TY - ABST AN - 01461924 TI - Measuring PM Emissions from Aircraft Auxiliary Power Units, Tires and Brakes AB - Assessment of particulate matter (PM) emissions from aircraft engines and other emission sources at airports are growing in importance as demand for air travel grows. However, little or no data are available on APUs, GSE, and tire and brake emissions during landing operations. Without better information about PM emissions, airports will face increasing barriers to expansion. To address this lack of data on emissions from APUs, GSE, and tires and brakes, a measurement campaign for quantifying PM emissions at the source tailpipe and in the near field of these sources is needed. This research will initiate a high-quality multidimensional study of PM emissions from GSE, APUs, and tires and brakes coupling source emissions at the tailpipe/exhaust plane and in the near field to define specific source profiles. These high-quality multidimensional studies should include a thorough physical (e.g., size, number, mass) and chemical composition analysis at the emissions source and in the near field (<20m downstream). It may not be feasible to capture tire and brake emissions at the source on an active airport, in which case it may be necessary to determine this in brake and tire friction laboratories. Note: Measuring PM emissions from APUs, GSE, and aircraft tires and brakes will require cooperation with aircraft and GSE owners and operators. Such voluntary support from aircraft and GSE owners and operators may be difficult to obtain, given the current economic climate and limited resources available to devote to this volunteer effort. KW - Air quality management KW - Aircraft KW - Aircraft exhaust gases KW - Brakes KW - Environmental impacts KW - Ground support equipment KW - Particulates KW - Pollutants KW - Tires UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2788 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1230144 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461683 TI - Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual, 3rd Edition AB - The Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM) was initially published in 1999. The TCQSM serves as a comprehensive resource document presenting information on principles and practices of transit capacity for all transit modes, and of transit quality of service from the passenger's point-of-view. The TCQSM supplements the Highway Capacity Manual, which focuses on presentation of highway capacity and quality of service principles and practices. A subset of the material in the TCQSM 1st Edition serves as the basis for the transit chapters in the Highway Capacity Manual 2000 (HCM2000). Subsequent to the publishing of the HCM2000, a 2nd Edition of the TCQSM was published in 2003. Whereas the 1st Edition was primarily a synthesis effort of previous transit capacity research, with the quality-of-service section being its primary new contribution, the 2nd Edition focused on filling gaps in previous research, updating capacity and quality-of-service procedures, and incorporating feedback from users of the 1st Edition. The 2nd Edition, published as TCRP Report 100, has subsequently become one of TCRP's best-selling documents. A 2010 edition of the Highway Capacity Manual is currently under development. The 2010 HCM will have a more multimodal focus than before, but given the existence of the TCQSM, the increasing page count of the HCM as a result of new research, and the difficulty of keeping the two manuals' content in sync with each other, the 2010 HCM will present a more streamlined presentation of transit. The HCM project's intent is to have a strong TCQSM continue to be the primary source for basic information on transit capacity and quality of service. Given a new HCM 2010, there is strong feeling that an update of the TCQSM, a 3rd Edition, is required to reflect refined highway and multimodal analysis procedures, and to incorporate the substantial research related to transit capacity and quality of service that has occurred since 2003. The TCQSM is a cornerstone of the TCRP report series. It is used by numerous universities as a basic transit education tool, was previously the subject of a National Transit Institute course, and was used by one large transit agency as an educational tool for their transit board in a series of workshops on transit quality of service, performance measurement, and service standards. An Internet search found numerous examples of usage of the TCQSM by transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and state DOTs. The manual's transit level-of-service (LOS) measures are the most commonly applied portion of the document, particularly in long-range transit plans and transit development plans, although they have also been applied to corridor studies, alternatives analyses, and environmental impact statements. The state of Florida developed a guidebook for transit agencies and MPOs on ways to apply the TCQSM's transit LOS measures. The manual's documented capacity applications have particularly focused on bus rapid transit (BRT) operations, although one example of a light rail application was also found, along with examples of the manual being used as a source of comparative modal capacities. In addition, the manual is often used as a source of transit definitions and transit capacity and quality of service concepts, even when the manual's specific procedures are not required or used for a particular application. The objective of this research is to develop a 3rd Edition of the TCQSM, to reflect the latest transit capacity and quality of service applications and research, the new multimodal focus and procedures in the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual, and interest in the international community to expand the manual to reflect transit conditions outside North America. KW - Highway capacity KW - Highway Capacity Manual KW - Level of service KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Public transit KW - Quality of service KW - Transit capacity KW - Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual KW - Transit operating agencies UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2890 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229903 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01349478 AU - Jeong, Hyung Seok AU - Woldesenbet, Asregedew AU - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater AU - Oklahoma Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Development of an Improved System for Contract Time Determination – Phase III PY - 2010/09/30/Final Report SP - 135p AB - This study developed Daily Work Report (DWR) based prediction models to determine reasonable production rates of controlling activities of highway projects. The study used available resources such as DWR, soil data, AADT and other existing project data from the various divisions of ODOT as primary source in estimating productivity. The study describes the effects and variations of production rates of highway activities to changes in environmental, geographical and project site conditions. The study also includes a relative comparison between a survey of experts’ estimate of production rate and DWR based prediction models. An Excel based standalone software program developed for ODOT engineers and schedulers to estimate reasonably accurate production rates is also presented in the study. The output of this model would allow ODOT engineers and schedulers to improve their accuracy and save their time in determining more reliable production rates of major highway construction activities by easily adjusting site conditions and project factors. The program will help ODOT to determine appropriate contract times of Tier II highway projects which would enhance better planning of resources, reduce construction cost, minimize the construction crew’s exposure to traffic, reduce the inconvenience to the public, track project progress and future estimating and bidding guidelines. This study will not only allow ODOT to be equipped with a streamlined procedure for determining production rates of highway construction activities, but will also be a framework and a benchmarking example to other highway agencies. KW - Contracts KW - Productivity KW - Road construction KW - Time UR - http://www.oktc.org/otc/files/finalReports/OTCREOS7.1-22-F.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1107991 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01349473 AU - Jeong, Hyung Seok AU - Abdollahipour, Saeed AU - Florez, Laura AU - Irizarry, Javier AU - Castro, Daniel AU - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater AU - Oklahoma Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Evaluation of Construction Strategies for PCC Pavement Rehabilitation Projects PY - 2010/09/30/Final Report SP - 139p AB - This study investigated project management level solutions to optimizing resources, minimizing costs (including user costs) and time for PCC pavement rehabilitation projects. This study extensively evaluated the applicability of the Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS) software program as a potential solution to achieve the goal. The usability of the CA4PRS was assessed by conducting knowledge inventory surveys at GDOT and ODOT as well as conducting four case studies. The pre and post knowledge inventory surveys indicated that there was a general understanding that the CA4PRS could be used as an excellent tool to help decision makers effectively plan PCC pavement rehabilitation projects. The four case studies indicated that, in addition to using the CA4PRS, there should be further efforts in order to develop an effective construction plan for a PCC pavement rehabilitation project. Some major recommendations are a) ODOT/GDOT must put efforts to collect CA4PRS input data and develop a database for reliable analysis using the CA4PRS, b) ODOT/GOT also need to use the CPM scheduling method and the CA4PRS together because the current CA4PRS considers only six major activities in project scheduling, c) A simulation program such as the Cyclone program can be used to determine the optimal number of resources of major activities. Based on the findings of this study, this project has designed an improved planning procedure to find the most efficient project phasing and closure scenario for PCC pavement rehabilitation projects. The procedure involves a quantitative analysis on every potential project execution scenario using the CA4PRS, the CPM method and a simulation tool. KW - CA4PRS (Computer model) KW - Concrete pavements KW - Construction scheduling KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Programming (Planning) KW - Project management KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Software UR - http://www.oktc.org/otc/files/finalReports/OTCREOS7.1-23-F.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1108008 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01338797 AU - Holguin-Veras, Jose AU - Ozbay, Kaan AU - Kornhauser, Alain AU - Shorris, Anthony AU - Ukkusuri, Satish AU - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrative Freight Demand Management in the New York City Metropolitan Area PY - 2010/09/30/Final Report SP - 254p AB - This project is one of the first in the world that has successfully integrated the use of remote sensing technology—in this case Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled cell phones—as part of a system that effectively reduces truck traffic in the congested hours of the day, through the use of incentives to receivers. In doing so, the project designed, developed, and pilot tested a concept that: Exploited the use of GPS technology and its estimates of travel times and delays, for compliance verification, data sharing among participating partners, and validation of the traffic models used to predict the effects of the proposed program on the traffic network; Developed state of the art analytical formulations and simulation systems to study and predict the behavior of carriers and receivers—together with the underlying behavioral theories—that were successfully verified during the pilot test conducted; Led to new policy paradigms that, by exploiting the nature of Large Traffic Generators and unassisted deliveries, greatly reduce the need for financial incentives to receivers; Garnered the enthusiastic support of large corporations involved in urban delivery activities, trade organizations, trade publications, and the industry at large, as they understood the concept‘s potential as a business-friendly and effective freight demand management tool they could embrace; Conducted institutional analyses to identify and preliminarily discuss potential inter-agency arrangements that could support the concept; and Has received considerable research acclaim. KW - Cellular telephones KW - Freight demand management KW - Freight transportation KW - Global Positioning System KW - Incentives KW - Management KW - New York Metropolitan Area KW - Peak periods KW - Truck traffic UR - http://www.transp.rpi.edu/~usdotp/DRAFT_FINAL_REPORT.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1100715 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226640 AU - Department of Transportation AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - FAA’s Air Traffic Controller Optimum Training Solution Program: Sound Contract Management Practices Are Needed To Achieve Program Outcomes PY - 2010/09/30 SP - 27p AB - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to hire and train nearly 15,000 new air traffic controllers through fiscal year (FY) 2018 to replace the large pool of air traffic controllers who were hired after the 1981 strike and are now retiring. In September 2008, FAA awarded a contract to the Raytheon Technical Services Corporation (Raytheon) to provide training support for new and existing controllers and to assist FAA in modernizing its controller training program. The contract for the Air Traffic Controller Optimum Training Solution (ATCOTS) is for a period of up to 10 years (with a 5-year base period and 5 option years) at a total potential cost of $859 million. Under terms of the contract, Raytheon provides classroom, laboratory, and simulator instruction; training support; course and curriculum development; and administrative and program support services at the FAA Academy and air traffic facilities nationwide. Key ATCOTS goals for controller training include reducing total cost and time, improving quality and consistency, and developing flexible training systems that can be adapted to new technologies—particularly those related to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). In January 2009, it was requested that the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (OIG) review the ATCOTS program. The request stated that while ATCOTS could bring positive changes to FAA’s training program, given its importance, a better understanding of the financial and contractual aspects is needed. Accordingly, OIG's audit objectives were to determine (1) whether effective management and contract controls are in place to ensure program goals are achieved and (2) if the program has improved training methods currently provided to the controller workforce. It was found that, in designing and executing the ATCOTS program, FAA did not fully consider program requirements. As a result, FAA now faces significant challenges in achieving the program’s goals. KW - Air traffic control KW - Air traffic controllers KW - Contract administration KW - Strategic planning KW - Training UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/WEB%20FILE_ATCOTS.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987471 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01613831 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Improving Safety Data Collection, Access, and Analysis for California’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) PY - 2010/09/28 SP - 15p AB - This report provides a summary of a peer exchange held September 28-29, 2010 in Sacramento, California, sponsored by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The report also includes recommendations to improve traffic safety data systems, which are used in addressing issues related to various Challenge Areas in California’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). California’s goals for the peer exchange were (1) to review the State’s current data systems and (2) to evaluate opportunities to better address data needs for California’s SHSP. The peer exchange convened safety stakeholders from California’s Traffic Records Coordinating Committee/SHSP Challenge Area 16 (TRCC/CA 16) team to explore improvements to California’s traffic safety data systems. Twenty-one members of the TRCC/CA 16 team attended, including representatives from Caltrans, OTS, CHP, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), California Department of Public Health (DPH), and the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA). The event provided an opportunity for stakeholders to learn from selected peers with model traffic records systems, including the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC DOT), the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (MI DTMB), and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC). Criteria for selecting peers included demonstration of successful collaboration with safety partners, including State DOTs, law enforcement, local governments, emergency medical services (EMS), and public health providers. The peer exchange discussions and presentations focused on the following topics: National perspective on traffic safety data systems issues and challenges; Current California data systems, including crash data processing; Peer States’ noteworthy experiences with traffic data records; and Recommended next steps to improve the coordination of data systems for reduced traffic fatalities and overall safer roadways in California. KW - California Department of Transportation KW - Crash data KW - Data analysis KW - Data collection KW - Peer exchange KW - Recommendations KW - Stakeholders KW - State departments of transportation KW - Strategic Highway Safety Plan KW - Strategic planning KW - Traffic safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/59000/59400/59462/peer_report_CA_Sept2010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1425511 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463805 TI - Incorporating Livability into Rural and Small Metropolitan Transportation Planning AB - The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation proposes to research the methodologies and extent to which livable community concepts are incorporated into rural and small metropolitan transportation planning processes. The research will identify mechanisms that rural and small metropolitan transportation planning organizations (typically referred to as RPO's or RTPO's) are implementing to incorporate the tenets of livable communities, while also working to meet the transportation needs of residents in these communities. Specifically, the research will assess the roles that RPOs are undertaking to incorporate the goals of U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Environmental Protection Agency's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, such as promoting transportation choice, enhancing economic competitiveness and coordinating policies into their planning processes. KW - Livable communities KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Quality of life KW - Regional planning KW - Regional transportation KW - Rural areas KW - Small cities KW - Sustainable development KW - Transportation planning UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232032 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01476285 AU - Miller-Hooks, Elise AU - Melanta, Suvish AU - Avetisyan, Hakob AU - University of Maryland, College Park AU - Maryland State Highway Administration AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Tools to Support GHG Emissions Reduction: A Regional Effort Part 1 - Carbon Footprint Estimation and Decision Support PY - 2010/09/26/Final Report SP - 170p AB - Tools are proposed for carbon footprint estimation of transportation construction projects and decision support for construction firms that must make equipment choice and usage decisions that affect profits, project duration and greenhouse gas emissions. These tools will enable responsible agencies and construction firms to predict and affect the impact of their construction-related decisions and investments. KW - Construction equipment KW - Construction projects KW - Decision making KW - Environmental impact analysis KW - Estimating KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Pollutants UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/MAUTC-2008-01.