projects for large road networks and it makes the SNIP2 suitable for identification of safety focus areas in strategic safety plans. The SNIP optimizer – a heuristic approximation of a large-size mixed integer knapsack problem based on a greedy search was extensively tested and evaluated. It was found producing optimal or near-optimal solutions in a sufficiently short time. Another research result is a comprehensive catalog of countermeasures for Indiana – a list of countermeasure names, road and crash conditions for the countermeasure relevance, corresponding crash modification factors, and countermeasure costs. The SNIP2 is computer software developed with close collaboration with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) future users. It includes an updated crash and state road database. Volume II includes a user’s manual describing the necessary details of the software and various aspects of its use. Two example studies are also included in the manual to illustrate its use and to better present the SNIP2 features. KW - Benefits KW - Costs KW - Countermeasures KW - Databases KW - High risk locations KW - Highway safety KW - Indiana KW - Mixed integer programming KW - Software UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284315497 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1334698 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544648 AU - Kipp, Wendy AU - Sanborn, Devon AU - Colgrove, George W AU - Vermont Agency of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Cargill SafeLane® HDX Overlay PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 31p AB - The vast topography paired with the unpredictability of climatic conditions statewide, result in many high traffic incident locations on Vermont highways. Such locations may also be difficult to maintain during winter conditions, which only compounds the unsafe traveling conditions for motorists. One specific site located along Vermont Route 9 in Searsburg, Vermont has recently begun exhibiting increased safety and maintenance problems in the westbound lanes during inclement weather. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) chose to apply an anti-icing overlay produced by Cargill, known as Cargill SafeLane® HDX Overlay. The treatment was installed by District 1 maintenance forces in the summer of 2007. Research personnel were onsite to document the two-day installation. During the second day installation, it was noted that water seepage on the steep grade was evident in the travel lane. This later arose as a delamination problem over the length of the overlay system. Though delamination issues were noted at preexisting cracks, over the course of the evaluation, the treatment provided traction for vehicles especially multi-axle trucks. Considering this factor alone, the treatment was deemed successful. Due to this success, it was placed in two other locations in the northwest region of Vermont. The first application was on a bridge deck where frequent and sudden braking had caused many rear end collisions. The second application was on a downhill lane of a city road, noted to be a high crash location as vehicles were having a difficult time stopping at the traffic signal at the bottom of the hill. Both provided significantly different situations, with a similarly resulting maintenance and safety problems as experienced in the Searsburg location. KW - Anti-icing KW - Delamination KW - High risk locations KW - Overlays (Pavements) KW - Traction KW - Vermont KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://vtransplanning.vermont.gov/sites/aot_program_development/files/documents/materialsandresearch/completedprojects/2014%20-%2004%20Cargill%20SafeLane%C2%AE%20HDX%20Overlay.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1331772 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544542 AU - Parsons, Robert AU - Han, Jie AU - Glavinich, Thomas AU - Rahman, A J AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Permeability, Resistivity and Strength of Fouled Railroad Ballast PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 114p AB - Ballasted tracks are the most common tracks used in the railroad industry and are designed to provide a stable, safe, and efficient rail foundation. A ballasted track consists of superstructure (ties, fasteners, and rails), and substructure (ballast, sub-ballast, and subgrade layers). The main functions of ballast are to support the superstructure by distributing the loads from the moving train, and to provide lateral resistance to tie movement and drainage. However, ballast deterioration and fouling are major issues in the railroad industry, and can be caused by repeated loadings, which lead to the crushing of the ballast that is in contact with ties. Upward migration of subgrade particles into the ballast layer can increase fouling in the ballast and decrease drainage through the ballast layer. There is a need for methods to easily and inexpensively identify areas that have fouled ballast. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for using resistivity to estimate the level of fouling and permeability (hydraulic conductivity) of ballast. A test box was designed and fabricated in the lab at the University of Kansas to perform constant head permeability tests and soil resistivity tests. Constant head tests were conducted to determine the coefficient of permeability of fouled ballast for different fouling percentages. Soil resistivity tests were also conducted using the Wenner method (4 points method) to determine the resistivity of ballast for different fouling ratios. The tests showed a relationship between ballast resistivity and the fouling ratio. The resistance of the ballast layer decreased as the fouling ratio increased due to the presence of water. Fouled material retained water and filled the voids between the ballast particles, and therefore decreased resistivity in the ballast layer. The permeability also decreased as the fouling ratio increased due to the presence of fine particles between the ballast particles; therefore, permeability and resistivity were also correlated. The strength properties of clean and fouled ballast were also evaluated using large direct shear box and modified direct shear box (extension in height for the large direct shear box). Three types of fouling materials were tested (crushed ballast fines, clay, and coal dust) at different fouling ratios by dry weight of ballast. Test results showed that as the fouling ratio increased, strength of ballast decreased for both set of tests (large direct shear and modified direct shear). Moreover, samples fouled with more than 10% coal dust showed a significant decrease in strength properties. Samples fouled with clay showed a significant strength reduction at about 40% fouling. A large scale sample of heavily fouled ballast was constructed and tested under wet conditions. The four point Wenner method was used to measure resistivity at depths of eighteen inches, twelve inches and six inches. The results show that as the depth increased, resistivity increased. The higher resistivities at greater depths were interpreted to be representative of drier material, while the near surface material had a lower resistivity due to the addition of water to the surface. KW - Ballast (Railroads) KW - Deterioration KW - Drainage KW - Electrical resistivity KW - Permeability KW - Railroad tracks KW - Shear tests UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Parsons_PropertiesofFouledRecycledBallast.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1331072 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01543104 AU - Jariyasunant, Jerald AU - Sengupta, Raja AU - Walker, Joan AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) TI - Overcoming Battery Life Problems of Smartphones When Creating Automated Travel Diaries PY - 2014/04 SP - 41p AB - Gathering data using travel diaries has been a requirement to analyze travel behaviour data for decades. Smartphones can be used to collect travel data on a wide scale. Conserving the battery life in smartphones is a challenge to creating automated travel diaries. For a system to work, the travel diary application cannot be a burden to the user. In this paper the authors leverage work from the “everyday location monitoring” research community in a system to sparsely collect location data from smartphones in a battery efficient manner. With this sparse data, an algorithm is presented to generate trips, and suggest six metrics to analyze the quality of the trip determination system. The algorithm has been adapted to deal with problems encountered in the real world with a test of 125 users across 20 states and 23 different models of smartphones. The results show the accuracy of the automated system and how the results are significantly boosted with just a small amount of human input. There exists a trade-off between battery consumption and trip inference accuracy, and the metrics used in this paper are basic measures to be used to determine the quality of an automated trip diary system. KW - Algorithms KW - Data quality KW - Electric batteries KW - Smartphones KW - Travel diaries UR - http://uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2014-05.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm5db9g2n/1/producer%2F890238994.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323139 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01543102 AU - Lederman, Jaimee AU - Wachs, Martin AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - University of California, Los Angeles AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transportation and Habitat Conservation Plans: Improving Planning and Project Delivery While Preserving Endangered Species PY - 2014/04 SP - 151p AB - The development of transportation infrastructure requires a long planning, funding, and implementation cycle that can take over a decade for a large-scale project. Environmental mitigation to meet requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is usually undertaken late in this process and for the single project being planned. Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) provide an alternative model and are becoming increasingly popular, consisting of early regional mitigation needs assessment and advanced planning for habitat or landscape-level impacts from multiple infrastructure projects. This approach promises several potential benefits including reduced project delays, lower mitigation and transaction costs, and improved conditions for the affected species. This report reviews the current status of landscape-level HCPs (sometimes referred to as “area-wide”) and, based upon a national survey of those either implementing or developing them, examines their use in the transportation infrastructure planning process. This research demonstrates that this model is growing in popularity and holds promise for further development as an approach to both habitat preservation and infrastructure development. KW - Conservation KW - Endangered species KW - Habitat (Ecology) KW - Programming (Planning) KW - Project delivery KW - Transportation planning UR - http://uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2014-04.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3A%2F13030%2Fm54t7zhv/1/producer%2F890237812.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323140 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01541417 AU - Arizona Department of Transportation AU - Colorado River Indian Tribes AU - Kimley-Horn and Associates, Incorporated AU - Field Data Services of Arizona, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - 2014 Strategic Long Range Transportation Plan for the Colorado River Indian Tribes PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 176p AB - The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) Reservation spans the Colorado River and has land in Arizona (La Paz County) and California (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties). It includes almost 300,000 acres of land. This study will prepare an updated Tribal Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and a strategic plan for improvements over five-, 10-, and 20-year periods, incorporating both roadway and multimodal needs. Some key focus areas of the LRTP are road maintenance and safety programs, as well as improvement plans for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit systems. The LRTP also Identifies updates to the Tribal Transportation Inventory and functional classification systems to assist in expanding the level and types of funding available for transportation projects. KW - Arizona KW - California KW - Colorado River Indian Tribes KW - Cyclists KW - Financing KW - Highway maintenance KW - Indian reservations KW - Long range planning KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Pedestrians KW - Public transit KW - Safety KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation planning UR - http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/ref/collection/statepubs/id/24495 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1324727 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538285 AU - Mohammad, Louay AU - Kim, Minkyum AU - Raghavendra, Amar AU - Obulareddy, Sandeep AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Louisiana Transportation Research Center TI - Characterization of Louisiana Asphalt Mixtures Using Simple Performance Tests and MEPDG PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 246p AB - The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 9-19, Superpave Support and Performance Models Management, recommended three Simple Performance Tests (SPTs) to complement the Superpave volumetric mixture design method. These are the dynamic modulus, flow time, and flow number tests. In addition, the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) developed under NCHRP project 1-37A uses dynamic modulus to characterize Hot Mix Asphalt mixtures for pavement structural design. The objectives of this study were to (1) characterize common Louisiana asphalt mixtures using SPT protocols, (2) develop a catalog of dynamic modulus values for input into the MEPDG software, (3) evaluate the sensitivity of rut prediction of the MEPDG program, (4) assess the prediction of dynamic modulus values using Witczak and Hirsch models, and (5) compare dynamic modulus data obtained from axial and Indirect Tensile (IDT) modes of testing. Fourteen rehabilitation projects across Louisiana were selected to provide a total of 28 asphalt mixtures for this study. Laboratory mechanistic tests were performed to characterize the asphalt mixtures including the dynamic modulus in axial and IDT modes, flow time, flow number, and Hamburg type loaded wheel tracking tests. A catalog of dynamic modulus values was developed and grouped by design traffic level. Test results indicated that dynamic modulus was sensitive to the design traffic level, nominal maximum aggregate size, and the high temperature performance grade of the binder. Mixtures designed for higher traffic levels, with larger aggregate, and higher grade binder tended to have higher dynamic modulus values at high temperature. The MEPDG simulations carried out using the “nationally calibrated” default calibration factors overestimated the rut predictions by a significant amount. To address this problem, a local calibration of the MEPDG rut prediction model was performed and preliminary ranges of local calibration factors were developed. Both the Witczak and Hirsch models predicted dynamic modulus with reasonable accuracy. Dynamic modulus test results obtained from axial and IDT modes showed no statistical differences for the majority of the mixtures tested. KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Dynamic modulus of elasticity KW - Louisiana KW - Mathematical prediction KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Mix design KW - Performance tests KW - Rutting KW - Tension tests UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2014/fr_499.pdf UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/zip/FR499_PavmentME_InputValues.zip UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322109 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01538144 AU - Wunsch, Donald AU - Schumacher, Bryce AU - Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety/NUTC program AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Adapting Risk Management and Computational Intelligence Network Optimization Techniques to Improve Traffic Throughput and Tail Risk Analysis PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 12p AB - Risk management techniques are used to analyze fluctuations in uncontrollable variables and keep those fluctuations from impeding the core function of a system or business. Examples of this are making sure that volatility in copper and aluminum prices do not force an aircraft manufacturer to abruptly shut down manufacturing and making sure a failed bank or state does not cause an entire financial system to fail. Computer network optimization techniques involve many nodes and routes communicating to maximize throughput of data while making sure not to deadlock high priority or time sensitive data. This project will involve exploring possible remappings of these application spaces from risk and computer networks to traffic. Some of these possible mappings include mapping flash crashes and black swans to traffic jams, bank failure to construction or traffic accidents, data packets to vehicles, network routers to traffic lights and other intersection policies. Due to the large data and large solution/ state/ policy spaces computational intelligence techniques are a natural fit for traffic as they are for risk management and computer network optimization. KW - Computer networks KW - Data communications KW - Optimization KW - Risk management KW - Traffic KW - Traffic data UR - http://transportation.mst.edu/media/research/transportation/documents/R348%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1322481 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537731 AU - Hess, Daniel Baldwin AU - Ray, Paul AU - Attard, Nathan AU - University at Buffalo AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Energy Savings from Transit Passes: An Evaluation of the University at Buffalo NFTA Transit Pass Program for Students, Faculty, and Staff PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 207p AB - The University Transportation Research Center – Region 2 supported a study entitled “Connections Beyond Campus: An Evaluation of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority – University at Buffalo Transit Pass Program”. Unlimited Access transit passes have become common sustainability programming at many colleges and universities in cities both large and small across the United States. In 2010, the University at Buffalo (UB), in partnership with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), established a pilot program to provide select students, faculty, and staff with unlimited prepaid use of the NFTA Metro Rail, a 6.2 mile light-rail rapid transit system which connects Downtown Buffalo and UB’s South Campus and the neighborhoods between the two. Though other colleges and universities in Buffalo have been providing transit passes to students at their institutions since 2003, this was the first time in which the UB, the region’s largest institution of higher education with 28,600 students, entered into a transit pass agreement with the NFTA. The UB-NFTA Pilot Transit Pass Program concluded after 20 months at the end of the summer 2012 session. Overall, 1,923 students and 300 faculty and staff took part in the program. As the program concluded, it was not officially evaluated by UB. This report seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in a number of focus areas, including the cost of the program to the parties involved, and also the benefits obtained both by the participating organizations and by individual transit pass users. This is accomplished through the use of both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results of a university-wide survey conducted by the research team in April 2013. The analysis of this project revealed many expected and unexpected results. Some users of the transit pass were new Metro Rail riders, and some previously paid their own fares. The UB-NFTA transit pass was underpriced, which benefited UB and led to lost revenue for the NFTA throughout the course of the program. The program allowed 72 survey respondents to cease owning a vehicle, and 179 respondents to delay owning a vehicle, effectively reducing the cost of a UB education by thousands of dollars a year for