TY - RPRT AN - 01356725 AU - Kim, David S AU - Porter, J David AU - Figliozzi, Miguel AU - Oregon State University, Corvallis AU - Portland State University AU - Oregon Department of Transportation AU - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Green and Economic Fleet Replacement Modeling – Part I PY - 2011/10//Final Report SP - 62p AB - The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how equipment replacement decisions are supported with data collection and quantitative models at state departments of transportation (DOTs), and to determine if models found in the research literature offer any better decision support when applied to realistic fleet usage and cost data. This study also addressed the current state of equipment replacement at state DOTs with respect to using measurable “green” criteria in replacement decisions, and the development of new quantitative replacement models utilizing such criteria. The responses from 25 state DOTs indicate that there is little consistency in the criteria used by state DOTs to support replacement decisions and the way that these criteria are used. There are also no measurable “green” criteria utilized. However, most state DOTs maintain an information system where cost and usage data are recorded, stored, and utilized as part of the replacement process. To investigate if a particular modeling approach offers better performance than the variety of approaches used in practice, a simulation study was conducted. Simulation models were used to evaluate the effectiveness of replacement models for prioritizing equipment replacement. The models evaluated come from the research literature and were compared to a simple replacement model that is similar to those used by state DOTs. Results indicate that the simple models used in practice provide similar results to the best model from the research literature. KW - Construction and maintenance equipment KW - Cost data KW - Decision making KW - Decision support systems KW - Equipment replacement KW - Fleet management KW - Mathematical models KW - State departments of transportation KW - Surveys UR - http://otrec.us/main/document.php?doc_id=2005 UR - http://www.otrec.us/project/305 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122181 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01354569 AU - Avers, Katrina AU - Nei, Darin AU - King, S Janine AU - Thomas, Suzanne AU - Roberts, Carrie AU - Banks, Joy O AU - Nesthus, Thomas E AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Xyant Technology, Incorporated AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Flight Attendant Fatigue: A Quantitative Review of Flight Attendant Comments PY - 2011/10//Final Report SP - 26p AB - Today’s aviation industry is a 24/7 operation that produces a variety of challenges for cabin crew members including extended duty periods, highly variable schedules, frequent time zone changes, and increased passenger loads. The present content analysis study was conducted to provide a quantitative review of flight attendant comments provided on the congressionally mandated survey of flight attendant field operations that was conducted in 2008. This report can be used as a supplement to interpret the published survey results (Avers et al., 2009b). Two hundred surveys were randomly selected for each type of operation and level of seniority. A total of 1,800 surveys with comments were content analyzed (936 paper, 864 online). Eight broad comment categories were identified, including: scheduling, health, airline and airline policy, job performance and satisfaction, meals, survey, workload, and break facilities. Each category consisted of multiple positive and negative issues identified by flight attendants. This report outlines the most frequently reported categories and issues, summarizes the key issues by type of operation (low-cost, regional, network carrier) and seniority level (junior – bottom one-third, mid – middle one-third, senior – top one-third), and provides examples of actual respondent comments for the most commonly identified topics. KW - Aviation safety KW - Fatigue (Physiological condition) KW - Flight attendants KW - Hours of labor KW - Surveys KW - Workload UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201116.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42800/42816/201116.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1118529 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01376415 AU - Lyons, William AU - Morse, Lindsey AU - Rasmussen, Benjamin AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Transit at the Table III: A Guide to Effective Participation in Statewide Decision-making for Transit Agencies in Non-Urbanized Areas PY - 2011/09/63/Final Report SP - 56p AB - This report draws upon eight State case studies to identify processes, experiences, and results of transit participation in statewide planning with a focus on non-urbanized or rural areas. Transit at the Table III is intended as a resource for organizations directly or indirectly involved in providing rural transit–state departments of transportation (DOTs), regional planning organizations (RPOs), rural transit agencies, and their partners, including business, universities, Tribes, federal land management units,healthcare providers, and others. This study is the third in the “Transit at the Table” series on successful participation by transit agencies in federally-required metropolitan area and statewide transportation planning processes. This report consists of a synthesis of the case studies, a discussion of observations and challenges, a section on the role of transit in rural livability, a self-assessment checklist for transit operators, and a list of resources. This report is a product of the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program and can be found at www.planning.dot.gov along with case studies of each of the eight States. KW - Case studies KW - Regional planning KW - Rural transit KW - Transit operating agencies KW - Transportation planning UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/44000/44500/44596/TAT_III_FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1144182 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01624780 TI - Age vs. Experience: Evaluation of a Video Feedback Intervention for Newly Licensed Teen Drivers AB - Previous studies have shown that event-triggered, video-based interventions have the potential to improve driving safety among young drivers. Nine states, including Iowa, have some type of restricted driving license that allows drivers under age 16 to independently operate a motor vehicle. While these license types typically restrict the kind of driving permitted, little is known about how these younger drivers compare to the traditional 16-year-old driver in terms of risky driving behaviors. This project examines the effects of age, experience, and video-based feedback on the rate of unsafe driving events captured on video event recorders for 90 newly licensed teen drivers. Half the participants receive feedback and the other half are assigned to a no-feedback control condition. The results of this study will inform whether video-based feedback has safety benefits for young drivers. KW - Behavior KW - Driver experience KW - Driver licensing KW - Driver performance KW - Highway safety KW - Iowa KW - Recently qualified drivers KW - Teenage drivers KW - Video cameras UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1448731 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467645 TI - Expanded Development for Enhanced Rear Signaling AB - Previous phases of the enhanced rear signaling (ERS) for Heavy Trucks project investigated methods to reduce or mitigate those crashes where a heavy truck has been struck in the rear by another vehicle. These collisions result in higher-than-usual fatality and injury rates compared to collisions involving lighter lead vehicles. Two types of systems were developed in previous phases. The closed-loop system triggers the ERS system using velocity and closing distance of the following vehicle, along with lead-vehicle velocity and deceleration. The open-loop system triggers the ERS systems using only lead-vehicle's deceleration. The results of previous ERS testing in real-world driving situations during real-world data collection, indicated that the system performed well at detecting and signaling rear-end crash threats and drawing the gaze of following-vehicle drivers to the forward roadway. There were minor following-vehicle unintended consequences recorded during daylight hour testing (i.e., light accelerations and decelerations); however, no difference was found between the ERS and baseline conditions. Prior to data collection in a FOT, the potential need for rear warning- light brightness adjustments for lower-light conditions should be investigated. Additionally, a limitation was found in the closed-loop activation sub-system testing at lower speeds in high- traffic-density scenarios. The radar was not robust in identifying targets at low speeds in high traffic density conditions, which resulted in a high number of false alarms in this scenario. KW - Brightness KW - Fatalities KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Rear end crashes KW - Rear lighting KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic crashes UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235881 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465252 TI - Eye Glance Analysis and Cognitive Distraction AB - The objective of this project is to better understand cognitive distraction through analysis of mobile phone conversations in real driving conditions. In addition, an analysis of eye glances will be performed as it relates to crash risk. The data will be from an existing naturalistic database from a vendor of onboard monitoring systems. KW - Cellular telephones KW - Cognition KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Distracted drivers KW - Distraction KW - Driver monitoring KW - Eye movements KW - On-board monitoring UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233485 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463347 TI - 2 Lane Rural Road SPF Factors AB - This research will develop and test the modeling effort to identify safety performance factors for two lane rural roads. KW - Highway safety KW - Rural highways KW - Safety performance KW - Traffic safety KW - Two lane highways UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231573 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01372799 AU - Lyons, William AU - Morse, Lindsey AU - Rasmussen, Benjamin AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Transit at theTable III: A Guide to Effective Participation in Statewide Decisionmaking for Transit Agencies in Non-Urbanized Areas PY - 2011/09/30/Final Report SP - 56p AB - This report draws upon eight State case studies to identify processes ,experiences, and results of transit participation in statewide planning with a focus on non-urbanized or rural areas.Transit at the Table III is intended as a resource for organizations directly or indirectly involved in providing rural transit–state departments of transportation (DOTs), regional planning organizations (RPOs), rural transit agencies,and their partners, including business, universities, Tribes, federal land management units, health care providers, and others. This study is the third in the “Transit at the Table” series on successful participation by transit agencies in federally-required metropolitan area and statewide transportation planning processes. This report consists of a synthesis of the case studies, a discussion of observations and challenges, a section on the role of transit in rural livability, a self-assessment checklist for transit operators, and a list of resources. This report is a product of the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program and can be found at www.planning.dot.gov along with case studies of each of the eight States. KW - Case studies KW - Decision making KW - Regional planning KW - Rural transit KW - Transit operating agencies KW - Transportation planning UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/44000/44500/44596/TAT_III_FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1140789 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01625568 TI - Washington State Roadside Survey AB - Roadside surveys allow collection of data on alcohol- and drug-positive driving from drivers directly on the road – rather than from only self-report data or from select samples of drivers who have been in arrested or in a crash.There have been National Roadside Surveys spanning the last 40 years. These surveys have allowed us to examine trend data of alcohol-positive driving, and since 1997, also drug-positive driving. For example the 2013-20014 National Roadside Survey indicated a continued decrease in alcohol use and some increase in drug use. While these surveys provide a national snapshot, they do not provide information about particular States. Washington was one of the initial States to legalize recreational use of marijuana. This study is examining whether alcohol and drug use while driving, including use of marijuana, has changed since before legalization. Subjects, in representative sites across Washington, will be randomly chosen to participate in a voluntary and anonymous study. Subjects will be asked to provide a breath sample, an oral fluid sample, and a blood sample. Subjects may decline at any point. KW - Drugged drivers KW - Drunk drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Impaired drivers KW - Samples KW - Sobriety checkpoints KW - Traffic crashes KW - Washington (State) UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1453009 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01363342 AU - Li, Qiang AU - Mills, Leslie AU - McNeil, Sue AU - Delaware Center for Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Implications of Climate Change on Pavement Performance and Design PY - 2011/09/25/Final Report SP - 123p AB - Pavements are designed based on historic climatic patterns, reflecting local climate and incorporating assumptions about a reasonable range of temperatures and precipitation levels. Given anticipated climate changes and the inherent uncertainty associated with such changes, a pavement could be subjected to very different climatic conditions over the design life and might be inadequate to withstand future climate forces that impose stresses beyond environmental factors currently considered in the design process. This research explores the impacts of potential climate change and its uncertainty on pavement performance and therefore pavement design. Two tools are integrated to simulate pavement conditions over a variety of scenarios. The first tool, MAGICC/SCENGEN (Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse‐gas Induced Climate Change: A regional Climate Scenario Generator), provides estimates of the magnitude of potential climate change and its uncertainty. The second tool, the Mechanistic‐Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) software analyzes the deterioration of pavement performance. Three important questions are addressed: (1) How does pavement performance deteriorate differently with climate change and its uncertainty? (2) What is the risk if climate change and its uncertainty are not considered in pavement design? and (3) How do pavement designers respond and incorporate this change into pavement design process? This research develops a framework to incorporate climate change effects into the mechanistic-empirical based pavement design. Three test sites in the North Eastern United States are studied and the framework is applied. It demonstrates that the framework is a robust and effective way to integrate climate change into pavement design as an adaptation strategy. KW - Climate change KW - Deterioration KW - Environmental impacts KW - Mechanistic design KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement performance UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/20110926_FinalReport_Pavement_ClimateChange.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1131916 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465251 TI - Performance-Based Testing of Driving Skills (PBTDS) AB - Previous research has indicated that older drivers are more likely to cause at-fault crashes and other research has suggested that older drivers are almost twice as likely to be involved in crashes. Industry advocates, particularly representatives of motorcoach operations, have raised concerns that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 precludes them from removing older drivers on the basis of safety concerns. This research study will investigate the extent of this problem and determine whether the need exists for performance-based testing of older commercial motor vehicle drivers. KW - Accident prone drivers KW - Aged drivers KW - Commercial drivers KW - Driving tests KW - Highway safety UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233484 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361009 AU - Hill, John D AU - Brooks, Colin AU - Erickson, Tyler AU - Kazoil, Ben AU - Endsley, K Arthur AU - Michigan Technological University, Houghton AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrating Clarus Weather Station Data and State Crash Data Into a Travel Decision Support Tool PY - 2011/09/23/Final Report SP - 28p AB - 2009 crash data from the State of Michigan was combined with weather data from four Clarus weather stations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Crashes were monitored within a 50 mile radius and associated with weather conditions at the Clarus station. From this data, a series of regression models were then created based on critical tipping points of weather data, as well as continuous weather observations. This provides an algorithm consisting of seven risk equations which are used under differing weather conditions. The crash risk algorithm was then combined with a time based algorithm in order to recommend a route. The relative weighting of crash risk and time is established by the user. Using an open source geospatial routing tool and open source road network software, a recommended route is defined. KW - Clarus KW - Crash data KW - Crash rates KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Michigan KW - Regression analysis KW - Weather conditions UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43200/43280/FHWA-JPO-11-162_FINAL__PDF_Version_.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/44000/44300/44380/FHWA-JPO-11-162_FINAL__PDF_Version_.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126435 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01466556 TI - Strategic Research Initiative: Integration of Federal Lands Management Agency Transportation Data, Planning and Practices with Climate Change Scenarios to Develop a Transportation Management Tool AB - Currently, the anticipated climate change impacts to and from Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA) multimodal transportation infrastructure is unknown. Impacts to the transportation infrastructure will require adaptation strategies to minimize or negate climate change impacts, such as road relocation, road reclassification, property acquisition, pavement structure modifications, drainage structure enhancements, shoreline modifications, construction of protective structures, etc. Such adaptation or mitigation work must comply with laws to ensure that the resources under Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service (NPS) stewardship are not negatively impacted as a result of management actions regarding climate change. Undertakings to adapt to climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure or to mitigate the effects of carbon may affect or impact the resources on Federal lands, be they historic components of transportation networks or resources that lie in the path of proposed enhancements or modifications. It is anticipated that this project will provide important resources - that may also potentially leverage Federal-Aid funding-for state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) that would like to integrate climate change considerations into their long range transportation plans. KW - Carbon KW - Climate change KW - Environmental impacts KW - Federal Land Management Agencies KW - Management KW - Mitigation measures (Ecology) KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation infrastructure UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234791 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465778 TI - International Agency Agreement with the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution AB - The purpose of this Interagency Agreement between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (USIECR) is to continue the mechanism that will provide to FHWA the range of the unique Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR) services that USIECR can provide since it is an impartial entity inside the Federal government, independent of other agencies, that can provide conflict resolution services to help public and private interests manage and resolve environmental conflicts nationwide. These include consultation, on-site programmatic review and training, case analysis, conflict assessment, process design, convening, neutral selection, facilitation, mediation, program development, conferences/skills exchanges, roster maintenance, evaluation assistance, consultations with senior mediators, and project management to assist with collaboration and in resolving environmental and natural resource-related disputes. The services provided by USIECR, directly through USIECR staff or through qualified contractors, to the FHWA will be to support high priority FHWA initiatives such as Every Day Counts, Planning and Environment Linkages, Context Sensitive Solutions, collaboration and conflict resolution, and timely project delivery. USIECR can also provide assistance in the development of collaboration workshops focused on advancing tribal consultation agreements between FHWA, tribal nations and State Departments of Transportation (DOTs). KW - Conflict management KW - Environmental protection KW - Planning and design KW - Project delivery KW - Technical assistance KW - Training UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234012 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01445986 AU - Rasmussen, Ben AU - Linthicum, Alex AU - Burger, Charlotte AU - White Mountain National Forest AU - Appalachian Mountain Club AU - Plymouth State University AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - White Mountain National Forest Alternative Transportation Study PY - 2011/09/22 SP - 141p AB - The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is one of the most visited federal lands for recreation in the country, attracting 1.7 million visitors annually. But growth in visitation to the WMNF is increasingly affecting the visitor experience and the WMNF’s natural resources. This report documents a planning effort to improve car-free travel options in and around the forest. It documents visitor use trends and transportation issues, explores partnership opportunities for alternative transportation implementation; and identifies options for additional alternative transportation planning or implementation projects. It concludes with recommendations and possible future scenarios for alternative transportation systems. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Implementation KW - National parks KW - Passenger transportation KW - Recommendations KW - Traffic congestion KW - Transportation planning KW - White Mountain National Forest UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43100/43132/DOT-VNTSC-USDA-11-01.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1212597 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01537873 AU - Mills, Joshua B AU - Fricker, Jon D AU - Purdue University AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Regional Economic Impacts of Bypasses: A Longitudinal Study Incorporating Spatial Panel Econometrics and Multilevel Modeling PY - 2011/09/21/Final Report SP - 101p AB - This paper describes an integrated approach to documenting and quantifying the impacts of bypasses on small communities, with a focus on what economic impacts, if any, occur, and how these impacts change over time. Two similarly sized communities in Indiana, a subset of twelve communities analyzed in a previous report (Fricker and Mills 2009), are discussed in this report. One of these communities has had a bypass in place for 40 years, and the other community has been a candidate for a bypass for several years. The socioeconomics impacts on the community with the bypass are documented in terms of (1) the decisions made by public officials as learned through case study interviews, and (2) the changes in employment in various industry sectors, as quantified by the development of random effects statistical models. The long-term impacts and lessons learned concerning the bypassed community are then used to offer suggestions on how communities could benefit from a bypass. The integrated approach of combining case studies with advanced statistical methodologies was found to be helpful in painting a clearer picture of how communities with bypasses were impacted. KW - Bypasses KW - Case studies KW - Economic impacts KW - Employment KW - Indiana KW - Small towns KW - Socioeconomic factors KW - Statistical analysis UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/059PY03%20final%20report%20The%20Regional%20Economic%20Impacts%20of%20Bypasses%20A%20Longitudinal%20Study%20Incorporating%20Spatial%20Panel%20Econometrics%20and%20Multilevel%20Modeling.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1323832 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465788 TI - Dissemination of Effective Practices for Considering Historic Preservation in Transportation Planning and Early Project Development AB - The purpose of this project is to disseminate results of a recent project funded through the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) that identified effective practices for considering historic preservation issues early in transportation planning and project development. The aim of identifying potential issues with historic preservation early in project planning is consistent with the goals of Planning and Environmental Linkages and the Every Day Counts initiative. Those goals include timely identification of historic preservation values recognized within a community, incorporation of those values in early planning, and carrying those considerations through project development and delivery. Benefits include process efficiencies and optimum outcomes that in the long run expedite project delivery. KW - Best practices KW - Every Day Counts KW - Historic preservation KW - Information dissemination KW - Project development KW - Transportation planning UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234022 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465782 TI - STAR Community Index 2011 Summit AB - This task provides funding to co-sponsor a National Summit to address the issue of roadway safety from a culture perspective. There is a need to change the fundamental safety culture of the nation, both in the unsafe behaviors of individuals, but also the actions of society in giving greater priority to the tragic loss of life occurring on our highways. This National Summit will provide a forum where leading safety experts and advocates from across the country will participate in focused discussions to help identify and address critical concerns and knowledge gaps in traffic safety culture. KW - Behavior KW - Experts KW - Fatalities KW - Forums KW - Information exchange KW - Traffic safety UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234016 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01447100 AU - Mills, Joshua B AU - Fricker, Jon D AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transportation and Socioeconomic Impacts of Bypasses on Communities: An Integrated Synthesis of Panel Data, Multilevel, and Spatial Econometric Models with Case Studies PY - 2011/09/21/Final Report SP - 101p AB - Bypasses, which redirect through traffic around a community‟s downtown area, could have substantial impacts. Identifying these impacts and attributing these impacts solely to the presence of a bypass has posed a challenge to decision makers and researchers. The economic impacts have the potential to be long term and far reaching. Because impacts take place over a long period of time, and because these impacts cannot be easily isolated due to economic externalities (such as recessions), researchers have found it difficult to establish a standard estimation framework for determining bypass impacts. Recent studies have used econometric and other quantitative methods to determine the extent of these economic impacts. This study will use longitudinal mixed-effects models to study the economic impacts of eight bypasses located in north central Indiana. KW - Bypasses KW - Case studies KW - Communities KW - Econometric models KW - Economic impacts KW - Impacts KW - Indiana KW - Panel studies KW - Socioeconomic factors KW - Statistical analysis UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Year%202%20Final%20Reports/Final%20Report%20029.