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1245468 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467640 TI - Research to Support FMCSA Rulemaking Activities AB - This effort will fund an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract for research, as needed, to support the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration's (FMCSA's) rulemaking activities. Funding will be used to review, consolidate, and document the research on these areas: for New Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Drivers Statutory Mandate: § 4122 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), PL 109-59, 119 Stat 1144, 1734 (Aug 10, 2005) as well as to support other FMCSA Research Division projects. KW - Commercial drivers KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Drivers KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Motor carriers KW - Rulemaking KW - Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235876 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573271 TI - Applications for the Environment Real-Time Synthesis State-of-the-Practice Support AB - The AERIS (Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis) research program is intended to conduct research on generating and/or acquiring environmentally-relevant real-time transportation data to create actionable information to support and facilitate “green” transportation choices by transportation system users and operators. The AERIS program will better define how connected vehicle data and applications might contribute to mitigating some of the negative environmental impacts of surface transportation. The purpose of this project is to conduct for the AERIS program a state of the practice assessment of behavioral and activity-based models that will be of use to assess how behaviors may be influenced to reduce negative environmental impacts of the transportation system; environmental models; and technologies that will allow the capture of environmental data and data needed to measure environmental impacts. KW - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis KW - Data collection KW - Environmental impacts KW - Real time information KW - State of the art KW - Vehicle to infrastructure communications KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366401 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573270 TI - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Synthesis Broad Agency Announcement Project: Evaluate Fuel Efficient Route Guidance AB - The project will conduct a realistic assessment using a case study of a medium-sized metropolitan area of the likely environmental benefits of an Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) strategy that involves providing route guidance to travelers based on the lowest fuel consumption route. At the present time, motorists typically choose their routes based on minimizing their perceived total travel time or generalized cost. Almost all routing algorithms commonly used within the transportation industry, such as user equilibrium (UE) and system optimal (SO) assignments, are based on the assumption of drivers selecting the shortest path (i.e. least travel time) between a given origin-destination (OD) pair. Moreover, the basis for routing in virtually all of the current Global Positioning System (GPS) 2 navigation devices, the use of which has skyrocketed in the United States in recent years, is still the minimum travel time, subject to perhaps some driver preference parameters (e.g. prefer highway, avoid toll roads, etc.).Until recently, the transportation profession lacked the necessary tools to determine whether the fastest route between an origin-destination (OD) pair were, in fact, the optimal one from an environmental (i.e. energy consumption and emissions) standpoint. The dramatic scientific advances in state-of-the-art microscopic traffic simulation models and emissions models have made it possible to accurately determine the impact of route choice on regional energy consumption and emissions. Moreover, with advances in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), the opportunity now exists to research the feasibility and likely benefits of routing strategies that explicitly consider the criteria of minimum energy consumption and emissions in recommending a route for a driver. This is especially true, given the most recent United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) connected vehicle research, which envisions a networked environment supporting vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications.The proposed research will be conducted using a Transportation Analysis Simulation System (TRANSIMS) model of the Greater Buffalo-Niagara region. The model was originally developed by the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, in a Transportation Analysis Simulation System (TRANSIMS) test deployment study funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The model is currently being refined and expanded in another study funded by FHWA, and being conducted by the University at Buffalo (UB) and the State University of New York.  To use TRANSIMS for the development of environmentally based routes and for evaluating the benefits of environmentally based routing, the model will be linked to the Multiscale Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator Model (MOVES2010), which was recently released by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) Office of Transportation and Air Quality. Multiscale Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator Model (MOVES2010) is designed to allow for conducting environmental analyses based on second-by-second dynamic vehicle information, which will be provided by the TRANSIMS model (EPA, 2009; EPA, 2010). The research will also assess the impact of several factors on the likely benefits of environmentally based route guidance. These factors will include: (1) the market penetration for users of such routing strategies; (2) the additional benefits from providing real-time information about accidents and other traffic disturbances, information that should be readily available from a connected vehicle system; (3) the additional benefits from customizing the optimal environmental routes for the vehicle type (e.g. light-duty vehicle versus a truck). The study will also evaluate the degree to which the optimal routes derived based on the objective of minimizing fuel consumption are different from those derived based on minimizing the total travel time, as well as the reductions in emissions resulting from environmental-based routing. KW - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis KW - Environmental impacts KW - Fuel consumption KW - Global Positioning System KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Origin and destination KW - Route guidance KW - Transportation Analysis and Simulation System KW - Travel time KW - United States UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366399 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573267 TI - Applications for the Environment Real-Time Synthesis Broad Agency Announcement Project: Assessment of Data and Modeling Opportunities for Heavy Trucks AB - The Electronic Control Units (ECU) data of heavy-duty trucks (HDT) can be accessed through the industry standard Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) J1939 data bus. Many fleet owners have equipped their truck fleets with onboard devices that couple ECU with telematics capabilities where vehicle and engine operating parameters, as well as positioning information (i.e. via a Global Positioning System (GPS)), are wirelessly transmitted to a computer server on a periodic basis. Through partnership with these fleet owners, the research team has created a master database that gathers and aggregates these ECU data that can be used in real-time applications to evaluate and improve the performance of transportation systems, especially those related to freight movement. This project has been chartered to investigate how broader data types from a vehicle’s data bus might be collected and what value these data types might have in studies of the environmental issues associated with highway transportation and in the development of advanced applications to manage these issues. KW - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis KW - Data collection KW - Electronic control KW - Environmental impacts KW - Freight traffic measurement KW - Global Positioning System KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Real time data processing KW - Vehicle electronics UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366394 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573266 TI - Applications for the Environment Real-Time Synthesis Broad Agency Announcement Project: Eco-Adaptive Signalized Intersection Algorithm AB - An eco-adaptive signalized intersection application and algorithm will be developed and evaluated. KW - Adaptive control KW - Algorithms KW - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis KW - Real time control KW - Signalized intersections KW - Traffic control devices UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366393 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573261 TI - Applications for the Environment Real-Time Synthesis Broad Agency Announcement Project: Evaluating Intelligent Eco-Drive Applications AB - The project will examine the potential of ecoadaptive cruise control (eco-ACC) applications to improve environmental performance. A traffic simulation tool will be modified to model eco‐ACC strategies, and research will be conducted to develop an effective algorithm for this application. KW - Algorithms KW - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis KW - Cruise control KW - Ecodriving KW - Environmental control KW - Real time control KW - Traffic simulation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366340 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463803 TI - Linking Transportation Planning with Public Health: An Ecological-Based Paradigm for Institutional Collaboration AB - The objective of this project is to develop an ecological-based planning paradigm to promote greater collaboration among transportation planning agencies and public health agencies. In order to achieve this broad objective, the research will focus on: (1) Identifying the barriers that exist between agencies in the transportation planning and public health communities, as well as other agencies/key players in the public and private sectors with keen interests in transportation planning and regional development. (2) Understanding the reasons behind the jurisdictional and institutional barriers. (3) Developing a comprehensive tool in line with the emerging regional ecological framework to facilitate communication and collaboration among stakeholders in the transportation planning and healthcare communities to develop a shared vision for future infrastructure development. The proposed paradigm includes a set of policy suggestions, practical procedures and technical instruments for facilitating communications between the two communities in order to develop shared visions for urban growth and the development of transportation infrastructure. KW - Communication KW - Cooperation KW - Ecology KW - Infrastructure KW - Public health KW - Regional development KW - Technical assistance KW - Transportation infrastructure KW - Transportation planning UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232030 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575022 TI - Traffic Management Center Pooled Fund Study—Task 1: Methodologies to Measure and Quantify Traffic Management Center Benefits, Phase 1 AB - The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of and to quantify benefits in traffic operations due to the implementation of transportation management centers and the systems, infrastructure, and functions associated with their operations. Phase 1 will produce a Synthesis Report and evaluate the feasibility of developing a software tool for quantifying the benefits of transportation management centers. If feasible, phase 2 will develop a software tool. KW - Benefits KW - Highway operations KW - Highway traffic control KW - Methodology KW - Pooled funds KW - Traffic control centers KW - Traffic control devices UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367079 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01557043 AU - Gross, John H AU - Stout, Robert D AU - Cook, D C AU - Roberts, J E AU - Arico, K E AU - Conrad, M B AU - Lehigh University AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Improved Corrosion Resistant Steel for Highway Bridge Construction PY - 2010/09/22/Final Report SP - 30p AB - Under contract to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Lehigh University Center for Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) implemented a program to develop an improved corrosion-resistant highway-bridge steel. The contract required that the steel be producible on existing American facilities, meet American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) design specifications, with mechanical properties similar to “today’s steel grades”, be readily weldable by standard processes, and have a cost similar to A709 steels. Twenty-three developmental steel compositions were evaluated with elemental additions to a base Cu-Ni precipitation-strengthened steel developed by ATLSS that was previously shown to have excellent toughness and weldability for infrastructure applications, particularly bridges. Various amounts of copper, nickel, chromium, and silicon were added to the base composition. The steel that best met the FHWA requirements was identified as Steel D, which contained 2% copper and 2% nickel. Several steels with increased chromium exhibited good corrosion resistance but the other properties, particularly toughness and weldability, were not acceptable. Production of a commercial heat of Steel D is recommended for (1) confirming its excellent mechanical properties and weldability, (2) conducting large-scale prototype tests, and (3) for retaining steel slabs that can be rolled to the structural components required for erecting three highway bridges at locations selected by FHWA where improved corrosion resistance is highly desirable. KW - Alloy steel KW - Bridge construction KW - Copper KW - Corrosion resistant steel KW - Highway bridges KW - Nickel UR - http://preserve.lehigh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1248&context=engr-civil-environmental-atlss-reports UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1345763 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01343270 AU - Pulugurtha, Srinivas S AU - Mora, Rakesh AU - University of North Carolina, Charlotte AU - North Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Traffic Operational Evaluation of Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Case Sites PY - 2010/09/22/Final Report SP - 170p AB - This report summarizes traffic operational evaluation of six select traffic impact analysis (TIA) case sites and the effectiveness of forecasting methods used in TIA studies. Six TIA case sites comprising 15 signalized intersections and 2 unsignalized intersections in North Carolina (four sites in the Charlotte region and two sites in the Raleigh region) were considered for comparison. Data collected during morning peak hours (7 AM – 9 AM) and evening peak hours (4 PM – 6 PM) on a typical weekday were used for evaluation. The measures of effectiveness (MOEs) considered for the evaluation of data are total number of hourly stops, 50th percentile queue length, average intersection delay, and level-of-service (LOS). The comparison of operational performance and forecasting methods was conducted using three different methods. The first method was used to compare the operational performance at selected intersections before and after the construction of the new development proposed in the TIA study using Synchro® traffic simulation software. The second method was used to compare “what was forecasted to happen after the development?” with “what is happening after the development?” using Synchro® traffic simulation software. The third method was used to compare outcomes obtained using Synchro® traffic simulation software with field observations after the development. Results obtained from the evaluations indicate that new developments naturally have a considerable effect on operational performance at intersections near the development. The build-out year forecasted traffic volumes and traffic conditions had not been reached for the six reviewed TIA reports. This difference can at least in part be attributed to economic conditions and the fact that several of the sites still had vacant parcels / outlots and additional unconstructed development. Recognizing that seasonal traffic fluctuations can have a significant impact on the magnitude of commercial site traffic, improved forecasts and traffic operational condition modeling could be achieved with improved regional traffic growth rates, conservative peak hour factors (PHF) and use of representative heavy vehicle percentages. Given the variability and significance of the build out of complex mixed use sites, a five year build out horizon may be more appropriate for determination of needed improvements and acceptable levels of service since a three year window often only allows completion of the construction of the primary anchors. KW - Case studies KW - Charlotte (North Carolina) KW - Level of service KW - Measures of effectiveness KW - Mixed use development KW - Peak hour traffic KW - Raleigh (North Carolina) KW - Signalized intersections KW - Stopping KW - Synchro (Computer program) KW - Traffic delays KW - Traffic forecasting KW - Traffic impact analysis KW - Traffic queuing KW - Traffic simulation KW - Unsignalized intersections UR - http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/research/download/2009-09finalreport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1105100 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463808 TI - Program Development Study for SR-11/Otay Mesa East Port of Entry AB - The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) are serving as lead agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the preparation of a joint project-level or Tier II Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for SR-11 and the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry (POE). The Tier II EIR/EIS will address project-specific impacts and propose specific avoidance, minimization and/or compensation measures. The scope of the project is focused on the preparation of the EIR/EIS necessary to satisfy requirements of NEPA and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). KW - Air quality management KW - California KW - Environmental impact statements KW - Freight traffic KW - Freight transportation KW - Port operations KW - Port traffic KW - Truck terminals UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232035 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01478164 AU - Littleton, Paul AU - Mallela, Jagannath AU - Hoffman, Gary AU - Applied Research Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - North Dakota Demonstration Project: Whitetopping on U.S. 2 West of Rugby PY - 2010/09/20/Final Report SP - 37p AB - As part of a national initiative sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration under the Highways for LIFE program, the North Dakota Department of Transportation was awarded a $1 million grant to demonstrate the use of proven, innovative thin concrete overlay known as whitetopping and full lane closure for resurfacing U.S. Highway 2, west of the town of Rugby. This report details the use of whitetopping to rehabilitate this major interregional highway. Using full lane closure during construction greatly reduced the duration of traffic interruption compared with traditional methods. Full lane closure on a major highway has been used on reconstruction projects in North Dakota but is typically not used for overlay projects. As a result, an estimated 19 days and $32,927 in road user costs were saved by implementing a full lane closure on this project. A life cycle cost analysis shows that the costs of whitetopping are within 1.8 percent of an asphalt alternative for both agency and road user costs during construction and future maintenance and rehabilitation. The success of this project will encourage the use of whitetopping and full lane closure techniques as viable alternatives for future rehabilitation projects. KW - Highways for LIFE KW - Lane closure KW - Life cycle costing KW - North Dakota KW - Overlays (Pavements) KW - Resurfacing KW - Road construction KW - Technological innovations KW - Whitetopping UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdfs/nd_062011.