participants who could utilize Metro Rail to commute to campus in place of an automobile. The UB-NFTA Pilot Transit Pass Program increased transportation choices and for the first time provided university community members a transportation subsidy which did not take the form of a parking space. UB officials have stated, however, that the intent of the UB-NFTA transit pass program was to provide a link between the South and Downtown campuses, and was not to serve as a commute subsidy. The UB-NFTA Pilot Transit Pass program had the potential to change modes of travel for students, faculty, and staff to the three UB campuses, and did for a short period of time, even if it was done unintentionally. Many survey respondents reported that widening their travel options, using public transit more, driving less, and reducing their carbon footprints were important personal benefits of the pilot transit pass program. UB’s pilot transit program provided many benefits to community members, from increased access to new destinations and housing, to reduced demand for parking. The design of a permanent UBNFTA transit pass program, if an agreement is reached in the future, should help the NFTA mitigate lost revenue from pass holders, and should be understood as a means for UB to reduce future capital expenses and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, in creating a sustainable transportation system to serve its campuses, UB must carefully consider the equity implications of its existing parking and transportation fee structure, which in its current form incentivizes driving and penalizes public transit users and non-motorized travelers. KW - Benefits KW - College students KW - Costs KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Modal shift KW - Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority KW - Passes (Transportation) KW - Personnel KW - Public transit KW - Rail transit KW - Surveys KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Universities and colleges KW - University at Buffalo KW - University faculty UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/Final-NFTA-Transit-Pass.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323196 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537421 AU - Chandrashekhara, K AU - Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety/NUTC program AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Advanced Moisture Modeling of Polymer Composites PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 19p AB - Long term moisture exposure has been shown to affect the mechanical performance of polymeric composite structures. This reduction in mechanical performance must be considered during product design in order to ensure long term structure survival. In order to determine the long-term moisture effects on composite components, representative parts are commonly tested after having been exposed to an accelerated moisture conditioning environment. Accelerated moisture conditions are established in order to rapidly drive moisture into test specimens simulating worst-case long term exposure scenarios. Currently accepted methodologies for analyzing the time required to condition specimens are limited, allowing only simple geometry and an assumption that diffusivity rates are independent of the flow path or direction. Therefore, a more advanced finite element method is desired. In the current work, a three-dimensional model is developed and implemented in commercial finite element code. The parametric study has been conducted for 3D shapes, moisture diffusion pathways, and varying moisture and temperature conditions. Finite element results are validated with a one-dimensional analytical model and experimental results. The moisture model developed for the homogeneous composite laminate is extended for hybrid composites. In the following study, the moisture diffusion characteristics in two-phase hybrid composites using moisture concentration-dependent diffusion method have been investigated. The two phases are unidirectional S-glass fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix and unidirectional graphite fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix. A user-defined subroutine was developed to implement this method into commercial finite element code. Three-dimensional finite element models were developed to investigate the moisture diffusion in hybrid composites. A normalization approach was also integrated in the model to remove the moisture concentration discontinuity at the interface of different material components. The moisture diffusion in the three-layer hybrid composite exposed to 45 ºC/84% relative humidity for 70 days was simulated and validated by comparing the simulation results with experimental findings. KW - Composite materials KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Finite element method KW - Mathematical models KW - Moisture conditioning KW - Moisture diffusion KW - Polymer composites KW - Simulation KW - Validation UR - http://transportation.mst.edu/media/research/transportation/documents/R296%20Final%20Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321498 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01536610 AU - Yahalom, Shmuel AU - Johansson, Eric AU - Fink, Ernest J AU - Chang, Guan AU - Kopits, Steve AU - Losz, Akos AU - Singer, Joshua AU - Choi, Joseph AU - Ozbay, Kaan AU - State University of New York Maritime College, Bronx AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - New Jersey Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Offshore Wind Development Research PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 80p AB - Offshore wind (OSW) development is a new undertaking in the U.S. This project is a response to New Jersey’s 2011 Energy Master Plan that envisions procuring 22.5% of the state’s power originating from renewable sources by 2021. The Offshore Wind Economic Development Act called for at least 1,100 MW of Offshore Wind generations to be subsidized by an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate program. The overreaching goal of this research is to provide information and recommendations for the maritime aspects, both vessel and port interface. The study, using the European experience, identifies vessel types, vessel installation methods, needs and operating characteristics through all phases of OSW development. It also identifies regulatory or legislative requirements and/or other road blocks to the use of particular vessels. The study seeks competitive advantages and disadvantages of vessel acquisition, lease, construction or other alternatives. The study proposes solutions and recommendations that best position the State of New Jersey to be the national leader in OSW development, including potential interstate or cooperative endeavors. Financial aspects and considerations of vessel acquisition are presented. The research also proposes a port/OSW industry interface strategy for short-, mid-, and long-term industry development. In general, the study identifies the maritime port life-cycle requirements for installation, construction, operation and maintenance based on geographic factors, and the potential for multi-use development at New Jersey’s East Coast ports. Finally, the study highlights the economic impact of OSW development on the state population and the energy-generating industry. The study recommends the development of a clear OSW policy with a commitment of budgets and in partnerships with industry and other stakeholders. KW - Economic impacts KW - Europe KW - Literature reviews KW - New Jersey KW - Offshore construction KW - Offshore structures KW - Offshore wind farms KW - Ports KW - Recommendations KW - Regulations KW - Ships KW - Wind power generation UR - http://www.utrc2.org/sites/default/files/pubs/Final-Offshore-Wind-Development.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1321352 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01535682 AU - Struve, Daniel K AU - Wu, T H AU - Ohio State University, Columbus AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Bio-Engineering Techniques for Landslide Stabilization - Supplement PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 39p AB - Hardwood seedlings (from 13 species) and willow cuttings were transplanted (83 and 97% two year survival for seedlings and cuttings, respectively) on a south-facing, nutrient deficient, compacted eroded slope using container-grown seedlings, nursery produced willow cuttings, soil-de-compaction planting methods, supplemental fertilizer and seven critically timed irrigation events via a micro-irrigation system (581 gallons of water for 138 seedlings). Hardwood seedlings can be established by modifying the seedling transplanting bed, usually a small percentage of the total surface area of the site, while using standard grass seeding for the remainder of the site. KW - Landslides KW - Slope stability KW - Soil compaction KW - Soil stabilization KW - Transplanting KW - Trees UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/881472735/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1318877 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531902 AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Von Quintus, Harold L AU - Darter, Michael I AU - Bhattacharya, Biplab B AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Road Map for Implementing the AASHTO Pavement ME Design Software for the Idaho Transportation Department PY - 2014/04//Draft Final Report SP - 38p AB - This report provides a Road Map for implementing the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) AASHTOWare Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) Design software for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). The Road Map calls for a series of three stages: Stage 1 - Immediate, Stage 2 - Near Term, and Stage 3 - Future or Long Range. Within each stage are various specific steps to achieve the required objectives for implementation. The general implementation plan is to develop for ITD the Idaho AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design User’s Guide, Version 1.1 under Stage 1 for use by designers and others for preliminary design and training purposes. Specific deficiencies in inputs and calibrations are identified in the draft guide for further improvement under the next stage. Stage 2 represents a major work effort over several years to fill the deficiencies for inputs, to conduct local Idaho calibration of distress and International Roughness Index (IRI) models, and to provide training. Stage 3 represents future long-term work to improve various inputs and to maintain unbiased models. KW - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials KW - Calibration KW - Idaho KW - Implementation KW - International Roughness Index KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Pavement distress KW - Software KW - Validation UR - http://itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/archived/reports/RP211MEPDGRoadMapFinal.