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1214516 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358013 AU - Williams, Billy M AU - Khattak, Asad J AU - Jia, Anxi AU - Huynh, Nathan AU - Hu, Hyejung AU - Liu, Chenhao AU - Rouphail, Nagui M AU - North Carolina State University, Raleigh AU - North Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Assessing Operational, Pricing, and Intelligent Transportation System Strategies for the I-40 Corridor Using DYNASMART-P PY - 2011/09/21/Final Report SP - 249p AB - The Raleigh Durham area in North Carolina experienced tremendous growth in both population (50%) and travel (56%) in the decade spanning 1995-2005. The I-40 corridor, which encompasses I-40, I-85, I-440, I-540, NC147, and US-70 is under great strain. The I-40 corridor is vital to the economic health of the region and the entire state, and it is representative of the transportation mobility challenges faced in rapidly growing urban areas. Traditional highway construction approaches alone cannot meet these current and future challenges. These realities render it imperative that the NCDOT and metropolitan and regional planning agencies have the tools necessary to assess the system performance impacts of a variety of operational strategies, including HOV/HOT lanes, congestion or value pricing, ramp metering, system-wide signal coordination, incident and work zone management, and expanded traveler information. This project delivered a calibrated DynusT model of the Triangle region that provides this performance assessment capability. The DynusT tool is the federally-sponsored continuation of the DYNASMART-P meso-scale dynamic traffic assignment software development effort. The model’s performance assessment capability was demonstrated through application of the Triangle DynusT model to a series of carefully selected evaluation scenarios. Although the project was self-contained and motivated through its focus on the I-40 corridor, the findings are envisioned as the first step toward bringing regional-scale mesoscopic dynamic traffic assignment modeling capability statewide for modeling North Carolina’s strategic highway corridors and detailed transportation program support for each of the state’s metropolitan and rural planning regions. KW - Dynamic traffic assignment KW - DYNASMART-P (Computer program) KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Highway corridors KW - Highway operations KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - North Carolina KW - Performance measurement KW - Pricing KW - Simulation KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/research/download/2009-05finalreport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122289 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467644 TI - Life-Cycle Progression Study For Tractors, Trailers and Motorcoaches in North American Fleets AB - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) intends for this project to improve the safety of commercial motor vehicles (CMV) by investigating the life cycle of commercial vehicles: tractors, trailers and motor coaches. By quantifying the life cycle progression of commercial vehicles in the North American market, better and more accurate assessment of cost-benefits for numerous on-board safety systems can be performed. By providing relevant and accurate cost benefit information to CMV stakeholders, the transfer of safety technologies to CMVs will be increased. Several factors create a broad range in the average age of commercial vehicles in service: type of owner (independent, fleet, lease), geographic location, vocation, vehicle type. A better understanding of the needs and the realities of this equipment could lead to a better assessment of high priority focus areas for the agency. In particular, the ability to detect when a carrier that has lost its operating authority moves their vehicles to a reincarnated 'chameleon' carrier. State vehicle registration databases are the potential source of information suggested for this study. The ability and potential costs to access the data as well as the format are not fully known. It is desired that many years of registration data be made available for analysis. Furthermore, data from as many states as possible shall be compiled because registration locality of these vehicles may change over the lifetime of these vehicles. KW - Buses KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Data collection KW - Highway safety KW - Life cycle analysis KW - North America KW - Trucks UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235880 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01570492 TI - Evaluation and Analysis of Decked Bulb T Beam Bridge AB - Prestressed beams have been a popular beam of choice for building highway bridges in the Midwest since the early 1960s. Although these beam types are economical and are proven to carry traffic loads well, they are starting to show signs of distress, mostly from corrosion of the steel reinforcement that is caused by moisture contaminated with salt and chlorides. Salt used for deicing roadways causes chlorides to penetrate the beams and cause the steel reinforcement and prestressing strands to corrode. Some states use pre-stressed box beams because of their efficient cross section and small beam depth to span ratio. Today, many of these structures are reaching the end of their service life, mainly because of corrosion of the steel reinforcement. In the harsh environment of the Midwest, where bridges are exposed to many freeze thaw cycles and deicing salts it would be beneficial to have a bridge structure free from corrosion, easy to inspect, and a service life at least double that of current structures. Also, since mobility of the traveling public is a very important consideration when building or rehabilitating bridges, there is a need to develop a beam type that can be built using accelerated bridge construction techniques. The objective of this project is to analyze and evaluate the decked bulb T beam (or decked I beam) as a viable replacement for the side-by-side box-beam bridge. The project description uses the term bulb T beam as a general description of an I beam shape, with a wide top flange that can serve as a deck surface. For this type of beam to be a viable replacement to a box beam, it must have a very robust cross-section designed to have a shallow depth to span ratio, which makes it very different than the standard American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) section used by some states. The use of a bulb T beam cross section would eliminate inherent problems associated with the ability to inspect and repair box-beam type structures. The Bulb T beam cross-section will provide enough space at the section bottom for ease of periodical inspections and maintenance of critical elements, such as beam web and the suffit of the bridge deck slab. KW - Bridge design KW - Bulb T beams KW - Corrosion resistance KW - Cross sections KW - Freeze thaw durability KW - Service life KW - T beams UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/483 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1362133 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01370164 AU - Sanddal, Teri L AU - Sanddal, Nels D AU - Ward, Nicolas AU - Stanley, Laura AU - Critical Illness and Trauma Foundation, Inc. AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Rural EMS Driver Safety Research Program: A Phase I Feasibility Study, Executive Summary PY - 2011/09/14/Executive Summary SP - 3p AB - As a pilot study, the project work plan focused on the feasibility of (a) gathering baseline data on EMS driving behaviors associated with rural ambulance crashes as well as (b) measuring the potential safety benefits of onboard driving quality feedback systems (QFS) within a rural ambulance fleet. Four out of the 6 original tasks have been completed. This summary reports on the progress of the 6 original tasks. KW - Ambulances KW - Driving KW - Emergency medical services KW - Highway safety KW - Performance KW - Rural areas KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www.westerntransportationinstitute.org/download.ashx?file=documents/reports/4W2008_Exec_Summary.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136564 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01516327 AU - Morrison, John B AU - Boyle, Linda Ng AU - Deitz, Christopher AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - PATH - Post-Accident Testing Heuristics PY - 2011/09/11/Final Report SP - 217p AB - A key objective of this study was to develop and test procedures that can be used in a driving simulator and that could be used to evaluate the impact of several classes of prescription medications on the driving performance of commercial motor vehicle operators. The main point was to determine whether these procedures could be developed and whether they would demonstrate the issues that can arise under the influence of Triazolam and other prescription and over-the-counter medications. Chapter One is a review of the drugs and driving literature and a discussion of how and why Triazolam was chooses as the study drug. Chapter Two describes the experimental plan and its safeguards. Chapter Three discusses the paper-and-pencil surveys completed by the participants. Chapter Four presents the psychomotor tests and their methods. Chapter Five examines the impact of Triazolam on the driving performance of the participants in the bus driving simulator. Chapter Six reviewed the experimental data and was primarily concerned with the issue of individual differences. KW - Bus driving KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Driver performance KW - Driving simulators KW - Drugged drivers KW - Literature reviews KW - Medication KW - Psychomotor performance KW - Surveys KW - Test procedures UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/PATH_FINAL_REPORT.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1299717 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467642 TI - Motorcoach Safety App for Passengers AB - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) intends for this project to improve the safety of commercial motor vehicles by providing the general public with a mobile device application (App) that provides safety rating information on passenger/motor coach companies. KW - Applications KW - Buses KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Highway safety KW - Real time information KW - Smartphones UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235878 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01499769 TI - HY-12 Storm Drain Hydraulic Analysis Program - Phase Two of Development Efforts AB - HY-12 is a computerized implementation of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) pavement drainage and storm drain hydraulic design approaches and methodologies.The objective of this research effort is to develop a graphical user interface (GUI) for the HY-12 storm drain software. The effort would be funded by FHWA and other state departments of transportation contributors. KW - Drainage KW - Graphical user interfaces KW - Hydraulic design KW - Pavements KW - Software KW - Storm sewers UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/485 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1278176 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465256 TI - Demonstration of a Low-Cost Vehicle Monitoring System for Tractor-Trailers AB - The ability to identify certain characteristics of the towed trailers has the potential to improve efficacy of existing on board safety systems as well as enabling new technologies to be developed. In this Phase I study, the Contractor will leverage prior related Department of Defense (DOD) funded research, development and commercialization activities to demonstrate key features of a preproduction, second-generation prototype wireless Vehicle Monitoring System (VMS). KW - Automatic vehicle monitoring KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Highway safety KW - Technological innovations KW - Tractor trailer combinations KW - Wireless communication systems UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233489 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01466562 TI - Operation of the Transportation Secure Data Center AB - The Department of Energy (DOE) shall operate the Transportation Secure Data Center (TSDC). The TSDC shall preserve data that has already been collected and secure it in a protected environment while also making it accessible in a manner that maintains survey respondent anonymity. Datasets already incorporated into the TSDC include those from value pricing projects and from household travel surveys that have included a Global Positioning System (GPS) component. DOE shall also examine other datasets, including those related to safety, reliability, and probe vehicle studies, for addition into the TSDC. Researchers have requested other data sets be considered for inclusion, such as the 2009 National Household Travel Survey add-on datasets with home, work and destination block geocoding and the voluntarily uploaded public GPS traces on www.openstreetmap.org. The objective of the TSDC and of this agreement is to prevent these valuable datasets from becoming lost or destroyed (as significant public funding went into collecting them) and to make the data available for legitimate research while at the same time safeguarding participant privacy. KW - Data collection KW - Data files KW - Global Positioning System KW - Household travel surveys KW - Probe vehicles KW - Road pricing KW - Safety UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234797 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01368791 AU - Vandervalk, Anita AU - Snyder, Dena AU - Cambridge Systematics, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Real-Time Data Capture and Management Evaluation and Performance Measures - Evaluation Framework PY - 2011/09/06 SP - 61p AB - Through connected vehicle research, the U.S. DOT Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) is leading an effort to assess the potential for systematic and dynamic data capture from vehicles, travelers and the transportation system infrastructure to enhance current operational practices and transform future surface transportation systems management. The crosscutting Real-Time Data Capture and Management (DCM) Program is the vehicle for this important effort. The purpose of the Real-Time Data Capture and Management Evaluation and Performance Measures project is twofold: 1) To identify a set of performance measures that can be used to evaluate data sets and data environments that are developed during Phase II (Research) of the DCM program; and 2) To develop an evaluation framework to quantify the benefits of the data sets and data environments developed through the program. This project will support the evaluation of quantitative and qualitative benefits from research conducted as part of Phase II the DCM Program. The measures and framework may be refined in Phase II (Research) and further tested in Phase III (Implementation) of the DCM Program. KW - Data capture KW - Ground transportation KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Performance measurement KW - Real time data processing KW - Travelers UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/44000/44300/44329/Real-Time_Data_Capture__Management_Evaluation_and_Performance_Measures-Evaluation_Framework_Report__FHWA-JPO-11-136___November_2011_508.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1137358 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577867 TI - Design of a Catalytic-Cone Reactor for Direct Conversion of Woody Biomass to Transportation Fuels AB - No summary provided. KW - Biomass KW - Biomass fuels KW - Catalysis KW - Energy conversion KW - Wood UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371122 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575995 TI - Selective Catalytic Deoxygenation of Carbohydrates AB - No summary provided. KW - Carbohydrates KW - Catalysis KW - Oxygen content UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369385 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575591 TI - Bioprospecting for Enzymes to Break Lignin-Hemicellulose Bonds AB - This research project will do the following: (1) Elucidate the synthetic pathways to models of non-glycosidic ether bonds between lignin and hemicellulose; (2) Isolate 3-5 potential sources of an enzyme that can specifically cleave those bonds and facilitate their identification; (3) Increase the efficiency in biofuel production from lignin-hemicellulose based biomass; and (4) Increase environmental friendliness of biorefineries. KW - Biomass KW - Biomass fuels KW - Cellulose KW - Environmental impacts KW - Lignin KW - Production UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1368245 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575505 TI - Selective Catalytic Deoxygenation of Carbohydrates AB - No summary provided. KW - Carbohydrates KW - Catalysis KW - Oxygen content UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367879 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01557618 TI - Traffic and Data Preparation for AASHTO MEPDG Analysis and Design AB - The objective of the PrepMEsoftware is to assist state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the data preparation and improve the management and workflow of the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) input data to make the MEPDG software more accessible. Additionally, it can be used as a critical tool for calibrating and implementing the MEPDG as well. KW - Calibration KW - Data files KW - Management KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Software KW - State departments of transportation KW - Traffic data KW - Workflow UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/470 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1347121 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01485994 AU - Zhang, Michael AU - Qian, Sean AU - University of California, Davis AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrated Work Zone Traffic Management PY - 2011/09/01/Final Report SP - 89p AB - Nonrecurrent traffic congestion caused by construction work constitutes a large proportion of traffic congestion on highways. In a previous project a comprehensive work zone traffic impact assessment procedure was developed using a series of state-of-the-art dynamic network analysis tools as building blocks and implemented it into a work zone traffic impact assessment software package called NetZone. This software package is capable of estimating time-dependent travel demand based on link counts, estimating demand reduction in response to work zone delay and various traffic management measures, showing traffic congestion level in the network over time, and providing network-wide traffic performance measures. In this project, the modeling functions of NetZone were improved with additional modeling elements such as HOV lanes. A full scale application of the improved NetZone, the evaluation of the Fix-I5 reconstruction project in the Sacramento Metropolitan Area, is presented. This demonstrates that one can use NetZone to study a large network in a fraction of the time needed to use a micro-simulation package for the same network. The developed methods and tools can help better plan and operate construction activities on highways, and more effectively manage traffic to reduce travel delays. KW - Case studies KW - Microsimulation KW - Network analysis (Planning) KW - Road networks KW - Traffic control KW - Traffic delays KW - Traffic models KW - Travel demand KW - Work zone traffic control UR - http://www.dot.ca.gov/newtech/researchreports/reports/2011/netzone_final_report_r.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3a%2f13030%2fm55b068f/1/UCD-ITS-RP-11-06.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1247836 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467914 TI - Innovative Freight Logistics Partnering in the Material Reuse Sector AB -

New York City's Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability issued an updated version of PlaNYC, the city's comprehensive long range plan to improve the environment and quality of life for future New Yorkers, in April 2011. Among many goals stated in the plan, the city aims to divert 75 percent of solid waste from landfills by 2030. A primary initiative identified to achieve this goal is to increase material reuse in the city. Materials that are no longer needed by individuals and businesses can be redistributed to others in need rather than placed in a landfill. Having recognized the potential for material reuse in the city, the Department of Sanitation established the New York City (NYC) WasteMatch service in 1997. WasteMatch, which is operated by the NYC Materials Exchange Development Program (MEDP) at the City College of New York, provides a web-based matching service to find potential users for donated materials. Currently, the MEDP includes 53 non-profit and for-profit partner agencies, and since its inception, WasteMatch has diverted more than 25,000 tons of material from landfills. A broad range of diverted materials include books, computers, bicycles, office furniture, and building materials. The potential for continued growth in the volume of diverted material is severely constrained by logistical challenges in transporting donated goods. Materials can only be donated for reuse if: (1) a secondary user can be identified, (2) that secondary user has available transportation resources to move a load, and (3) the secondary user can meet the sometimes strict time constraints of the donating agency to make an exchange. The transportation options available to reuse agencies vary considerably. While a few agencies have their own fleet of trucks available for goods exchange, many others with limited staff and monetary resources are required to hire commercial carriers, to rent vehicles, or even to rely on volunteer drivers to pick up donated goods. Smaller agencies, whose pick-up needs are infrequent or irregular, are often required to hire a carrier or vehicle for an individual movement at the last minute, usually at a high cost. If vehicles or drivers are not available at the necessary time, the opportunity for reuse is lost. At the same time that material reuse agencies are in need of freight capacity, there are a large number of commercial trucks operating in the city with excess capacity. According to the NYC Department of Transportation, more than 100,000 freight deliveries are made every day in Manhattan alone. Many of the trucks delivering goods to city destinations return to their origin empty, leading to inefficient operations for the carrier as well as for the city's highway network. This empty backhaul capacity could potentially be utilized to meet the needs of the material reuse sector without increasing the total volume of freight traffic on New York City's streets. The goal of this research is to explore the opportunity for innovative partnering between material reuse agencies and commercial carriers to leverage available freight capacity to enable material exchange. This project will examine potential individual or joint contracting structures to allow for more reliable freight availability to reuse agencies, as well as potential incentives to encourage commercial carriers to offer low cost or even no-cost freight transportation services to these agencies. A survey of the reuse agencies currently participating in WasteMatch will be performed to characterize the transportation needs of the reuse sector. A second survey of commercial carriers will also be performed to explore the availability of freight capacity, to identify appropriate incentives, and to examine any operational or regulatory barriers that might inhibit potential partnering structures. The transportation needs of the material reuse sector have been relatively unexplored in academic literature. This study will provide a synthesis of the state of the practice for transportation logistics in the material reuse sector and will provide an analysis of feasible alternatives for partnering between commercial carriers and material reuse agencies. Ultimately, the results of this study will serve as a source of information for cities looking to increase material reuse and as a basis for development of a pilot partnership program here in New York City.

KW - Building materials KW - Freight traffic KW - Freight transportation KW - Landfills KW - Logistics KW - Long range planning KW - Materials KW - New York (New York) KW - Urban goods movement KW - Wastes UR - http://www.utrc2.org/research/projects/innovative-freight-logistics-partnering UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1236150 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467856 TI - Conduct Urban Agglomeration with the Baton of Transportation - RPI AB - The goal of this study is to identify transportation planning strategies that will lead to envisioned smart growth patterns. In pursuit of this goal, the study aims at achieving two objectives: (1) understand the dynamic working process of planning strategies and (2) design efficient transportation policies and investment plans that will result in optimal agglomeration patterns. Most urban areas today are either experiencing notable deagglomeration or agglomeration. The former leads to sprawl into suburbia and loss of vibrancy in downtown areas while the latter suggests increasingly high population density and overload of infrastructure systems. Realizing consequences of such trends, planners are now eager for "smart growth", which aims at stimulating optimal urban agglomeration patterns, hence sustainable and livable communities. Unfortunately, despite the existence of numerous sophisticated models on urban systems, designing the optimal planning strategies remains a challenge. One major reason is the intrinsic nature of current predictive models: they are designed to address the after-effects of certain strategy. The implication is that residents respond to given stimuli by either relocating or changing their activity patterns until the system achieves new equilibrium. The predictive models only address the static status of this new equilibrium. Such framework has several limitations. First, even with exhaustive data collection and rigorous modeling, the findings still cannot be directly transferred to future scenarios because of the rapid changes of technology and people's value systems. It thus has little real "predictive" power. Second, it is unable to describe the transitioning process from the original equilibrium to the new one, which means it disregards the interactions between planners and residents once the strategy is implemented. In reality, planners are often willing and able to take more proactive roles to make adjustments based on residents' reactions, making the planning a dynamic process. This study will establish a framework that addresses the interactions between all stakeholders and the transition process caused by the implementation of planning strategies. Dynamic transportation planning strategies will thus be designed to induce the agglomeration gradually to the desired pattern. The study will build on the combination of urban economic models and experimental economic approaches: First, factors influencing urban agglomeration will be summarized based on previous studies. "Homogeneous communities" will then be defined and used as the basic units: Tiebout Sorting suggests that people sharing similar socio-economic characteristics will naturally aggregate to get public goods of their common interests. Therefore, demographic characteristics, residence and employment locations may be used to define such "homogeneous communities". These communities will be used as the basic units because their members respond similarly to certain incentives. This smart way of aggregation allows for enough analysis accuracy without suffering from the computational efficiency problems encountered by disaggregate agent-based models. The third step is to extend the classic urban economic models into irregularly-shaped urban areas in geographic information systems (GIS). This step will establish a theoretical framework that links influential factors to every "homogeneous community" across the urban area. The last step is experimental economic analysis based on this theoretical framework. The economic connections between stakeholders will be mimicked by players with simulated interactions. Through experiments, the working process of different transportation planning strategies can be observed, and the most efficient one will be selected. This proposed study will contribute significantly to integrated land use-transportation studies. Especially for the State of New York, where unfavorable deagglomeration and agglomeration are observed in different parts of the state, designing dynamic transportation planning strategies to stimulate "smart growth" is more than necessary. From this perspective, the proposed study directly addresses University Transportation Research Center's (UTRC's) mission of planning, management, and responses to change. KW - Activity patterns KW - Agglomeration economies KW - Demographics KW - Predictive models KW - Smart growth KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.utrc2.org/research/projects/urban-agglomeration-baton-transportation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1236092 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467852 TI - Prediction of Impact on Transport System due to Coastal Flooding under Climate Change AB - Global warming and climate change are reshaping our world in many ways. One of their most obvious evidences is sea level rise due to melting of polar glaciers and arctic ice. It is estimated that global sea level rise is at an alarming rate of 0.18cm/yr during 1961-2003, it is even higher at 0.3cm/yr during 1993-2003, and research estimates that sea level could range from 0.8 to 2 m by 2100 under glaciological conditions. Another important consequence of global warming is pattern change and increased variance of precipitation around the world; precipitation increasing and hurricanes becoming stronger and more frequent in high latitudes (Northern Hemisphere). The Northeast region is projected to see an increase in winter precipitation on the order of 20 to 30 percent. Combined effects from sea level rise and increase of variance of precipitation could result in catastrophic coastal flooding under hurricanes and winter storms, putting many major transportation infrastructures, including highways, bridges, and railroads at great risk. The Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) initiated a national study on potential impacts of climate change on U.S. transportation infrastructures. Coastal flood evolution involves multi-physics/multi-scale phenomena and currently there is no appropriate modeling tool to predict impact of coastal flooding on transportation systems. In prediction of flooding at transportation systems, two crucial issues have to be addressed: 1) desired accuracy and resolution in time and space for flooding at transportation systems, 2) modeling of storm surges with sharp fronts (such as the Tsunami in Japan on March, 2011). In view of current status of conditions, the most promising and feasible approach is hybrid method that couples different well-tested models designed for individual water flows. Recently developed were brand new hybrid methods implemented into a framework that couples different models and also applied it to coastal flooding at Cape May, NJ under projected climate change conditions. The framework provides attention to actual transportation systems that will also be examined. It is expected that the results will be published in a prestigious journal. unprecedented platform to predict and resolve flooding at transportation systems. This project is to study the hybrid methods and validate the developed modeling framework previously proposed in [6-9] on rigorous foundations. In particular, theoretical analysis such as order of accuracy and stability of the framework and systematical numerical experiments on its performance in aspect of solution quality will be made. Feasibility and strategies for its application to actual transportation systems will also be examined. It is expected that the results will be published in a prestigious journal. KW - Cape May County (New Jersey) KW - Climate change KW - Floods KW - Flow capacity (Water flow) KW - Impact assessment KW - Storm surges KW - Transportation infrastructure UR - http://www.utrc2.org/research/projects/prediction-of-impact-on-transport-system UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1236088 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463450 TI - The Effects of Learning through the Arts on Transportation Knowledge and Skills of Elementary School Students, University Students and Classroom Teachers-Phase 3 AB - The purpose of this study is to enhance knowledge of geographic concepts, particularly transportation, through the lens of dance and theater. Students and their teachers will gain knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach that combines the teaching of geography with the arts. This project will benefit current and future educators, artists, and geography researchers. The participants will include 4th and 5th grade students attending elementary school in Newark, Delaware, their teachers, and University of Delaware students with expertise in the arts and geography. KW - Cultural resources KW - Education KW - Elementary school students KW - Geography KW - Interdisciplinary studies KW - Newark (Delaware) UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/Overby_The%20Effects%20of%20Learning.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231676 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463449 TI - Investigation of Load-Path Redundancy in Aging Steel Bridges- Phase 2 AB - A key factor affecting the resiliency of transportation infrastructure is aging. Furthermore, the current age of the nation&rsquo;s transportation infrastructure relative to the financial resources available for infrastructure investments causes aging to be one of the biggest challenges facing civil engineers in the coming years. As a result of these demands, the project entitled &quot;Investigation of Load-Path Redundancy in Aging Steel Bridges&quot; was initiated in 2010 to systematically quantify the actual system capacity of steel bridges as a function of deterioration of the concrete bridge deck. The aim of the proposed work is to extend these results into a rating procedure that can be readily applied by bridge owners. This will be accomplished by first incorporating the influences of load path redundancy into the existing American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) rating format and then refining this approach based on the aging effects that were quantified in Phase 1. The ultimate result of the project is a systematic and quantified procedure that will allow the aging structures that are in greatest need of rehabilitation or replacement to be better identified. KW - Aging (Materials) KW - Bearing capacity KW - Bridge decks KW - Bridge design KW - Bridge maintenance KW - Bridges KW - Maintenance KW - Steel bridges KW - Structural analysis UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/McConnell_Investigation%20of%20Load-Path%20Redundancy-Phase2.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231675 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463448 TI - Research Resilient Cartography: Using Interactive Online Mapping to Represent Corridor (Aero)mobilities - Phase 2 AB - Most maps that influence our everyday mobility decisions privilege representations of space over those of time. Maps and Cartograms providing spatiotemporal information are used primarily to identify and track patterns of change in the past and predict future occurrences in the future. But they also have potential for use by transportation researchers and the traveling public. New approaches to corridor resilience require innovative cartographic approaches that call attention to the travel time takes. This project proposes to implement two such approaches to create two sets of maps for use by corridor airport users, transportation policy-makers and regional researchers. The purpose of the first set of maps is to reinforce and demonstrate the idea that travel-duration within urban areas throughout the corridor network is highly contingent on mode and location. The second set of maps demonstrates the change over time in the relationship of the corridor to domestic and international aeromobility networks. Based on these maps, the project will develop and report on cartographic methods for representing uneven (aero)mobilities and the relative position of corridor transportation nodes to one another as well as to those at the national and global scales. As the second phase of a University of Delaware-University Transportation Center (UD-UTC) project, the proposed project builds upon and extends the cartographic methods of Phase I to account for nested scales, more variable and historical-data interactivity, thereby providing a richer illustration of the rapidity and redundancy properties of regional resiliency. KW - Cartography KW - Computer online services KW - Digital mapping KW - Mapping KW - Policy making KW - Transportation corridors UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/Tuttle_Resilient%20Cartography-Phase%202.