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1247043 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463798 TI - Evaluation of Deep Patch Landslide Mitigation Design Methodology AB - The purpose of this project is to evaluate and improve current Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Federal Lands Highway (FLH) and US Forest Service (USFS) deep patch design and construction methods. KW - Construction KW - Design KW - Landslides KW - Mitigation measures (Construction) KW - Patching UR - http://www.westerntransportationinstitute.org/research/4W3350.aspx UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232025 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01342833 AU - Jasper, Keith AU - Miller, Sheryl AU - Armstrong, Christopher AU - Science Applications International Corporation AU - Delcan Corporation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - National Evaluation of the SafeTrip-21 Initiative: Final Report Real Time Intersection Delay PY - 2010/09/17/Final Report SP - 26p AB - Through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) SafeTrip-21 initiative, the USDOT is testing a variety of technologies in a number of locations in California as well as along the I-95 corridor on the east coast. As part of this Federal initiative, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) tested the use of a traffic volume and signal timing information monitoring system. For the purposes of SafeTrip-21, this system is referred to as the real time intersection delay (RTID) system. During this testing, the USDOT conducted an evaluation to gain an understanding of the technical and institutional issues associated with using this system. The purpose of the evaluation is both to learn how such a system can enable signal phase and timing information, together with lane by lane traffic count data, to be collected in real time and processed from remote locations via the internet, and to determine how that information can be used effectively by State Department of Transportation (DOT) staff to optimize the performance of signalized intersections. The objective of the evaluation was to gather lessons learned from the test deployment of the RTID system in the San Francisco Bay Area. These lessons would serve Caltrans and other similar jurisdictions by providing guidance on successfully implementing RTID systems. In particular, USDOT and Caltrans were interested in learning about the factors that influence which locations are best suited for such systems and, if widely deployed, the changes in existing management policies that may be required for such systems to enhance traffic operations within existing resources. The SafeTrip-21 solicitation sought test sites and test applications. While Caltrans and its partners are providing the Bay Area test bed and using it to test a number of applications of their own, they also agreed to host field tests proposed by others. The field test for the RTID system is a case in point, for which the test was proposed by the vendor of the system, TrafInfo Communications Inc., and tested on the Caltrans test bed in the Bay Area. This document presents the evaluation findings, resulting primarily from in-person interviews the Evaluation Team conducted with institutional partners. KW - Intersections KW - Interstate 95 KW - Real time information KW - Real time intersection delay KW - SafeTrip-21 KW - San Francisco Bay Area KW - Signalized intersections KW - Traffic signal timing KW - Traffic surveillance UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/36000/36000/36082/rtid_final.htm UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/36000/36000/36082/rtid_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1104508 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461680 TI - State of Good Repair: Prioritizing the Rehabilitation and Replacement of Existing Capital Assets and Evaluating the Implications for Transit AB - Keeping public transportation systems in a state of good repair is essential to sustaining existing transportation services, providing mobility, and supporting livable communities. Transit agencies find that service reliability, on-time performance, and safety are strongly influenced by the condition of capital assets. Insuring that transit infrastructure is in a state of good repair is essential for sustaining and increasing transit ridership. As public transportation system assets progressively age and deteriorate, the capital funds required to maintain these assets in a state of good repair are typically much greater than the funds available. Assets such as vehicles, stations, fixed-guideway systems, maintenance facilities, and fire/life/safety systems must be maintained and replaced. The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Rail Modernization Study Report to Congress (April 2009) evaluated the nation's seven largest rail operators and found a backlog of over $50 billion. Public transportation systems of all sizes and all modes face significant annual backlogs. Considering constrained budgets, how should public transportation systems prioritize their investments? How can these needs be communicated to decisionmakers and the public? Public transportation systems of different sizes and modal composition need a framework for prioritizing the rehabilitation and replacement of existing capital assets and methods to assess the consequences (positive and negative) of various investment levels on key indicators of transit service and performance. Investment decisions should reflect a concern for transit operations and system performance as well as other factors such as legal mandates, environmental sustainability, social justice, and technological advances that affect the prioritization process. The objectives of this research are to (1) develop a framework for public transportation systems to prioritize the rehabilitation and replacement of existing capital assets and (2) identify methods for assessing the consequences (positive and negative) of various investment levels on key indicators of public transportation service and performance. KW - Accessibility KW - Asset management KW - Capital investments KW - Light rail transit KW - On time performance KW - Public transit KW - Regional development KW - Ridership KW - Sustainable development KW - Transit operating agencies UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2893 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229899 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461089 TI - Drowsy Driving Among Older Adults AB - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving is related to more than 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year which result in about 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths. Analysis of crash records has been used to identify groups among whom drowsy driving is considered most prevalent (e.g., young people, males, shift workers, and people with undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders). However, such analyses are limited because they typically estimate drowsy driving crashes based on single-vehicle, run-off-road, drift-off-road, or drift-out-of-lane events occurring between midnight and 6:00 AM in which alcohol is not involved. Thus, crash records may not accurately reflect the prevalence and factors related to drowsy driving among older adults who tend to avoid night driving and so have fewer nighttime crashes in general. In addition, because of declines in critical driving skills resulting from age-related medical conditions, drowsy-driving crashes among older drivers are more likely to be attributed to declining cognitive, perceptual, or motor skills than to drowsiness. There is a need for more detailed information about drowsy driving crashes among the older adult population. The overarching goal of the project is to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of, and factors related to, drowsy driving among older adults in the US through a nationally representative survey. The project is intended to be completed in two phases. The first phase will involve developing and pilot testing the survey. The second phase will involve administering the survey to a representative sample of older adults in the US as part of national surveys conducted at the University of Michigan (U-M) Institute for Social Research (ISR), such as the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) conducted bi-annually. We are asking for M-CASTL support for the first phase of this research project. Specific project tasks related to development of the survey will include: 1) conducting a detailed literature review and synthesis of topics related to older adult drowsy driving; 2) convening a multidisciplinary panel of experts to explore issues identified in the literature review; 3) conduct focus groups to further identify salient topics to be included in the survey; 4) based on results from the tasks 1-3, develop the survey instrument; and 5) pilot test the survey instrument. KW - Aged KW - Aged drivers KW - Crash injuries KW - Drowsiness KW - Fatalities KW - Fatigue (Physiological condition) KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Sleep disorders KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://m-castl.org/node/89 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229307 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461088 TI - Alertness Maintaining Task (AMT): Effects on Driving in Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment AB - Negative effects on driving accuracy and safety have been clearly demonstrated during conditions of distraction or when drivers are engaged in a competing task (e.g., cell phone use). However, more recent studies suggest that certain types of cognitive tasks (Alertness Maintaining Tasks, AMTs) can be used in situations of driving fatigue to actually increase alertness and reduce driving errors in younger drivers. Although the use of AMTs holds promise in this area, research on the effects of these tasks on driving performance in older drivers or drivers with pre-existing cognitive impairment has not been completed. A better understanding of the possible utility of AMTs in these two populations is clearly important, given these individuals' higher risk for driving errors and crashes. This pilot proposal compares three groups of individuals (young, healthy old, patients with mild cognitive impairment) using a STISIM driving simulator for an extended period of time to induce fatigue, followed by alternating driving and driving plus AMT conditions. The trivia-based AMT used in this proposal is presented via a Ford Automotive Sync System to allow for auditory task presentation and verbal responding. Participants also will undergo heart rate monitoring while using the STISIM, a brief neuropsychological test battery, and self report measures of fatigue and performance to better understand possible group differences. This project will combine efforts from the Department of Psychiatry, School of Engineering and Ford Automotive Company. The data from this pilot study will be used for future larger scale collaborative studies. KW - Alertness KW - Distracted drivers KW - Distraction KW - Driver errors KW - Fatigue (Physiological condition) KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Recently qualified drivers KW - Young adults UR - http://m-castl.org/node/90 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229306 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461087 TI - Development of a Protocol to Assess the Effects of Workload on Older Drivers: A Third Step AB - Older drivers stop driving for a variety of reasons, including being overwhelmed by the workload of the primary driving task. Workload estimates for specific routes from an in-vehicle navigation system or Google maps could provide guidance. More fundamentally, validated workload predictions are needed to allow the comparison of studies that otherwise seem uncomparable, for example, differing in terms of the number of lanes or the amount of traffic. In an ongoing M-CASTL project, the SAVE-IT equation (which utilizes data that are automatically collected in driving studies) was used to predict subjective ratings of workload in a driving simulator. The equation predictions were correlated with the latest subject ratings, but were lower than before because of previously irresolvable technical problems with the anchor clips (showing low and high workload) used to ground the ratings (and for other reasons). In this project, the researchers will develop and evaluate improved anchor clips that show all traffic (not just the forward scene as before and shown below) to appear on a 2D display in the cab. Scenarios for anchor clips will be driven in the simulator and then the recorded images will be combined in a variety of ways. To determine the best configuration, 12-16 subjects will answer situation awareness questions concerning candidate anchor clip configurations. Subsequently, another 16 subjects will drive the simulator and rate the workload of modified scenarios from the previous experiment using the new anchor clips. To determine the effect of engagement (ratings while watching driving are higher than ratings while driving because the driver is in control), there will be one test block where each subject rates clips as a passenger. This experiment will take about 90 minutes/subject. The result of this project will be improved, validated anchor clips for a follow up, on-road experiment. KW - Aged drivers KW - Awareness KW - Driver performance KW - Driver workload KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Vehicle mix KW - Workload UR - http://m-castl.org/node/91 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229305 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01331167 AU - Wang, Jyh-Hone AU - Clark, Aaron AU - University of Rhode Island, Kingston AU - New England Transportation Consortium AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Employing Graphic-Aided DMS to Assist Elder Drivers’ Message Comprehension PY - 2010/09/15/Final Report SP - 137p AB - This report presents a human factors study that was conducted to seek ways to assist elder drivers’ understanding of dynamic message sign (DMS) messages. The study employed a computer based questionnaire survey and a driving simulation experiment with a goal to measure drivers’ preferences and responses to various DMS displays and formats. The results are included in this report. While the age of the subjects studied ranged between 20 and 94, results for drivers over 60 were of special concern. The survey assessed drivers’ preferences toward different types of graphics, use of graphics in messages, color of the message, color of the graphic, message flashing, animation, text alignment, abbreviations, shadowing, and wording sequence. Survey results indicated that drivers preferred text only messages compared with graphic-aided messages, and also preferred animated graphics over stationary ones. Subjects differed on their preferences toward color, however. A driving simulation experiment was conducted to measure subjects’ responses to DMS displays in different colors and graphical formats, similar to those shown in the survey to provide a comparison. Results from the driving simulation experiment showed that drivers responded faster to amber-colored messages and graphic-aided messages. Older drivers responded slower and less accurately than younger drivers, but their response time and accuracy were improved with the use of graphics in the DMS messages. Correlations and discrepancies between the results of the survey and simulation are also discussed. KW - Aged drivers KW - Color KW - Comprehension KW - Computer animation KW - Graphics KW - Messages (Communications) KW - Simulation KW - Surveys KW - Variable message signs UR - http://www.netc.umassd.edu/netcr82_05-6.pdf UR - http://www.uvm.edu/~transctr/pdf/netc/netcr82_05-6.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1094752 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324962 AU - Vedenov, Dmitry AU - Fuller, Stephen AU - Power, Gabriel AU - Ahmedov, Zafarbeck AU - Vadali, Sharada AU - Burris, Mark AU - University Transportation Center for Mobility AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Bio-Fuels Energy Policy and Grain Transportation Flows: Implications for Inland Waterways and Short Sea Shipping PY - 2010/09/15/Final Report SP - 28p AB - This project develops a foundation for analysis of the effects of U.S. biofuel energy policy on domestic and international grain flows and patterns. The primary deliverable of this project is an updated and expanded spatial equilibrium model of world grain economy. The updated model reflects recent changes in the dynamics of grain production, consumption, and transportation particularly in reaction to explosive growth of the biofuel market in the U.S. An improved and modified spatial equilibrium model will be extremely useful in addressing a variety of questions with respect to transportation infrastructure, traffic congestion, and international trade issues. In particular, principal investigators plan to use the improved model as a platform for future research in order to gain insight into potential long‐term effects of the current energy policy on grain and biofuel‐related transportation flows on inland waterways, outline requirements and justifications for targeted development of transportation infrastructure in order to mitigate projected traffic congestion, and examine potential opportunities for switching rail and truck-transported commerce on North American transport corridors to the inland and intra‐coastal waterways. KW - Biomass fuels KW - Commodity flow KW - Energy KW - Freight traffic KW - Grain KW - Inland waterways KW - Policy KW - Short sea shipping UR - http://utcm.tamu.edu/publications/final_reports/Vedenov_08-15-14.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085897 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01339662 AU - Hannon, John J AU - University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - MDOT Implementation Plan for GPS Technology in Planning, Design, and Construction Delivery PY - 2010/09/13/Final Report SP - 97p AB - Global Positioning System (GPS) technology offers advantages to transportation agencies in the planning, design and construction stages of project delivery. This research study will develop a guide for Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) implementation of GPS technology, both internally and externally, assisting the agency in the areas of construction specifications, quality control, business policies and procedures, and cost budgeting. This study will result in the delivery of a report that includes recommendations for specification language regarding contractor use of GPS for automated machine grading and the sharing of MDOT electronic data. This report will include a suggested plan for implementation of GPS technology in the MDOT corresponding functional areas. Workshops will be delivered with the participation of MDOT personnel and construction company representatives centered on the GPS Guidance Specification and Implementation Plan to facilitate their adoption. KW - Construction projects KW - Global Positioning System KW - Grading (Earthwork) KW - Implementation KW - Mississippi Department of Transportation KW - Project delivery KW - Quality control KW - Specifications KW - Workshops UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20214%20-MDOT%20Implementation%20Plan%20for%20Global%20Positioning%20Systems%20%28GPS%29%20Technology%20in%20Planning%2C%20Design%2C%20and%20Construc.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1102381 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01331227 AU - Buxbaum, Jeffrey N AU - Click, Matthew AU - Higgins, Thomas AU - Bhatt, Kiran AU - Cambridge Systematics, Incorporated AU - K.T. Analytics, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Integrating Pricing into the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Four Case Studies PY - 2010/09/13/Final Report SP - 60p AB - Road pricing often has come about separate from the traditional metropolitan planning process through pilot projects and demonstrations. As pricing demonstration projects have shown road pricing to be an effective tool, there is a growing need to incorporate road pricing into long-range plans. This study examined how road pricing was incorporated into long-range planning at four metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to provide examples that could support other regions seeking to do the same. The study summarized the experience in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, the Puget Sound region, the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, and the San Francisco Bay area, and identified common themes and differences amongst the approaches used and the outcomes. KW - Case studies KW - Congestion pricing KW - Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area KW - Long range planning KW - Metropolitan areas KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Puget Sound Region KW - Road pricing KW - San Francisco Bay Area KW - Transportation planning KW - Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (Minnesota) UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop11002/cong_pricing.