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316822 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531893 AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Titus-Glover, Leslie AU - Bhattacharya, Biplab AU - Darter, Michael AU - Von Quintus, Harold AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Idaho AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design User’s Guide, Version 1.1 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 266p AB - This User’s Guide provides the information necessary for Idaho pavement design engineers and consultants to begin to use the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) AASHTOWare Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) Design software for new and rehabilitated pavement design. This is a stand-alone guide, but it draws from other Idaho pavement materials/construction manuals as needed, as well as research reports from the University of Idaho for traffic, hot mix asphalt (HMA), unbound materials, and various other inputs. This manual is divided into 12 chapters and 4 appendices of examples, and it covers topics including traffic characterization, materials characterization, flexible pavement design, rigid pavement design, rehabilitation with asphalt concrete or portland cement concrete (PCC), sensitivity of inputs, and design examples. KW - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials KW - Asphalt concrete pavements KW - Computer program documentation KW - Flexible pavements KW - Idaho KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Rigid pavements KW - Software KW - Traffic characteristics UR - http://itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/archived/reports/RP211UserGuideFinal.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1316821 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530980 AU - Rivera, Elias AU - Abbas, Ebrahim K AU - Wright, William J AU - Weyers, Richard E AU - Roberts-Wollmann, C L AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Fatigue Assessment for the Failed Bridge Deck Closure Pour at Mile Marker 43 on I-81 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 42p AB - Fatigue of reinforcing steel in concrete bridge decks has not been identified as a common failure mode. Generally, the stress range occurring in reinforcing steel is below the fatigue threshold and infinite fatigue life can be expected. Closure pour joints, however, may be vulnerable to fatigue if some specific design details are present. This research shows that fatigue was a likely contributor to the I-81 closure pour failure. It is much less likely that corrosion directly caused a strength failure but it is very likely that corrosion accelerated the onset of fatigue. The joints in the I-81 deck had vertical joint faces that did not provide any means for shear transfer across the joint. The joints were located under a wheel load path and were located away from beams or other means of deck support. This created atypical conditions where shear forces across the joint due to wheel loads were carried only by the reinforcing steel. The stress range in the reinforcing steel is greatly magnified under this scenario thereby making fatigue a possibility. New closure pour joints can easily be designed to prevent fatigue by providing structural support for both sides of the joint. Existing joints, however, need to be evaluated to determine if fatigue vulnerability exists. Lacking knowledge of the joint internal details, a simple differential deflection test can be performed to detect fatigue vulnerability. If the two sides of the joint are deflecting vertically relative to each other under wheel loads, than fatigue can be considered a possibility. No deflection indicates that fatigue is unlikely. KW - Bridge decks KW - Concrete bridges KW - Fatigue tests KW - Joints (Engineering) KW - Marion (Virginia) KW - Reinforcing steel KW - Strength of materials UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r12.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51990/14-r12.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314012 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530920 AU - Yanagisawa, Mikio AU - Swanson, Elizabeth AU - Najm, Wassim G AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Target Crashes and Safety Benefits Estimation Methodology for Pedestrian Crash Avoidance/Mitigation Systems PY - 2014/04 SP - 103p AB - Through the analysis of national crash databases from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, pre-crash scenarios are identified, prioritized, and described for the development of objective tests for pedestrian crash avoidance/mitigation (PCAM) systems. PCAM systems address vehicle-pedestrian crashes where a light vehicle is moving forward on a collision path with a detected pedestrian. “Light vehicle” includes any passenger car, van, minivan, sport utility vehicle, or light pickup truck with a gross vehicle weight rating up to 10,000 pounds. These systems, through the use of driver warning, brake assist, or autonomous braking, will attempt to avoid, or at least mitigate the injury severity of an imminent crash with a pedestrian by reducing the speed of the vehicle prior to impact, thus resulting in a potential safety benefit. An analysis in terms of vehicle and pedestrian maneuvers identified four recommended scenarios to maximize potential safety benefits for PCAM systems. Simple safety benefit estimation is presented in terms of the methodology, equations, assumptions, and key parameters used to estimate potential system effectiveness and safety benefits. Safety benefits, in terms of pedestrian injuries avoided and pedestrian injuries mitigated, are expressed in terms of reductions in annual harm measures. KW - Audible warning devices in vehicles KW - Automated vehicle control KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Injury severity KW - Light vehicles KW - Methodology KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Pedestrian-vehicle crashes UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51947/811998-TargCrashSafBenEstMethPedCrashAvMitSys.pdf?utm_source=GovDelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June%20newsletter UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314139 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530899 AU - Motamed, Moggan AU - Machemehl, Randy AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Real Time Freeway Incident Detection PY - 2014/04 SP - 42p AB - The US Department of Transportation (US-DOT) estimates that over half of all congestion events are caused by highway incidents rather than by rush-hour traffic in big cities. Real-time incident detection on freeways is an important part of any modern traffic control center operation because it offers an opportunity to maximize road system performance. An effective incident detection and management operation cannot prevent incidents, however, it can diminish the impacts of non-recurring congestion problems. The main purpose of real-time incident detection is to reduce delay and the number of secondary accidents, and to improve safety and travel information during unusual traffic conditions. The purpose of this project is to evaluate two recently developed automatic incident detection algorithms. The majority of automatic incident detection algorithms are focused on identifying traffic incident patterns but may not adequately investigate possible similarities in patterns observed under incident-free conditions. When traffic demand exceeds road capacity, the traffic speed decreases significantly and the traffic enters a highly unstable regime often referred to as “stop-and-go” conditions. The most challenging part of real-time incident detection is recognition of traffic pattern changes when incidents happen during stop-and-go conditions. This work describes a case study evaluation of two recently evolved incident detection methods using data from the Dallas, Texas traffic control center. KW - Algorithms KW - Case studies KW - Congestion management systems KW - Dallas (Texas) KW - Freeways KW - Incident detection KW - Real time information KW - Traffic control KW - Traffic flow UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00083-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313972 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530874 AU - Abbas, Ebrahim K AU - Weyers, Richard E AU - Wright, William J AU - Roberts-Wollmann, C L AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Corrosion Assessment for the Failed Bridge Deck Closure Pour at Mile Marker 43 on I-81 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 56p AB - Corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete is a significant problem around the world. In the United States, there are approximately 600,000 bridges. Of those bridges, 24% are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete based on the December 2010 statistics from the Federal Highway Administration. The primary cause is chloride attack from deicing salts, which corrodes the reinforcing steel. Different solutions have been developed and used in practice to delay and prevent corrosion initiation. The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of corrosion and shrinkage on the failure mechanism that occurred on an I-81 bridge deck. After 17 years in service, a 3 ft by 3 ft closure pour section punched through. The closure was positioned under the left wheel path of the southbound right lane of the bridge deck. The bridge deck had been replaced in 1992 as part of a bridge rehabilitation project, and the reinforcement was epoxy coated. Four 4.5 ft by 10 ft slab sections, containing the closure, were saw cut from the deck, removed, and transported to the Virginia Tech Structures and Materials Research Laboratory for further evaluation. Also, for comparison, three new slabs were fabricated as part of the assessment program. Corrosion evaluation and concrete shrinkage characterization were conducted in this study. The corrosion evaluation study included visual observation, clear concrete cover depth, concrete resistivity using single point resistivity, half-cell potential, and linear polarization using the 3LP device. Shrinkage was characterized on the lab cast slabs only. This consisted of monitoring shrinkage behavior of the specimens for 180 days and comparing of the data with five different shrinkage models. The joints of the lab cast specimens were monitored for cracking and leaking. Based on the research results, it is recommended that similar joints be inspected for leaking and evidence of reinforcement corrosion every two years and all similar joints should be sealed to prevent leaking. In addition, it is recommended that construction joints in future decks built with staged construction use corrosion resistant reinforcement. KW - Bridge decks KW - Concrete bridges KW - Corrosion tests KW - Joints (Engineering) KW - Marion (Virginia) KW - Reinforcing steel KW - Shrinkage UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r13.