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231674 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463447 TI - Development of Rapid Assessment Tools for Structural Parts after Extreme Events Using Stress Wave Methods AB - Recent extreme events such as earthquakes and hurricanes have shown the need for improved rapid structural assessment tools. It has been recognized that successful recovery missions greatly rely on the reliability and safety of the existing transportation infrastructure. In particular, bridges represent crucial parts of an infrastructure network and authorities need to know whether they can rely on the bridges that survived an extreme event&nbsp;in order to plan their recovery missions. This research will develop tools for rapid inspection of critical structural parts after extreme events using stress wave methods. Tests on small steel parts in conjunction with numerical stress wave simulation will be used to establish quantitative analysis tools that can objectively detect flaws. The developed tools will increase the resilience of the infrastructure after an extreme event and enable a faster recovery. KW - Earthquakes KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Flaw detection KW - Hurricanes KW - Infrastructure KW - Stresses KW - Structural analysis KW - Structural damage UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/Schumacher_%20Development%20of%20Rapid%20Assessment%20Tools..html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231673 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463446 TI - Research of Transportation Policy for Low-Cost, Intercity Express Bus Industry within the Northeast Corridor AB - Intercity bus service is now the fastest growing mode of intercity transportation in the United States-outpacing air and rail transportation. However, despite the rapid growth in this mode of transportation, intercity bus industry operation raise a number of policy questions as well. Transportation policy issues that need to be studied include the industry's unregulated environment, lack of intermodal linkages, operating inconsistencies among carriers, level of service vs. demand for service, impact on federally-supported transportation modes and competition among other intercity modes within the Northeast transportation corridor. Because intercity bus travel is important to the resiliency of the Northeast corridor and the overall transportation network, it merits further attention and discourse among transportation planners, stakeholders and policy makers. The objective of this project is to research transportation policy issues for the low-cost, intercity express bus industry within the Northeast corridor- from Washington D.C. to New York City. To accomplish this objective, research tasks include conducting a literature review and data collection on the intercity bus industry, a field assessment of curbside operations in the Philadelphia metropolitan areas, and a workshop of stakeholders. Research results will be summarized in a hard-copy and online-briefing paper. KW - Bus transportation KW - Competition KW - Intercity transportation KW - Intercity travel KW - Level of service KW - New York (New York) KW - Transportation policy KW - Travel demand KW - Washington (District of Columbia) UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/Scott_%20Research%20of%20Transportation%20Policy%20Issues.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231672 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01365494 AU - Kafalenos, Robert AU - Hyman, Robert AU - Department of Transportation AU - ICF International AU - PB Americas, Incorporated TI - Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: The Gulf Coast Study, Phase 2 Task 1: Assessing Infrastructure for Criticality in Mobile, AL PY - 2011/09/01 SP - 101p AB - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting is conducting a comprehensive, multi-phase study of climate change impacts on transportation in the Central Gulf Coast region. This study, formally known as Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study (hereafter, “the Gulf Coast Study”), is the first such study of its magnitude in the United States and thus represents an important benchmark in our understanding of what constitutes an effective transportation system adaptation planning effort. This report presents the findings of the first task of Phase 2 of this study—identifying critical transportation assets. This work is being conducted on a single metropolitan area—the Mobile, AL region—with the intention of making the processes used in the study replicable to other areas. The Gulf Coast Study was initiated to better understand climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure and to identify potential adaptation strategies. This study area was selected as the study’s focal point due to its dense population and complex network of transportation infrastructure, as well as its critical economic role in the import and export of oil, gas, and other goods. While confidence in global climate change projections has been steadily increasing over recent years, investigations into the potential impacts of projected changes on a regional scale have been scarce. The exact risks that climate change poses to transportation systems are not yet well known. As many of the nation’s infrastructure components, such as rail lines, highways, bridges, and ports, are expected to last for up to 100 years, it is important that their design and long-term operations consider factors that could affect their resilience and effectiveness over their life span, such as changing environmental conditions due to climate change. KW - Adaptation planning (Climate change) KW - Asset management KW - Climate change KW - Economic impacts KW - Environmental impacts KW - Gulf Coast KW - Metropolitan areas KW - Mobile (Alabama) KW - Risk assessment UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate/gulf_coast_study/phase_2/gulfcoast2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1134191 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01587404 AU - Lenth, John AU - Dugapolski, Rebecca AU - Herrera Environmental Consultants, Incorporated AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Compost-Amended Biofiltration Swale Evaluation PY - 2011/09//Research Report SP - 109p AB - From May 2009 through June 2010, Herrera Environmental Consultants conducted hydrologic and water quality monitoring of a compost-amended biofiltration swale and a standard (control) biofiltration swale in the median of State Route 518 for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Herrera conducted this monitoring to obtain performance data that supports the issuance of a General Use Level Designation (GULD) for the compost-amended biofiltration swale from the Washington State Department of Ecology. This monitoring was performed in accordance with procedures described in "Guidance for Evaluating Emerging Stormwater Treatment Technologies; Technology Assessment Protocol – Ecology (TAPE)" (Ecology 2008). This document is a technical evaluation report on the compost-amended biofiltration swale, prepared by Herrera and based on results of the monitoring described above. The goal of this report is to demonstrate satisfactory performance of the compost-amended biofiltration swale for issuance of a GULD for basic, enhanced (dissolved metals removal) and oil treatment. KW - Best practices KW - Biofiltration ponds (Highway stormwater runoff) KW - Compost KW - Hydrologic monitoring KW - Medians KW - Metals KW - Oils KW - Runoff KW - Swales KW - Washington (State) KW - Water quality UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/793.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1395635 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01582860 AU - Mazzae, Elizabeth N AU - Garrott, W Riley AU - Baldwin, George H Scott AU - Andrella, Adam AU - Smith, Larry A AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Vehicle Rearview Image Field of View and Quality Measurement PY - 2011/09//Technical Report SP - 61p AB - The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 required the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to “initiate a rulemaking to revise Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 (FMVSS 111) to expand the required field of view to enable the driver of a motor vehicle to detect areas behind the motor vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from” backover crashes. It stated that this may be accomplished “by the provision of additional mirrors, sensors, cameras, or other technology to expand the driver’s field of view.” This report provides additional details regarding the analyses summarized in the December 2010 FMVSS No. 111 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that provided the basis for proposed improved vehicle rear visibility requirements. A more detailed description is presented of the analysis performed to identify what area (i.e., field of view) should be visible to a driver behind a vehicle in order for that driver to have the best opportunity to avoid a backover crash. Likewise, the report contains a detailed description of the basis for determining the proposed criteria for minimum image quality that would need to be present in a rearview image in order for a driver of average vision to have the ability to discern child-sized obstacles located within the field of view. Test procedures that were developed to assess how well a rearview image meets the proposed field of view and rearview image quality requirements are described in detail. These procedures were developed using available existing systems covering the appropriate field of view (of which all were rearview video systems). The procedures are also considered to be useable for other technologies (such as mirrors or fiber optics) that might be used to provide visual images of the area directly behind a vehicle in the future. The test procedure involves taking a photograph of the rearview image showing several objects of known locations and dimensions from the perspective of a 50th-percentile male driver. The apparent width of an object in a photograph of the display is used to calculate the subtended visual angle of test objects (which can be related to a driver’s ability to see each object). This report demonstrates the measurement procedure by applying it to six 2010-11 model year vehicles equipped with original equipment rearview video systems. One important result obtained in this testing is that a 2.4-inch diagonal sized rearview image is not large enough to provide the degree of minimum image quality proposed in the NPRM. KW - Backing (Driving) KW - Blind spots KW - Crashes KW - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards KW - Field of view KW - FMVSS 111 KW - Rearview video systems KW - Visibility UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Human Factors/Visibility and Lighting/811512.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1376529 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01571979 AU - Boriboonsomsin, Kanok AU - Scora, George AU - Wu, Guoyuan AU - Barth, Matthew AU - University of California, Riverside AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Improving Vehicle Fleet, Activity, and Emissions Data for On-Road Mobile Sources Emissions Inventories PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 166p AB - The goal of this research is to improve the estimation or measurement of the three data types necessary for on-road emission modeling, namely vehicle fleet data, vehicle activity data, and vehicle emission data. For each of these data types, this research targets specific areas or data elements that are considered gaps in the current state of the knowledge and practices by evaluating alternative data sources as well as developing new tools and methods for filling such gaps. Specifically, the objectives of this research are to: (1) Review the current state of the practice in estimating vehicle class and age distributions, vehicle miles traveled of heavy-duty trucks, and idling hours of heavy-duty trucks; (2) Evaluate the use of license plate survey in conjunction with vehicle registration database and vehicle identification number (VIN) decoder to estimate local vehicle fleet data; (3) Evaluate the use of alternative sources of heavy-duty truck (HDT) activity data including truck’s electronic control unit (ECU) and telematics-based vehicle tracking and monitoring system to generate HDT activity data inputs for the Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES); (4) Develop methods for fusing HDT activity datasets from multiple sources to result in more refined and accurate HDT activity data; and (5) Measure emissions from recent model year HDTs at different loaded vehicle weight. KW - Case studies KW - Data collection KW - Engine idling KW - Estimating KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - License plates KW - Mobile sources KW - Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) KW - Pollutants KW - State of the practice KW - Telematics KW - Vehicle fleets UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/conformity/research/improving_data/taqs.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1363086 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01531084 AU - Herricks, Edwin E AU - Lazar, Peter AU - Woodworth, Elizabeth AU - Patterson, James AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Performance Assessment of a Mobile, Radar-Based Foreign Object Debris Detection System PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 35p AB - In 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Technology Research and Development Team initiated research to conduct a performance assessment of the Trex Enterprises FOD Finder™, a mobile, radar-based foreign object debris (FOD) detection system. This assessment included the system’s capability to detect objects of various shapes, sizes, and materials at all locations on the runway surface. The system’s capability to detect FOD during both nighttime and daytime conditions, in periods of sun, rain, mist, fog, and snow was also assessed. The FOD Finder detection system was installed at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in March 2009 and initially tested in July 2009. The assessment of the FOD Finder detection system at ORD was supplemented by the evaluation of two additional FOD Finder detection systems at Honolulu International Airport and the McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California. The performance assessment at all three airports began in May 2010 and concluded in September 2010. Researchers conducted several test sessions at each airport to assess the FOD Finder’s capability to detect selected FOD items that were of various shapes, sizes, color, and material in both nighttime and daytime conditions, in periods of sun, rain, mist, fog and snow. The FOD Finder detection system was able to detect the objects of various shapes, sizes, and materials on runway surfaces, taxiways, and aprons, and was able to perform satisfactorily in nighttime, daytime, sun, rain, mist, fog, and snow conditions, as required by FAA Advisory Circular 150/5220-24, “Airport Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Detection Equipment.” KW - Airport runways KW - Chicago O'Hare International Airport KW - Detection and identification systems KW - Honolulu International Airport KW - Inspection equipment KW - McClellan-Palomar Airport KW - Monitoring KW - Performance KW - Surveillance KW - Technology assessment UR - http://www.airporttech.tc.faa.gov/DesktopModules/FlexNews/DownloadHandler.ashx?id=1ebe0cf4-57c8-4b1f-8c6e-5c1d84f4dcd1&f=Final_Report_11-12_Performance_Assessment_of_a_Mobile_Radar-Based_Foreign_Debris_Detection_System.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1313499 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01522305 AU - Lee, Cynthia AU - MacDonald, John AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - National Park Service TI - Mount Rainier National Park: Acoustical Monitoring Report 2009 PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 54p AB - During the summer (July – September 2009), baseline acoustical data were collected for approximately one month at two sites deployed by National Park Service (NPS) personnel in Mount Rainier National Park (MORA). The purpose of the monitoring effort was to supplement prior ambient data collected by NPS in 2006-2007. The data will help park managers and planners estimate the effects of future noise impacts and will help to inform future park planning objectives such as creating soundscape management plans, as well as the development of an Air Tour Management Plan (ATMP), which provides for the regulation of commercial air tours over National Parks. This report provides a summary of results of these measurements, representing MORA’s summer season. KW - Aircraft noise KW - Ambient noise KW - Mount Rainier National Park KW - National parks KW - Noise sources KW - Sound level UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/51000/51100/51161/MORA_AcousticalMonitoringReport_Sept2011_nrss.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1303919 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01491284 AU - Oliva, Michael G AU - Rajek, Gregory AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Toward Improving the Performance of Highway Bridge Approach Slabs PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 91p AB - The objective of this study was to quantify the amount of rotation that could develop between an approach slab, after base settlement, and a bridge abutment. A better approach-bridge transition could then be developed by using a ductile concrete to directly connect the approach slab with a bridge deck and lessen or eliminate the annoying “bump” as well as maintenance problems associated with approach slab deterioration. In the future, acceleration bridge construction could then use high quality precast approach slabs directly connected to the bridge with a ductile concrete strip. To quantify the problems associated with approach slabs, particularly cracking and rotations, an extensive analytical study was conducted. Parameters included in the study were: approach slab length, slab material, subgrade soil type, abutment height, and possible settlement trenches that may develop under the slab near its support on the abutment. From the analyses it was concluded that end rotation of the approach slab near the abutment varied depending on geometry of the approach slab, trench and abutment as well as with the stiffness of the soil and concrete used in the analyses. A maximum rotation of 0.0045 radians was computed from the analyses in a situation with a loose soil and a 4 ksi concrete approach slab but 0.002 radians could be used for normal design. KW - Bridge abutments KW - Bridge approaches KW - Bridge decks KW - Cracking KW - Differential settlement KW - Highway bridges KW - Rotation UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_CFIRE0310.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1257319 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01486730 AU - Wang, Fei AU - METRANS Transportation Center AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Optimize Pollutant Emissions through Adaptive Highway Management PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 20p AB - This project investigated the possibility of reducing green house emission (mainly CO2) from urban highways using adaptive ramp metering control. QUADSTONE PARAMICS software was used to build a microscopic traffic model for a 4-lane highway section containing on/off ramps. A mathematical model of CO2 emission as a function of vehicle speed and acceleration was also developed. The total emissions for a simulated highway section were calculated under a variety of ramp metering control scenarios and traffic densities. Due to the non-linear behavior of the rate of emissions, it is possible to optimize greenhouse emission through smart speed and mobility control. A test model of a 1.5-mile 4-lane highway section with one on-ramp and one off-ramp was developed. A fixed time ramp meter simulated the model at different scenarios by adjusting the red interval of the meter. In light or moderate traffic senarios, the optimal red interval increases with traffic density. When traffic becomes jammed, the optimal red time actually decreases. Simulation also shows the overall emission decreases with highway speed limit. The fact that the red interval needs to be reduced under heavy traffic in order to reduce CO2 emission indicates a trade-off between improving highway throughput and reducing CO2 emission: optimization plans solely aimed at higher throughput may increase emissions in some cases. KW - Acceleration (Mechanics) KW - Exhaust gases KW - Paramics (Computer program) KW - Ramp metering KW - Red interval (Traffic signal cycle) KW - Traffic density KW - Traffic simulation KW - Traffic speed KW - Traffic volume UR - http://www.metrans.org/sites/default/files/research-project/10-25_Wang_final_0_0.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42500/42588/METRANS_10-25_Optimize_Pollutant_Emissions_through_Adaptive_Highway_Management.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1247845 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01485777 AU - Pultar, Edward AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Role of Geography in Social Networks: CouchSurfing as a Case Study PY - 2011/09 SP - 145p AB - This research examines travel behavior using an Internet-based website, CouchSurfing, which provides free lodging with local residents. Increases in computing power and accessibility have led to novel e-travel techniques and the users of such systems utilize an amalgamation of social networks, transportation networks, and data communication networks. Thus the focus is on how the geographical spread of people in a modern, digital social network influences the travel choices of each individual in the network. A general model is presented that describes traveler behavior using a cost-free lodging network. Also presented for this type of travel behavior is an information representation and visualization methodology utilizing time-geographic dimensions. One survey explored factors that affect the number of times an individual participates in an activity in the network: being a host or guest, while a second examines social capital and how it is influenced by geography and the distinct roles a person can play within the social network. Survey results suggest that ties with individuals at longer distances have more of an influence on overall social capital than connections at shorter distances. KW - Demographics KW - Geography KW - Location KW - Mobility KW - Social networking KW - Travel behavior UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/UCTC-DISS-2011-06.pdf UR - https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark%3a%2f13030%2fm50005vn/1/UCTC-DISS-2011-06.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1249651 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01470677 AU - Maine Department of Transportation AU - Department of Transportation TI - Statewide Transportation Improvement Program Federal Fiscal Years 2012-2013-2014-2015 PY - 2011/09 SP - 355p AB - The Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is a federally required four-year transportation capital improvement program. Federal regulations require each state to produce a STIP that identifies federal funding by year for scheduled transportation programs receiving Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding. The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) produces a STIP every two years to meet the following requirements: (1) The State must show Fiscal Constraint, that it is not scheduling more transportation projects for construction, by year, than it reasonably can expect funding for; (2) To certify that the State’s transportation program conforms to Federal air quality regulations. Since Maine already produces a state initiated biennial Capital Work Plan, the STIP essentially is a formal submittal of FHWA and FTA funded projects, which make up most of the Capital Work Plan to federal agencies. Schedule information in the STIP is based on anticipated year of obligation of federal funds. Although federal obligation of funds is related to project scheduling, projects may have federal obligations years after project construction is complete due to MaineDOT’s use of federal Advance Construction regulations. For instance, a project that is scheduled for construction in calendar year 2010 may not have any anticipated federal obligations until federal fiscal year 2011 or later. Parties that are interested in construction schedule information are encouraged to contact MaineDOT for project details instead of relying on the obligation schedule information indicated by the STIP. KW - Air quality KW - Construction KW - Federal aid KW - Financing KW - Improvements KW - Transportation planning KW - U.S. Federal Highway Administration KW - U.S. Federal Transit Administration UR - http://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=mdot_docs UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1238112 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465736 TI - Independent Review of Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM) AB - This independent technical review of the assumptions and application of the Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM) should promote confidence in the reasonableness of its assumptions and the estimates it produces of backlog in the State of Good Repair of the nation's transit assets. This review is to consider if the TERM methodology is (1) the best approach to assessing future transit agency capital needs and (2) implemented with appropriate analytical methods and assumptions. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has used TERM as the basis for calculating the national State of Good Repair (SGR) backlog and normal replacement needs in the Rail Modernization Study and in the National State of Good Repair Assessment and for transit projections in the Conditions and Performance report to Congress. The results of TERM calculations are used in developing policies, budgets, and legislative proposals affecting federal financial assistance for purchasing and maintaining transit assets. The project will produce a letter report summarizing the independent assessment of the TERM model and how it is applied in characterizing the condition of transit assets. KW - Asset management KW - Budgeting KW - Capital KW - Federal assistance programs KW - Policy KW - State of good repair KW - Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM) UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233970 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465731 TI - Measuring Congestion Relief Benefits AB - This project seeks a nationally-consistent method for predicting congestion-relief benefits of proposed transit capacity expansion projects. The performance of best-practice forecasting procedures will be tested in selected case study areas to determine (a) the accuracy with which existing procedures predict current traffic volumes and (b) the reasonableness of forecasts of traffic volumes and highway speeds for a major transit alternative that reduces the number of vehicle trips assigned to the current highway network. In evaluating and rating proposed New Starts projects, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is required to consider mobility improvements, including reduction in highway travel times resulting from a transit improvement. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has not yet been able to develop methodologies capable of making reliable, nationally-consistent estimates of project-specific benefits related to congestion relief. This research will examine and test existing forecasting methods and identify those suitable for national application. It will identify a nationally-consistent approach to measure the highway travel time savings from transit improvements and produce a final report. KW - Best practices KW - Highways KW - Networks KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic volume KW - Transit capacity KW - Travel time KW - Vehicle trips UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233965 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465724 TI - Demand-Response vs. Modified Fixed-Route Service for Small Communities AB - This project will study the effectiveness of demand-response transportation versus fixed-route transportation in two rural communities that are similar in geographic area, size, and population. Both communities have a small, intact central business district surrounded by a less densely-populated rural area. This study will compare the return on investment for each mode of service in reference to cost per mile, cost per trip, and cost per hour. The results of these six-month demonstrations will enable decision makers in small communities faced with the need to provide greater public transit services to make more informed choices on how to provide those services. KW - Communities KW - Decision making KW - Demand responsive transportation KW - Fixed route services KW - Public transit KW - Return on investment KW - Rural areas KW - Transportation planning UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233958 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465723 TI - Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Reduction Measures AB - This project will develop a tool comparing incremental cost for incremental reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly for evaluating electric-propulsion vehicle systems. It will generate detailed inventories of GHG emissions for various vehicle types and catalog fuel-energy consumption reductions for various vehicle operational strategies (idling reduction, eco-driving, reduced deadheading, etc.), maintenance activities (tire inflation, rebuild schedules, etc.), and vehicle technologies (auxiliary power units, regenerative braking, gear-shifting algorithms, etc.). This project will propose a methodology for use by transit agencies in comparing GHG emission reductions from various propulsion system technologies available for bus fleet vehicle replacement purchases and rehabilitation, as well as from operational strategies and maintenance activities. Effective GHG-reduction measures can be expected to reduce energy costs. The primary research product will be a user-friendly tool for estimating comparative GHG reductions of various bus propulsion technologies. KW - Buses KW - Energy consumption KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Propulsion KW - Technological innovations KW - Vehicle fleets UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233957 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01457373 AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center TI - Geographic Information Systems Applications for Climate Change Decision-Making Peer Exchange Summary Report, Atlanta, Georgia, September 26-27, 2011 PY - 2011/09 SP - 21p AB - On September 26-27, 2011, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Planning sponsored a 1.5 day peer exchange in Atlanta, Georgia focusing on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to support transportation related climate change decisions. The Atlanta Regional Commission hosted the peer exchange. Participants included staff from the Maine Geological Survey, Maryland State Highway Administration, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sacramento Area Council of Governments, Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, Washington Department of Transportation, FHWA Headquarters, and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. The purpose of the peer exchange was to allow participants to: share their knowledge and experiences with each other; discuss lessons learned and challenges; and Identify ways to improve agencies' abilities to develop and manage GIS/climate change applications, share geospatial data, and support public outreach through GIS technologies. This report provides overviews of the presentations given at the peer exchange and the associated questions and answers. It concludes with a summary of the roundtable discussions. KW - Climate change KW - Geographic information systems KW - Peer exchange KW - State of the practice KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.gis.fhwa.dot.gov/documents/GIS_for_Climate_Change_Proceedings.htm UR - http://www.gis.fhwa.dot.gov/documents/GIS_for_Climate_Change_Proceedings.