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1094971 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463976 TI - Current Hazardous Materials Transportation Research and Future Needs AB - While the private sector and a diverse mix of government agencies at all levels are responsible for the safe transport of hazardous materials, it is generally agreed that there has been a long-standing gap for conducting hazardous materials transportation safety and security research and sharing the results. In 2005, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) published Special Report 283: Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation, Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions, which recommended a trial of a national cooperative research program. The report also provided nine examples of projects that could be undertaken by a hazardous materials transportation cooperative research program. Congress also recognized the research gap and in 2005 authorized the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct the pilot stage of a Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP) through its TRB. The legislation, which was part of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) specified that the program address the nine topics suggested in Special Report 283: (1) Assessment of opportunities to integrate and supplement safety and security measures for hazardous materials transportation. (2) Data on predominant traffic and highway geometric characteristics in large-truck crashes for use in risk analysis. (3) Recommendations for development of conditional release probabilities for bulk containers involved in transportation accidents. (4) Development of correlations between incident risks and consequences to aid in decision-making models. (5) Development of an environmental hazard assessment system for the transport of hazardous materials. (6) Recommendations for commercial transportation incident and commodity flow data collection and reporting. (7) Detailed information for conducting hazardous materials commodity flow studies. (8) National hazardous materials emergency response capability assessment. (9) Transportation emergency response guidelines for hazardous materials. In 2006, the HMCRP was established. In preparation for the initiation of the program, a study (see Special Note A) was commissioned to prioritize the nine topic areas through stakeholder interviews, and this prioritized listing has become the primary basis for the 13 projects selected for funding thus far. However, it is now time to step back and assess the state of current hazardous materials transportation research, compare the research with needs identified by stakeholders, and develop a prioritized list of potential research topics for the next phase of HMCRP. The objective of the research is to review and compile current and proposed hazardous materials transportation research and prioritize future research needs for HMCRP. KW - Commodity flow KW - Emergency response time KW - Hazardous materials KW - Incident management KW - Incident response KW - Pilot studies KW - Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users KW - Safety KW - Security UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2928 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232204 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573547 TI - Integrated Active Transportation System Operational Vision and Implementation Research Plan AB - Analysis of the likely impact of changes in key factors relating to social, political, economic, legal, and technical issues that may influence or constrain the realization of the Integrated Active Transportation System (IATS) over a timeframe of 30 to 50 years. KW - Active safety systems KW - Economic impacts KW - Implementation KW - Legal factors KW - Political factors KW - Social factors UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/projects/projectsdb/projectdetails.cfm?projectid=FHWA-PROJ-10-0042 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366739 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465790 TI - Near Road Collaboration Project AB - The objective of this Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) collaboration is to determine certain ambient air concentrations and variations in concentrations as a function of distance from the highway and to establish relationships between ambient air concentrations as related to highway traffic flows including traffic count, vehicle types and speeds; and meteorological conditions such as wind speed and wind direction. As such, the Near Road Collaboration Project would be expected to provide data detailing concentrations and distributions of motor vehicle emitted pollutants including criteria pollutants such as PM2.5 and mobile source air toxics. KW - Ambient air KW - Highway traffic KW - PM2.5 KW - Pollutants KW - Traffic flow KW - Vehicle speed KW - Vehicle type KW - Wind direction KW - Wind speed UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234024 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467721 TI - Characterization of Drainage Layer Properties for MEPDG AB - The objectives of the pooled fund study are to develop methods to characterize the elastic modulus and strength of drainage layers for mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG), to perform analysis of the stability and failure of the drainage layer in the pavement structure, and to develop specifications for required minimum porosity for effective drainage. KW - Drainage layers KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Modulus of elasticity KW - Pavements KW - Porosity KW - Stability analysis UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/457 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235957 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467315 TI - Introducing Transportation-Related Careers to Minority High School Students in Massachusetts Underserved Communities AB - The Robert R. Taylor Network (RRTN) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will pilot a program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and transportation-related careers to minority high school students from underserved communities from the Brockton, MA area. The program will be based at the MIT and executed during the Summer, Fall, and Winter of 2011. The objective of the program is to develop the interests of the aforementioned students in STEM and to look at careers in transportation as economically viable. RRTN proposes an introductory workshop and site visits for at least 15 students on "The Business of Transportation", culminating in attendance at the 26th Annual Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) Conference in Philadelphia, PA in February 2012. Students will be recruited from Brockton High School and or the South East Vocational Technical High School as well as students in the New York City area by way of the Center for Quality Urban Education's (CQUE) High Performance Learning (HPL) Institute. Over the course of the program the students will be introduced to the following 4 topics in transportation via site visits with practicing professionals: Land, Sea, Air, and Safety in association with MA Department of Transportation and BEYA corporate and government sponsors. They will begin by discussing the business of transportation as it pertains to each area from professionals in the field. There will be site visits to transportation workplaces where the students will be able to interact and observe real world transportation operations and professionals. Where possible, there will be MIT faculty research presentations in transportation. The students will also conduct and present research on the history of minority contribution to the transportation industry, such as the work of Garrett Morgan, Wesley Harris, Meredith Gourdine and James H. Williams. KW - Boston (Massachusetts) KW - High school students KW - Minorities KW - Transportation KW - Transportation careers KW - Transportation professionals UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235551 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465458 TI - Aviation Impact from Space Operations Analysis Process AB - No summary provided. KW - Aircraft operations KW - Civil aviation KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Impact studies UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233691 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465457 TI - Certification and Safety Analysis for Next-Generation Launch Vehicles AB - No summary provided. KW - Certification KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Launch vehicles KW - Next generation design KW - Safety UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233690 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465452 TI - Conducting Government Funded R&D on Commercial Space Launches AB - No summary provided. KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Government funding KW - Launch vehicles KW - Research and development UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233685 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465450 TI - Correlation of Icing Potential Index to Triggered Lightning Risk AB - No summary provided. KW - Aircraft operations KW - Correlation analysis KW - Icing KW - Lightning KW - Risk analysis UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233683 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465443 TI - Electric-Field Triggering Conditions and Vehicle Plume Effects AB - No summary provided. KW - Aircraft KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Field tests KW - Plumes UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233676 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465436 TI - Key Spaceport Planning and Design Requirements Study AB - No summary provided. KW - Aerospace engineering KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Design KW - Planning KW - Space stations KW - Spacecraft UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233669 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465435 TI - LEO Radiation Impacts on Humans and Safety Critical Components AB - No summary provided. KW - Aircraft operations KW - Aircraft structural components KW - Aviation safety KW - Human factors KW - Radiation monitoring UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233668 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465423 TI - Space Vehicle Debris Hazard Airspace Stratification Feasibility Study AB - No summary provided. KW - Airspace (Aeronautics) KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Orbital debris KW - Spacecraft KW - Stratification UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233656 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465422 TI - Spacecraft and Propulsion Technician Training and Certification AB - No summary provided. KW - Certification KW - Commercial space transportation KW - Propulsion KW - Spacecraft KW - Technicians KW - Training UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233655 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463453 TI - An Engineering Evaluation of the Panama Canal Widening on East Coast Freight Corridors AB - The impact of the widening of the Panama Canal on East Coast ports is unsure. The projections of the amount of freight that will shift ports and the impacts in port and regional transportation infrastructure are at best conflicting. This research will combine engineering and policy. Data will be collected from a variety of government sources, analyzed and placed in a framework to support or refute many projections and position reports that can be found in a variety of print media. The U.S. ports that will be available to support these new and larger ships will also be investigated. The study will also include an analysis of the impact on the east coast interstate corridors. KW - East Coast (United States) KW - Freight terminals KW - Freight transportation KW - Modal shift KW - Panama Canal KW - Ports KW - Regional transportation KW - Ships UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/Lee_An%20Engineering%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20Panama%20Canal%20Widening..html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231679 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461701 TI - Web-Based Screening Tool for Shared-Use Rail Corridors AB - As the United States emerges from the current recession, the country will once again face increased congestion on its highways and capacity constraints on its national rail system. In response to increased public demand for energy efficient transportation alternatives, Congress enacted the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (Act). Subpart j of the Act directs the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop partnerships between the freight and passenger railroad industries and to provide assistance in assessing railroad operations, capacity, and capital requirements on shared-use corridors where publicly funded passenger rail trains are operated over privately owned freight rail lines. Nearly all Amtrak service operates over privately owned freight rail lines as will most of the new and enhanced intercity and commuter rail service now under consideration. In fact, the shared-use corridor concept is critical to the further development of all forms of passenger rail service. Historically, the federal government has provided capital and operating grants to ensure intercity and commuter rail service. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 authorized $9.3 billion to the FRA for high-speed rail corridors and intercity passenger rail service. Several states have well-established rail passenger programs through which capital and operating funds are provided for all forms of passenger rail services. Other states and regional authorities are beginning to implement passenger rail service plans and projects. Given the limited resources available for such projects, it is important that public agencies have a screening tool that will identify rail passenger projects that warrant further detailed investigation utilizing more rigorous analytic tools. The objective of this research is to develop a web-based tool to enable states and passenger rail operators to perform preliminary feasibility screening of proposed shared-use passenger and freight rail corridor projects. The goal of the tool is to assist in preliminary analysis as defined in the FRA publication, Rail Corridor Transportation Plans, A Guidance Manual (http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/rrdev/corridor_planning.pdf). The tool is not intended to support either capital budgeting or facility design beyond the schematic/conceptual level. KW - Cost estimating KW - Freight traffic KW - Freight trains KW - Railroad commuter service KW - Railroad tracks KW - Railroad transportation KW - Shared facilities KW - Shared tracks KW - Simulation KW - Software UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2918 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229921 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461676 TI - Transforming Public Transportation Institutional and Business Models AB - Transit systems of all sizes throughout the United States and North America are being fundamentally challenged to strategically think, plan, operate (alternative business and financial models), and manage in different ways, including expectations for greater efficiency/effectiveness, increased transparency and public accountability. Today, many transit systems are embarking on this "transformation" process with very few concrete guideposts. While not necessarily to a level of "best practice", there are very useful industry examples and case studies that should be thoughtfully documented and potentially replicable initiatives identified and made readily available to the industry. This information would be immensely useful to transit managers and policymakers in transit systems of all sizes and complexity. The forces of change were well documented in the New Paradigms work completed for the transit industry in the late 1990s. At that time, the study team recognized a bigger mobility management role; profound demographic shifts and consumer expectations; the riveting impact of new technology; and the multi-jurisdictional/regional context of the challenges facing communities--well beyond the traditional silos and institutional structures of existing transit agencies and their partners/key stakeholders. The objective of this research would be to compile information with a focus on documenting concrete examples of new or changed institutional structures/arrangements and business models implemented at public transit systems particularly in response to regional and multi-jurisdictional challenges/opportunities. KW - Best practices KW - Business models KW - Guideposts KW - Mobility KW - Public transit KW - Strategic planning KW - Transit operating agencies UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2897 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229895 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461325 TI - The Impact of Disruptions along the I-95 Corridor on Congestion and Air Quality - Phase 2 AB - The resilience of a corridor can be defined as its ability to maintain its full functionality during an incident. While transportation corridors may be viewed as highly resilient due to the number of alternative paths that generally exist, the principal path and the alternatives may not have similar capacity. This research will evaluate resilience of the Interstate I-95 corridor in Delaware and the impact of disruptions on congestion and air quality. This work will build upon prior work that evaluated complete closures of specific sections of I-95. This work will look at partial closures where some lanes remain open and closures at interchanges where freeway and arterial lanes are blocked. KW - Air quality management KW - Delaware KW - Highway capacity KW - Incident detection KW - Incident management KW - Interstate 95 KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic disruption KW - Traffic incidents UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229544 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461324 TI - The Implications of Climate Change on Pavement Performance and Design AB - Current highways are designed based on typical 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. Our objective of this research is to explore the impacts of potential climate change and its uncertainty on pavement performance deterioration and therefore pavement design, which includes the following subobjectives: 1. Catalog climatic factors that affect pavement performance. 2. Review of pavement design practices and engineering models used to assess and predict pavement performance and deteriorations revealed to climate change. 3. Explore uncertainties of climate change and understanding how the frequency, severity and duration of these conditions change. 4.Simulate pavement performance deterioration over time for a selection of sites with various traffic levels, environmental factors and pavement structures. 5. Perform analysis to assess the statistical significance of climate change pavement performance. 6. Conduct risk analysis to assess the statistical significance of climate change pavement performance. 7. Develop guidance on when and how to integrate climate change into pavement design as an adaption strategy. Expected products include a literature review, documentation of the climate change uncertainties, simulation of pavement deterioration over time, statistical analysis and risk analysis of the results, outline of guidelines and next steps, and a final report. KW - Climate change KW - Condition surveys KW - Deterioration KW - Guidelines KW - Maintenance KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Pavement performance KW - Temperature UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229543 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461322 TI - Investigation of Load-Path Redundancy in Aging Steel Bridges AB - A key factor affecting the resiliency of transportation infrastructure is aging. Furthermore, the current age of the nation'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. The objective of this work is to better quantify the actual capacity of aging steel bridges. This is accomplished through investigating load-path redundancy, which is a source of reserve capacity in bridges that is not currently accounted for in bridge design or rating, as a function of the condition of the concrete bridge deck. Specifically, finite element analysis of hypothetical bridges with various levels of deck deterioration will be preformed. The sensitivity of these results to other geometric parameters of bridges will also be investigated. The research will be limited to analysis of steel I-girder bridges, which are one of the most common bridge configurations in the local region and nationwide, so that the project may be completed within a relatively short time frame. The project will result in information that will allow the aging structures that are in greatest need of rehabilitation or replacement to be better identified. KW - Aging infrastructure KW - Bearing capacity KW - Bridge decks KW - Bridge design KW - Bridge maintenance KW - Civil engineering KW - Infrastructure KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Steel bridges KW - Structural analysis UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229541 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461321 TI - Resilient Cartography: Interactive Online Mapping as a Method for Understanding the Dynamics of the Corridor Transportation System AB - While transportation planners and civil engineers rely on cartographic representations of transportation infrastructure in the conduct of their work, maps are an underestimated method for providing policy-makers and the public with a better understanding of the relationships that exist among different modes of transportation at the regional and local levels. While traditional cartographic approaches provide adequate descriptions of many aspects of corridor spatiality, they fail to capture and clearly illustrate many other aspects of corridor resiliency, including travel-time and route-redundancy. This project proposes to create two maps for use by corridor users, transportation policy-makers and regional transportation researchers. The purpose of the central map in this project is to reinforce and demonstrate the idea that travel-times between key nodes within the corridor network is highly contingent on transportation mode and spatial location. Additionally, this map will allow University of Delaware- University of Transportation UD-UTC to demonstrate to the public and policy makers a novel presentation and research method related to corridor resiliency- one that provides a clear illustration of the rapidity and redundancy properties of regional resiliency as developed by Bruneau et al. KW - Cartography KW - Civil engineering KW - Computer online services KW - Digital mapping KW - Mapping KW - Policy making KW - Transportation corridors UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229540 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01363164 AU - Jackson, David AU - Cotton, Ben AU - Lopez-Bernal, Gabriel AU - Clark, Michael AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Department of the Interior TI - Sandy Hook Traveler Information System PY - 2010/09/01/Final Report SP - 74p AB - This report focuses on equipment and procedural solutions for gathering and disseminating a wide range of visitor information, including real-time traveler information data relating to traffic and parking at the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway Recreation Area. Based on an evaluation of the existing traveler information system (TIS) efforts, park geography, regional partner agencies, and other data and information opportunities available, this report describes the TIS concept recommended for Sandy Hook. A conceptual framework for a text-based communication platform is presented as a short-term, tangible solution for TIS communication. KW - Data management systems KW - Parking KW - Real time information KW - Sandy Hook (New Jersey) KW - Traffic KW - Traveler information and communication systems UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/43000/43500/43518/DOT-VNTSC-NPS-11-21.