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1314013 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01530269 AU - Rodier, Caroline J AU - Lee, Richard AU - Haydu, Brandon AU - Linesch, Nicholas J AU - San Jose State University AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Active Travel Co-Benefits of Travel Demand Management Policies that Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions PY - 2014/04//Final report SP - 44p AB - In this study, California’s activity-based travel demand model (ABM) is applied to demonstrate how such travel models can be used to produce the active travel data (age and sex distributions) required by comparative risk assessment models to estimate health outcomes for alternative land use and transport plans. It also shows how to identify the magnitude of change in active travel that may be possible from land use, transit, and vehicle pricing policies for California and its five major regions over the next 20 years. The results of this study suggest that distance-based vehicle pricing may increase walking by about 10% and biking by about 17%, and concurrently greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from vehicle miles of travel (VMT) may be reduced by about 16%. Transit expansion and supportive development patterns may increase active travel by about 2% to 3% for both walk and bike modes while also reducing VMT by about 4% on average. The combination of all three policies may increase time spent walking by about 13% and biking by about 19%, and reduce VMT by about 19%. KW - Bicycling KW - California KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Land use KW - Nonmotorized transportation KW - Public transit KW - Transportation policy KW - Travel demand KW - Travel demand management KW - Vehicle miles of travel KW - Walking UR - http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1109-active-travel-greenhouse-gas-reduction.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1307327 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529480 AU - Schaudt, William A AU - Bowman, Darrell S AU - Stone, Scott R AU - Perez, Matthew C AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Expanded Research and Development of an Enhanced Rear Signaling System for Commercial Motor Vehicles PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 92p AB - The purpose of the current study was to further develop and refine the prototype Enhanced Rear Signaling (ERS) system that was developed during the previous Phase III effort. Expanded development efforts for the ERS system included modification of the system into a unit designed for simple commercial motor vehicle (CMV) installation, collision-warning activation refinements, and rear lighting brightness adjustments for nighttime conditions. During the ERS system development process, the team successfully completed necessary modifications for improved CMV installation. Formal closed test-track and real-world testing were then performed to determine the ERS system collision-warning activation performance. Ultimately, the ERS system performed with a 100 percent correct detection rate and an 85.43 percent correct rejection rate during real-world testing. During all ERS system activations, no unsafe following vehicle driver reactions/behaviors were observed, indicating a promising system for follow-on research. A nighttime brightness level was selected at the conclusion of a ratings study and carried on into nighttime real-world testing. During ERS system nighttime activations, there were also no unsafe following-vehicle driver reactions/behaviors observed. Overall, the research team found that the ERS system is ready for further evaluation in a field operational test (FOT). KW - Brightness KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Field tests KW - Night KW - Prototype tests KW - Rear end crashes KW - Rear lighting KW - Trucks KW - Warning devices UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51833/13-009-Expanded_Enhanced_Rear_Signaling_System_for_CMVs--Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312401 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529478 AU - Boodlal, Leverson AU - Chiang, Kun-Hung AU - KLS Engineering AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Study of the Impact of a Telematics System on Safe and Fuel-efficient Driving in Trucks PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 54p AB - A telematics system has been successfully demonstrated to be useful for improving motor carrier efficiency. In this particular field study, the research team demonstrated that telematics can be used to monitor and improve safe driving behavior as well as to monitor and improve fuel economy in trucks. Telematics were used to monitor various driver performance parameters: unsafe events (sudden accelerations and hard braking expressed as “yellow” and “red” events, depending on severity), speeding, engine revolutions per minute (RPM), and fuel economy. As the result of monitoring unsafe events and of driver intervention (i.e., providing of information, feedback, training, and/or an incentive to modify driver behavior), drivers of sleeper cabs showed a 55-percent reduction in less severe (yellow) unsafe events and a 60-percent reduction in more severe (red) unsafe events. The following appear to be the indirect effects of the intervention process that focused on reducing yellow and red events: drivers of sleeper cabs (long-haul drivers) showed a 42-percent decrease in percent of miles driving at > 65 miles per hour (mi/h), and drivers of day cabs showed a 33-percent decrease in percent of miles driving at > 65 mi/h (i.e., speeding). Drivers of sleeper cabs showed a 48-percent decline in percent of miles driven at > 1,500 RPM, and drivers of day cabs showed a 27-percent increase in percent of miles driven at > 1,500 RPM. As all of the above trends were taking place, fuel economy improved by 5.4 percent for drivers of sleeper cabs and by 9.3 percent for drivers of day cabs. The data appear to suggest that fuel economy correlates to safe driving. Because safe driving can be said to conserve fuel, and conserving fuel reduces emissions, safe driving can also be said to reduce emissions. KW - Behavior KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Driver information systems KW - Driver performance KW - Field studies KW - Fuel conservation KW - Speeding KW - Telematics KW - Truck drivers KW - Trucking safety KW - Trucks UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51836/13-020-Study_of_the_Impact_of-a_Telematics_System_Full_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312403 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529461 AU - Irizarry, Javier AU - Johnson, Eric N AU - Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta AU - Georgia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Feasibility Study to Determine the Economic and Operational Benefits of Utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 158p AB - This project explored the feasibility of using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) in Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) operations. The research team conducted 24 interviews with personnel in four GDOT divisions. Interviews focused on (1) the basic goals of the operators in each division, (2) their major decisions for accomplishing those goals, and (3) the information requirements for each decision. Following an interview validation process, a set of UAS design characteristics that fulfill user requirements of each previously identified division was developed. A “House of Quality” viewgraph was chosen to capture the relationships between GDOT tasks and potential UAS aiding those operations. As a result, five reference systems are proposed. The UAS was broken into three components: vehicle, control station, and system. This study introduces a variety of UAS applications in traffic management, transportation and construction disciplines related to DOTs, such as the ability to get real time, digital photographs/videos of traffic scenes, providing a "bird’s eye view" that was previously only available with the assistance of a manned aircraft, integrating aerial data into GDOT drawing software programs, and dealing with restricted or complicated access issues when terrain, area, or the investigated object make it difficult for GDOT personnel to conduct a task. The results of this study could lead to further research on design, development, and field-testing of UAVs for applications identified as beneficial to the Department. KW - Aerial photography KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Detection and identification systems KW - Drone aircraft KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Georgia KW - Highway operations KW - Highway traffic control KW - State departments of transportation KW - Technology assessment UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51870/12-38.