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1225458 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01456661 AU - Oliva, Michael G AU - Rajek, Gregory AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - An Innovative Focus on Highway Bridge Approach Slabs PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 91p AB - The objective of this study was to quantify the amount of rotation that could develop between an approach slab, after base settlement, and a bridge abutment. A better approach-bridge transition could then be developed by using a ductile concrete to directly connect the approach slab with a bridge deck and lessen or eliminate the annoying “bump” as well as maintenance problems associated with approach slab deterioration. In the future, acceleration bridge construction could then use high quality precast approach slabs directly connected to the bridge with a ductile concrete strip. To quantify the problems associated with approach slabs, particularly cracking and rotations, an extensive analytical study was conducted. Parameters included in the study were: approach slab length, slab material, subgrade soil type, abutment height, and possible settlement trenches that may develop under the slab near its support on the abutment. From the analyses it was concluded that end rotation of the approach slab near the abutment varied depending on geometry of the approach slab, trench and abutment as well as with the stiffness of the soil and concrete used in the analyses. A maximum rotation of 0.0045 radians was computed from the analyses in a situation with a loose soil and a 4 ksi concrete approach slab but 0.002 radians could be used for normal design. KW - Bridge abutments KW - Bridge approaches KW - Bridge design KW - Highway bridges KW - Innovation KW - Precast concrete KW - Settlement (Structures) KW - Slabs UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_CFIRE0310.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1224929 ER - TY - SER AN - 01456589 JO - University of California, Davis. Institute of Transportation Studies. Research report PB - University of California, Davis AU - Morrison, G AU - Stephens, T S AU - University of California, Davis AU - Argonne National Laboratory AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The US Transportation Sector in the Year 2030: Results of a Two-Part Delphi Survey PY - 2011/09 SP - 67p AB - A two-part Delphi Survey was given to transportation experts attending the Asilomar Conference on Transportation and Energy in 2011. The survey asked respondents about trends in the US transportation sector in 2030, including alternative vehicles, high speed rail construction, rail freight transportation, average vehicle miles traveled, truck versus passenger car shares, vehicle fuel economy, and biofuels in different modes. Responses varied considerably, with respondents agreeing most strongly that rail infrastructure in 2030 would be similar to what exists today. Variations in responses reflect the fact that questions addressed complex issues which are subject to many uncertain factors. KW - Alternate fuels KW - Biomass fuels KW - Forecasting KW - Freight trains KW - High speed rail KW - Surveys KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - http://pubs.its.ucdavis.edu/download_pdf.php?id=1494 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1134792 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01448596 AU - Park, Hyun-A AU - Robert, William AU - Spy Pond Partners, LLC AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Asset Management and Safety Peer Exchange - Beyond Pavement and Bridges: Transportation Asset Management with a Focus on Safety PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 60p AB - This report summarizes the proceedings of the Asset Management and Safety Peer Exchange hosted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The peer exchange was held in Cheyenne, WY on August 2, 2011. The peer exchange addressed various aspects of asset management and safety – How can one improve safety performance through better asset management? What are effective ways to manage safety assets? How do agencies plan, prioritize, and budget safety asset needs? Managers from state departments of transportation (DOTs) and FHWA gathered to dialogue on best practices, challenges, and sharing of experiences. KW - Asset management KW - Best practices KW - Budgeting KW - Highway safety KW - Peer exchange KW - State departments of transportation KW - Strategic planning UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/hif12005/hif12005.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1215783 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01446921 AU - Tison, Julie AU - Williams, Allan F AU - Chaudhary, Neil K AU - Nichols, James L AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Preusser Research Group, Incorporated TI - Determining the Relationship of Primary Seat Belt Laws to Minority Ticketing PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 52p AB - Racial profiling is often raised as an issue when States change their seat belt law from secondary enforcement (i.e., stop only for some other violation) to primary enforcement (i.e., stop for an observed belt law violation alone). Thirteen States made this change during the period 2000 to 2009, of which seven did so early enough to allow for comparison of two years of data before the change to two years of data after the law change. Pre- and post- comparisons using fatal crash data demonstrated an overall drop in the number of front-seat occupant fatalities (-8% overall; -7% Caucasian, -11% Minority) and overall increases in belt use, both among Caucasians and minorities (+8 percentage points overall; +9 Caucasian, +5 Minority). Pre- and post- citation data by race were available from four States. Consistent with previous research, all four States showed that the percentage of tickets issued to minorities either stayed the same or decreased slightly from before to after the law change. Hospital discharge data (three States) indicated reductions in crash injury for both Caucasians and minorities. This study found that primary laws were related to gains in seat belt use without evidence of racial profiling associated with changing the law from secondary to primary. KW - Before and after studies KW - Demographics KW - Fatalities KW - Injury rates KW - Minorities KW - Primary seat belt laws KW - Race KW - Seat belt use KW - Seat belts KW - Traffic citations KW - Traffic law enforcement UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811535.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45700/45723/811535.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1214398 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01446919 AU - St Louis, Renee M AU - Mercer, Betty J AU - Eby, David W AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Mercer Consulting Group LLC TI - Documenting How States Recently Upgraded to Primary Seat Belt Laws PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 58p AB - States with primary seat belt enforcement laws consistently have higher observed daytime belt use rates than secondary law States. Secondary belt law States, on the other hand, consistently have more occupant fatalities who were not restrained than primary law States. Since the year 2000, 14 States upgraded their seat belt laws to primary enforcement status. This study documented the roles, strategies, resources, and arguments these States used in efforts to pass primary belt laws. In-depth information was gathered from 10 case study States that passed their laws in 2004 to 2009 (Tennessee, South Carolina, Alaska, Mississippi, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Arkansas, Florida, and Wisconsin). The research team conducted a literature review to provide background on the legislative histories of passing primary safety belt laws and to identify people and topics for subsequent interviews. Over 80 in-depth interviews were conducted with a variety of people who played key roles in the process of upgrading to primary enforcement to identify successful strategies, describe concerns from the opposition, and outline approaches used to overcome these concerns. Each of the 10 case study States was unique in terms of the approach used to pass a primary belt law, but there were common efforts and themes among them. Issues that were important in passing a primary seat belt law included: understanding that passing a primary law is a multiyear effort involving a broad-based network of organizations and individuals working in the unique political situation in the State; identifying and effectively responding to opposition arguments; maximizing awareness of the availability of Section 406 Safety Belt Performance Grants, a portion of which could be used for highway and infrastructure projects; using paid lobbyists to provide information and address concerns of legislators; engaging the media to enlist and report on public support; presenting the bill in terms of a public health issue to save lives, reduce injuries, and reduce State medical expenditures; and using a variety of legislative techniques. The top two opposition concerns were intrusion of government on personal freedoms and racial profiling. Advocates addressed these concerns by pointing out that a primary law simply changed how an existing State belt law was enforced, making it like all other traffic violations; bringing in experts on race, public health, and law enforcement, showing how increasing belt use would result in significant health care savings and save lives; and by separating the issue of primary enforcement from racial profiling. Many brought in minority groups, universities, and medical communities to discuss primary belt laws in public health terms and some included separate legislation to address racial profiling concerns. KW - Case studies KW - Interviews KW - Laws and legislation KW - Literature reviews KW - Primary seat belt laws KW - Seat belt usage KW - Strategic planning KW - Traffic law enforcement UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811524.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45700/45724/811524.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1214401 ER - TY - SER AN - 01446045 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Leng, Zhen AU - Al-Qadi, Imad AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Tollway AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Comparative Life Cycle Assessment between Warm SMA and Conventional SMA PY - 2011/09 IS - 11-090 SP - 24p AB - This report presents the comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) between warm stone mastic asphalt (SMA) and conventional SMA. Specifically, the study evaluated and compared the life cycle environmental and economic performances of two mixtures: a warm SMA binder course mixture with a chemical additive and a control hot SMA binder course mixture. Both of these mixtures were utilized as part of a complete overlay project on the Veterans Memorial Expressway (I-355) near Chicago as part of the Illinois Tollway system. The results of this study indicate that the warm SMA provides significant environmental benefits compared to the control hot SMA. When the mixing temperature was decreased from 325 to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (168 to 138 Celsius), the overall environmental impact of the material, production, transportation, and placement was reduced by 6.4% due to the use of warm mix additive. More environmental benefits can be expected if the mixing temperature is further lowered. It was also concluded that using warm mix additive slightly increases the initial construction cost of SMA pavement. However, the warm SMA overlay allows for traffic to be opened earlier, so the user cost caused by traffic delay is reduced, and the total economic cost of the warm SMA is lower than that of the control SMA. In addition, the warm SMA allows for the use of a higher percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) because of less binder aging. With a 10% increase in RAP usage, the initial construction cost of the warm SMA becomes 3.5% lower than that of the control SMA. The overall performances of the control SMA and the warm SMA were compared by calculating a weighted environmental and economic score and the total cost (environmental, agency, and user costs). Both the weighted score and total cost data show that the warm SMA provides better overall performance compared to the control SMA. Therefore, besides being more environmentally friendly, the warm SMA is also economically competitive compared to the control SMA. This study did not include the cost benefits of the warm SMA due to an extended paving season and longer hauling distance because these benefits are difficult to quantify. In addition, the warm SMA may reduce the risk of poor compaction during construction, which ensures long-term pavement performance, and therefore saves costs related to maintenance and rehabilitation. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Bituminous binders KW - Economic analysis KW - Environmental impact analysis KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Illinois Tollway KW - Life cycle analysis KW - Stone matrix asphalt KW - Warm mix paving mixtures UR - http://www.ict.illinois.edu/Publications/report%20files/ICT-11-090.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45700/45766/ICT-11-090.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1212516 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01444849 AU - Ziegler, Francis G AU - Butts, Linda AU - Nelson, Mark AU - Mongeon, Karin AU - North Dakota Department of Transportation AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Highway Safety Plan: Federal Fiscal Year 2012 PY - 2011/09 SP - 55p AB - In 2010, 105 people died on North Dakota roads. This is fewer fatalities than 2009, when the state experienced 140 fatalities--the most motor vehicle crash fatalities in the state since 1982. North Dakota has been ranked consistently as one of the safest states in the nation and strives to maintain this distinction through effective traffic safety programs. The number of motor vehicle fatalities each year in North Dakota has dropped from a high of 227 in 1971 to 105 in 2010. The fatality rate has reflected a decrease from 5.73 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel (VMT) in 1971 to 1.26 deaths per 100 million VMT in 2010. Historically (dating back to 1979), North Dakota's motor vehicle fatality rate had been consistently lower than the national fatality rate. But, twenty years later, in 1999, the state's fatality rate crept beyond the national rate and again in recent years (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010). This document includes a review of the states performance plan, measures, and goals in implementing and administering their highway safety plan. KW - Administration KW - Crash rates KW - Fatalities KW - Highway safety KW - Implementation KW - North Dakota KW - Safety management KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.dot.nd.gov/divisions/safety/docs/2012-HSP-Final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1212413 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01383591 AU - Blower, Daniel AU - Matteson, Anne AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of 2009 New York Crash Data Reported to the MCMIS Crash File PY - 2011/09//Special Report SP - 42p AB - This report is part of a series evaluating the data reported to the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Crash File undertaken by the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The earlier studies showed that reporting to the MCMIS Crash File was incomplete. This report examines the factors that are associated with reporting rates for the State of New York. MCMIS Crash File records were matched to the New York crash file to determine the nature and extent of underreporting. Because all levels of the MCMIS crash file reporting criteria could not be applied, the evaluation of reporting completeness was restricted to crashes that involved either a fatality or an injury transported for immediate medical attention. Of these crashes, an estimated 36.7 percent were properly reported. Reporting rates were found to be related to crash severity and the configuration of the vehicle. Over 82 percent of fatal crash involvements were reported, but only 34.6 percent of injury/transported involvements. Crashes in which a vehicle was towed due to disabling damage could not be identified in the New York crash data supplied, so reporting rates for that subset cannot be estimated. Trucks were reported at a slightly higher rate than buses. Large trucks, especially truck tractors, were reported at a higher rate than smaller trucks. Missing data rates are low for most variables. Corresponding data elements in the MCMIS and New York crash files were quite consistent, though specific problems were noted with respect to one truck configuration. The timeliness of reporting was good, with about 91 percent of records submitted to the MCMIS file within 90 days of the crash. KW - Bus crashes KW - Crash data KW - Crash records KW - Crash severity KW - Fatalities KW - Missing data KW - Motor Carrier Management Information System Crash File KW - New York (State) KW - Traffic crashes KW - Truck crashes KW - Underreporting UR - http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89602/1/102794.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1147896 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01376243 AU - Littleton, Paul AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Wisconsin Demonstration Project: Multiple Bridge Reconstruction on WIS 25 Across the Mississippi River PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 46p AB - As part of a national initiative sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration under the Highways for LIFE program, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) was awarded a $1 million grant to demonstrate the use of proven, innovative technologies to deliver a $12.5 million project in less time than conventional construction. This report discusses the use of multiple temporary bypass bridges to facilitate the reconstruction of a series of existing bridges. Through the use of bypass bridges to keep traffic flowing at minimal delay and at greater worker and public safety than traditional construction methods, this project surpassed the Highways for LIFE goals of fast, safe, and efficient reconstruction of structurally deficient bridges in an environmentally sensitive wetland. The bypasses enhanced the durability of the finished bridges by allowing for monolithic deck construction, which eliminated the longitudinal deck joint associated with traditional staged construction methods. This project also included innovations such as open pile bents, high performance concrete (HPC), precast bridge elements, and specially designed approach aprons, all of which added to the quality of the bridges. The construction time was reduced by 45 percent compared to traditional staged construction. In addition, an estimated $3.6 million was saved in the total costs of construction, user delay, and safety costs, with the bulk of the savings attributed to minimizing delay costs. In other words, the innovations used in this project had a 29 percent cost benefit over traditional methods. While not meeting every HfL goal, the innovations demonstrated on the project are a step forward for WisDOT in terms of implementing future bridge projects where multiple temporary bypass bridges can by utilized to increase safety, increase quality, and save time and money. KW - Bridge construction KW - Bridge members KW - Bypasses KW - High performance concrete KW - Precast concrete KW - Reconstruction KW - Temporary KW - Wisconsin UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdfs/wi.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1143903 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01376119 AU - Yin, Weihao AU - Murray-Tuite, Pamela AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Falls Church AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Estimation and Prediction of Origin-Destination Matrices for I-66 PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 62p AB - This project uses the Box-Jenkins time-series technique to model and forecast the traffic flows and then uses the flow forecasts to predict the origin-destination matrices. First, a detailed analysis was conducted to investigate the best data correction method. Four spatial correction procedures were examined for non-incident related detector data. The first approach, temporal correction, exploited the inherent temporal trend of historical traffic. The spatial correction based on linear regression (LR) - a proposed modification of a previous approach - uses the relationship between the individual detector flow and station flow. The third approach proposed in this study is also a spatial correction method. A unique feature of the proposed spatial correction procedure was incorporation of lane use percentage into the correction process through kernel regression (KR). As a comparison benchmark, the correction method based on lane distribution (LD) developed by previous researchers was included as the fourth method. To comprehensively compare the correction procedures, both systematic evaluation and random-error evaluation were conducted. After the results of systematic evaluation were analyzed, it was found that adaption was needed for the KR and LD approaches. Specifically, the individual lane flows provided by the detectors on particular general purpose lanes produced more accurate estimates. The two correction procedures (kernel regression and lane distribution) were revised in light of this finding and their station flow estimates were compared to those of the temporal correction and the LR approach at five error levels, which was considered as the random-error evaluation. KW - Driver information systems KW - Dynamic traffic assignment KW - Origin and destination KW - Real time information KW - Traffic control centers KW - Traffic estimation KW - Travel patterns UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/VT-2009-02.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1142247 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01375834 AU - Carpenter, Michael G AU - Feldmann, Michael AU - Fornari, Thomas M AU - Moury, M Todd AU - Walker, Christopher D AU - Zwicky, Timothy D AU - Kiger, Steven M AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Objective Tests for Automatic Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) Systems, Final Report, Volume 1 of 2 PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 150p 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 Imminent Crash Automatic Braking Systems.” Participating companies in the CIB Consortium were Continental, Delphi Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz. The purpose of this project was to attempt to define minimum performance requirements and objective tests for crash imminent braking systems and to assess the potential benefits of various system configurations and performance capabilities. KW - Automatic braking KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Performance KW - Performance tests KW - Traffic safety UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811521.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1142274 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01369580 AU - Thomas, Gary B AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Fundamentals of Video Over IP and Systems Engineering: Workshop Materials PY - 2011/09 SP - n.p. AB - This is a one-day workshop on the fundamentals of video over internet protocol (IP) and how the systems engineering process can be used to develop and implement such projects. It was developed as a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) implementation project for TxDOT project 0-5942 (Development of a Video Over IP Guidebook). KW - Highway traffic control KW - Systems engineering KW - Video technology UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-5942-01-P1.zip UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1138291 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01368809 AU - Ghosn, Michel AU - Sivakumar, Bala AU - Miao, Feng AU - City College of New York of the City University of New York AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) in NYS: Volume I PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 170p AB - This report develops a Load and Resistance Factor Rating (NYS-LRFR) methodology for New York bridges. The methodology is applicable for the rating of existing bridges, the posting of under-strength bridges, and checking Permit trucks. The proposed LRFR methodology is calibrated to provide uniform reliability index values for all applications. The reliability calibration of live load factors is based on live load models developed using Truck Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) data collected from several representative New York sites. The live load models provide statistical projections of the maximum live load effects expected on New York bridges. A new set of NYS Legal Trucks along with appropriate live load factors are proposed for performing Operating Level Ratings of existing bridges. Permit load factors are calibrated for unlimited crossings of divisible loads as well as single crossings and unlimited crossings of non-divisible loads. An equation is proposed for determining Posting weight limits for bridges with low Rating Factors as a function of the effective span length. It is proposed that different posting weights be imposed for single unit trucks and semi-trailer trucks. KW - Bearing capacity KW - Bridges KW - Live loads KW - Load and resistance factor design KW - New York (State) KW - Reliability index KW - Trucks KW - Weigh in motion UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/44000/44400/44422/C-06-13__vol_1_Final_Report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46700/46735/Final-Report-Load-and-Resistance-Volume1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1137350 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01368591 AU - Gonzalez, Epigmenio AU - Liu, Wenxing AU - Murphy, Mike AU - O'Connor, James T AU - Bhat, Chandra R AU - Yildirim, Yetkin AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Literature Review of Current Practices in Dealing with Fluctuations of Maintenance Budgets PY - 2011/09//Technical Report SP - 25p AB - A literature review was conducted to investigate current budget cutting strategies used in routine roadway maintenance planning, including methods and techniques that are employed by other state and international transportation organizations. Methods that quantify impact and increased risk factors from the reduction of routine maintenance activities were investigated. Methods developed based upon previous research were tabulated and evaluated by objective criteria such as cost savings, resource savings, and road user/stakeholder satisfaction. The researchers reviewed the data and identified the most effective risk analysis techniques, which served as the basis for the maintenance risk modeling under this project. KW - Budgeting KW - Highway maintenance KW - Impacts KW - Literature reviews KW - Risk analysis UR - http://www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf_reports/0_6623_1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1137207 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01368089 AU - Mahmoud, Khaled M AU - Bridge Technology Consulting (BTC) AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - New York State Bridge Authority AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - BTC Method for Evaluation of Remaining Strength and Service Life of Bridge Cables PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 93p AB - This report presents the BTC method; a comprehensive state-of-the-art methodology for evaluation of remaining strength and residual life of bridge cables. The BTC method is a probability-based, proprietary, patented, and peer-reviewed methodology, which applies to parallel and helical; either zinc-coated or bright wire of suspension and cable-stayed bridge cables. The BTC method includes random sampling without regard to wire appearance, mechanical testing of wires, determining the probability of broken and cracked wires, evaluating ultimate strength of cracked wires employing fracture mechanics principles and utilizing the above data to assess remaining strength in each investigated length of the cable. The probabilistic-based BTC method forecasts remaining service life of the cable by determining the rate of growth in broken and cracked wires proportions detected over a time frame, measuring the rate of change of fracture toughness over same time frame, and applying the rates of change to a strength degradation prediction model. The BTC method provides sensitivity analysis to identify the key inputs, which influence the estimated cable strength and assist decision-making process. The report describes the application of BTC method at Mid-Hudson Bridge in Highland, New York, conducted by Bridge Technology Consulting (BTC), under a joint contract with New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA). The BTC method has been peer-reviewed by MTA Bridges & Tunnels, NYSDOT and NYSBA. To date, the BTC method has been applied to evaluate cable strength at the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and Mid-Hudson Bridge, in the state of New York, USA. KW - Bridge cables KW - Bridge wire KW - Fracture mechanics KW - New York (State) KW - Probability KW - Service life KW - State of the art KW - Steel wire KW - Strength of materials KW - Structural health monitoring UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-07-11_final%20report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136593 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367863 AU - Ahmed-Zaid, F AU - Bai, F AU - Bai, S AU - Basnayake, C AU - Bellur, B AU - Brovold, S AU - Brown, G AU - Caminiti, L AU - Cunningham, D AU - Elzein, H AU - Hong, K AU - Ivan, J AU - Jiang, D AU - Kenney, J AU - Krishnan, H AU - Lovell, J AU - Maile, M AU - Masselink, D AU - McGlohon, E AU - Mudalige, P AU - Popovic, Z AU - Rai, V AU - Stinnett, J AU - Tellis, L AU - Tirey, K AU - VanSickle, S AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Final Report: Appendix Volume 3 Security PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 682p AB - The Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Project was a three-year project (December 2006 - December 2009) to develop and test communications-based vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety systems to determine if Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz, in combination with vehicle positioning, can improve upon autonomous vehicle-based safety systems and/or enable new communications-based safety applications. The VSC-A Project was conducted by the Vehicle Safety Communications 2 Consortium (VSC2). Members of VSC2 are Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Honda R & D Americas, Inc., Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. This document presents the third volume set of appendices for the Final Report of the VSC-A Project which contains technical content for the Security Protocols and Implementation Results, Security Network Simulations, and Analysis of Infrastructure and Communications Requirements for V2V PKI Security Management. KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Global Positioning System KW - Highway safety KW - Security KW - Vehicle safety KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811492D.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136550 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367862 AU - Ahmed-Zaid, F AU - Bai, F AU - Bai, S AU - Basnayake, C AU - Bellur, B AU - Brovold, S AU - Brown, G AU - Caminiti, L AU - Cunningham, D AU - Elzein, H AU - Hong, K AU - Ivan, J AU - Jiang, D AU - Kenney, J AU - Krishnan, H AU - Lovell, J AU - Maile, M AU - Masselink, D AU - McGlohon, E AU - Mudalige, P AU - Popovic, Z AU - Rai, V AU - Stinnett, J AU - Tellis, L AU - Tirey, K AU - VanSickle, S AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Final Report: Appendix Volume 2 Communications and Positioning PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 339p AB - The Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Project was a three-year project (December 2006 - December 2009) to develop and test communications-based vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety systems to determine if Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz, in combination with vehicle positioning, can improve upon autonomous vehicle-based safety systems and/or enable new communications-based safety applications. The VSC-A Project was conducted by the Vehicle Safety Communications 2 Consortium (VSC2). Members of VSC2 are Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Honda R & D Americas, Inc., Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. This document presents the second volume set of appendices for the Final Report of the VSC-A Project which contains technical content for the Communications Power Testing, Multi-Channel Operations, Relative Positioning Software Performance Analysis, GPS Service Availability Study Literature Review and Final Report, and Multiple-OBE Scalability Testing Results. KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Global Positioning System KW - Highway safety KW - Vehicle safety KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811492C.