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1131864 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01613037 AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Phase Results Phase I Results Report to Congress PY - 2010/09 SP - 21p AB - The Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 is a major initiative of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to improve the effectiveness of the Agency's compliance and enforcement programs. The ultimate goal is to achieve a greater reduction in large truck and bus crashes, injuries, and fatalities by more efficiently using the resources of FMCSA and its State partners. In February 2008, FMCSA launched a two-phase, 30-month field test to assess the validity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the CSA 2010 operational model. Senate Report 111-69 accompanying the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2010 (P.L. 111-117, division A), requests FMCSA to "... submit a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by March 15, 2010, regarding the results of phase I of the pilot and any preliminary results of phase II. The report should also include an update to the spend plan required in fiscal year 2009." This document reports results for Phase I and preliminary results for Phase II of the test in terms of both improved efficiency and effectiveness, and updates the Agency's CSA 2010 Spend Plan. KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Compliance KW - Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 KW - Field tests KW - Highway safety KW - Law enforcement KW - Motor carriers KW - U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration UR - https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/CSA-2010-Phase-Results-Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1425895 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01592551 TI - Commercial Driver Individual Differences Study (CDIDS) AB - The objective of this project is to identify the most critical driver characteristics, such as medical or work histories that increase crash risk. In the initial phase of the project, the feasibility of collecting exposure-based risk data for selected characteristics, as well as the feasibility of identifying commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver factors that contribute to increased risk of large truck crashes, was explored. A follow-on pilot study was performed to determine the relative crash risk associated with driver characteristics, general health and wellness issues, medical conditions, drugs, and other driving performance characteristics. The next phase will be a full-scale study and will incorporate lessons learned from the pilot study. The objective of the case-control Commercial Driver Individual Differences Study (CDIDS) is to examine a wide array of driver and situational factors to determine their prevalence in and relationship to being involved in a crash. The CDIDS will identify and prioritize commercial driver individual risk factors that primarily will consist of personal factors such as demographic characteristics, medical conditions, personal attitudes, and behavioral history. These factors will also include work environmental conditions, such as carrier operation type and compensation method. Risk factors will be identified by linking the characteristics of individual drivers with their driving records through the duration of the study. Of particular importance will be the occurrence or absence of critical incidents, including preventable crashes, crashes regardless of preventability, moving violations, and vehicle inspection violations. The study has the following goals: (1) to determine whether individual factors such as demographic characteristics or medical conditions result in increased risk for a CMV crash or violation; (2) to determine if there is a relationship between fleet characteristics and protocols and CMV driver performance and health; (3) to identify contributing factors leading to a CMV crash; and (4) to track carriers and CMV drivers for up to 3 years after an initial CMV driver survey for identification of additional crash data and validation of study results. A report that identifies individual factors that increase crash risk. KW - Commercial drivers KW - Crash analysis KW - Crash causes KW - Crash characteristics KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Demographics KW - Health hazards KW - Highway Safety Act 1966 KW - Risk assessment KW - Safety education KW - Truck crashes KW - Truck drivers UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1400152 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01563556 AU - Guo, Feng AU - Klauer, Sheila G AU - McGill, Michael T AU - Dingus, Thomas A AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Evaluating the Relationship Between Near-Crashes and Crashes: Can Near-Crashes Serve as a Surrogate Safety Metric for Crashes? PY - 2010/09//Draft Final Report SP - 73p AB - The number of crashes observed in naturalistic driving studies is typically small; thus, there is a need to use crash surrogates. This study evaluated the use of near-crashes as a surrogate measure when assessing the safety impacts of driver behaviors and other risk factors. Two metrics, the precision and bias of the risk estimation, were used to assess whether near-crashes could be combined with crashes. The principles and exact conditions for improved precision and unbiased estimation were proposed and applied to the 100-Car data. The analyses indicated that, in general, there is a strong relationship between the frequencies of contributing factors for crashes and for near-crashes. The study also indicated that analyses based on combined crash and near-crash data consistently underestimate the risk of contributing factors compared to using crash data alone. At the same time, the precision of the estimation will increase. This consistent pattern allows investigators to identify the truly high risk factors while qualitatively assessing the potential bias. In summary, the study concluded that there is a benefit to the use of near-crashes as a crash surrogate for risk assessment when naturalistic studies are not large enough to generate sufficient numbers of crashes. KW - Automatic data collection systems KW - Behavior KW - Crash data KW - Data analysis KW - Drivers KW - Metrics (Quantitative assessment) KW - Near miss collisions (Ground transportation) KW - Risk analysis KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Human Factors/Safety Problem Identification/DOT HS 811 382.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1353218 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01544573 AU - Kawamura, Kazuya AU - Wittwer, Ernie AU - Varda, John AU - National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Making Truck-Rail Intermodal More Competetive PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 28p AB - Truck-rail intermodal freight is a technique that can gain much of the benefit of truck service and rail efficiency. Despite the attraction of the mode choice and its benefit in reducing emissions and highway congestion, the mode typically is used only over long distances. While a number of environmental factors, such as the price of fuel and labor, are combining to make intermodal more attractive, the question remains as to what measures public policymakers might employee to speed the adoption of intermodal. To gain insight into this question, professionals from the logistics industries were interviewed. KW - Costs KW - Freight transportation KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Policy KW - Quality of service KW - Railroad transportation KW - Trucking UR - http://www.wistrans.org/cfire/documents/FR_0228.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1330893 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01516441 AU - Redington, Mike AU - Rutyna, Eve AU - Grace, Nathan AU - Shanahan, Felicity AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - MacroSys Research and Technology AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Drug and Alcohol Testing Results 2008 Annual Report PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 76p AB - This is the 14th annual report of the results of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Drug and Alcohol Testing Program. This report summarizes the reporting requirements for calendar year 2008, the requirements of the overall drug and alcohol testing program (49 CFR Part 40 and 49 CFR Part 655), the results from the data reported for 2008, and the random drug and alcohol violation rates (the percentage of persons selected for a random test who produced a positive specimen or refused to take the test) for calendar years 1995 through 2008. This report provides a brief overview of the drug and alcohol testing requirements for both safety-sensitive employers and employees. The official random rates for 2008 are provided, as well as the official random rate trends over the last 14 years. The results of alcohol and drug tests are provided by test type, employee category, and region. The positive testing rates for drugs and alcohol are also provided for each test type, employee category, and region. KW - Alcohol tests KW - Drug tests KW - Employees KW - Trend (Statistics) KW - U.S. Federal Transit Administration UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/50000/50100/50133/damis08.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1290276 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01493871 AU - Hunt, John H AU - Zerges, Stephen M AU - Roberts, Brian C AU - Bergendahl, Bart AU - Ayres Associates, Incorporated AU - Water Resources Learning Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Culvert Assessment and Decision-Making Procedures Manual For Federal Lands Highway PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 222p AB - Federal Lands Highway (FLH) Division of FHWA works in cooperation with federal land management agencies to plan, design, construct and rehabilitate highways and bridges on federally owned lands. In support of this mission, FLH has developed project-level guidelines for assessing the condition and performance of existing roadway culverts, and when necessary, selecting corrective action for any deficiencies found as part of specific project development activities. The end-result of this effort is this procedure manual, which consists of a fully integrated culvert assessment tool and culvert decision-making tool that provides guidance for selecting replacement or rehabilitation alternatives. KW - Culverts KW - Decision making KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Guidelines KW - Maintenance management KW - Manuals KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) UR - http://www.cflhd.gov/programs/techDevelopment/hydraulics/culvert-assessment/ UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1262538 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01472584 AU - Dong, Yangtao AU - Song, Ruiquiang AU - Liu, Helen AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology PY - 2010/09 SP - 167p AB - Many United States bridges were built during the 1960s. Evaluating the structural condition of these bridges under today’s traffic loads and safety expectations is difficult. This project is developing a practical program for structural health monitoring of Alaska’s bridges. Researchers are conducting a literature review to summarize the current knowledge available in structural health monitoring (SHM) technology, surveying Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities staff to determine which technologies are currently in use, and making recommendations on what techniques should be pursued to implement a successful SHM suitable for cold regions. KW - Alaska KW - Bridge management systems KW - Bridges KW - Cold weather KW - Deterioration KW - Literature reviews KW - State of the practice KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://ine.uaf.edu/autc/files/2011/08/Final_Report_3090361.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46200/46233/Final_Report_309036.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1239144 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01470840 AU - Toniolo, Horacio AU - Duvoy, Paul AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Study to Compare the Performance of Two Designs to Prevent River Bend Erosion in Arctic Environments PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 201p AB - Messing with Mother Nature takes knowledge and work, and she is hard to outfox, especially when it comes to redirecting rivers. To protect infrastructure, however, sometimes river flow must be altered. This study focuses on two erosion-control projects built in Alaska using different design criteria. One was constructed by Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) at the Sagavanirktok River to protect the Dalton Highway; the other was built by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company at Hess Creek to protect the trans-Alaska pipeline. Though bank erosion along river bends is a natural process, lateral erosion, which causes streams to shift laterally, can expose infrastructure to serious risk. To avoid damaging or destroying the transportation system, researchers and engineers have developed several types of strategies to prevent streambank erosion, including watercourse realignment, that is, moving water away from the bank. Project researchers gathered hydraulic data, including continuous velocity measurements, at selected points in both streams. The project took an unexpected turn when the research team decided to include a hydraulic numerical model. This model is capable of simulating different flow conditions, calculates shear stress, velocity and Froude number, among other hydraulic parameters. Different scenarios were simulated by the model, showing how the river might behave under different flow conditions at different seasons . KW - Alaska KW - Banks (Waterways) KW - Erosion control KW - Frigid regions KW - Hydraulic models KW - Hydraulics KW - Protection against environmental damage KW - Realignment KW - Rivers KW - Scour KW - Streamflow KW - Velocity measurement UR - http://ine.uaf.edu/autc/files/2011/09/Final_Report_309009.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46800/46802/Final_Report_309009.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1238503 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01458109 AU - Sinfield, Joseph V AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Refine Process to Identify, Evaluate, and Adopt New Technologies and Identify New Proven Technologies for Indiana PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 103p AB - Identifying, evaluating and adopting the latest proven technologies is crucial to ensure the efficiency, quality, cost effectiveness, and safety of INDOT operations. While focused efforts to understand and employ new technologies for the benefit of INDOT have been pursued successfully in the past, there remains an opportunity to develop a robust approach to need identification and related technology selection and adoption that is more “continuous” in nature and capable of helping the organization keep pace with the rapid rate of technological change. In response, this study builds on the more than 40 years of work that has been carried out on this topic in the transportation sector and complements these efforts with insights from a wide variety of successful organizations in other fields to put forward a comprehensive approach to identify, evaluate, and adopt new “proven” and/or “ready to use” technologies that have the potential to improve INDOT’s ability to perform its multifaceted mission. This proposed process, which encompasses need identification, solution identification, solution evaluation, and staged solution implementation, incorporates several novel features to ensure effective technology adoption, namely: a new means of assessing INDOT needs that relies upon a survey of end-user “jobs-to-be-done” to focus technology adoption efforts; a web-based mechanism to link INDOT needs and potential solutions that is based on leading systems in the commercial sector; provision for “champions” that will provide idea “ownership” in the technology adoption process and help overcome traditional barriers; centralization of evaluation activities to drive efficiencies across INDOT and eliminate redundant efforts; and, a unique assumption-driven approach to implementation that optimizes resources and includes a tiered marketing strategy to build awareness and encourage broad adoption of technologies. In addition, this report provides recommendations for a governance structure that can guide the technology adoption process and ensure its on-going effectiveness. A pilot of the initial stages of the proposed process (needs identification and solution identification) is also presented which calls attention to a series of INDOT-specific needs and associated high-potential technology-based solutions that if pursued could directly enhance INDOT operations. Overall, the results of this work provide the foundation for a capability in technology awareness and adoption that will benefit INDOT operations for many years to come. KW - Best practices KW - Evaluation KW - Indiana Department of Transportation KW - Technological innovations KW - Technology assessment KW - Technology transfer UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284314252 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218718 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01457795 AU - Bilal, Muhammad K AU - Irfan, Muhammad AU - Ahmed, Anwaar AU - Labi, Samuel AU - Sinha, Kumares C AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Synthesis of Overweight Truck Permitting PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 117p AB - For purposes of safety and system preservation, trucking operational characteristics are regulated through legislation and policies. However, special permits are granted for trucks to exceed specified operational restrictions. Thus, the Indiana DOT not only seeks highway operations policies that retain/attract heavy industry including those that haul large loads but also seeks to protect the billions of taxpayer dollars invested in highway infrastructure. As such, it is sought to avoid policies that may lead to premature and accelerated deterioration of assets through excess loading or undue safety hazard through oversize loads. This study was carried out primarily to document the state of practice of truck weight permitting in Indiana vis-à-vis those of its neighboring states. This was done on the basis of the fee amounts, fee structure, and the ease of the permit acquisition process for the permit applicant. The study determined that while the upper thresholds (dimensions and weights) for legal trucking operations are generally the same across states, those for extra-legal operations vary considerably. Also, findings from published literature, agency websites, and phone interviews showed that there is great variability in overweight and oversize truck permitting criteria