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312036 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529354 AU - Hickman, Jeffrey S AU - Camden, Matthew C AU - Guo, Feng AU - Dunn, Naomi J AU - Hanowski, Richard J AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Evaluating the Potential Safety Benefits of Electronic Hours-of-Service Recorders Final Report PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 82p AB - The purpose of the current study was to assess the benefits of installed electronic hours-of-service recorders (EHSRs) on safety and hours-of-service (HOS) violations related to Class 7 and 8 trucks as they operated during normal revenue service. Data were obtained through a third-party vendor that compiled previously-generated compliance data regarding participating motor carriers. Although the final data sets included data from 11 carriers representing small, medium, and large carriers (including a total of 82,943 crashes, 970 HOS violations, and 224,034 truck-years that drove a total of 15.6 billion miles), the data set in the current study was skewed toward larger, for-hire carriers and may not represent the overall U.S. trucking population. After controlling for calendar year, carriers in the data set, onboard safety system (OBSS) status, and long-haul/regional indicator, EHSR-equipped trucks had a significantly lower total crash rate (11.7 percent reduction) and a significantly lower preventable crash rate (5.1 percent reduction) than trucks not equipped with an EHSR. Small sample sizes limited the power to detect a significant difference between the EHSR cohort and the non-EHSR cohort for U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)-recordable and fatigue-related crashes. This result is primarily attributed to the lack of sufficient data (in terms of the number of these types of crashes) to be able to detect safety benefits with statistical significance at the observed level. After controlling for year, carrier index, OBSS status, and long-haul/regional indicator, EHSR-equipped trucks had a 53 percent lower driving-related HOS violation rate and a 49 percent lower non-driving-related HOS violation rate than trucks not equipped with EHSRs. The results show a clear safety benefit, in terms of crash and HOS violation reductions, for trucks equipped with EHSRs. KW - Automatic data collection systems KW - Crash rates KW - Driver monitoring KW - Hours of labor KW - Motor carriers KW - Trucking KW - Trucking safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51846/13-059-Evaluating_the_Potential_Safety_Benefits_of_Electronic_HOS--Full_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312408 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529315 AU - Siekmann, Adam AU - Capps, Gary AU - Franzese, Oscar AU - Lascurain, Mary Beth AU - Oak Ridge National Laboratory AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Smart Infrared Inspection System Field Operational Test PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 46p AB - The Smart InfraRed Inspection System (SIRIS) is a tool designed to assist inspectors in determining which vehicles passing through the system are in need of further inspection by measuring the thermal data from the wheel components. As a vehicle enters the system, infrared cameras installed on the road measure temperatures of the brakes, tires, and wheel bearings on both wheel ends of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in motion. This thermal data is then presented on a user-friendly interface to enforcement personnel in the inspection station. Vehicles that are suspected to have a violation are automatically alerted to the enforcement staff. The main goal of the SIRIS field operational test (FOT) was to collect data to evaluate the performance of the prototype system and to determine the viability of such a system being used for CMV enforcement. Overall, the enforcement personnel who have used SIRIS for screening purposes have indicated that SIRIS has the potential to be an effective tool. With improvements in detection algorithms and stability, the system will be beneficial to the CMV enforcement community and will increase overall trooper productivity by accurately identifying a higher percentage of potentially dangerous CMVs for inspection. KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Flaw detection KW - Infrared imagery KW - Inspection stations KW - Prototype tests KW - Smart Infrared Inspection System KW - Thermal imagery KW - Trucking KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51831/11-021-Smart_Infrared_Inspection_System_Field_Operations_Test-Full_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312400 ER - TY - SER AN - 01529314 JO - Traffic Safety Facts PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Bicyclists and Other Cyclists PY - 2014/04 SP - 5p AB - In 2012, 726 pedalcyclists were killed and an additional 49,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Pedalcyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities, and made up 2 percent of the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. For the purpose of this Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, bicyclists and other cyclists include riders of two-wheel, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals. The term pedalcyclist will be used to identify these cyclists. The number of pedalcyclists killed in 2012 is 6 percent higher than the 682 pedalcyclists killed in 2011. Additional statistics on gender differences as well as alcohol involvement and blood alcohol concentration level are provided in this traffic safety fact sheet. KW - Bicycle crashes KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Crash data KW - Cyclists KW - Fatalities KW - Gender KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812018.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311236 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529312 AU - Simonds, Kristen M AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Correlation between Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) Analysis of Hardened Concrete for Chlorides vs. Atomic Absorption (AA) Analysis in accordance with AASHTO T- 260; Sampling and Testing for Chloride Ion in Concrete and Concrete Raw Materials, Procedure B, Acid-Soluble Chloride Ion Content by Atomic Absorption PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 15p AB - A correlation between Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) analysis of Hardened Concrete for Chlorides and Atomic Absorption (AA) analysis (current method American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) T-260, procedure B) has been found and a new method of analysis has been devised. With a Katanax Fluxer, a fused glass bead is prepared using only 1 gram of sample. Combined with a Lithium Borate flux, the sample is fused in a platinum crucible and poured into a platinum mold. The resulting bead is placed in the WDXRF for analysis. Utilizing the new methodology, a more precise and accurate chloride result is obtained and has cut the time of analysis in half. Also, the new methodology requires the use of less hazardous consumables, removing potential health and safety risks to employees. Once implemented the WDXRF method will lessen the turn around time from the cores taken from bridge decks, sent to the lab for evaluation for the total chloride measured at each depth, indicating the amount of salt present at that level. The higher the concentration of salt at greater depths indicates the potential for damage to the rebar. Recommendations for repairs are based on these results. With a faster time of analysis, results will allow the engineers to see the potential hazards before developing into a more serious issue. KW - Bridge decks KW - Chloride content KW - Concrete KW - Laboratory tests KW - Methodology KW - Spectrophotometers KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-10-11%20Final%20Report_4-2014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313477 ER - TY - SER AN - 01529300 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Pickrell, Timothy M AU - Liu, Cejun TI - Motorcycle Helmet Use in 2013—Overall Results PY - 2014/04 SP - 5p AB - Use of Department of Transportation-compliant motorcycle helmets remained at 60 percent in 2013, unchanged from 2012. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), the only survey that provides nationwide probability-based observed data on motorcycle helmet use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The 2013 survey also found the following: (1) Helmet use among motorcycle riders in the western States increased significantly to 92 percent, up from 82 percent in 2012. (2) Helmet use continued to be significantly higher in States that require all motorcyclists to be helmeted than in other States. KW - Motorcycle helmets KW - Motorcyclists KW - National Occupant Protection Use Survey KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1311237 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01529299 AU - Ohman, Jon M AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - FMCSA Safety Program Effectiveness Measurement: Compliance Review Effectiveness Model Results for Carriers With Compliance Reviews in Fiscal Year 2009 PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 30p AB - In FY 2009, Federal and State enforcement personnel conducted more than 15,000 compliance reviews (CRs) on individual motor carriers. It is intended that through education, heightened safety regulation awareness, and the enforcement effects of the CR, carriers will improve the safety of their commercial vehicle operations and, ultimately, reduce the number and severity of crashes in which they are involved. The CR Effectiveness Model measures the direct impact of CRs on carriers that received CRs. The model is based on the individual and cumulative “before and after” changes in the safety performance of carriers that received CRs in a given year. The model compares a motor carrier’s crash rate in the 12 months following an onsite CR to its crash rate in the 12 months prior to that review. The model uses crash data reported by the States and power unit data reported by carriers or obtained during CRs to calculate both the before-CR and after-CR crash rates. This report documents the benefits derived from performing CRs on motor carriers in terms of crashes avoided, as well as lives saved and injuries prevented. KW - Before and after