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136548 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367861 AU - Jenness, James W AU - Jenkins, Frank AU - Zador, Paul AU - Westat AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Motorcycle Conspicuity and the Effect of Fleet DRL: Analysis of Two-Vehicle Fatal Crashes in Canada and the United States 2001-2007 PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 40p AB - This study involved testing the Fleet DRL Hypothesis that widespread use of daytime running lights (DRL) among the motor vehicle fleet is associated with an increased risk for certain types of multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that the conspicuity of motorcycles (which normally run with their headlamp illuminated all the time) is effectively reduced during the daytime when a high proportion of other vehicles have DRL illuminated. To test the hypothesis, crash data from Canada where DRL use was mandatory were compared to crash data from 24 northern U.S. states where DRL use was not mandatory and fleet penetration of DRL was modest. Crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the period of 2001 – 2007 were compared to fatal crash data from the Canadian National Collision Data Base (NCDB) for the same years. Crash scenarios that were plausibly relevant to frontal conspicuity of the involved vehicles were defined as DRL-relevant. The proportion of DRL-relevant crashes was modeled by country, year, and whether the crash involved a motorcycle. The authors fit separate models for crash data that occurred in four groups defined by time of day (Day, Night) and location (Rural, Urban) of the crash. The results supported seven of ten predictions indicating that the Fleet DRL Hypothesis may be true for urban roadways (but may not be true for rural roadways). These results support the Fleet DRL Hypothesis for urban roadways, that widespread use of DRL in the vehicle fleet increases the relative crash risk for certain types of motorcycles crashes. This conclusion should be interpreted cautiously in light of the limitations of the analysis approach. KW - Canada KW - Daytime running lamps KW - Fatalities KW - Motorcycle crashes KW - Motorcycles KW - Rural highways KW - United States KW - Urban highways KW - Visibility UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811505.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136542 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367860 AU - Ahmed-Zaid, F AU - Bai, F AU - Bai, S AU - Basnayake, C AU - Bellur, B AU - Brovold, S AU - Brown, G AU - Caminiti, L AU - Cunningham, D AU - Elzein, H AU - Hong, K AU - Ivan, J AU - Jiang, D AU - Kenney, J AU - Krishnan, H AU - Lovell, J AU - Maile, M AU - Masselink, D AU - McGlohon, E AU - Mudalige, P AU - Popovic, Z AU - Rai, V AU - Stinnett, J AU - Tellis, L AU - Tirey, K AU - VanSickle, S AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Final Report PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 102p AB - The Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Project was a three-year project (December 2006 - December 2009) to develop and test communications-based vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety systems to determine if Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz, in combination with vehicle positioning, can improve upon autonomous vehicle-based safety systems and/or enable new communications-based safety applications. The VSC-A Project was conducted by the Vehicle Safety Communications 2 Consortium (VSC2). Members of VSC2 are Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Honda R & D Americas, Inc., Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. This document presents the final report of the VSC-A Project. KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Global Positioning System KW - Highway safety KW - Vehicle safety KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811492A.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136544 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367859 AU - Ahmed-Zaid, F AU - Bai, F AU - Bai, S AU - Basnayake, C AU - Bellur, B AU - Brovold, S AU - Brown, G AU - Caminiti, L AU - Cunningham, D AU - Elzein, H AU - Hong, K AU - Ivan, J AU - Jiang, D AU - Kenney, J AU - Krishnan, H AU - Lovell, J AU - Maile, M AU - Masselink, D AU - McGlohon, E AU - Mudalige, P AU - Popovic, Z AU - Rai, V AU - Stinnett, J AU - Tellis, L AU - Tirey, K AU - VanSickle, S AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Final Report: Appendix Volume 1 System Design and Objective Test PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 276p AB - The Vehicle Safety Communications – Applications (VSC-A) Project was a three-year project (December 2006 - December 2009) to develop and test communications-based vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety systems to determine if Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz, in combination with vehicle positioning, can improve upon autonomous vehicle-based safety systems and/or enable new communications-based safety applications. The VSC-A Project was conducted by the Vehicle Safety Communications 2 Consortium (VSC2). Members of VSC2 are Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Honda R & D Americas, Inc., Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. This document presents the first volume set of appendices for the Final Report of the VSC-A Project which contains technical content for the DSRC+Positioning and Autonomous Safety System Analysis, Test Bed System Development, Path History Reference Design and Test Results, Minimum Performance Requirements, Objective Test Procedures and Plan, and Objective Testing Results. KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Global Positioning System KW - Highway safety KW - System design KW - Vehicle safety KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811492B.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136547 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367858 AU - Pierowicz, John AU - Gawron, Valerie AU - Wilson, Glenn AU - Bisantz, Amy AU - Calspan Corporation AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The Effects of Motor Vehicle Fleet Daytime Running Lights (DRL) on Motorcycle Conspicuity PY - 2011/09//Final Technical Report SP - 77p AB - As a group, motorcyclists experience a high fatality rate, a significant number of which are attributable to right-of-way violations by other drivers. One factor behind the high crash rate is insufficient conspicuity of motorcycles, which is now of greater concern because of the increasing use of Daytime Running Lights (DRL) in the vehicle fleet. The hypothesis is that the additional lights on all vehicles will degrade the conspicuity of the previously unique DRL signal used by motorcycles. The main goal of the current study was to evaluate the effects of motorcycle conspicuity treatments on other drivers’ left turn gap acceptance. This study was comprised of three phases. In Phase 1, a test track study measured participants’ left turn gap judgment as a function of motorcycle DRL treatments. This study was designed to determine which treatments yielded the largest gaps, thereby making that treatment a good candidate for the on-road portion. No treatment was clearly better, so lighting systems currently in use on motorcycles were selected for the on-road study. In Phase 2, an on-road study measured gap acceptance, then followed up with intercept surveys of observed drivers. This phase included data collection in the United States (low fleet DRL use) and Canada (high fleet DRL use) in order to evaluate the effect of DRL use in the vehicle fleet. However, due to concerns about the comparability of the U.S. and Canadian data, the results are inconclusive, and additional research is suggested. In Phase 3, motorcycle side conspicuity treatments (retro-reflectors and marker lamp) were compared. Results indicated that there were no differences in detection distance between the treatments. KW - Canada KW - Daytime running lamps KW - Gap acceptance KW - Left turns KW - Motorcycles KW - Retroreflectors KW - Right of way (Traffic) KW - Traffic violations KW - United States KW - Vehicle lighting KW - Visibility UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811504.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136539 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367801 AU - Carpenter, Michael G AU - Feldmann, Michael AU - Fornari, Thomas M AU - Moury, M Todd AU - Walker, Christopher D AU - Zwicky, Timothy D AU - Kiger, Steven M AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Objective Tests for Imminent Crash Automatic Braking Systems, Final Report, Volume 1 of 2 PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 150p 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 Imminent Crash Automatic Braking Systems.” Participating companies in the CIB Consortium were Continental, Delphi Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz. The purpose of this project was to attempt to define minimum performance requirements and objective tests for crash imminent braking systems and to assess the potential benefits of various system configurations and performance capabilities. KW - Automatic braking KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Performance KW - Performance tests UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811521.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136511 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367800 AU - Carpenter, Michael G AU - Feldmann, Michael AU - Fornari, Thomas M AU - Moury, M Todd AU - Walker, Christopher D AU - Zwicky, Timothy D AU - Kiger, Steven M AU - Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Objective Tests for Automatic Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) Systems, Appendices, Volume 2 of 2 PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 271p AB - These are the appendices to the report that documents the work completed by the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) Consortium during the project titled “Objective Tests for Imminent Crash Automatic Braking Systems.” Participating companies in the CIB Consortium were Continental, Delphi Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz. The purpose of this project was to attempt to define minimum performance requirements and objective tests for crash imminent braking systems and to assess the potential benefits of various system configurations and performance capabilities. KW - Automatic braking KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Performance KW - Performance tests UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2011/811521A.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136512 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367574 AU - Cooner, Scott A AU - Ranft, Stephen E AU - Zimmerman, Carol AU - Battelle AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - An Agency Guide on Overcoming Unique Challenges to Localized Congestion Reduction Projects PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 56p AB - FHWA’s Localized Bottleneck Reduction Initiative (LBR) program focuses attention on mitigating the operational causes of recurring congestion “hot spots” (i.e., traffic bottlenecks) at ramps, merges, lane drops, intersections, weaves, etc. One of the efforts of the LBR program is to encourage agencies to adopt a defined, “named” annualized spot-congestion program in the same manner that they might have an annualized spot-safety program for high crash locations. This document was developed to provide guidance to state and local transportation personnel on how to overcome barriers and challenges to implementation of localized congestion relief projects. It presents and describes examples of institutional, design, funding and safety challenges that agencies face when trying to develop unique solutions to localized congestion problems. The main questions that this guidance helps an agency address are: 1. What are the most common barriers and challenges with addressing localized congestion problems? 2. What are some case study examples that highlight how barriers and challenges were overcome? 3. What are some of the key factors in successful implementation of localized bottleneck projects? The document also presents nine detailed case studies of projects and programs that illustrate how to overcome common barriers and challenges. The case studies were chosen to highlight agencies that have implemented effective projects in a unique and praiseworthy fashion. The final section provides some high-level guidance and practical ideas on how to implement successful solutions to localized congestion problems based on experience and information gathered during this project. KW - Bottlenecks KW - Congestion management systems KW - Implementation KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic mitigation UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop11034/fhwahop11034.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136260 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367392 AU - Yi, Qi AU - Salehi, Yasamin AU - Wang, Yubian AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Investigate Existing Non-Intrusive (NII) Technologies for Port Cargo Inspections PY - 2011/09 SP - 62p AB - The quantity of cargo handled by United States ports has increased significantly in recent years. Based on 2004 data, almost 2.7 billion tons of cargo passed through the ports in one year. To protect the U.S., all of this cargo must be inspected by U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP) officials in the most effective manner possible. Existing non-intrusive inspection (NII) technologies have significant strengths, but they also have some weaknesses, such as a low detection rate and a long inspection time. Fortunately, there are newer and more advanced technologies that can be used to inspect cargo with higher accuracy and less delay. The goal of this research was to identify the most effective and efficient combination of NII technologies for inspecting cargo arriving at U.S. ports. For this purpose, a discrete-event simulation model was developed to simulate the cargo inspection procedure. By simulating the operations of different combinations of NII technologies, the effectiveness and efficiency of the various combinations were evaluated. This information was used to provide recommendations about the most effective and efficient combinations of NII technologies for detecting a wide range of contraband. The results of this research are helpful in making decisions concerning the appropriate choices of NII technologies for use in inspecting cargo that is entering U.S. ports. KW - Decision making KW - Freight security KW - Inspection KW - Non-intrusive detectors KW - Ports KW - Simulation KW - Technological innovations KW - United States UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161042-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136115 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367390 AU - Zhou, Xue AU - Damnjanovic, Ivan D AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Managing Commodity Risks in Highway Contracts: Quantifying Premiums, Accounting for Correlations Among Risk Factors, and Designing Optimal Price-adjustment Contracts PY - 2011/09 SP - 174p AB - It is a well-known fact that macro-economic conditions, such as prices of commodities (e.g. oil, cement and steel) affect the cost of construction projects. In a volatile market environment, highway agencies often pass such risk to contractors using fixed-price contracts. In turn, the contractors respond by adding premiums in bid prices. If the contractors overprice the risk, the price of fixed-price contract could exceed the price of the contract with adjustment clauses. Consequently, highway agencies have opportunity to design a contract that not only reduces the future risk of exposure, but also reduces the initial contract price. The main goal of this report is to investigate the impact of commodity price risk on construction cost and the optimal risk hedging of such risks using price adjustment clauses. More specifically, the objective of the report is to develop models that can help highway agencies manage commodity price risks. In this report, weighted least square regression model is used to estimate the risk premium; both univariate and vector time series models are estimated and applied to simulate changes in commodity prices over time, including the effect of correlation; while genetic algorithm is used as a solution approach to a multiobjective optimization formulation. The data set used in this report consists of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) bidding data, market-based data including New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) future options data, and Engineering News-Record (ENR) material cost index data. The results of this report suggest that the optimal risk mitigation actions are conditional on owners’ risk preferences, correlation among the prices of commodities, and volatility of the market. KW - Commodities KW - Construction costs KW - Contracts KW - Genetic algorithms KW - Materials KW - Mathematical models KW - Price adjustment KW - Prices KW - Risk management KW - Road construction UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161104-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136111 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367388 AU - Price, Anthony AU - Goodwin, Gwendolyn C AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Senior Automobile Crashes and Fatalities in Texas: Are Older Texas Drivers Safe? PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 35p AB - Many factors can contribute to a senior being involved in a traffic accident, i.e., poor vision, declining health, roadway hazards, and declining driving skills, etc. Throughout the U.S., laws are being enacted to ensure that seniors can continue driving without harming themselves or the general public. Katie’s Law (H.B. 84) represents an attempt to make roadways safer for senior drivers in Texas. Katie’s Law requires that elderly persons age 79 and over must renew their licenses in person at Department of Safety offices. This study examines data from Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) accident records during 2003-2008, to determine if enacting Katie’s law resulted in a decrease in senior fatalities. Finally, the study ends by looking at additional senior friendly transportation initiatives. KW - Aged drivers KW - Crash causes KW - Driver licensing KW - Fatalities KW - State laws KW - Texas KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00049-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136112 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367385 AU - Carroll, Todd AU - Walton, C Michael AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Opportunities and Challenges for High-Speed Rail Corridors in Texas PY - 2011/09//Research Report SP - 189p AB - Texas features a growing economy and population. The state boasts a large and well-developed network of roads, freight railroads, and air facilities, which make the state a vital link in the movement of people and goods. However, as the state continues to grow in population and economic significance, these systems are straining to meet state, national, and even global needs. It is increasingly obvious to residents and state officials that Texas should consider implementing alternative modes of transport, including development of passenger rail, for which Texas currently lags behind many of its peer states. Passenger rail provides quantifiable benefits in displacing less energy-efficient and higher pollutant-emitting air and automobile modes while generating potential positive economic impacts and enhancing consumer choice and multimodalism. Conveniently, renewed national interest in rail has invigorated research measuring the applicability of passenger rail services to many different regions of the United States, with the possibility that future national transportation visions will include passenger rail as an essential element. This thesis seeks to clarify the potential for passenger rail specifically in Texas through comparison and contrast with other regions and nations in the midst of new national-level knowledge and the changing transportation opportunities and challenges facing the state. Some of the ideal characteristics of successful international passenger systems exist in Texas, including optimal city spacing and a well-established rail network, which have fueled ongoing interest demonstrated by various system proposals for high-speed intercity transportation in Texas over the last four decades. Despite these characteristics, the state presents a number of barriers to rail transport rooted in low transit use coupled with generally lower density and ambivalent support from politicians and residents when officials present realities of eminent domain and land use changes. However, with revitalized national rail interest and new federal rail planning requirements, the state may yet be able to work through these challenges to exploit the opportunities the state possesses. KW - Barriers to implementation KW - Eminent domain KW - High speed rail KW - Land use planning KW - Passenger rail services KW - Texas KW - Transportation planning UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00076-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136113 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367382 AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - 2008 & 2009 Statistical Summaries: Federal Transit Administration Grant Assistance Programs PY - 2011/09 SP - 356p AB - This report provides information about the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA's) major financial aid programs for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 and 2009. The report covers the following programs: Urbanized Area Formula, Non-urbanized Area Formula, Rural Transit Assistance Program, Special Needs for Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities, Capital, Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program, Alternative Analysis, Interstate Substitution, Job Access and Reverse Commute, New Freedom, Over-the-Road Bus, Clean Fuels, Metropolitan Transportation Planning, Statewide Transportation Planning, Consolidated Planning Grants, Emergency Supplemental funding, and State Infrastructure Banks. The data used in this report are compiled from the capital, operating, and planning assistance grants to transit authorities, states, planning agencies, and other units of local government and eligible recipients. KW - Federal assistance programs KW - Financing KW - Grant aid KW - Public transit KW - Statistics KW - U.S. Federal Transit Administration UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136126 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367381 AU - Kim, Seok AU - Damnjanovic, Ivan AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Developing Infrastructure for Interconnecting Transportation Network and Electric Grid PY - 2011/09//Research Report SP - 121p AB - This report is primarily focused on the development of mathematical models that can be used to support decisions regarding a charging station location and installation problem. The major parts of developing the models included identification of the problem, development of mathematical models in the form of bilevel and stochastic programming problems, and development of a solution approach using a meta-heuristic method. The plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) parking building problem was formulated as a bilevel programming problem in order to consider interaction between transportation flow and a manager's decisions, while the charging station installation problem was formulated as a stochastic programming problem in order to consider uncertainty in parameters. In order to find the best-quality solution, a genetic algorithm method was used because the formulation problems are NP-hard. In addition, the Monte Carlo bounding method was used to solve the stochastic program with continuous distributions. The results of this study provide managerial implications for developers and operators of parking buildings. KW - Decision support systems KW - Electric power supply KW - Electric vehicle charging KW - Genetic algorithms KW - Infrastructure KW - Location KW - Mathematical models KW - Monte Carlo method KW - Parking facilities KW - Plug-in hybrid vehicles KW - Stochastic programming UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161006-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136114 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01367172 AU - Brown, Rebecca Nelson AU - Gorres, Joseph AU - Sawyer, Carl AU - University of Rhode Island, Kingston AU - Rhode Island Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of Salt Tolerant Grasses for Roadside Use PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 58p AB - Roadsides in Rhode Island and elsewhere are planted to mowed turfgrass in order to prevent erosion, improve aesthetics, maintain visibility, and provide a safe means of stopping errant vehicles. However, there are a number of ways in which mowed turfgrass is failing to meet the expectations of highway managers and the traveling public. Regular mowing and turf maintenance is expensive. Use of non-native plants has resulted in problems with invasive species. Most importantly, the seeded turfgrasses are not surviving in the roadside environment and so are failing to prevent erosion. Solving this problem requires answering two questions: why are the seeded turfgrasses dying and how can this be fixed given severe limitations on funding? The purpose of this study was to seek answers to the first question, and then generate possible solutions to the second. The initial hypothesis was that high levels of deicing salt were responsible for the damage. This hypothesis was tested by establishing test plots of 21 grass varieties selected for tolerance to salt in the high-salt zone at two locations: I-95 North in Hopkinton, and I-295 North in Lincoln. The grass variety trial was combined with a test of two potential low-cost soil amendments: yard waste compost and biosolids. Salt deposition was monitored over two winters at six sites to determine how much salt the grass was being exposed to, and how long the salt persisted in the root zone. Persistence is important because the grass is more sensitive to salt damage when it is actively growing (April-October) than during the winter months. At the same time, the vegetation on established, mowed roadsides was surveyed to determine which plant species were surviving, as these might be good candidates for inclusion in a modified seed mix. It was found that salt tolerant grasses showed no improvement in survival over the grass varieties already in use, even though the salt tolerant grasses had shown significantly better survival in greenhouse salt screening trials. This suggested that the salt was not the primary cause of vegetation failure; the finding that the salt did not persist in the root zone at levels high enough to cause plant damage past early April further supported this hypothesis. Soil amendment, however, had a dramatic effect on turfgrass survival. Perennial vegetation cover on plots amended with biosolids remained above 50% throughout the two-year study, and beyond. At the beginning of this study it was assumed that most of the vegetation surviving on mowed roadsides was the turfgrasses seeded by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) or weeds such as quack grass, sheep sorrel, and crab grass. However, in surveys of seven sites in mowed areas along limited access highways in Rhode Island the authors found a total of 80 plant species, approximately half of which are native to Rhode Island.. The results suggest that the seed mix used by RIDOT is not persisting on the roadside, but that it is gradually being replaced by native or naturalized species. Reductions in mowing would further this process, as they would permit more of these naturally-occurring plants to mature seed, filling in gaps created by vehicles and other disturbances. KW - Deicing chemicals KW - Grasses KW - Mowing KW - Native plants KW - Rhode Island KW - Roadside flora KW - Soil amendments UR - http://www.dot.state.ri.us/documents/engineering/research/Reports/FHWA-RIDOT-RTD-07-2A.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1135973 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01366319 AU - Pessaro, Brian AU - Van Nostrand, Caleb AU - National Bus Rapid Transit Institute AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Miami Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) Pines Boulevard Transit Signal Priority Evaluation Report PY - 2011/09 SP - 52p AB - The Miami Urban Partnership Agreement included the conversion of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-95 to high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes and additional express bus service. It also included funding for the installation of transit signal prioritization (TSP) at 50 intersections on Pines/Hollywood and Broward Boulevards in Broward County. This report summarizes the findings of TSP data collection on Pines/Hollywood Blvd. from December 2010 to February 2011. The data showed an average time savings of 4 minutes in the AM peak period due to TSP, which amounted to a 12 percent reduction in travel times. On-time performance improved from 66.7 percent to 75 percent. In the PM peak period, the travel time and signal delay were similar with or without the TSP activated. This could be an indication that afternoon traffic volumes on westbound Pines/Hollywood Blvd. are so heavy that TSP is of only marginal benefit. KW - Bus priority KW - Bus transit KW - Evaluation KW - Miami Metropolitan Area KW - Traffic signal preemption KW - Urban areas KW - Urban Partnership Agreements UR - http://www.nbrti.org/docs/pdf/Miami_UPA_FTA_Research_Report_No_0002.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55500/55531/FTA_Research_Report_No_0002.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1134412 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01365479 AU - National Association of Development Organizations AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Transportation Project Prioritization and Performance-based Planning Efforts in Rural and Small Metropolitan Regions PY - 2011/09 SP - 28p AB - In early 2011, the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation conducted a scan of regional planning and development organizations to determine common regional planning activities conducted in nonmetropolitan and small metropolitan areas, as well as how rural regions make decisions about recommendations for investments made through the statewide transportation planning process. This research effort expands upon previous work on transportation planning in small communities and improves knowledge of the state of the practice. With resources for both planning and projects constrained, transportation agencies and policymakers are seeking ways to ensure that investments are appropriate and will provide substantial benefit to their communities and the transportation network. KW - Regional planning KW - Regional transportation KW - Rural areas KW - Small cities KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation planning UR - http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RPOprioritization.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1134249 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01364048 AU - Martin, Peter T AU - Chaudhuri, Piyali AU - Tasic, Ivana AU - Zlatkovic, Milan AU - Pedersen, Tristan AU - University of Utah, Salt Lake City AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Traffic Incident Management State of the Art Review PY - 2011/09 SP - 53p AB - Traffic incident management (TIM) is a critically important piece of every transportation network management program. It should be considered in all stages of developing and implementing a network management and operations program as a key to reducing congestion. TIM programs have existed for more than 20 years. For the purpose of this paper, the definition of traffic incident is “any non-recurring event that causes a reduction of roadway capacity or an abnormal increase in demand.” This definition will provide the necessary broadness for types of traffic incidents that are going to be addressed here and for the adjustment to new ways of defining traffic incidents. Activities related to incident management are one of the major responsibilities of traffic and transportation engineers. This report is focused on tools and strategies implemented in the area of Traffic Incident Management (TIM). Definitions and classifications of traffic incidents are presented at the beginning of the report. Stages in TIM are presented based on the most detailed approach in the available literature. Finally, this report explains the application of Variable Message Signs (VMSs), 511 Service, Highway Advisory Radio (HAR), and ramp metering in TIM process. KW - 511 (National Travel Information Number) KW - Highway advisory radio KW - Incident management KW - Ramp metering KW - Traffic incidents KW - Variable message signs UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC10-229B.