across the states. Furthermore, it was seen that no state has adopted explicitly the weight-distance concept for its overweight trucks. However, in the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, the fee structures for overweight vehicles include weight levels and extents of travel, and thus operate in a manner similar to a weight-distance fee. From the perspective of overweight and oversize thresholds and associated permit fees, it was observed that a number of states such as Indiana appear to be generally more favorable to trucking because they have relatively higher upper thresholds for defining an overweight truck and/or relatively lower fees for overweight trucking operations. However, as demonstrated in the excel spreadsheet case studies that accompany this report, the differences in fees incurred by truckers across the states are significantly influenced by a variety of factors including the trip circumstances, permitting criteria, and trip frequency and distance. This report also documents the streams of revenue from the permits issued for extra-legal trucking operations over the recent past: approximately $12 million annually. On the subject of revenue neutrality, the study reports that highway agencies that had switched from a single-trip permit system to an annual flat fee permit system report that they benefited from cost savings due to reduced monitoring efforts of truck trips but had lost significant revenue overall. Using data from a national study, the report quantifies the extent to which each additional payload increases pavement deterioration. The data also suggests that having more axles on a truck reduces pavement deterioration and consequently, damage repair cost, but could decrease the revenue to be derived from overweight permitting. In conclusion, the study recommended the conduction of a cost allocation study to update these load-damage relationships as well as the overweight permit fee structures, to reflect current conditions in Indiana. KW - Indiana KW - Oversize loads KW - Overweight loads KW - Pavement distress KW - Permits KW - Revenues KW - Size and weight regulations KW - Trucks UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284314260 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218726 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01457700 AU - Wilkerson, Jared L AU - Merwade, Venkatesh M AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Determination of Unit Hydrograph Parameters for Indiana Watersheds PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 119p AB - Regression equations predicting Clark Synthetic Unit Hydrograph (SUH) parameters for time of concentration (tc) and storage coefficient (R) are developed for small watersheds across Indiana. The state is partitioned into three regions: North, Central, and South, with consideration for past regionalization studies of Indiana and geomorphology. The equations are derived using multiple linear regression analysis for 30 watersheds with 90 observed rainfall-runoff events. Clark SUH parameters are optimized using Hec-HMS to match the observed rainfall-runoff events. The optimized Clark SUH parameters are related to geomorphologic parameters estimated using geographic information system (GIS) applications. An extensive list of 29 geomorphologic parameters is considered including parameters related to depression storage, slope, drainage area, basin shape, and stream network. Separate regression equations for tc and R are developed for each region and the entire state. Values for tc and R are predicted using the regression equations and used to model 7 new rainfall-runoff events in HEC-HMS for comparison to the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) SUH method. KW - Geomorphology KW - Indiana KW - Linear regression analysis KW - Runoff KW - Unit hydrographs KW - Watersheds UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284314266 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218732 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01450995 AU - United States Federal Highway Administration TI - NC 109 improvements study from Old Greensboro Road (SR 1798) to I-40/US 311, Davidson and Forsyth counties : environmental impact statement PY - 2010/09//Volumes held: Draft KW - Environmental impact statements KW - North Carolina UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1219539 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01450871 AU - Dong, Yongtao AU - Song, Ruiqiang AU - Liu, Helen (He) AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection - Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 182p AB - The objectives of this report are to synthesis the current knowledge and technologies available for health monitoring of civil infrastructures, and to simplify the process of selecting structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for applications to bridge structures. This report focuses on (a) the state-of-the-art of SHM systems and their capabilities and (b) companies that offer particular systems and services, special attention is paid on the potentials of these systems being implemented to bridges in cold, remote regions of Alaska. KW - Alaska KW - Bridges KW - Cold weather KW - Detection and identification KW - Deterioration KW - Rural areas KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46100/46191/Y.Dong-Final-Report-309036.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218221 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01450869 AU - Dutta, Utpal AU - Bodke, Sujay AU - Dara, Brian AU - Lynch, James AU - University of Detroit Mercy AU - Michigan Ohio University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Safety Evaluation of SCATS Control System PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 35p AB - Since 1992, traffic signals in Oakland County and a portion of Macomb and Wayne Counties of Michigan have been converted to the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS). When compared to pre-timed signals, installation and maintenance cost of SCATS is almost two times greater. Therefore, there is a need to determine the added related benefits of SCATS. In this context, determination of crash benefit of SCATS can play a significant role. If congestion and crash related benefits are combined, then it is most likely the combined benefits will outweigh the cost. Crash data from 1999 to 2008 of two corridors, one controlled by SCATS and the other by the pre-timed signal system were examined to determine the effectiveness of SCATS. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of SCATS, intersections as well as segment crash data before and after the installation of SCATS signals were compared. In addition, a series of statistical tests were performed to compare safety performance of SCATS and pre-timed signal systems. It was observed that there was shift in severity types A and B to C, which is noteworthy. However, statistical tests were not able to identify any difference of significance at 95 percent confidence level. Finally, cost related information for both SCATS as well as pre-timed was also computed and compared. KW - Adaptive traffic systems KW - Before and after studies KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Crashes KW - Michigan KW - Pretimed traffic signal controllers KW - SCATS (Computer program) KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic signal control systems UR - http://mioh-utc.udmercy.edu/research/ts-22/pdf/MIOH_UTC_TS22p1-2_2010-Final_Rpt_Safety_Evaluation_of_SCATS_etc.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218124 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01450867 AU - Tidwell, Amy AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Flood Frequency Analysis for Transportation Design PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 38p AB - Planning for construction of roads and bridges over rivers or floodplains includes a hydrologic analysis of rainfall amount and intensity for a defined period. Infrastructure design must be based on accurate rainfall estimates: how much (intensity), how long (duration), and how often (frequency or probability). University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are updating this important design tool with support from Alaska University Transportation Center and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Measuring precipitation in an environment like Alaska’s is difficult. Challenges include poor gauge performance in windy environments, especially for solid precipitation (such as snow, sleet, and hail); and accessing and working in remote, sparsely populated, rough, and complex terrain. Another issue is the sparseness and distribution of the gauge stations. For example, the area north of the Brooks Range, known as the Arctic Slope of Alaska, is one of the least-understood climatic regions of the country. This region, with an area of over 230,000 square kilometers, has only a handful of long-term precipitation gauges, and many of the existing gauges are unattended. The quality of reported precipitation data varies due to gauge location, type, and whether or not a rain or snow gauge shield is present. KW - Alaska KW - Climate KW - Climate change KW - Design criteria KW - Flood frequency analysis KW - Floods KW - Hydrologic analyses KW - Hydrology KW - Measuring instruments KW - Precipitation (Meteorology) KW - Rainfall UR - http://ine.uaf.edu/autc/files/2012/09/207120-A.Tidwell-FINAL-Report-9.13.10-ineautc1102.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46100/46189/207120-A.Tidwell-FINAL-Report-9.13.10-ineautc1102.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218199 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01449582 AU - Wies, Richard AU - Ellingson, Dalton AU - Elbert, Michael AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - LED Street Lights in Alaska PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 119p AB - This report documents results of testing light-emitting diode (LED) and high pressure sodium (HPS) street lights to determine if they meet AASHTO standards for illumination of roadways. Two power levels of LED, Everlight LED, and traditional HPS street lights were tested and compared to AASHTO roadway illuminance specifications. Each light was tested for road level illuminance, power consumption, and light spectrum at all possible settings with a 120 volt supply. A grid 40 feet along the roadway by 30 feet (20 feet across the roadway and 10 feet beside the roadway) was used for the illuminance testing. The light was mounted at a 10 foot height with the center of light located on one end of the 40 foot dimension and 20 feet from one side of the 30 foot dimension. Measurement points were set up at 2 foot intervals on radial lines from the center of light spaced 15 degrees apart. The results showed that LED street lights provide predominantly blue spectrum light with less than half the illuminance of HPS street lights, but at 20% to 75% of the power consumption. These findings suggest that LED street lights need improvement in illuminance and quality before these lights are recommended for use on Alaskan roadways. KW - Alaska KW - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials KW - Energy consumption KW - Feasibility analysis KW - High pressure sodium lighting KW - Illuminance KW - Light emitting diodes KW - Street lighting UR - http://ine.uaf.edu/autc/files/2011/07/RR10.1-Final_Report_AUTC_LED-_Wies-9-24-2010.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46100/46146/207099-Final_Report_AUTC_LED-_Wies-9-24-2010.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46200/46235/RR10.1-Final_Report_AUTC_LED-_Wies-9-24-2010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1217177 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01383567 AU - Green, Paul E AU - Blower, Daniel AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - A New Model of Crash Severities Reportable to the MCMIS Crash File PY - 2010/09//Special Report SP - 26p AB - The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Crash file has been developed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to serve as a census file of trucks and buses involved in traffic crashes meeting a specific crash severity threshold. Each state is responsible for identifying cases that meet the MCMIS Crash file criteria and reporting the required data through the SafetyNet system. The present report is an addition to three previous reports describing models to predict the number of crash involvements a state should be reporting. The model has been updated and changed over time as more data becomes available from additional states. In each state, the number of fatal involvements is well-known, so all states will start with a known quantity, the number of fatal truck and bus crash involvements. The new model also incorporates a rural/urban (RU) factor that accounts for the relative proportion of rural to urban truck travel in a state. In the new model, data from 16 states that provide all the information necessary to identify MCMIS-reportable cases were used. A log-linear model is fit to MCMIS data for the states that have information recorded for both fatal and nonfatal crashes. The model is then used to predict the number of nonfatal crashes for a new state in which the number of fatal crashes and the RU factor are known. Ninety percent prediction intervals provide a range of nonfatal crash values to be used for guidance. The new model provides more accurate prediction than previous models and is expected to be updated as data from additional states become available. KW - Bus crashes KW - Crash data KW - Crash prediction models KW - Crash rates KW - Crash severity KW - Fatalities KW - Motor Carrier Management Information System Crash File KW - Traffic crashes KW - Truck crashes UR - http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89595/1/102787.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1147948 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01383556 AU - Sadid, H AU - Wabrek, R M AU - Dongare, S AU - Coryell, B AU - Ebrahimpour, A AU - Idaho State University, Pocatello AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Materials Acceptance Risk Analysis: Superpave Hot Mix Asphalt PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 40p AB - The objective of this study is to review Superpave Hot Mix asphalt used by other state departments of transportation and make recommendations to Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) in using this product in its roadways and in particular in low-traffic roadways. Based on the literature review, it is concluded that Superpave mix design provides better performance for roadways that experience heavy to medium traffic volumes. For low-traffic roadways, Superpave, Marshall, and Hveem-designed mixes perform about the same. Considering the unit price, it appears that there are no significant differences among the three mix-design methods. KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Idaho KW - Literature reviews KW - Low volume roads KW - Risk analysis KW - Superpave KW - Traffic volume UR - http://www.itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/archived/reports/Final%20RP182B%20Superpave%20Hot%20Mix%20Asphalt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1147952 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01379716 AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Railroad Carrier Employee Exposure to Radiation PY - 2010/09//Report to Congress SP - 63p AB - This report was prepared by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) following the specific mandate of Congress to investigate occupational exposures to ionizing radiation of specific groups of employees during railroad transportation of high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Commercial shipments of these types of materials are very rare since transportation to the Yucca Mountain Repository in Nevada is not being conducted at this time. In an effort to establish the known levels of exposure to the materials in question, FRA obtained exposure information from one of the Class I railroads that has been conducting exposure monitoring during shipments of SNF materials. In addition, FRA reviewed reports of exposure assessments conducted in foreign locations where transportation by rail is occurring more frequently. Both of these sources indicate that the different classes of workers identified in the mandate were found to have levels of exposure significantly lower than those expected, and also significantly lower than the radiation exposure dose limits established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 1910.1096. The data presented in this report include theoretical predictions of potential exposure to radiation, as well as real-world exposure assessments in the United States and two European countries. Both the theoretical findings and the real-world experience indicate that potential and actual exposures are well below the currently established permissible levels. All of the current regulatory permissible levels have been established recognizing the importance of the “as low as reasonably achievable” principles in minimizing exposures. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) does not believe that any regulatory action is necessary at this time to further protect railroad employees from unsafe exposure to radiation during the transportation of radioactive materials. KW - Employees KW - Occupational safety KW - Radiation hazards KW - Radioactive wastes KW - Railroad transportation KW - Spent reactor fuels UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/L04311 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1146860 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01373382 AU - Minge, Erik AU - Kotzenmacher, Jerry AU - Peterson, Scott AU - SRF Consulting Group, Incorporated AU - Minnesota Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Non-Intrusive Technologies for Traffic Detection PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 100p AB - The use of non-intrusive technologies for traffic detection has become a widespread alternative to conventional roadway-based detection methods. Many sensors are new to the market or represent a substantial change from earlier versions of the product. This pooled fund study conducted field tests of the latest generation of non-intrusive traffic sensors. Sensors were evaluated in a variety of traffic and environmental conditions at two freeway test sites, with additional tests performed at both signalized and unsignalized intersections. Emphasis was placed on urban traffic conditions, such as heavy congestion, and varying weather conditions. Standardized testing criteria were followed so that the results from this project can be directly compared to results obtained by other transportation agencies. While previous tests have evaluated sensors’ volume and speed accuracy, the current generation of sensors has introduced robust classification capabilities, including both length-based and axle-based classification methods. New technologies, such as axle detection sensors, and improved radar, contribute to this improved performance. Overall, the sensors performed better than their counterparts in previous phases of testing for volume and speed accuracy. However, the additional classification capabilities had mixed results. The length-based sensors were generally able to report accurate vehicle lengths. The axle-based sensors provided accurate inter-axle measurements, but significant errors were found due to erroneously grouping vehicles, affecting their ability to accurately classify trucks. KW - Automatic vehicle classification KW - Axles KW - Evaluation KW - Length KW - Sensors KW - Technology KW - Urban areas KW - Vehicle detectors UR - http://www.lrrb.org/pdf/201036.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1141362 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01370151 AU - Bham, Ghulam H AU - Leu, Ming C AU - Mathur, Durga Raj AU - Vallati, Manoj AU - Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla AU - Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative AU - Iowa State University, Ames AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Driving Simulator Study: Evaluation of Vehicle Mounted Attenuator Markings in Work Zones During Different Times of the Day PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 37p AB - This report presents a study of driver perceptions using a driving simulator. The evaluation required one hundred and twenty participants from different age groups to drive through virtual highway work zones. During this experiment, driver reaction to VMA markings was determined based on their lane change distance. The drivers were also surveyed using a detailed subjective survey. Analysis of variance was performed to determine the significant variables affecting the lane change distance. For each time of day, a test was conducted to calculate the difference in lane change distance between the markings. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was carried out to evaluate the significance of differences between the lane change distance frequency distributions of the markings. For the subjective evaluation, the markings were ranked by participants indicating their preferences using four different criteria for each time of day. Additionally, the participants were surveyed on the features of the individual markings and for the most preferred marking. The results of the objective and subjective evaluations indicated that, overall, the red and white checkerboard pattern was most effective. KW - Behavior KW - Drivers KW - Driving simulators KW - Perception KW - Periods of the day KW - Truck mounted attenuators KW - Work zone safety KW - Work zone traffic control UR - http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/smartwz/documents/project_reports/FinalReport_VMA_Project.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1138367 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01369889 AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - South Western Regional Planning Agency AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Danbury Branch Improvement Program: Transit Oriented Development PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 97p AB - This report presents an evaluation of transit-oriented development (TOD) opportunities within the Danbury Branch study corridor as a component of the Federal Transit Administration Alternatives Analysis/ Draft Environmental Impact Statement (FTA) prepared for the Connecticut Department of Transportation. This report is intended as a tool for municipalities to use as they move forward with their TOD efforts. The report identifies the range of TOD opportunities at station areas within the corridor that could result from improvements to the Danbury Branch. By also providing information regarding FTA guidelines and TOD best practices, this report serves as a reference and a guide for future TOD efforts in the Danbury Branch study corridor. Specifically, this report presents a definition of TOD and the elements of TOD that are relevant to the Danbury Branch. It also presents a summary of FTA Guidance regarding TOD and includes case studies of FTA-funded projects that have been rated with respect to their livability, land use, and economic development components. Additionally, the report examines commuter rail projects both in and out of Connecticut that are considered to have applications that may be relevant to the Danbury Branch. Within this framework, the report provides details and data related to the eight communities within the Danbury Branch study corridor. Demographics, market potential, existing land use, and zoning are among the topics discussed. Additionally, a matrix outlining the potential opportunities and constraints related to TOD at each station site is presented. GIS maps show the areas around each station with ongoing TOD efforts as well as those areas that have the potential for TOD. Detailed information on each community's zoning regulations is included in an appendix to this document. Data on wetlands and hazardous materials within each TOD site are presented in appendices as well. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Connecticut KW - Economic development KW - Environmental impact statements KW - Improvements KW - Land use KW - Quality of life KW - Rail transit stations KW - Railroad commuter service KW - Transit oriented development UR - http://www.danburybranchstudy.com/documents/TOD%20Report/00_Danbury%20Branch%20TOD%20Report_compressed.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1138954 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01363334 AU - Khasnabis, Snehamay AU - McElmurry, Shawn P AU - Elibe, Elibe A AU - Dutta, Utpal AU - Tenazas, Eric AU - Wayne State University AU - University of Detroit Mercy AU - Michigan Ohio University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Incorporating Environmental Sustainability into Transit-Oriented Development on Detroit Light Rail Transit System PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 77p AB - The term 'sustainability' is being used increasingly in policy debates about future transportation, and evokes strong reactions among policy-makers, users, and experts. In a broad sense, sustainability implies the ‘capacity to endure over an extended period’, and has become a wide ranging concept applied to nearly every facet of life. Sustainable development implies conscientious use of resources to meet human needs, present and future, while ensuring the preservation of the natural environment. The topic of discussion in this report is the degree to which sustainability can be incorporated into certain types of development, namely transit-oriented development (TOD) at, or in proximity to, light-rail transit (LRT) stations. A set of goals, primarily from the existing literature for sustainable transportation is presented, and an effort is made by the project team to demonstrate how a majority of these goals can be achieved by proper planning of LRT systems. The project team contends that TOD can be used as a vehicle to attain sustainable LRT stations. When factors such as air quality and the depletion of natural resources are considered, LRT is thought to be superior to standard bus or bus-rapid transit (BRT) services. However, LRT systems are considered more capitally-intensive than BRT systems, a factor that would require a minimum population threshold value. The project team contends that environmental considerations should receive greater priority in the decision-making process for transportation projects. While the concept of environmental impact is based upon the minimization of adverse impacts, a stronger emphasis on sustainability can be realized by maximizing environmental performance. The purpose of this study was to incorporate environmental sustainability into TOD packages that have been developed for two proposed rail-transit stations in the metropolitan Detroit area: one located in the city of Detroit and one located near the border shared by the suburban cities of Troy and Birmingham. Environmentally sustainable design considerations are proposed for each of the TOD sites and planning, economic, and institutional mechanisms that may ease the implementation process are identified. KW - Detroit (Michigan) KW - Environmental impacts KW - Light rail transit KW - Rail transit stations KW - Sustainable development KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Transit oriented development UR - http://mioh-utc.udmercy.edu/research/ts-23-p2/pdf/MIOH_UTC_TS23_Proj2_2011-Final_Rpt_Incorporating_Environmental_Sustainability_into_TOD_Detroit_etc.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1131901 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01358019 AU - Forkenbrock, Garrick J AU - Snyder, Andrew AU - Jones, Robert E AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - A Test Track Evaluation of Light Vehicle Brake Assist PY - 2010/09//Draft Final Report SP - 211p AB - The objectives of the work described in this report were twofold: (1) to objectively identify the BA activation thresholds of five contemporary test vehicles, and (2) to evaluate braking performance of the test vehicles using BA activation threshold-based brake applications. The study’s second objective was broken down into two parts. First, the braking performance of the vehicles with BA enabled was compared to that achieved with the system disabled. For these tests, only brake applications believed to be representative of the vehicles’ BA activation thresholds were used. Next, the braking performance achieved via use of threshold-based brake applications was compared to the maximum braking capability of the vehicle. Three braking maneuvers were used in this study: two straight line stops (initiated from 45 and 65 mph), and a brake in-a-turn maneuver initiated from 45 mph. For each test, a programmable brake controller was used to insure the maneuvers were executed as accurately and repeatably as possible. To evaluate whether the manner in which the brakes were applied influenced the BA activation threshold, two brake controller feedback loops were used. When “displacement feedback” was utilized, the brake controller used a control feedback loop capable of modulating brake pedal force to maintain constant pedal position. Similarly, when “force feedback” was used, the brake controller used a control feedback loop capable of modulating brake pedal position to maintain constant application of force. Generally speaking, use of displacement feedback-based application thresholds allowed the effect of BA to be successfully evaluated, and demonstrated the technology is capable of producing substantial reductions in stopping distance for some vehicles— provided the right combination of brake pedal displacement and high application rate are applied. For four of the five vehicles evaluated in this study, use of threshold-based applications with BA enabled were able to achieve mean stopping distances within approximately 16 ft of the vehicles’ maximum braking capability. The brake controller’s force feedback-based applications were generally unable to distinguish the stopping performance realized with BA enabled from that achieved with the systems disabled. Therefore, the authors believe this feedback strategy is unsuitable for evaluating BA performance. The use of displacement feedback control logic is recommended. KW - Brake assist system KW - Braking performance KW - Driver support systems KW - Highway safety KW - Light vehicles KW - Stopping distances KW - Technological innovations KW - Vehicle safety UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/811371.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122815 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357953 AU - Sayer, James R AU - Funkhouser, Dillon S AU - Bao, Shan AU - Bogard, Scott E AU - LeBlanc, David J AU - Blankespoor, Adam D AU - Buonarosa, Mary Lynn AU - Winkler, Christopher B AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems Heavy-Truck Field Operational Test Methodology and Results Report PY - 2010/09 SP - 243p AB - This document presents the methodology and results from the heavy-truck field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to examine the effect of a prototype integrated crash warning system on driving behavior and driver acceptance. The heavy-truck platform included three integrated crash-warning subsystems (forward crash, lateral drift, and lane-change/merge crash warnings) installed on a fleet of 10 Class 8 tractors and operated by18 commercial drivers for 10 months. Each truck was instrumented to capture detailed data on the driving environment, driver behavior, warning system activity, and vehicle kinematics. Data on driver acceptance was collected through a post-drive survey and debriefings. The results indicate that integrated crash warning systems not only offer benefits relative to improved driver performance (e.g., improved headway keeping), but that the majority of commercial drivers accepted the system and reported subjective benefits from the integrated system they used. Of the drivers who participated, 15 out of 18 stated that they preferred a truck with the integrated system, stating that they would also recommend that their company consider the purchase of vehicles with integrated safety systems installed. No negative behavioral adaptation effects from the drivers‘ 10-month use of the integrated system were observed. KW - Acceptance KW - Behavior KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Data collection KW - Demonstration projects KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Integrated vehicle-based safety systems KW - Lane changing KW - Lateral drift KW - Rear end crashes KW - Test procedures KW - Truck drivers KW - Trucking safety KW - Warning systems UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/84380 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1122812 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357443 AU - Lynch, James AU - Dutta, Utpal AU - Salari, Ezzatollah AU - Michigan Ohio University Transportation Center AU - University of Detroit Mercy AU - University of Toledo AU - Michigan Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transportation Informatics: Advanced Image Processing Techniques for Automated Pavement Distress Evaluation PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 23p AB - Pavement condition assessment is a critical part of infrastructure management. Methods to reduce the time required to collect and analyze the data or to reduce the subjectivity in the interpretation of the data could be beneficial to parties responsible for the management of pavement structures. Two methods have been proposed, each of which addresses one of the limitations of the existing methods of pavement condition assessment. The first method is the development of a computerized interface and database for pavement condition assessment from digital photographs. The intent of using digital photographs rather than a windshield survey for data collection is to allow easier identification of conditions and re-evaluation in the event of discrepancies among results obtained by individual inspectors. The second method is to apply image processing techniques to the pavement condition assessment process from digital photographs. The intent of using digital photographs and image processing techniques is to automate the pavement condition assessment process, thereby removing the subjective nature of manual assessment. The researchers at the University of Detroit Mercy developed a computer interface which allows the user to review digital photographs from Google Earth, identify defects present. KW - Asset management KW - Automation KW - Condition surveys KW - Digitized photography KW - Image processing KW - Pavement Condition Index KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement management systems KW - Pavement performance UR - http://michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Research__Report_RC-1545I_364106_7.pdf UR - http://mioh-utc.udmercy.edu/research/ts-18-p2/pdf/MIOH_UTC_TS18p2_2010_Final_Rpt_Transportation_Informatics_Advanced_Image_etc.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1120960 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357442 AU - Dutta, Utpal AU - Lynch, James AU - Dara, Brian AU - Bodke, Sujay AU - Michigan Ohio University Transportation Center AU - University of Detroit Mercy AU - Michigan Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Safety Evaluation of the SCATS Control System PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 36p AB - Since 1992, traffic signals in Oakland County and a portion of Macomb and Wayne Counties of Michigan have been converted to the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS). County traffic engineers have been adjusting various SCATS parameters to improve its effectiveness in terms of delay, traffic flow, queue length, and crash and injury occurrences. In 2008, a study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the SCATS system on M-59, between Pontiac Lake East to Pontiac Lake West in Waterford Township, Michigan, in terms of delay, flow, queue length, fuel consumption and emission. As a part of this study various performance parameters of SCATS system were compared with the Pre-timed signal system. Performance of the SCATS system was found to be superior for several of the performance measures during each Peak period. When compared to Pre-timed signal, installation and maintenance cost of SCATS system is almost two times greater. Therefore, there is a need to determine the added related benefits of SCATS system. In this context, determination of crash benefit of SCATS can play a significant role. If congestion and crash related benefits can be combined, then it is most likely combined benefits will overweigh the cost. Crash data from 1999 to 2008 of two corridors, one controlled by the SCATS and other by the Pre-timed signal system were examined to determine the effectiveness of SCATS system. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of SCATS signal system, intersections as well as segment crash data before and after the installation of SCATS signals were compared. In addition, a series of statistical tests were performed to compare safety performance of SCATS and pre-timed signal systems. It was observed that there was shift in severity types A and B to C, which is noteworthy. However, statistical tests were not able to identify any difference of significance at 95 percent confidence level. Finally, cost related information for both SCATS as well as Pre-timed was also computed and compared. KW - Adaptive control KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Measures of effectiveness KW - Michigan KW - Performance measurement KW - SCATS (Computer program) KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic signal control systems UR - http://michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Research__Report_RC-1545K_364112_7.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1120962 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357441 AU - Al-Holou, Nizar AU - Mohammad, Utayba AU - Michigan Ohio University Transportation Center AU - University of Detroit Mercy AU - Michigan Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - New Approach to Enhance and Evaluate the Performance of Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration and its Communication Systems PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 66p AB - Initial research studied the use of wireless local area networks (WLAN) protocols in Inter-Vehicle Communications (IVC) environments. The protocols’ performance was evaluated in terms of measuring throughput, jitter time and delay time. This research has developed a unique setup to evaluate IEEE802.11 protocols. This setup will reduce the cost of test beds that might be deployed to evaluate the performance of new IEEE802.11 protocols. To validate the concept, researchers have implemented the test bed at University of Detroit Mercy and evaluated the performance of IEEE802.11b/g. The developed WLAN-based test bed allows the testing of different IEEE802.11 protocols and yet keeps the cost at a reasonable level. Researchers investigated the impact of Doppler shift on the quality of the transmitted/received signal in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication system. The developed channel model that combines Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) and Rayleigh channel representations to resemble a realistic transmission medium is presented. The model is validated by showing that the relation between Energy of Bit to Noise Ratio (Eb/N0) and Bit Error Rate (BER) is consistent with theoretical formulas. The degradation in signal quality as a result of increased vehicle speed is presented through graphical and analytical representation of BER with respect of applied Doppler shift. Moreover, a new methodology to reduce the impact of Doppler shift is proposed and simulations are performed to confirm the reduction of Doppler shift impact on the signal quality. KW - Computer network protocols KW - Dedicated short range communications KW - Doppler shift KW - Driver information systems KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Test beds KW - Vehicle infrastructure integration KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications KW - Wireless communication systems KW - Wireless LANs UR - http://michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Research__Report_RC-1545H_364103_7.pdf UR - http://mioh-utc.udmercy.edu/research/ts-15/pdf/MIOH_UTC_TS15p1-2_2010-Final_Rpt_New_Approach_Enhance_and_Evaluate_VII_etc.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1120959 ER - TY - SER AN - 01354111 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Driver Electronic Device Use in 2009 PY - 2010/09//Summary of Statistical Findings SP - 8p AB - The percentage of drivers visibly manipulating hand-held devices while driving dropped significantly from 1.0 percent in 2008 to 0.6 percent in 2009. Similarly, the hand-held cell phone use by drivers also dropped significantly from 6 percent in 2008 to 5 percent in 2009. These results are from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only nationwide probability-based observed data on driver electronic device use in the United States. KW - Cellular telephones KW - Drivers KW - Handheld devices KW - Highway safety KW - National Occupant Protection Use Survey KW - Statistics KW - United States KW - Utilization UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811372.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1116508 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01354110 AU - Gregory, Garry H AU - Baryun, Azmi AU - Oklahoma State University, Stillwater AU - Oklahoma Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Correlation of Fully-Softened Shear Strength of Clay Soil with Index Properties, Phase I PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 68p AB - Shallow slope failures in clay soils cause many millions of dollars of damage annually on highway embankments and cut slopes and necessitate difficult and expensive repairs that negatively impact budgets, traffic flow, and the environment. The embankments typically fail when clay soils become “fully softened” due to shrink-swell action during wet-dry-wet cycles and experience downhill creep. Slope analyses using either peak or residual strength properties do not properly model most slope failure or potential failure conditions. The use of peak strength in the analyses tends to overestimate the factor of safety (stability) and the use of residual shear strength in the analysis tends to underestimate the factor of safety (stability). The use of fully-softened shear strength values results in a more accurate analysis and leads to designs or repair methods that provide long-term stability at reasonable costs. Understanding the mechanisms of these slope failures and being able to economically predict the fully softened shear strength of clay soils is key to successful design, repair, and stabilization of clay slopes. KW - Atterberg limits KW - Clay soils KW - Embankments KW - Moisture content KW - Shear strength KW - Sieve analysis KW - Slope failure KW - Slope stability UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42400/42430/FY10_2225_Gregory_FR.