studies KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Crash rates KW - Motor carriers KW - Safety programs KW - Trucking safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51800/51844/13-047-Compliance_Review_Effectiveness_Model_Results_for_Carriers_w_CRS_in_FY09-Full_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1312407 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527899 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Overview PY - 2014/04//Revised edition SP - 12p AB - In 2012, 33,561 people were killed in the estimated 5,615,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes; 2,362,000 people were injured; and 3,950,000 crashes resulted in property damage only. Compared to 2011, this is a 3.3-percent increase in the number of fatalities, and a 5.2-percent increase in the number of police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes, a 6.5-percent increase in the number of people injured, and a 4.6-percent increase in crashes resulting in property damage. An average of 92 people died each day in motor vehicle crashes in 2012—one every 16 minutes. Fortunately, much progress has been made in reducing the number of deaths and injuries on our Nation’s highways. In 2012, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel (VMT) increased to 1.13 after falling to a historic low of 1.10 in 2011. The 2003 rate was 1.48 per 100 million VMT. The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) reported an 86-percent seat belt use rate nationwide for 2012. Data shows a decrease in the number of fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes—from 13,096 in 2003 to 10,322 in 2012. Fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes when compared to the previous year (2011) increased by 4.6 percent from 9,865 to 10,322. This overview fact sheet contains statistics on motor vehicle fatalities based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Crash and injury statistics are based on data from the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (GES). KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash rates KW - Drunk driving KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - General Estimates System KW - National Automotive Sampling System KW - National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) KW - Property damage KW - Seat belt use KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - United States KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812016.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310606 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01527892 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Young Drivers PY - 2014/04 SP - 7p AB - In 2012, there were 1,875 young drivers (15 to 20 years old) who died in motor vehicle crashes, a decrease of 6 percent from 1,993 in 2011. Additionally 184,000 young drivers were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2012, an increase of 2 percent from 180,000 in 2011. The two-year comparison of total driver involvement in fatal crashes showed a 3-percent increase from 43,840 in 2011 to 45,337 in 2012. During this same period, young driver involvement decreased 2 percent from 4,362 in 2011 to 4,283 in 2012. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all 15- to 20-year-olds, according to the most recent data available (2009) from the National Center for Health Statistics.There were 211.9 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2011 (2012 data not available). Young drivers accounted for 6 percent (12.6 million) of the total, a .8-percent increase from the 12.5 million young drivers in 2002. Population for this age group increased from 2003 to 2012 – by 3.8 percent. In 2012, there were 4,283 young drivers involved in fatal crashes – a 46-percent decrease from the 7,937 involved in 2003. Driver fatalities for this age group declined by 49 percent between 2003 (3,675) and 2012 (1,875). For 15- to 20-year-old young males, driver fatalities decreased by 48 percent, compared with a 51-percent decrease for young females. Total drivers involved in fatal crashes decreased by 23 percent from 58,517 in 2003 to 45,337 in 2012. In 2012, 9 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes and 13 percent of all drivers involved in police-reported crashes were young drivers. Total drivers involved in police-reported crashes increased by 5 percent to 9,882,000 in 2012 from 9,390,000 in 2011. Young drivers involved in police-reported crashes increased 2 percent for the same period from 1,229,000 to 1,258,000. The 15- to 20-year-old age group accounted for 11 percent of all drivers involved in single-vehicle fatal crashes, compared to 8 percent in multi-vehicle fatal crashes. Among young drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2012, 29 percent (192 out of 652) of those who did not have valid operator’s licenses also had previous license suspensions or revocations at the time of the crashes. Additional statistics concerning young drivers are included in this report. KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Driving without a license KW - Fatalities KW - Gender KW - Multiple vehicle crashes KW - Single vehicle crashes KW - Teenage drivers KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812019.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1310605 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526446 AU - Hu, Jiong AU - Fowler, David W AU - Siddiqui, Md Sarwar AU - Whitney, David P AU - Texas State University, San Marcos AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Feasibility Study of Two-Lift Concrete Paving : Technical Report PY - 2014/04//Technical Report SP - 125p AB - Two-lift concrete paving (2LCP) involves placing two layers of concrete (wet-on-wet) instead of a single homogeneous layer, as typically done in the United States. 2LCP offers the opportunity to optimize the use of local aggregates, recycled materials to produce an economical, durable, and sustainable pavement system with the most desirable surface characteristics (improved skid resistance and reduced noise). Districts including Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas have the potential to receive great benefit from the concept by being able to use more local materials that is not considered appropriate for traditional (single-lift) concrete pavement used. Despite above mentioned benefits, challenges of 2LCP are to have the proper paving equipment, pavement construction management, the right mixture proportions to use the local materials in the bottom lift, which results in an economical pavement placement, and the proper proportions and materials to ensure adequate surface friction and abrasion resistance in the top lift. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to gather previous experiences and past performance of 2LCP, particularly to justify the cost and efficiently execute the process of 2LCP. Surveys and interviews were conducted on contractors and agencies with experience with 2LCP. A one-day workshop regarding 2LCP was organized to obtain information from a wide range of agency, construction, equipment manufacturer, and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) personnel with experience and interest in 2LCP. The workshop also served as a solicitation of ideas of best practice, most cost effective approach, concerns, and requirements associated with materials and construction of 2LCP. This report discusses additional requirements in materials, equipment and construction, project scheduling, and jobsite management that will be beneficial in the implementation of 2LCP construction. This study also evaluated feasibility and cost effectiveness of 2LCP, particularly in Texas. KW - Best practices KW - Concrete pavements KW - Construction management KW - Cost effectiveness KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Literature reviews KW - Local materials KW - Surveys KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6749-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308906 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526437 AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Examining the Appropriateness of the Current Financial Responsibility and Security Requirements for Motor Carriers, Brokers, and Freight Forwarders – Report to Congress PY - 2014/04 SP - 16p AB - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act Section 32104 directed the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the appropriateness of the current minimum financial responsibility requirements for motor carriers of property and passengers, and the current bond and insurance requirements for freight forwarders and brokers. The Secretary delegated the responsibility for this report to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Interstate motor carriers and transportation intermediaries, as well as certain intrastate hazardous materials carriers, are required by law to maintain minimum levels of financial responsibility. This report explains the history of these requirements, examines the current minimum insurance levels for the different sectors, provides background on the motor carrier industry, and summarizes the findings of a recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)-sponsored study on the adequacy of the Agency’s current required minimum levels of financial responsibility, as well as findings from other reports on minimums. A variety of recent studies indicate that inflation has greatly increased medical claims costs and related expenses. In conclusion, FMCSA has determined that the current financial responsibility minimums are due for re-evaluation. KW - Financial responsibility KW - Freight brokers KW - Freight forwarders KW - Insurance KW - Legislation KW - Motor carriers KW - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act UR - http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Financial-Responsibility-Requirements-Report-Enclosure-FINAL-April%202014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1307320 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526433 AU - Cummings, Hennen AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Tarleton State University AU - Texas A&M University, College Station AU - Stephen F Austin State University AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Turf-Type and Early Maturing Annual Ryegrass