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1132251 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01364047 AU - Martin, Peter T AU - Chaudhuri, Piyali AU - Tasic, Ivana AU - Zlatkovic, Milan AU - Pedersen, Tristan AU - University of Utah, Salt Lake City AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transportation Learning Network: New Approach to Traffic Operation Center Operator Training PY - 2011/09 SP - 50p AB - This report is a summary of work performed by the Utah Traffic Lab (UTL) to develop training programs for Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Traffic Operations Center (TOC) operators. The report includes training materials that are already in service and those additionally developed, at both basic and advanced levels. The entire training material is now a part of Transportation Learning Network — a new learning tool for the TOC operators presented in the final part of this report. The basic training is designed to train operators in the basic knowledge, skills, and ability to work as traffic operators. It was performed at the UTL and the TOC in a concise two-week training course. A military approach is applied to develop individual training tasks for the operators. The UTL uses the unique approach of focusing training on the regional transportation network and branching off into other relevant topics when appropriate. The UTL found that understanding the local and regional transportation network was the single most important factor in efficient incident management. The advanced training program is designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and ability of traffic operators to identify and solve advanced traffic management and operation problems encountered at the TOC. It supports incident management instruction at the highest level and utilizes the advantages of traffic operators who work 24/7 and continually monitor the traffic network through closed circuit television. Transportation Learning Network (TLN) is a new learning tool that goes beyond the existing training programs by adding some new topics to both basic and advanced training levels. The report explains how to use TLN and presents the benefits of online accessible training material. This report also provides methods of training program testing and evaluation and offers a critical overview of all training methods developed by the UTL to date. KW - Highway operations KW - Highway traffic control KW - Operators (Persons) KW - Training programs KW - Utah UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC10-229C.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1132257 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01364046 AU - Martin, Peter T AU - Chaudhuri, Piyali AU - Tasic, Ivana AU - Zlatkovic, Milan AU - University of Utah, Salt Lake City AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Freeway Incidents: Simulation and Analysis PY - 2011/09 SP - 169p AB - This report presents an analysis of freeway incidents on the Salt Lake Valley freeway network. Different types of incidents at the most common/difficult locations are analyzed through traffic microsimulation using VISSIM simulation software. The analysis focuses on incident induced freeway delays, but it also looks into other parameters, such as vehicle throughput, travel times and network-wide delays. The goal of this project is to develop a set of incident management strategies that would help TOC operators to make decisions that will optimize their response in terms of time and resulted delay, and minimize users’ cost due to delay on the freeway network. KW - Freeway operations KW - Incident management KW - Microsimulation KW - Salt Lake Valley (Utah) KW - Traffic simulation UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC10-229D.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1132259 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01363337 AU - Nichols, J AU - Haire, E AU - Solomon, M AU - Ellison-Potter, P AU - Cosgrove, L AU - Preusser Research Group, Incorporated AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of Teen Seat Belt Demonstration Projects in Colorado and Nevada PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 128p AB - Colorado and Nevada initiated multiwave Teen Seat Belt Demonstration Projects in October 2007. Four waves of paid media and law enforcement activity were conducted over the next year. Three of these waves were conducted independently of statewide Click It or Ticket (CIOT) mobilizations, and one wave was conducted immediately prior to the May 2008 CIOT effort. Program data indicate that these were “strong” programs, and awareness surveys indicated that media efforts and law enforcement agencies successfully impacted the target population of teens 16 to 20 years old. Baseline use rates were substantially higher in Nevada than in Colorado; and, in Nevada, baselines were higher among college students than among high school students. Teen seat belt use increased significantly in both States. Overall gains of 5 percentage points in Colorado and 8 points in Nevada were substantial, particularly given that both States have secondary enforcement laws and low fine levels ($20 in Colorado; $25 in Nevada). It is likely that greater gains could be made with passage of a primary law upgrade and/or an increase in fine levels in either or both of these States. KW - Colorado KW - Mass media KW - Nevada KW - Safety campaigns KW - Seat belts KW - Teenage drivers KW - Traffic law enforcement KW - Utilization UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811518.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45700/45721/811518.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1131893 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01363078 AU - Taylor, Peter AU - Ramussen, Robert Otto AU - Torres, Helga AU - Fick, Gary AU - Harrington, Dale AU - Cackler, Tom AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Interim Guide for Optimum Joint Performance of Concrete Pavements PY - 2011/09 SP - 22p AB - The purpose of this guide is to help practitioners understand how to optimize concrete pavement joint performance through the identification, mitigation, and prevention of joint deterioration. It summarizes current knowledge from research and practice to help practitioners access the latest knowledge and implement proven techniques. Emphasizing that water is the common factor in most premature joint deterioration, this guide describes various types of joint deterioration that can occur. Some distresses are caused by improper joint detailing or construction, and others can be attributed to inadequate materials or proportioning. D cracking is a form of joint distress that results from the use of poor-quality aggregates. A particular focus in this guide is joint distress due to freeze-thaw action. Numerous factors are at play in the occurrence of this distress, including the increased use of a variety of deicing chemicals and application strategies. Finally, this guide provides recommendations for minimizing the potential for joint deterioration, along with recommendations for mitigation practices to slow or stop the progress of joint deterioration. KW - Concrete pavements KW - D cracking KW - Deterioration KW - Freeze thaw tests KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement joints KW - Portland cement concrete UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43500/43505/JointDeterioration_508Compliant.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1131564 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362931 AU - Kintsch, Julia AU - Singer, Paige AU - Huijser, Marcel AU - Crane, Jeff AU - Huyett, Alison AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Regional Ecosystem Framework for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife along the I-70 Mountain Corridor in Colorado: An Eco-Logical Field Test PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 183p AB - Balancing transportation demands with wildlife needs is an ongoing challenge for departments of transportation everywhere. The Federal Highway Administration developed the Eco-Logical framework, an ecosystem based approach to better integrate wildlife considerations and engage stakeholders in transportation planning. In Colorado, the I-70 Mountain Corridor (the Corridor) is recognized as a major barrier to movement for a number of wildlife species. The ultimate objective of the I-70 Eco-Logical Project was to apply the framework in order to develop solutions for mitigating the impacts of transportation on wildlife habitat along the Corridor. Stakeholders collaborated to compile baseline information on the presence of and use of existing crossing structures, develop recommendations for mitigating the impacts of roads and traffic on wildlife, facilitate the environmental review process, and provide an enhanced forum for stakeholder involvement. KW - Animal behavior KW - Aquatic life KW - Colorado KW - Ecosystems KW - Environmental impacts KW - Habitat (Ecology) KW - Interstate highways KW - Mountain roads KW - Planning methods KW - Regional planning KW - Stakeholders KW - Wildlife KW - Wildlife crossings UR - http://www.westerntransportationinstitute.org/documents/reports/4W2536_Final_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1128279 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362862 AU - Bittner, Jason AU - Fuchs, Patrick AU - Baird, Tim AU - Smith, Adam AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Wisconsin Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Addressing Elderly Mobility Issues in Wisconsin PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 166p AB - The aging of baby boomers poses significant challenges to Wisconsin’s existing transportation infrastructure and specialized transit programs. From 2010 to 2035, the number of elderly Wisconsinites is projected to grow by 90 percent, an increase of 702,760 persons. By 2035, residents age 65 and over will comprise nearly a quarter of the population of Wisconsin, as every county in the state will experience growth in the elderly share of their population over the next 25 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2003 National Household Travel Survey found that personally-owned vehicles account for over 90 percent of trips taken by elderly residents; the extrapolation of this data suggests an overwhelming majority of Wisconsin’s future elderly residents will be accustomed to driving. Because elderly persons are vulnerable to a decline in visual, cognitive, and psychomotor skills, a dramatic increase in the number of elderly drivers has serious safety implications for the state. Elderly drivers are more likely to have crashes on a per-mile basis, more likely to be at fault in a multicar crash, and more likely to be killed or injured than are younger people in a crash of comparable magnitude. When elderly drivers are forced to stop driving or self-regulate in response to declining abilities and safety concerns, they face increased isolation from social, family, and civic activities and decreased access to medical services. These safety and social ramifications demand an examination of the state’s current driver licensing and education practices, infrastructure design protocols, and specialized and public transit efforts. This report provides analysis of Wisconsin’s existing services, coordinated by the DOT and other State agencies, collects information from elderly residents, and reviews national and international best practices to allow the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to better manage approaching demographic challenges. Recommendations are provided that include changes in internal structure to address older residents’ mobility concerns, education and outreach opportunities, and development of incentives to provide off prime hour services. KW - Accessibility KW - Aged KW - Aged drivers KW - Best practices KW - Driver education KW - Driver licensing KW - Highway design KW - Mobility KW - Public transit KW - Travel surveys KW - Wisconsin UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/CFIRE_04-05_Final_Report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43500/43568/CFIRE-0092-10-19-Final-Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1127559 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362807 AU - Lau, Michael C AU - Senzig, David A AU - Samiljan, Robert AU - Ahearn, Meghan AU - Scarpone, Chris AU - Roof, Christopher J AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Acoustic and Fuel Consumption Effects Resulting from the Installation of Spiroid Winglets on Aircraft PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 125p AB - The Volpe National Transportation System Center’s Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division (Volpe Center), is supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in implementing its Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Program. The objective of the NextGen Program is to design and implement an air transportation system capable of accommodating an expected tripling in required capacity over the next 25 years. As part of this initiative, the Volpe Center participated in a study to determine the potential fuel saving and noise reduction benefits of installing experimental spiroid winglets on an aircraft. KW - Aircraft KW - Aircraft noise KW - Flight tests KW - Fuel consumption KW - Next Generation Air Transportation System KW - Winglets UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43600/43629/spiroid-faa-11-12_1_.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1131370 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362691 AU - Martin, Peter T AU - Zlatkovic, Milan AU - Chaudhuri, Piyali AU - Tasic, Ivana AU - University of Utah, Salt Lake City AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - PTV Traffic Platform PY - 2011/09 SP - 137p AB - This report presents an overview of the PTV TrafficPlatform software, which is designed as a tool to help in the training process of traffic operations center (TOC) operators. TrafficPlatform is based on an integration of VISSIM microsimulation, VISUM macrosimulation, SQL database, and a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI). It is designed to allow for implementation of incident management strategies by the user (trainee) and a presentation of outputs from these strategies. It also allows for an off-line analysis of different types of incidents and incident management strategies. In addition to off-line data, TrafficPlatform has abilities to receive real time on-line data from traffic monitoring stations via VISUM Online underlying software and to use these data for traffic analysis. KW - Incident management KW - Software KW - Traffic control centers KW - Traffic simulation KW - Training KW - Training simulators UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC10-229E.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1127575 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362686 AU - Seedah, Dan AU - Harrison, Robert AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Megaregion Freight Movements: A Case Study of the Texas Triangle PY - 2011/09//Research Report SP - 81p AB - U.S. population growth is predicted to substantially increase over the next 40 years, particularly in areas with large regional economies forecasted to contain over two-thirds of the national economic activity. In Texas, population growth from 2000 to 2040 is predicted to increase around 72% and produce a diverse population of some 36 million. This will comprise 12% rural and 88% urban, much of it in the 26 metropolitan areas. These population and economic estimates stimulated the exploration of appropriate planning strategies to address the needs of serving such growth, including a macro approach encapsulated in the term megaregions. Although some planners are skeptical about whether this concept enhances traditional planning, it does merit examination in the freight transportation sector, which tends to get less emphasis in community and regional planning. Texas has at least one megaregion, and the largest—The Texas Triangle, comprising Dallas/Fort Worth-San Antonio-Houston—generates over 60% of the gross state product. The project will consider the Texas Triangle with an emphasis on maintaining efficient future freight movement and will offer multimodal solutions to moving freight to, between, and within the metropolitan economies of the megaregion to 2050. KW - Economic development KW - Freight traffic KW - Metropolitan areas KW - Regional planning KW - Regional transportation KW - Regions KW - Texas Triangle megaregion KW - Transportation planning UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00075-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1128173 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362680 AU - Zhang, Ming AU - Chen, Binbin AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Understanding Emerging Commuting Trends in a Weekly Travel Decision Frame--Implications for Mega Region Transportation Planning PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 67p AB - National transportation statistics have shown the rise of long-distance, trans-regional commute (LDC/TRC) in the US. Four societal factors contribute to the trend: increase in dual earner households, advance in information and communications technologies, new concept of arranging work time weekly, and people's changing attitude towards travel. In the field of urban transportation planning, commuting has been studied in individual metropolitan areas in a one-day time frame. LDC/TRC traverse multiple metros and the commuting behavior cannot be better understood without going beyond the one-day convention. Studying LDC/TRC corresponds to the growing interest worldwide in planning for megaregions. Up to date, the phenomenon of weekly commuting has been explored only by a few European researchers in the fields of geography and sociology. This study analyzed LDC/TRC using national datasets available in the US. They are American Travel Survey, National Household Travel Survey, and Census Transportation Planning Package. Further detailed analyses were conducted for the Texas Triangle megaregion. The national travel surveys are helpful in portraying large pictures of LDC/TRC but limited in offering insights into LDC/TRC behavior. Based on the preliminary study, the next phase of the study will conduct qualitative research by interviewing selected LDC/TRC individuals in the Texas Triangle megaregion. KW - Commuters KW - Commuting KW - Regional planning KW - Texas Triangle megaregion KW - Transportation planning KW - Travel behavior KW - Trip length UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161127-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1128178 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362616 AU - Hall, Kadijah AU - Lewis, Carol Abel AU - Texas Southern University, Houston AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Testing Information to Improve Communication with Communities and Decision Makers PY - 2011/09 SP - 29p AB - This work focuses on important concepts in making information available to decision makers and the public, specifically focused on the Transportation Industry. The emphasis is on the PowerPoint presentation and enhancing the message through this medium. Critical elements include adhering to the assigned time limit, incorporating animation, font size, including images, techniques, and preparation. While much information is available on-line about presentations, audiences at too many transportation meetings view substandard presentations, which likely negatively affect understanding and decision-making. Blending available information, focus group feedback and observations yield a foundation for transportation planners in improving presentations to constituents. KW - Decision making KW - Information dissemination KW - Technology transfer KW - Transportation planning KW - Visual presentations UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/473700-00055-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1128160 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01362614 AU - Liu, Wenxing AU - Zhang, Zhanmin AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Prioritization of Highway Maintenance Functions Using Multi-Attribute Decision Making with Fuzzy Pairwise Comparison PY - 2011/09 SP - 69p AB - As is the case for most of the Departments of Transportation in the U.S., the Texas Department of Transportation has been experiencing fluctuations of budget for maintaining and preserving its highway infrastructure over the recent years. If the maintenance budget shortfall lasts for an extended period of time, the condition of the highway network would be harmed directly or indirectly since some maintenance work would be deferred or cancelled. Thus, in order to control and minimize the risk caused by maintenance budget reductions, it is important for highway agencies to adjust their maintenance and rehabilitation policies to accommodate budget fluctuations. This report presents a methodological framework that helps highway agencies quantify the risks to highway networks, and revise the highway routine maintenance work plans to minimize the impact of budget fluctuations. The proposed methodology aims to assist highway agencies in prioritizing and selecting maintenance functions according to the risk of not performing a specific maintenance activity. Also, this methodology considers the subjective nature of decision makers’ assessments, allowing different levels of confidence and different attitudes toward risk to be captured as the uncertainty and imprecision involved in the decision making process. In the case study, the proposed methodology is tested with a set of data obtained from the Texas Department of Transportation. The result is compared with the outcome obtained from the crisp Analytical Hierarchy Process using the same set of data. The outcomes from the two methodologies are very close, validating the effectiveness of prioritizing highway maintenance functions using Multi-Attribute Analysis with Fuzzy Pairwise Comparison. KW - Budgeting KW - Fuzzy logic KW - Highway maintenance KW - Multiple criteria decision making KW - Strategic planning KW - Texas UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161128-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1128158 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361736 AU - Dixon, Michael P AU - Islam, Mohammad Rabiul AU - National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - An External Logic Architecture for Implementing Traffic Signal System Control Strategies PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 86p AB - The built-in logic functions in traffic controllers have very limited capability to store information, to analyze input data, to estimate performance measures, and to adopt control strategy decisions. These capabilities are imperative to support traffic signal control research. In this research, a microcontroller was proven to be capable of filling this need in the form of an external logic processor for a network of traffic signal controllers. This research demonstrates this capability by addressing queue spillback congestion on a network of signalized intersections. In this study, the Rabbit 3000 microcontroller takes on the role of an external logic processor and is networked with multiple ASC/3 traffic controllers to prove the concept. Both the Rabbit and the traffic controllers support Ethernet connectivity and data exchange using the NTCIP standard. The findings show that the proposed architecture is capable of collecting data from multiple traffic controllers, calculating performance measures, and implementing control strategies in one or more traffic controller(s) that improves performance. KW - Feedback control KW - Logic circuits KW - Performance measurement KW - Traffic signal controllers UR - http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/niatt/research/Final_Reports/KLK717_N11-07.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1127392 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361190 AU - Aglan, Heshmat A AU - Tuskegee University AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Fatigue Crack Growth and Fracture Behavior of Bainitic Rail Steels PY - 2011/09 SP - 57p AB - The microstructure–mechanical properties relationships, fracture toughness, fatigue crack growth and fracture surface morphology of J6 bainitic, manganese, and pearlitic rail steels were studied. Microstructure–mechanical properties correlation of the three rail steels under consideration revealed that the bainitic rail steel has the highest mechanical properties as compared with austenitic manganese steel (AMS) and pearlitic rail steels. AMS shows very few signs of being work hardened or toughened, which usually increases the mechanical properties of the material. In pearlite, the microstructure has more detailed features that contribute to its mechanical properties. The bainitic steel has more alloying elements that when mixed, create so many dislocations that the dislocations cannot move against each other. This is where bainitic steel derives its strength. Fracture toughness analysis (KIc) of the three rail steels, namely bainitic, manganese and pearlitic was performed. A valid KIc was determined for the pearlitic and bainitic steels based on the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) E399 criteria. It was found that the pearlitic steel had an average KIc of 41 MPa √m and the bainitic steel had an average value of 52 MPa √m. The manganese steel displayed elastic–plastic behavior, with a dominant plastic component. This invalidated the criteria of standard ASTM E399 and therefore a KIc could not be calculated. An approximate value for the energy release rate (680 kJ/m2 ), based on ASTM standard E1820-01, was calculated instead for the manganese steel. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Austenite KW - Bainitic rails KW - Bainitic steels KW - Fatigue cracking KW - Fracture properties KW - Manganese KW - Mechanical properties KW - Microstructure KW - Pearlitic steel KW - Rail steel KW - Structural analysis UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/93 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43100/43122/TR_Fatigue_Crack_Growth_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126848 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361144 AU - Cole, David AU - National Association of Development Organizations AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Connecting the D.O.T.s: A Guide for Connecting with Your Department of Transportation PY - 2011/09 SP - 44p AB - This guide is intended to provide regional planning and development agencies (regional development organizations or RDOs) some level of insight into the operations of a Department of Transportation (DOT), using MaineDOT as a model, as well as some helpful tips on how to successfully navigate these large, complex organizations. KW - Department of Transportation KW - Government agencies KW - Guidelines KW - Maine KW - Management and organization KW - Regional planning KW - Transportation departments UR - http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Cole_ConnectDOTs.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1127194 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361115 AU - Chen, Suren AU - Chen, Feng AU - Colorado State University, Fort Collins AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Risk-Based Advisory Prevention System for Commercial Trucks Under Hazardous Conditions PY - 2011/09 SP - 33p AB - In adverse driving conditions, such as inclement weather and complex terrain, large trucks are often involved in single-vehicle (SV) accidents in addition to multi-vehicle (MV) accidents. Although the absolute number of SV accidents is often lower than that of MV accidents, SV accidents usually result in more serious injury and fatality. Ten-year accident data involving trucks on rural highway from the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) are studied to investigate the difference in driver-injury severity between SV and MV accidents using multinomial logit models. Injury severity from SV and MV accidents involving trucks on rural highway is modeled separately and their respective critical risk factors, such as driver, vehicle, temporal, roadway, environmental, and accident characteristics, are evaluated. The study shows that there is substantial difference between the impacts from a variety of variables on the driver-injury severity in MV and SV accidents. By conducting the injury severity study for MV and SV accidents involving trucks separately, some new or more comprehensive observations, which have not been covered in the existing studies, can be made. As a result, the complex interactions of variables and the nature of truck-driver injury are able to be disclosed in a better way. Based on the improved understanding on the severity of truck drivers' injuries from truck-involved accidents, it is expected that more rational and effective injury prevention strategy may be developed for truck drivers under different driving conditions in the future. Based on the model developed for injury studies of truck drivers, risk-based prevention strategy can be realistically developed. KW - Crash data KW - Crash injury research KW - Highway Safety Information System KW - Injury prevention KW - Injury severity KW - Multiple vehicle crashes KW - Prevention KW - Risk management KW - Single vehicle crashes KW - Truck crashes KW - Trucks KW - Weather conditions UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC11-242.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126662 ER - TY - SER AN - 01361100 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Kuchma, Daniel AU - Hahin, Christopher AU - Hart, Christopher AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Drop Weight Testing of Brass Breakaway Couplings PY - 2011/09 SP - 39p AB - This was the first phase of an investigation to determine the suitability of free-cutting brass couplings for use in minimizing vehicular damage and driver or passenger injury when light poles are impacted. Breakaway couplings are required by Federal regulation to fracture when a modest size sedan traveling at 20 miles per hour or greater impacts a supported light pole. The required limit of impact deceleration that would be experienced by persons in this vehicle is limited to 5 m/s [16.4 ft/sec] at 20 and 60 mph. These brass couplings are intended to replace currently used aluminum or steel couplings, which could potentially save significant resources for the State of Illinois, as well as other states. This investigation used drop weight testing on a short strike tube that was attached to the couplings and then to a concrete pedestal which simulated an actual concrete foundation. The focus of the drop weight testing was to determine the size and depth of grooves needed to be cut into the brass couplings to provide the desired breakaway performance. This testing compared a variety of designs produced by the Illinois DOT with the Transpo SPM 4100 high strength steel coupling which had already been approved by the Federal Highway Administration. The test program used a rigid steel cylinder and thick base plate which simulated an actual light pole. Because of the nature of the drop weight test set up, certain variables, including the weight of the light pole and luminaries, its stiffness and radius of gyration, and stiffness of the impact point in an actual crash, could not be simulated. However, these variables were tested later in full scale pendulum impact tests in the second phase of this project. KW - Brass KW - Breakaway supports KW - Couplings KW - Illinois KW - Impact tests KW - Injuries KW - Lighting columns KW - Luminaires UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45824 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126762 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361095 AU - Goodin, Ginger AU - Wood, Nicholas AU - Baker, Richard T AU - University Transportation Center for Mobility AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The 2011 Mileage-Based User Fee Symposium PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 22p AB - The fuel tax is rapidly losing its ability to support system needs. Federal environmental regulations and the escalating price of fossil fuels have created a strong incentive to develop and utilize more fuel-efficient vehicles, which will drive down fuel tax revenues relative to use of the nation’s roadway network. Given the challenges associated with the declining sustainability of the fuel tax, the likely successor is a road user fee largely based on actual usage. This project sponsored the third annual two-day Symposium on Mileage-Based User Fees that brought together professionals in the field of mileage-based fees for the purpose of sharing information on current applications and exploring their potential as a supplement or replacement for the fuel tax. KW - Fossil fuels KW - Fuel efficient cars KW - Fuel taxes KW - Mileage-based user fees KW - Revenues KW - Road user charges KW - User charges UR - http://utcm.tamu.edu/publications/final_reports/Goodin_11-00-64.