to Establish Perennial Vegetation : Technical Report PY - 2014/04//Technical Report SP - 62p AB - Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is not currently recommended by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as a roadside re-vegetation nurse crop because its late maturity and height are too competitive for establishing perennial or spring plant mixtures. Two available genotypes used for turf that could be seeded with perennial grasses/legumes and annual wildflowers are Panterra V and Hanamiwase. Panterra V is turf-type annual ryegrass developed for home lawns while Hanamiwase is an early maturity annual ryegrass that produces seed in February and March. Both the turf-type and early-maturing annual ryegrasses could be less competitive for nutrients, moisture, and sunlight while providing adequate cover. Appropriate warm-season perennial grasses/legumes and wildflower mixes specified by TxDOT were planted as treatments in each of four regions (Beeville, Overton, Nacogdoches, and Stephenville) to evaluate these annual ryegrass genotypes, seeding rates, and mowing influences. Additionally, similar treatments were installed at five locations in a roadway implementation trial. The turf-type and early-maturing ryegrasses proved to be both competitive and persistent when used as nurse crops for warm-season perennials with mature heights similar to the annual ryegrass varieties used in the past. KW - Grasses KW - Landscape maintenance KW - Revegetation KW - Roadside flora KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6620-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308912 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526423 AU - Wen, Haifang AU - McLean, David I AU - Boyle, Spencer R AU - Spry, Timothy C AU - Mjelde, Danny G AU - Washington State University, Pullman AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium TI - Evaluation of Recycled Concrete as Aggregate in New Concrete Pavements PY - 2014/04//Research Report SP - 107p AB - This study evaluated the use of recycled concrete as coarse aggregate in new concrete pavements. Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) produced from demolished pavements in three geographically-dispersed locations in Washington state were used to perform tests on aggregate characteristics, fresh concrete properties, and hardened concrete properties. Variables included the source of the RCA, percent replacement of coarse natural aggregate with RCA (0% to 45%), and percent replacement of portland cement with type F fly ash (0% or 20%). RCA from all three sources met Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) requirements for aggregates, and all fresh and hardened concrete properties met WSDOT requirements. Replacement of RCA for natural coarse aggregate by up to 45% by volume had no significant effects on any of the properties. These results indicate that high-quality RCA can be used as a replacement for a portion of the coarse natural aggregates in new portland cement concrete pavements in Washington State. KW - Coarse aggregates KW - Concrete aggregates KW - Concrete pavements KW - Fly ash KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Recycled materials KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/826.1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51700/51776/826.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1309744 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526414 AU - Sharp, Stephen R AU - Mokarem, David W AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Influence of Changes in Water-to-Cement Ratio, Alkalinity, Concrete Fluidity, Voids, and Type of Reinforcing Steel on the Corrosion Potential of Steel in Concrete PY - 2014/04//Final Report SP - 30p AB - Research on steel corrosion has demonstrated that the concentrations of chloride and hydroxide ion at the concrete/steel interface influence the susceptibility of the steel to corrosive attack. This study used electrochemical means and changes in mix design to increase the alkalinity and improve consolidation of the concrete against the steel to determine if this would increase the corrosion resistance of the reinforcing steel without compromising the properties of the concrete. To understand these effects better, the following concrete properties were evaluated: compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and length change (shrinkage). The evaluation involved the casting of different types of concrete samples, all of which contained artificial voids, for corrosion testing. These samples were composed of one of two concrete mixtures: (1) the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Class A4 General Bridge Deck Concrete with Straight Portland Cement (A4), or (2) a self-consolidating concrete (SCC). Selected A4 and SCC mixtures were electrochemically treated 135 days after samples were cast. Some samples were left untreated and functioned as control samples. There were no significant differences in the concrete properties between the short-term treatment (less than 7 hr) and control samples tested in this study. It was determined that alkalinity, water-to-cement ratio, and steel type all influence the corrosion potential of reinforcing steel when reinforced concrete is subjected to saltwater. In addition, introducing small voids adjacent to the steel created a greater spread between the 25th and 75th percentile of the half-cell potential measurements when compared to locations without voids; however, these same voids have little influence on the average value measured. A study is underway to perform cyclical saltwater ponding on selected samples to allow for future evaluation of corrosion resistance. This study showed that alkalinity, water-to-cement ratio, concrete fluidity during placement, and steel type all influence the corrosion potential of the reinforcing steel when reinforced concrete is subjected to saltwater. The study recommended that the Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research (VCTIR) continue performing saltwater exposure on these specimens until corrosion becomes evident and then autopsy them and characterize the corrosion of the steel reinforcement. In addition, VCTIR should work with VDOT’s Materials Division to compare various concrete mix designs that would be considered acceptable to VDOT and assess how each influences the corrosion potential on embedded steel. Further, more emphasis should be placed on mix designs, such as SCC mixtures, that could provide VDOT with greater corrosion resistance and reduced labor during placement. KW - Air voids KW - Alkalinity KW - Corrosion resistance KW - Corrosion tests KW - Fluidity KW - Mix design KW - Reinforced concrete KW - Reinforcing steel KW - Seawater KW - Self compacting concrete KW - Water cement ratio UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/14-r11.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51900/51992/14-r11.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308458 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526412 AU - Hurlebaus, Stefan AU - Briaud, Jean-Louis AU - Tucker, Stacey AU - Texas A&M Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Sustainability of Bridge Foundations Using Electrical Resistivity Imaging and Induced Polarization to Support Transportation Safety PY - 2014/04//Research Report SP - 161p AB - As of September 2007, there were 67,240 U.S. bridges in the National Bridge Inventory classified as having unknown foundations (Federal Highway Administration 2008). The bridges spanning rivers are of critical importance due to the risks of potential scour. In fact, it is estimated that 60 percent of all bridge collapses are due to scour (Parola et al. 1997). Not only are these failures costly, they can be deadly for the traveling public. On April 5, 1987, 10 people were killed in New York when a pier collapsed on the Schoharie Creek Bridge causing two spans of the deck to fall into the creek. Several other fatal collapses have occurred since the Schoharie Creek Bridge failure. Detecting scour is only part of the assessment that must take place to determine risk of failure and knowing the foundation depth is a critical component of the assessment. This research explored the feasibility and effectiveness of induced polarization (IP) and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI), near surface geophysical methods, for determining the depth of unknown foundations. With budget cuts and deteriorating infrastructure, there is a need to seek alternative solutions for nondestructive structural integrity testing that are more robust to limit bridge failures that hinder transportation safety. The existing methods for unknown bridge foundations in the literature are often hindered by the type of foundation or require the use of a borehole, making them very costly. As a result, only a few states are working to identify the depth of unknown bridge foundations around them. In order to solve this national problem, a new and effective method needs to be investigated with full scale bridge testing and disseminated nationwide. In this work, an experimental study was conducted at a National Geotechnical Experimentation Site (NGES) to identify key parameters for the testing design and setup in order to obtain optimal surveys of bridge foundations. The conclusions of the NGES investigations were used to plan the field surveys on four bridges with known foundations. The outcomes of the four bridges showed that IP and ERI can be used in concert with one another to estimate the type and depth of bridge foundations. The results of the field surveys were used to create a probability of non-exceedance curve for future predictions of unknown bridge foundations using the methods described in this research. Finally, the probability of exceedance curve was used to validate the method with testing on a foundation unknown at the time of testing, and the use of IP and ERI were extended to other subsurface infrastructure when a gas line was imaged. KW - Bridge foundations KW - Depth KW - Electrical resistivity KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Field studies KW - National Geotechnical Experimentation Site KW - Polarization KW - Scour KW - Test procedures UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00028-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1308852 ER -