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126745 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361065 AU - Kasturi, Kash AU - Samavedam, Gopal AU - Foster-Miller Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Full-Scale Locomotive Dynamic Crash Testing and Correlations: C-39 Type Locomotive Colliding with a Loaded Hopper Car (Test 7) PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 34p AB - This report presents the results of a locomotive and three loaded hopper car consist traveling at 29 miles per hour colliding with a stationary consist of 35 loaded hopper cars. The details of test instrumentation, LS-DYNA finite element simulation, conducting of the test, and correlations between the simulation results and test data are presented. The test was fully instrumented and included high-speed video of the collision event. The test resulted in the override of the locomotive over the hopper car consist. KW - Crashes KW - Finite element method KW - Hopper cars KW - Impact tests KW - Locomotives KW - Underride override crashes UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/96 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43000/43088/TR_Full-Scale_Locomotive_Dynamic_Test7.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126778 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361054 AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Transport Canada AU - U.S. Customs and Border Protection AU - Canada Border Service Agency TI - Effort to Test, Evaluate and Deploy Technologies to Automate the Measurement of Real-Time Border Wait Times at United States - Canada Land Border Crossings PY - 2011/09//Tech Brief SP - 9p AB - The United States and Canada share the largest bi-national trading relationship in the world. An efficient and cost-effective border crossing system for both freight and passenger vehicle traffic is thus vital to the economic well-being and security of both countries. A 2005 study conducted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce estimated United States-Canada border delays cost approximately $10 billion per year—more than $4 billion annually to the US economy and about $6 billion a year to the Canadian economy. While it is impossible to eliminate all delay due to the necessary and effective completion of compliance activities and other operational requirements, the need exists to identify and implement solutions that reduce unnecessary delay. Collecting timely and accurate data regarding the amount of time that border users wait to cross is crucial to creating a more reliable border crossing experience. Such data can be used to: (1) Enable drivers to make more informed decisions about when and where to cross the border; (2) Operate transportation and border facility systems effectively; (3) Plan appropriately for future needs; (4) Evaluate the effects of various improvement initiatives; and (5) Educate and inform public agency and industry officials, and the motoring public. In an effort to move toward timely and accurate information, this project is designed to develop an automated process for collecting border wait times that will be facilitated by the use of existing or emerging technology. This effort is sponsored by the bi-national, multi-agency Border Wait Time Working Group (BWT-WG) comprised of representatives from US and Canadian Transportation and Customs agencies and is supported by stakeholders that operate at or near the border. The objectives of this project are to identify, implement, test, and evaluate several technologies for automated measurement of border wait times. The intent is to explore the viability of different options and establish their ability to meet the information needs of border stakeholders reliably. KW - Border crossing time KW - Canada KW - Cost effectiveness KW - Passenger vehicles KW - Traffic delays KW - Trucks KW - United States UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop11025/bwt_techbrf.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126756 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360988 AU - Galarus, Douglas AU - Veneziano, David AU - Richter, Daniel AU - Bateman, Kelvin AU - Koon, Leann AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Western States One-stop Shop for Rural Traveler Information: Research on Clarus System Data PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 104p AB - Weather is a primary item of interest to travelers, but is generally scattered of numerous sources and in varying formats, making it difficult to assemble prior to travel. Within this project, a website was developed to display Clarus ESS data, along with other information streams such as Department of Transportation (DOT) Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) field elements, closed circuit televisions (CCTV), planned and active closures, incidents, weather sensor readings from non-DOT sources, National Weather Information Service, etc. covering all of California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. The developed product displays weather information for this region in a manner that is easily accessed and understood by users. There remain a number of challenges for subsequent development including optimization of code to support a greater number of prospective users and implementation for further interface elements, particularly to enhance route planning functionality. “Information at a Glance” was achieved in presenting information to users by way of intuitive, graphical displays. User survey results and data provided by Google Analytics™ indicated that the website has been well examined and received by users. Based on the work completed during this project, a mechanism to provide travelers with comprehensive weather and highway information across the state and jurisdictional boundaries as demonstrated. KW - California KW - Clarus KW - Closed circuit television KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Nevada KW - Oregon KW - Road weather information systems KW - Route planning KW - Traveler information and communication systems KW - Washington (State) KW - Websites (Information retrieval) UR - http://www.westerntransportationinstitute.org/documents/reports/4W3347_Final_Report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43200/43281/FHWA-JPO-11-153_Clarus_OSS_Final_Report_WTI_FINAL.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126444 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360986 AU - Apeagyei, Alex K AU - Diefenderfer, Stacey D AU - Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Asphalt Material Design Inputs for Use with the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide in Virginia PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 84p AB - The Guide for the Mechanistic-Empirical Design of New & Rehabilitated Pavement Structures (MEPDG), developed under NCHRP Project 1-37A and recently adopted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), offers an improved methodology for pavement design and evaluation. To achieve this improved prediction capability, the MEPDG procedure requires fundamental material properties in addition to certain empirically determined binder and mixture properties as design inputs. One of the key tasks identified by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Asphalt Concrete MEPDG Committee was the laboratory characterization of asphalt mixtures commonly used in Virginia to generate a catalog of the MEPDG-required design inputs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, compile, and present asphalt material properties in a format that could be readily used in the MEPDG software and to develop a comprehensive catalog of MEPDG design input parameters for pavement design in Virginia. To achieve this objective, 18 asphalt concrete mixtures, sampled from seven of the nine VDOT districts, were tested using a battery of MEPDG- required tests including dynamic modulus (|E*|), flow number (FN), creep compliance, tensile strength, and beam fatigue tests. Testing involving binder and volumetric properties of the mixtures was also conducted. Finally, rut tests using the asphalt pavement analyzer (APA), a standard VDOT test protocol, were conducted to enable a direct comparison of the APA and FN test results. On the basis of these tests, suggestions for additional studies were made. The results of the study were presented in a form matching the MEPDG input format, and a catalog of design input parameters was developed for the 18 asphalt concrete mixtures. Included in the catalog were binder stiffness, mixture |E*|, mixture gradation, and mixture volumetric properties that would enable a designer the flexibility to select the desired input level (1, 2, or 3) depending on the pavement type. An illustrative example of how the developed inputs could be implemented using the MEPDG software was also provided. The results showed that |E*| master curves of asphalt mixtures obtained using the five standard testing temperatures described in AASHTO TP 62 could be obtained by testing at only three temperatures, which could result in a substantial reduction of testing time. The results also showed that the FN test was a sensitive test for evaluating rutting susceptibility of asphalt mixtures in the laboratory. The FN test was found to be sensitive to binder stiffness, mixture stiffness, mixture volumetric properties, aggregate gradation, and amount of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) for the mixtures considered in this study. The study recommends that the catalog of input data for typical asphalt mixtures developed in this study be considered for pavement design in Virginia. The data followed expected trends and compared quite well with those reported in previous studies. Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the FN test as an additional tool for evaluating rutting in asphalt mixtures. Mixtures containing higher amounts of RAP (>20%) exhibited comparatively lower rutting resistance than those with 20% or less RAP. This phenomenon was unexpected since it is generally believed that adding more RAP should result in stiffer and hence more rut-resistant mixtures. Additional research should be conducted to investigate this phenomenon further. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Full-depth reclamation KW - In-place recycling KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Pavement design KW - Recycled asphalt pavements KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/12-r6.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126807 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360981 AU - Samavedam, Gopal AU - Kasturi, Kash AU - Foster-Miller Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Full-Scale Locomotive Dynamic Collision Testing and Correlations: Offset Collisions between a Locomotive and a Covered Hopper Car (Test 4) PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 44p AB - This report presents the test results and finite element correlations of a full-scale dynamic collision test with rail vehicles as part of the Federal Railroad Administration’s research program on improved crashworthiness of locomotive structures. This test involved the 30-mile per hour oblique collision of a locomotive with a stationary covered hopper car fouling the locomotive’s right-of-way. The test used an SD70-MAC locomotive. The locomotive and the cars in its consist were fully instrumented with accelerometers, strain gauges, and anthropomorphic test dummies. High-speed photography was used to record the events. This report presents the test data and the dynamic finite element modeling results. Reasonable agreement has been found in the dynamic event sequence correlations and the structural damage to the front end of the locomotive. KW - Accelerometers KW - Crashes KW - Crashworthiness KW - Dummies KW - Finite element method KW - Hopper cars KW - Locomotives KW - Prototype tests KW - Strain gages UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43000/43087/TR_Full-Scale_Locomotive_Dynamic_Test4.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126776 ER - TY - SER AN - 01360975 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Andrawes, Bassem AU - Pozolo, Andrew AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Transfer & Development Lengths in Prestressed Self-Consolidating Concrete Bridge Box and I-Girders PY - 2011/09 SP - 106p AB - Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a workable yet stable concrete which flows easily and consolidates under its own weight. Its unique properties can substantially reduce the labor required to pour complex or heavily reinforced structural members. Over the past decade, the American precast industry has taken significant strides to adopt SCC in commercial projects, though concern about early-age bond behavior has limited the material’s application in prestressed members. A general need remains for further research on the bond properties of SCC in full-scale prestressed members. The wide array of specimen types and SCC mixture designs utilized in practice further underscores this need. To explore the application of SCC in Illinois bridge construction, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) sponsored a three-phase study investigating the bond behavior of steel strands in pretensioned bridge box and I-girders. In the first phase, 56 pullout tests were conducted to compare the performance of seven-wire strands embedded in SCC to that of strands in normally consolidated concrete (NCC) blocks. In the second phase, transfer lengths of prestressing strands in two 28-ft. SCC hollow box girders and two 48-ft. SCC I-girders were determined experimentally. In the third phase, development lengths of strands in the four girders were determined through a series of iterative flexural tests. This report details the experimental program for the study’s three phases and compares results to current requirements of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The results of this study may prove fundamental to the safe application of SCC within the state of Illinois’ prestressed concrete industry. KW - Bond strength (Materials) KW - Box girders KW - Bridge construction KW - I girders KW - Prestressed concrete KW - Pullout tests KW - Self compacting concrete KW - Transfer length UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45823 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126761 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360961 AU - Li, Jianhua AU - Uhlmeyer, Jeff S AU - Mahoney, Joe P. AU - Muench, Stephen T AU - University of Washington, Seattle AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Use of the 1993 AASHTO Guide, MEPDG and Historical Performance to Update the WSDOT Pavement Design Catalog PY - 2011/09//Research Report SP - 27p AB - This report describes the preparation of a revised pavement thickness design catalog for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) using the 1993 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Guide, the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), and WSDOT historical pavement performance data. KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement management systems KW - Pavement performance KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/779.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126792 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360951 AU - Chen, Suren AU - Chen, Feng AU - Colorado State University, Fort Collins AU - Mountain-Plains Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Reliability-Based Safety Risk and Cost Prediction of Large Trucks on Rural Highways PY - 2011/09 SP - 52p AB - The primary causes of accidents involving large trucks on rural highways were found to be excessive speed and adverse driving conditions. Different from passenger vehicles, it is known that the safety performance of large trucks in adverse driving conditions greatly depends on the specific terrain and local weather conditions. By integrating both historical data analysis and simulations, a multi-scale investigation is conducted to evaluate the traffic safety of large trucks on mountainous interstate highways. Firstly, the ten-year historical accident records are analyzed to identify the accident-vulnerable-locations (AVLs) and site-specific critical adverse driving conditions. Secondly, a simulation-based single-vehicle assessment is performed for predicting the large-truck accident risks with the combination of given weather, topographical, road, and vehicle information at those AVLs along the entire corridor. A framework of a reliability-based assessment model of vehicle safety under adverse driving conditions is developed. Such a framework is built based on the advanced transient dynamic vehicle simulation models, which can consider the coupling effects between vehicles and adverse driving conditions, such as wind gust, snow-covered or icy road surfaces and/or curving. The single-vehicle safety index is introduced to provide rational assessment of accident risks by considering uncertainties of critical variables. Finally, geographic information system (GIS) maps with topographic conditions embedded are generated. By displaying the data on the GIS-based map, different accident risk indices can easily be displayed and compared on the GIS map. A typical mountainous highway in Colorado is studied for demonstration purposes. KW - Colorado KW - Crash records KW - High risk locations KW - Mountain roads KW - Rural highways KW - Speeding KW - Traffic safety KW - Trucks KW - Weather conditions UR - http://www.mountain-plains.org/pubs/pdf/MPC11-243.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126763 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360937 AU - Samavedam, Gopal AU - Kasturi, Kash AU - Foster-Miller Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Full-Scale Locomotive Dynamic Crash Testing and Correlations: Locomotive Consist Colliding with Steel Coil Truck at Grade Crossing (Test 3) PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 37p AB - This report presents the test results and finite element correlations of a full-scale dynamic collision between a locomotive and a highway truck loaded with two heavy steel coils. The locomotive consist was moving at 58 miles per hour before it struck a highway truck carrying heavy steel coils. The test showed significant damage to the locomotive front end, the collision posts and the firewall. The locomotive and the cars in its consist were fully instrumented with accelerometers, strain gauges, and anthropomorphic test dummies. High-speed photographic coverage of the events was also employed. The report presents the test data and the dynamic finite element modeling results. KW - Accelerometers KW - Crashes KW - Crashworthiness KW - Dummies KW - Finite element method KW - Locomotives KW - Railroad grade crossings KW - Strain gages KW - Trucks UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/94 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43000/43086/TR_Full-Scale_Locomotive_Dynamic_Test3.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126781 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360393 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Fatality Analysis Reporting System, General Estimates System, 2009 Data Summary PY - 2011/09 SP - 36p AB - This publication contains selected data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES) for the year 2009. The 2009 FARS data file used for the statistics in this report was created in May 2010. The updated final counts for 2008 are reflected in this report. The updated final counts for 2009 will be reflected in the 2010 report. The 2009 GES file used for the statistics in this report was completed in May 2010. KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Data files KW - Fatalities KW - Fatality Analysis Reporting System KW - General Estimates System KW - Statistics KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811401.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125928 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01360392 AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Traffic Safety Facts 2009 Data: Large Trucks PY - 2011/09 SP - 6p AB - In 2009, 296,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the United States. There were 3,380 fatalities and 74,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks in 2009. In 2009, large trucks accounted for 4% of all registered vehicles and 10% of the total vehicle miles traveled. In 2009, large trucks accounted for 7% of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes and 3% of all vehicles involved in injury and property-damage-only crashes. Additional statistics on the involvement of large trucks in fatal and injury crashes in 2009 are provided in this traffic safety fact sheet. KW - Crash injuries KW - Fatalities KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Property damage KW - Registrations KW - Statistics KW - Traffic crashes KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - Truck crashes KW - Trucks KW - United States KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811388.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125929 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359629 AU - National Association of Development Organizations AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Regional Approaches to Sustainable Development: Linking Economic, Transportation, and Environmental Infrastructure in Rural and Small Metropolitan America PY - 2011/09 SP - 40p AB - This report explores regional sustainable development initiatives in rural and small metropolitan America. Regional development organizations (RDOs) working in all types of communities across the country are designing and implementing strategies to create stronger, more dynamic, more resilient regional economies that are based on quality of place. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, conducting robust data collection, seeking regional consensus, and strategizing rural-urban linkages, RDOs are uniquely positioned to approach sustainable development from a holistic viewpoint. Th e broad perspective off ered by RDOs allows them to analyze a region based on the multiple, interweaved layers of systems that drive regional growth. Th is holistic viewpoint enables regions to collaborate on long-term visions for regional growth and undertake strategic planning and decision-making about key investments. Th rough integrating land use and natural resource systems; transportation, infrastructure, and energy networks; local and regional governance processes; economic systems; and cultural and working landscapes, RDOs shape regional sustainable development and provide key services to position regions as competitive players in the global economy. RDOs conduct analysis and develop strategies to support and enhance assets and strengthen economic development based on quality of place. Many of the nation’s RDOs serve regions that encompass an urban core and rural communities whose economies are inextricably linked. Traditionally, rural economies were largely based on resource-dependent industries, such as agriculture, forestry, or energy production. Today, RDOs in rural areas are working to maximize inherent competitive advantages and foster local, regional, national, and global connections and value chain development. A regional approach to planning and development issues requires strategies that nurture those systems that cross jurisdictional boundaries and connect rural and urban communities, such as water supply systems, food production and distribution, transportation networks, energy supply chains, and others. Th is report highlights several RDOs working in rural and small metropolitan regions to foster more sustainable approaches to regional development, including examples from California, Michigan, North Carolina, and Utah. Th e case studies featured here illustrate the opportunities available to RDOs to undertake sustainable development initiatives using a systems-based approach. Th ese opportunities include data analysis and tools, public engagement, transportation and infrastructure programs, asset-based economic development, cultural heritage and placemaking, and intergovernmental coordination. KW - Coordination KW - Cultural resources KW - Data analysis KW - Economic development KW - Environmental quality KW - Intergovernmental relations KW - Public participation KW - Regional development KW - Regional development organizations KW - Regional planning KW - Regional transportation KW - Rural areas KW - Small cities KW - Sustainable development UR - http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/NADO-Sustainable-Devt-2011.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125334 ER - TY - SER AN - 01359619 JO - Research Results PB - Federal Railroad Administration AU - Maal, Luis AU - Carr, Gary AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Effect of Missing or Broken Fasteners on Gage Restraint of Concrete Ties PY - 2011/09 SP - 4p AB - From 2009 to 2010, the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., measured the gage restraint of a mainline concrete tie track affected by missing or broken fasteners. Measurements were taken at the Facility of Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) and in revenue service. A concrete tie rail fastener provides gage restraint by holding down the base of the rail with tie clips and by holding the sides in place with insulators pressing against the base of the rail. Missing or broken fasteners can reduce the track’s gage strength. This research showed the following: Missing or broken field side clips were found to have less effect on gage restraint than missing or broken gage side clips. However, missing field side insulators had a greater effect on gage restraint than missing gage side insulators. Gage side clips appeared to play a bigger role than field side clips in preventing gage widening as a result of rail roll. In contrast, field side insulators had a bigger role than gage side insulators in resisting gage widening because of rail translation. It took eight consecutive ties missing only clips or insulators to reduce gage restraint below the maximum limit. When both clips and insulators were missing, however, it took only three consecutive ties to reduce gage restraint below the maximum limit. The research presented in this report addresses one of the concerns for the performance of concrete ties under heavy axle load (HAL) train operations, including missing or broken fasteners, rail seat abrasion, pad wear, loss of toe load (hold-down force), improper fastener configuration, and excessive lateral rail movement. KW - Concrete ties KW - Fracture mechanics KW - Gage (Rails) KW - Gage restraint KW - Rail fasteners UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/128 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125326 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359283 AU - Lim, Alvin AU - Bevly, David AU - National Transportation Research Center, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - U29: Commercial Vehicle Secure Network for Safety and Mobility Applications PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 88p AB - The main objective of this project is to develop a secure, reliable, high throughput and integrated wireless network for Vehicle-To-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-To-Infrastructure (V2I) and intra-vehicle communications. Novel techniques and communication protocols were developed to ensure that safety messages are transmitted reliably, securely and efficiently. The secure network protocols using IEEE 802.11i authentication and anti-jamming dynamic channel hopping protocol were implemented and the results show an improved performance. These security mechanisms will avoid not only attackers from disrupting critical vehicle communication but also enable high connectivity and performance even in the presence of benign transmissions that may interfer with the vehicle network transmissions. The adaptive multi-hop routing ensures end-to-end connectivity by considering the connectivity of each wireless links. These protocols demonstrated how to transmit high priority urgent messages reliably. The rate adaptation algorithm was implemented and the results show improved performance since it avoids packet collisions and tolerates channel fading in the harsh vehicle environment. The precise vehicle positioning technique is integrated with the wireless vehicle networks that provide reliable, secure and high throughput transmissions of GPS messages. The results of the authors' studies on the integrated wireless vehicle networks for V2V, V2I and intra-vehicle networks show that the integrated network can satisfy the security, reliability and throughput performance requirements of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems and other connected vehicle safety applications. The demonstration of the intra-vehicle wireless networks on the commercial tractor trailers at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) test track for supporting ESC systems showed that this is feasible in real-world vehicle networks under normal operating conditions. KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Computer network protocols KW - Driver information systems KW - Messages (Communications) KW - Mobility KW - Packet switching KW - Safety KW - Transmission techniques KW - Vehicle to infrastructure communications KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications KW - Wireless communication systems UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42900/42999/U29-Commercial_Vehicle_Secure_Network_for_Safety_and_Mobility_Applications.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125079 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359279 AU - Victor, Trent AU - Hickman, Jeff AU - Camden, Matthew AU - Jarlengrip, Johan AU - Larsson, Christian AU - Morgan, Justin AU - Tidwell, Scott AU - Toole, Laura AU - National Transportation Research Center, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - U34: Driver Distraction: An Inattention-Mitigation Component for Behavior-Based Safety Programs in Commercial Vehicle Operations (IM-BBS) PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 181p AB - The aim of this research was to develop a comprehensive inattention mitigation component of a behavior-based safety program (IM-BBS) in commercial motor vehicle operations that increases road safety. A key focus was on the use of real-time inattention monitoring technologies to provide real-time feedback to the driver and back-office post-trip summary reports. Furthermore, effective performance feedback and incentive strategies were developed. The use of simulator-based attention training in this context was also investigated. Results suggest the need to easily integrate the IM-BBS program into existing training programs and existing back office infrastructure. Behavioral feedback, goal setting, driver coaching and incentive/reward programs should be developed around the IM-BBS to encourage drivers to reduce inattention behind the wheel. Finally, the inclusion of simulator-based driver training is suggested to provide effective and efficient inattention training within a safe setting. The overview, tips, and strategies provided in this report are meant as a starting point for Safety Managers to develop a simulator-based driver inattention training approach that can be implemented in an existing fleet safety program with minimal challenges and provide an additional means of improving the overall safety of their CMV drivers. KW - Attention KW - Attention lapses KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Distraction KW - Feedback KW - Highway safety KW - Real time information KW - Training simulators KW - Truck drivers KW - Trucking safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42900/42996/U34-Driver_Distraction_An_Inattention-Mitigation_Component_for_Behavior-Based_Safety_Programs_in_Commercial_Vehicle_Operation.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125074 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359278 AU - Pape, Doug AU - Arant, Michael AU - Brock, Wayne AU - Delorenzis, Damon AU - LaClair, Tim AU - Lim, Alvin AU - Petrolino, Joseph AU - Spezia, Anthony AU - National Transportation Research Center, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - U31: Vehicle Stability and Dynamics Electronic Stability Control PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 198p AB - A team led by NTRCI is working to improve the roll and yaw stability of heavy duty combination trucks through developing stability algorithms, assembling demonstration hardware, and investigating robust wireless communication. Modern electronic stability control (ESC) products automatically slow a vehicle rounding a corner too quickly or apply individual brakes when necessary to improve the steering characteristics of a vehicle. Air brake systems in North America provide no electronic communication between a tractor and semitrailer, limiting the degree to which control systems can be optimized. Prior research has demonstrated stability improvements where dynamic measurements and control commands are communicated between units of a vehicle. Three related activities were undertaken: (1) Develop an algorithm for the optimum yaw and roll control of a combination vehicle. Vehicle state parameters needed to control the vehicle and the proper brake response were determined. An integrated stability control for the tractor and semitrailer requires communication between the two units. Dynamic models were used to assess the algorithm. (2) Implement the ESC algorithm in the laboratory. Hardware components suitable for the harsh environment for measurement, sensor-to-controller communication, and semitrailer-to-tractor communication and brake actuation were specified and assembled as a working system. The goal was to collect the needed vehicle state information, transmit the information to the ESC system, and then actuate the brakes in response to controller commands. (3) Develop a wireless network with the data rate and reliability necessary to communicate dynamic signals for a vehicle stability control system. Adaptive connectivity-aware, multi-hop routing was selected because it can perform in the harsh environment where packet collisions and fading often will exist. The protocol is to give high priority to urgent messages. KW - Algorithms KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Computer network protocols KW - Electronic stability control KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Rolling KW - Rollover crashes KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - Tractor trailer combinations KW - Trucking safety KW - Wireless communication systems KW - Yaw UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42900/42998/U31-Vehicle_Stability_and_Dynamics-Electronic_Stability_Control.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125080 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359276 AU - Bittner, Jason AU - Day-Farnsworth, Lindsey AU - Miller, Michelle AU - Kozub, Rosa AU - Gollnik, Bob AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Maximizing Freight Movements in Local Food Markets PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 38p AB - The past several years have seen a rising interest in all things sustainable, from energy efficient homes and vehicles, to alternative energy sources, to increasing focus on recyclable and renewable material usage. This trend has also been accompanied by an increased examination by consumers of where our goods come from and how they reach us. Decades of globalization have drastically altered supply chains. Along with consumer goods, the distance in which food travels to reach its markets has grown exponentially. This research will identify how the local food supply and distribution system functions in Upper Midwest States and means by which local food transportation movements can become more efficient. KW - Distance KW - Food miles KW - Freight traffic KW - Freight transportation KW - Local food KW - Logistics KW - Markets KW - Supply chain management UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/CFIRE_04-23_Final_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125122 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359274 AU - Pape, Doug AU - Arant, Michael AU - Brock, Wayne AU - Broshears, Eric AU - Chitwood, Caleb AU - Colbert, Jameson AU - Hathaway, Richard AU - Keil, Mitchel AU - LaClair, Tim AU - Patterson, Jim AU - Petrolino, Joseph AU - Pittro, Collin AU - Spezia, Anthony AU - Wafer, David AU - National Transportation Research Center, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - U32: Vehicle Stability and Dynamics - Longer Combination Vehicles PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 446p AB - This study investigated the safety and stability of longer combination vehicles (LCVs), in particular a triple trailer combination behind a commercial tractor, which has more complicated dynamics than the more common tractor in combination with a single semitrailer. The goal was to measure and model the behavior of LCVs in simple maneuvers. Example maneuvers tested and modeled were single and double lane changes, a gradual lane change, and a constant radius curve. In addition to test track data collection and a brief highway test, two computer models of LCVs were developed. One model is based on TruckSim®, a lumped parameter model widely used for single semitrailer combinations. The other model was built in Adams software, which more explicitly models the geometry of the components of the vehicle, in terms of compliant structural members. Among other results, the models were able to duplicate the experimentally measured rearward amplification behavior that is characteristic of multi-unit combination vehicles. KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Longer combination vehicles KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - Tractor trailer combinations KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42900/42997/U32-Vehicle_Stability_and_Dyanamics-Longer_Combination_Vehicles_1_.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1125077 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01359019 AU - Edwards, Frances L AU - Goodrich, Daniel C AU - Mineta Transportation Institute AU - San Jose State University AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Department of Homeland Security AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Continuity of Operations Plans for Transportation Agencies PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 684p AB - This report covers the research conducted to determine how to integrate Continuity of Operations/ Continuity of Government Plan (COOP/COG) into the overall National Incident Management System (NIMS) approach to emergency management for a state-level transportation agency. It provides an approach to align the COOP/COG element of the state DOT with the state DOT's emergency operations center (EOC). It provides checklists that show the primary functions of each state-level transportation agency EOC position. It provides training materials on the system and the relationships among EOC positions. KW - Continuity of operations KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Disasters and emergency operations KW - State departments of transportation KW - State government agencies KW - Training UR - http://www.transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/2976-COOP-COG-DHS.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1124548 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358934 AU - Sheckler, Ross D AU - Calmar Telematics LLC AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - New York State Energy Research and Development Authority AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Highway Carbon Footprinting PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 26p AB - An effort was undertaken to engage an under-used technology, the TRANSIMS and the MOVES traffic models, in order to advance the utilization of this technology within the state of New York and to examine the value of carbon-footprinting as a metric for planning the highway network. A TRANSIMS model of the NYS Capital District was constructed. Field observations were made throughout the region and used to calibrate the model. The operation of the model was demonstrated for the staff of the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC). The full TRANSIMS model has been delivered to both the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the CDTC. The project began work on implementing the MOVES environmental model as an extension of the TRANSIMS model but was unable to complete this task. KW - Carbon footprint KW - Energy consumption KW - Environmental impacts KW - Exhaust gases KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Ground transportation KW - Highway planning KW - Microsimulation KW - Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) KW - Network analysis (Planning) KW - New York (State) KW - Pollutants KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Traffic models KW - TRANSIMS (Computer model) UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-08-05%20final%20report_September%202011.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1124544 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358929 AU - Ghosn, Michel AU - Sivakumar, Bala AU - Miao, Feng AU - City College of New York of the City University of New York AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) in NYS: Volume II PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 203p AB - This document is Volume II of the Final Report for NYSDOT Research Project No. C-06-13 entitled “Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) in NYS”. This Volume contains the appendices for the Final Report. The Volume consists of the following: Appendix I – Provides the proposed NYS-LRFR Guidelines for load rating and load posting of New York State bridges. The proposed guidelines are the result of the calibration of the live load factors and load posting procedures calibrated using reliability methods as described in Volume I. Appendix II – Provides a review of current NYSDOT procedures for load rating, load posting and permit load checking. Appendix III – Provides an overview of current National practice related to the load rating, load posting and permit load checking of highway bridges. Appendix IV – Presents a comparison between the ratings obtained using the proposed procedures to those from the current NYSDOT method for a representative sample of New York bridges. KW - Bearing capacity KW - Bridge design KW - Bridge engineering KW - Bridges KW - Design load KW - Guidelines KW - Highway bridges KW - Live loads KW - Load and resistance factor design KW - Load factor KW - Load limits KW - Load tests KW - New York (State) KW - Overweight loads KW - Ratings KW - Reliability KW - Truck traffic KW - Weigh in motion UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-06-13%20Sept_30_2011.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46700/46736/Final-Report-Load-and-Resistance-Volume2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1124549 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358628 AU - Steinberg, Eric AU - Sargand, Shad AU - Miller, Richard AU - Nims, Douglas AU - Ohio University, Athens AU - University of Cincinnati AU - University of Toledo AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Structural Evaluation of LIC-310-0396 and FAY-35-17-6.82 Box Beams with Advanced Strand Deterioration: Draft Final Report – Phase II PY - 2011/09//Draft Final Report SP - 131p AB - The results are presented from the testing of a full scale three span 43-year-old adjacent prestressed concrete box beam bridge. The project included: (1) Nondestructive evaluation of the bridge; (2) Destructive field testing of the full scale damaged bridge; (3) Data analysis of the experimental testing; (4) Analytical assessment of the field tested bridge; and (5) Summarizing the results of the study in a final report. The nondestructive testing involved the use of ground penetrating radar to assess the concrete of the bridge, a magnetic method to evaluate the procedure of the method on a small portion of the bridge for prestressing strand corrosion, and truck testing to determine initial behavior of the bridge prior to destructive testing. The destructive field testing of the 3 span bridge involved instrumenting and testing each span individually. One span was left in its existing condition to serve as a control while the two other spans were damaged to varying magnitudes prior to testing. The data from the nondestructive and destructive testing were analyzed and comparisons were made to evaluate the behavior of the bridges and damage. The bridge was assessed analytically using standard design procedures, as well as with simple and complex computer software. Load rating of the bridge was also performed. KW - Box beams KW - Computer models KW - Corrosion KW - Destructive tests KW - Deterioration KW - Field tests KW - Ground penetrating radar KW - Load rating (Bridges) KW - Load tests KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Prestressed concrete bridges KW - Prestressing strands KW - Structural analysis UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/761730955/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1124245 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358627 AU - Abbas, Ala R AU - Liang, Robert Y AU - Frankhouser, Andrew AU - Cardina, John AU - Cubick, Karel L AU - University of Akron AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Green Noise Wall Construction and Evaluation PY - 2011/09 SP - 194p AB - This report details the research performed under Phase I of a research study titled “Green Noise Wall Construction and Evaluation” that looks into the feasibility of using green noise barriers as a noise mitigation option in Ohio. This phase included a thorough review of available green noise barriers to assess their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, it included a questionnaire that was sent out to more than three hundred national and international experts in traffic noise analysis and abatement to document their experience with this type of barriers. Based on the outcome of the literature review and responses to the questionnaire, the Deltalok product was determined to be the most likely product to succeed in Ohio. A prototype Deltalok wall, measuring 15 ft in length, 9 ft in width, and 12 ft in height, was constructed in Covington, Ohio (north of Dayton) to evaluate its structural stability and ability to retain moisture. The prototype wall was equipped with various sensors and devices to monitor its earth pressure and deformation characteristics and examine the moisture and temperature distributions within the barrier. The prototype wall was monitored for a period of two months. The data collected from these sensors and the visual inspections allowed for making several recommendations regarding the construction of the Deltalok system and its use as a green noise barrier. Phase I also included a laboratory plant study that allowed for making recommendations regarding the vegetation selection, soil modification, and watering needs of the Deltalok system. It was not possible in this phase to evaluate plant establishment and long-term survival in a natural highway environment since this requires constructing a full scale barrier and actually planting it, as planned in the second phase. Finally, Phase I estimated the anticipated noise reduction from the proposed full scale green noise barrier using the Federal Highway Administration's Traffic Noise Model Version 2.5. The predicted noise reduction at the proposed barrier site was found to exceed Ohio Department of Transportation's noise barrier design criteria. KW - Aesthetics KW - Green infrastructure KW - Noise barriers KW - Noise control KW - Noise reduction KW - Ohio KW - Prototypes KW - Traffic noise KW - Vegetation UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/761874538/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1124249 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358025 AU - Nakagawara, Van B AU - Montgomery, Ronald W AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Flying Blind: Aeromedical Certification and Undiagnosed Age-Related Macular Degeneration PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 14p AB - Background: The love of flying seldom diminishes throughout a pilot’s career. It is often the primary motivation for investing the time and expense necessary to attain and maintain a valid pilot license and medical certificate. However, a pilot’s ability to meet the physical requirements for aeromedical certification may become compromised by advancing age or impairments. Individuals with physical limitations or the elderly in a number of states must pass a vision test to renew their driver’s license. These individuals may resort to extraordinary measures to avoid losing the privilege of operating a motor vehicle and maintain a sense of independence. Similarly, pilots with physical limitations may attempt to circumvent the Federal Aviation Administration’s aeromedical certification process in order to retain a valid medical certificate. Case Report: In an investigation of a fatal accident the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the aviation medical examiner who issued an airman medical certificate to a visually impaired pilot failed to perform the appropriate procedures to verify the validity of medical information provided by the pilot. The airman subsequently crashed his aircraft, resulting in his death and the deaths of five others onboard. Conclusions: The NTSB report stated the pilot's “failure to maintain airplane control for an undetermined reason resulted in an inadvertent stall.” The report also stated that “either the pilot's macular degeneration or his unrecognized coronary artery disease could have contributed to his failure to maintain control of the airplane.” The potential debilitating effects associated with these and other serious health issues are discussed. KW - Air pilots KW - Air transportation crashes KW - Cardiac disorder KW - Certification KW - Crash causes KW - Diseases and medical conditions KW - Fatalities KW - Health KW - Macular degeneration UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201114.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122190 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357978 AU - Polzin, Steven AU - Chu, Xuehao AU - Bunner, Rodney AU - Pinjari, Abdul AU - Catala, Martin AU - National Center for Transit Research AU - Florida Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - TBEST Model Enhancements - Parcel Level Demographic Data Capabilities and Exploration of Enhanced Trip Attraction Capabilities PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 99p AB - FDOT, in pursuit of its role to assist in providing public transportation services in Florida, has made a substantial research investment in a travel demand forecasting tool for public transportation known as Transit Boardings Estimation and Simulation Tool (TBEST). TBEST incorporates supporting databases that allow users to model transit services for purposes of determining future needs and optimizing current resource deployments by targeting the best markets and route configurations. This research effort is designed to explore enhancements to TBEST to increase its predictive capability and further enhance its value to transit planners. Two key and related areas are targeted. First, the project explores model calibration with parcel-level data. This involves increasing the geographic precision of transit ridership modeling by using parcel-specific data on land use to understand the activity at the parcel level, and hence, the potential for transit ridership. Second, the project explores strategies to more robustly address the issue of special generators. The project determined that transitioning to a parcel-based model is a promising improvement for TBEST. It enables a more precise capturing of the accessibility of transit stops, which has been shown to be critical to transit use. In addition, it accommodates a shift to a trip production/attraction-based data framework that enhances the information on which one can base a transit forecast. In summary, increased computing power, improved databases such as the parcel property inventory, and a strong understanding of factors that influence transit use have enabled the development of more powerful tools to support transit planning. While transit ridership remains highly variable at the stop level and hence difficult to model, great strides are being made, and the full deployment of parcel-level transit models seems inevitable as a logical advancement in the state of the practice. KW - Land use KW - Needs assessment KW - Public transit KW - Ridership KW - Transit demand modeling KW - Transportation planning KW - Trip generation UR - http://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/77801.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122333 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357945 AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Gotlif, Alex AU - Littleton, Paul AU - Sadasivam, Suri AU - Darter, Michael I AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Colorado Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Longitudinal Joint Tie Bar System PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 117p AB - An adequate longitudinal joint tie bar system is essential in the overall performance of concrete pavement. Excessive longitudinal joint openings are believed to be caused by either inadequate tie bar size or spacing or improper tie bar installation. If designed and installed properly, tie bars prevent the joints from opening and consequently improve load transfer efficiency between slabs and between slabs and shoulders, resulting in increased load carrying capacity. This study evaluated the longitudinal joint tie bar system currently used by CDOT, examining the criteria for proper use of tie bars and determining the maximum number of lanes that can be tied together without negatively impacting the concrete pavement structure. An improved mechanistic-empirical tie bar design method was developed. Tie bar design tables with recommended bar size and spacing were provided for each combination of pavement base types, CDOT concrete mixes, and weather stations. Field studies were conducted to investigate longitudinal joint performance and further evaluate the impact of factors related to design and construction practices. The experimental plan for this round of testing included the evaluation of tie bar alignment, measurement of joint load transfer, and measurement of relative slab movement at the joints. In addition, CDOT’s current specifications and practices related to longitudinal joint construction and tie bar design and placement were compared with those of other state agencies. Field testing results revealed that the measured joint openings at some tied longitudinal joints were in the typical range of non-tied slabs, implying that some tied joints performed as poorly as non-tied slabs. The results indicate the possibility of tie bar failure due to loss of concrete-steel bonding or yielding of tie bar steel. Another key finding was the possible impact of tie bar misalignment or misplacement on poor longitudinal joint performance. Testing indicated that the measured joint openings were wider when the tie bars did not connect to the other side of the joint, or when the embedment lengths were inadequate. On the other hand, tie bars with adequate embedment length on both sides of the joint, even when misaligned, appear to hold the joint tight. CDOT should adopt the mechanistic-empirical tie bar design procedure developed in this study. The research team recommends that CDOT conduct more rigorous experimental and field testing covering various base material types and concrete mixtures to obtain Colorado-specific model parameters for implementation. KW - Bearing capacity KW - Colorado KW - Concrete pavements KW - Load transfer KW - Longitudinal joints KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement performance KW - Paving KW - Tie bars UR - http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/research/pdfs/2011/tiebars.pdf/at_download/file UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122576 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357938 AU - Schrank, David AU - Lomax, Tim AU - Eisele, Bill AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - University Transportation Center for Mobility AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - American Road & Transportation Builders Association AU - American Public Transportation Association AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - 2011 Urban Mobility Report PY - 2011/09 SP - 147p AB - Congestion is a significant problem in America’s 439 urban areas. And, although readers and policy makers may have been distracted by the economy-based congestion reductions in the last few years, the 2010 data indicate the problem will not go away by itself – action is needed. First, the problem is very large. In 2010, congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.8 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 1.9 billion gallons of fuel for a congestion cost of $101 billion. Second, 2008 was the best year for congestion in recent times; congestion was worse in 2009 and 2010. Third, there is only a short-term cause for celebration. Prior to the economy slowing, just 4 years ago, congestion levels were much higher than a decade ago; these conditions will return with a strengthening economy. There are many ways to address congestion problems; the data show that these are not being pursued aggressively enough. The most effective strategy is one where agency actions are complemented by efforts of businesses, manufacturers, commuters and travelers. There is no rigid prescription for the “best way”—each region must identify the projects, programs and policies that achieve goals, solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. KW - Fuel consumption KW - Mobility KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic delays KW - Traffic mitigation KW - United States KW - Urban areas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2011-wappx.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122263 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357932 AU - Ma, Jiao AU - Pedigo, Mark AU - Blackwell, Lauren AU - Gildea, Kevin AU - Holcomb, Kali AU - Hackworth, Carla AU - Hiles, John J AU - Saint Louis University AU - Oak Ridge National Laboratory AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - The Line Operations Safety Audit Program: Transitioning From Flight Operations to Maintenance and Ramp Operations PY - 2011/09//Final Report SP - 20p AB - Managing risk has become increasingly important in modern organizations, including medicine, aviation, and finance. Accident investigation concentrates on failures, which are important for discovering major breakdowns, but failures are rare events. Proactive approaches offer the flexibility of observing normal operations. A Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) is a voluntary safety program that collects safety data during normal airline operations and was originally designed for flight deck operations. The goal of this FAA-sponsored project is to capitalize on the 10-plus years of successful audits on the flight deck. The hazards that threaten the safety of flight deck operations are not unique to that environment. Similar problems are present during maintenance and ramp operations. This report provides a review of the use of LOSA, discusses LOSA’s essential operating characteristics, lessons learned on the flight deck, and describes the extension of LOSA to maintenance and ramp operations. The research team developed tools for airlines and maintenance organizations to use as they initiate their maintenance (M-LOSA) and ramp (R-LOSA) programs. KW - Airport ramp operations KW - Flight decks KW - Line Operations Safety Audit KW - Maintenance KW - Risk management KW - Safety audits KW - Safety management UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201115.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122191 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357901 AU - Maritime Administration TI - Comparison of U.S. and Foreign-Flag Operating Costs PY - 2011/09 SP - 91p AB - The Maritime Administration is charged with advocating for the U.S.-flag fleet and promoting the viability of the U.S. merchant marine. To inform the Administration in carrying out this mission, this report compares the operating costs of U.S.-flag vessels engaged in foreign commerce to the costs incurred by foreign-flag vessels. This comparison provides valuable insight to the Maritime Administration and the public regarding the global competitiveness of the U.S.-flag fleet. KW - Competition KW - Flags of convenience KW - Merchant fleet operation KW - Merchant marine KW - Operating costs KW - Registry KW - Trade KW - United States UR - http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/Comparison_of_US_and_Foreign_Flag_Operating_Costs.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1123410 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357896 AU - Ullman, Gerald L AU - Lomax, Timothy J AU - Scriba, Tracy AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Primer on Work Zone Safety and Mobility Performance Measurement PY - 2011/09 SP - 68p AB - This primer has been developed to assist agencies in establishing and monitoring a useful set of work zone safety and mobility performance measures. Work zone performance measures are metrics that help to quantify how work zones impact travelers, residents, businesses and workers. Work zone performance measures help agencies improve their understanding of how their decisions during planning, design, and construction affect work zone safety and mobility, and thus can help improve how they make decisions for future work zones. The primer describes possible work zone performance measures, and provides guidance to help agencies select and implement measures that make sense for their own work zone programs. The primer outlines the methods and technologies that are available to gather data to monitor the various possible measures and procedures for calculating specific performance measures from different types of work zone traffic monitoring data. The primer also discusses the use of measures across multiple projects to assess an agency’s overall efforts and outcomes against its policies and goals. KW - Highway operations KW - Metrics (Quantitative assessment) KW - Mobility KW - Performance measurement KW - Traffic data KW - Traffic surveillance KW - Work zone safety KW - Work zone traffic control UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/publications/fhwahop11033/fhwahop11033.pdf UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/publications/fhwahop11033/index.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1123390 ER - TY - SER AN - 01357347 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Slattery, Dianne K AU - Slattery, Kerry T AU - Bruce, Richard D AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - An Expert Systems Approach to Highway Construction Scheduling PY - 2011/09 IS - 11-089 SP - 71p AB - The goal of this project was to assist design engineers in developing more realistic construction schedules for a wide variety of Illinois Department of Transportation projects. The research involved conducting in-depth interviews with subject matter experts in highway construction firms; reviewing the scholarly literature and published research on expert systems in highway construction scheduling and productivity rates for highway construction activities; analyzing historical weather records published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to determine the probable periods during which temperature-sensitive construction operations could be conducted; and synthesizing the expert knowledge developed from all sources in a software tool to assist designers in developing schedules for a variety of typical highway construction activities. The report includes the user manual and documentation for a computer program, the Illinois Construction Scheduling Expert System (ICSES), developed using Visual Studio 2008. ICSES provides 12 road and bridge project templates, each containing typical controlling items and their sequential relationships, links controlling items to the schedule using historical temperature trends at the project location, and provides expert guidance on how to select appropriate production rates for controlling items. The output provides a bar chart schedule with completion date, number of calendar days and working days and tabulates the Estimate of Time Required. KW - Computer program documentation KW - Construction scheduling KW - Expert systems KW - Illinois KW - Productivity KW - Road construction KW - Software UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45818 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55700/55779/FHWA-ICT-11-089.PDF UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122827 ER - TY - SER AN - 01357343 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Ullah, Mohammad S AU - Molakatalla, Udit AU - Morocoima-Black, Rita AU - Mohideen, Ahmed Z AU - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Travel Demand Modeling for the Small and Medium Sized MPOs in Illinois PY - 2011/09 IS - 11-091 SP - 123p AB - Travel demand modeling (TDM) is an important tool in the transportation planning community. It helps forecast travel characteristics into the future at various planning levels such as state, region and corridor. Using TDM to evaluate different situations (changes in land use and/or transportation network) would allow the staff of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to make educated decisions regarding growth and improvements to their respective regional transportation networks. Several small (50,000< population <200,000) and medium (200,000