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1117064 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01354107 AU - Singh, Santokh AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Distracted Driving and Driver, Roadway, and Environmental Factors PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 40p AB - Drivers often perform non-driving activities that divert their attention from the primary task of driving. This may be due to conversing with a passenger, dialing or hanging up a cell phone, having a phone conversation, or adjusting the radio or other vehicle controls. A driver may also lose focus on driving due to engaging in nondriving cognitive activities, such as being lost in thought or thinking about personal or financial problems. In addition, some crash-associated factors such as driver age and gender, roadway traffic, and environmental conditions may influence a driver’s likelihood of engaging in non-driving activities. NHTSA conducted the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS) to collect on-scene information on several crash factors, including the ones related to driver inattention. The NMVCCS data was used in this study to look at two facets of distracted driving, namely distraction from sources within the vehicle and non-driving cognitive activities, as associated factors. A descriptive analysis of the weighted data brought out some interesting facts about distracted driving. For example, the results show that, among the crash-involved drivers, distraction from internal sources was more common than distraction due to non-driving cognitive activities. The data also revealed that conversing with a passenger was the most common source of distraction from internal sources, while inattentiveness due to unknown thought focus was the most prevalent factor among the non-driving cognitive activities. Other important patterns detected include the decreasing trend in distraction from internal sources with increasing driver age; the high incidence of drivers under 16 who were thinking about personal problems, and drivers 16 and older who were inattentive due to some unknown thought focus during the pre-crash phase. This report provides necessary details of the NMVCCS data followed by discussion on the choice of the relevant variables and the analysis methodology. The results from univariate and bivariate analyses are discussed in detail, reflecting on the impact of distracted driving on crash occurrence. KW - Attention KW - Attention lapses KW - Cognition KW - Crash causes KW - Distraction KW - Drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www.distraction.gov/downloads/pdfs/distracted-driving-and-driver-roadway-environmental-factors.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1116580 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01354105 AU - Eck, Bradley J AU - Klenzendorf, J Brandon AU - Charbeneau, Randall J AU - Barrett, Michael E AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Investigation of Stormwater Quality Improvements Utilizing Permeable Friction Course (PFC) PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 318p AB - This report describes research into the water quality and hydraulics of the Permeable Friction Course (PFC). Water quality monitoring of 3 locations in the Austin area indicates up to a 90 percent reduction in pollutant discharges from PFC compared to conventional pavement. This reduction is the result of accumulation of pollutants within the pavement and the reduction in pollutants washed off of vehicles during storm events. The project also developed a methodology for measuring permeability of the pavement in situ. The required overcoming several instances where conventional assumptions in permeability measurements were violated. In particular, flow through the pavement at the heads evaluated was nonlinear and not consistent with Darcy’s law. One dimensional steady state and two dimensional dynamic models of flow in PFC were developed. The latter model is capable of predicting surface and subsurface flow from highways of various geometries. KW - Austin (Texas) KW - Friction course KW - Hydraulics KW - Measurement KW - Permeability KW - Pollutants KW - Runoff KW - Water quality UR - http://www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf_reports/0_5220_2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1116015 ER - TY - SER AN - 01354103 JO - Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration AU - Cosgrove, Linda AU - Chaudhary, Neil AU - Roberts, Scott AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - High Visibility Enforcement Demonstration Programs in Connecticut and New York Reduce Hand-Held Phone Use PY - 2010/09 SP - 8p AB - Driving while distracted increases the likelihood of a crash (NHTSA, 2010), and recent well-publicized events have brought this unsafe driving behavior to the forefront of the public eye. According to CTIA-The Wireless Association (2009) about 285 million Americans (91% of all Americans) now own cell phones, compared to only 1 million in 1987. The National Health Interview Survey (Blumberg & Luke, 2010) found that nearly one in four households were wireless only (no land line), up nearly 2 percentage points from the year before. The popularity of text messaging is increasing, and videotaped footage of drivers who were texting immediately before a crash has circulated widely on television and the Internet. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 6% of drivers nationwide were using an electronic device at any given time in 2008 (Pickrell & Ye, 2009. A meta-analysis (Horrey & Wickens, 2006) of 23 experiments that measured the effects of cell phone use on driving performance found that, across all studies, reaction times were consistently slower when using a cell phone than when not using a phone. To address this problem, NHTSA initiated distracted driving demonstration programs in two communities to test whether a high visibility enforcement (HVE) model could reduce two specific instances of distracted driving -- talking or texting using a hand-held cell phone. The HVE model combines dedicated law enforcement during a specific period, paid and earned media emphasizing an enforcement-based message, and evaluation before and after. Click It or Ticket, NHTSA’s best known and most successful HVE campaign for seat belt use, has also been effective in areas of aggressive driving and impaired driving. This report summarizes results from the first two of four waves of enforcement and media for distracted driving high visibility enforcement campaigns in two communities. KW - Cellular telephones KW - Connecticut KW - Distraction KW - Driving KW - Handheld devices KW - Highway safety KW - Mass media KW - New York (State) KW - Performance KW - Public information programs KW - Safety campaigns KW - Text messaging KW - Traffic law enforcement UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811376-HVE_Demo_Programs_NY-TSF-RN-sept2010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1116581 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01353761 AU - Ghosh, Ashok Kumar AU - Wilson, Claudia M Dias AU - Budek-Schmeisser, Andrew AU - Razavi, Mehrdad AU - Harrision, Bruce AU - Birbahadur, Naitram AU - Felli, Prosfer AU - Budek-Schmeisser, Barbara AU - New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology AU - New Mexico Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Standards for Tire-Bale Erosion Control and Bank Stabilization Projects: Validation of Existing Practice and Implementation PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 211p AB - In an effort to promote the use of increasing stockpiles of waste tires and a growing demand for adequate backfill material in highway construction, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has embarked on a move to use compressed tire-bales as a means to reduce cost of construction and to recycle used tires which would otherwise occupy much larger space in landfills or be improperly disposed of. Compressing the tires into bales has prompted unique environmental, technical, and economic opportunities. This is due to the significant volume reduction obtained when using tire-bales [approximately 100 auto tires with a volume of 20 cu yd (15.3 cu m) can be compressed to 2 cu yd (1.53 cu m) blocks, i.e., a tenfold reduction in landfill space]. Lighter unit weight, 37 pcf dry (592 kg/cu m), results in lower earth pressure with lesser possibility for foundation failure. The objective of this project was to address the question, “Can tire-bales be used as a cost effective alternate fill material for erosion control and bank stabilization projects?” KW - Backfill materials KW - Backfilling KW - Cost effectiveness KW - Embankments KW - Erosion control KW - Fills KW - Recycling KW - Scrap tires KW - Soil stabilization KW - Tire bales KW - Tires UR - http://dot.state.nm.us/content/dam/nmdot/Research/Tire-bale_FinalReport.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42500/42501/Tire-bale_FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1118690 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01353064 AU - Lucey, Anne AU - Barton, Susan AU - Bruck, Jules AU - Delaware Center for Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Public Perception and Attitudes about Roadside Vegetation: Pre‐ and Post‐Environmental Education PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 134p AB - Sustainably managed roadsides limit non-native turf grass and include meadows of native warm season grasses and flowering perennials, native shrubs, and trees. Sustainable roadside vegetation management strategies contribute to a matrix of economically conservative, environmentally responsible and aesthetically pleasing landscapes. Implementation of sustainable strategies results in cost savings, better water quality and conductivity, increased diversity of insect life and benefits to the socioeconomic health of the state. Lacking an awareness of associated benefits, the public is often hesitant to accept sustainable, but less manicured roadsides, causing many Departments of Transportation to revert to traditional management regimes. This research assessed perception and determined that acceptance could be increased with an awareness of associated benefits. An Internet survey was administered to three groups of participants. A control group rated eleven roadside images from least to most desirable and completed a brief survey. An experimental group read a list of information about traditional and sustainable strategies of roadside vegetation management before rating the images and completing the survey. Another experimental group viewed a 6 ½ minute video that delivered the same information as the list, but engaged the respondent differently. This group then rated the images and completed the survey, as did the previous two groups. Among those who read the list, a significant change in perception occurred for three of the images when compared to those in the control group. Among those who viewed the video, a significant change in perception occurred for four of the images when compared to those in the control group. When all images were compared to the baseline image (mown turf), Delaware’s current default vegetation management strategy, each response distribution was significantly different than that of mown turf. Respondents rated images of flowering meadows, meadow with a mown turf margin, turf with a wooded edge, shrubs and trees more desirable than mown turf and images with grassy meadows less desirable. When strategies were grouped according to similar attributes and compared to mown turf, respondents rated images with flowers (flowering meadows, shrubs and trees), and images with a mown turf margin more desirable than turf and grass meadows less desirable. KW - Aesthetics KW - Awareness KW - Benefits KW - Education KW - Environmental policy KW - Native plants KW - Roadside flora KW - Sustainable development KW - Vegetation control UR - http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/Barton_Bruck_Lucey_FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1117674 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01352441 AU - Zhao, Xi AU - Nelson, Alicia A AU - Chrysler, Susan AU - Zhang, Yunlong AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Automated Generation of Virtual Scenarios in Driving Simulator from Highway Design Data PY - 2010/09//Final Project Report SP - 62p AB - In 2008, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) began using a desktop driving simulator made by Realtime Technologies, Inc. This system comes with a library of different roadway segment types that can be pieced together to create driving scenarios. The current project explored ways to create custom roadway segments for use in the TTI driving simulator. The project initially attempted to use AutoCAD® Civil 3D® roadway drawings and export them for use in the simulator. This attempt was not successful because all roadway geometric design features could not be exported. Next, the project used commercially available three-dimensional modeling software (Road Tools by Presagis, Inc.) and was able to create new roadway segments that were drivable in the simulator. These new roadway segments are not as precise as those created in Civil 3D®, but for most driving behavior studies conducted in the TTI simulator, researchers judged them to be sufficient. KW - AutoCAD (Software) KW - Automobile driving KW - Behavior KW - Distraction KW - Driving simulators KW - Geometric design KW - Geometric segments KW - Highways KW - Instrumented vehicles KW - Roads KW - Three dimensional displays UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00018-1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42200/42281/476660-00018-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1117041 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01350103 AU - Zhang, Chen AU - Jennings, Lance AU - Aultman-Hall, Lisa AU - University of Vermont, Burlington AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - More Robust Spatial Sampling Strategies for Non-motorized Traffic PY - 2010/09 SP - 21p AB - With the widespread promotion of New Urbanism and Smart Growth there is an assumption that levels of non-motorized traffic will increase. However, planners and analysts for non-motorized transportation modes still rely on very limited data resources and therefore are limited in identifying demand patterns and moving forward with more productive management and planning schemes. In this study the authors utilized continuous non-motorized traffic counts collected along four share use paths in Chittenden County, Vermont and analyzed the association between hourly (volume percentages of daily total) distribution patterns at each count station and land uses in the adjacent areas. The findings herein show the linkage is not as evident as expected between surrounding land use and the hourly patterns of the counts gathered, which is likely due to the insufficient diversity of the land use patterns around the count stations. Therefore, a dire need exists for the development of more robust sampling strategies which are essential to obtain counts efficiently that can extrapolate short period counts into region-wide travel estimates. This study proposes a spatial-based clustering analysis to identify the five land use categories to assist planning practitioners in selecting sampling locations that are representative for generating consistent non-motorized traffic counts for the entire network. KW - Chittenden County (Vermont) KW - Hourly KW - Land use KW - Location KW - Nonmotorized transportation KW - Shared use paths KW - Spatial clustering KW - Traffic counts KW - Traffic distribution UR - http://www.uvm.edu/~transctr/trc_reports/UVM-TRC-10-014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1113072 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01345007 AU - Savolainen, Peter T AU - Ghosh, Indrajit AU - Wayne State University AU - NEXTRANS AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Using Detector Data to Identify and Examine Crashes and Incidents on Freeways PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 47p AB - Traffic incidents, such as crashes and vehicular breakdowns, result in reductions in roadway capacity and are the primary cause of non-recurrent congestion in urban areas. In addition to contributing to congestion and delay, incidents adversely affect the safety of other motorists, as well as first responders. To address these issues, transportation agencies have initiated incident management programs aimed at detecting and responding to incidents in order to restore freeways to full capacity by clearing the incident scene as soon as possible. Such programs play an important role in the operation of the transportation system and require collaboration and efficient communication among various agencies, including fire and rescue, police, towing and recovery, transportation engineers, and freeway service patrols. In the Detroit metropolitan area, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) operates a Freeway Courtesy Patrol (FCP) program as part of its freeway incident management program from the Michigan Intelligent Transportation Systems (MITS) Center in downtown Detroit. As a part of its operations, the MITS Center maintains a series of databases that detail freeway operations, as well as the activities of the FCP. However, to date these databases have been maintained independently of one another and no research has examined the interrelationships between freeway operations and the services of the FCP. This report details the activities from the first year of a two-year study aimed at analyzing operations and incident response on the Detroit freeway network. KW - Cooperation KW - Databases KW - Detroit (Michigan) KW - Freeway operations KW - Incident detection KW - Incident management KW - Incident response KW - Nonrecurrent congestion KW - Traffic crashes KW - Urban areas UR - http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/pdfs/Year%202%20Final%20Reports/Final%20Report%20051.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1106001 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01342068 AU - Abu Al-Rub, Rashid K AU - Tyson, Bryan M AU - Texas A&M University, College Station AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Assessment the Potential of Using Carbon Nanotubes Reinforcements for Improving the Tensile/Flexural Strength and Fracture Toughness of Portland Cement Paste for Damage Resistant Concrete Transportation Infrastructures PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 155p AB - The focus of this study was on exploring the use of nanotechnology-based nano-filaments, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nanofibers (CNFs), as reinforcement in improving the mechanical properties of Portland cement paste as a construction material. Due to their ultra-high strength and very high aspect ratios, CNTs and CNFs have been used as excellent reinforcements in enhancing the physical and mechanical properties of polymer, metallic, and ceramic composites. Very little attention has been devoted to explore the use of nano-filaments in the transportation industry. Therefore, this study aimed to bridge the gap between nano-filaments and transportation materials. This was achieved by testing the integration of CNTs and CNFs in ordinary Portland cement paste through state-of-the-art techniques. Different mixes in fixed proportions (e.g. water-to-cement ratio, air content, admixtures) along with varying concentrations of CNTs or CNFs were prepared. Different techniques commonly used for other materials (like polymers) were used in achieving uniform dispersion of nano-filaments in the cement paste matrix and strong nano-filaments/cement bonding. Small-scale specimens were prepared for mechanical testing in order to measure the modified mechanical properties as a function of nano-filaments concentration, type, and distribution. With 0.1% CNFs, the ultimate strain capacity increased by 142%, the flexural strength increased by 79%, and the fracture toughness increased by 242%. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to discern the difference between crack bridging and fiber pullout. Test results showed that the strength, ductility, and fracture toughness can be improved with the addition of low concentrations of either CNTs or CNFs. KW - Carbon nanofibers KW - Ductility KW - Flexural strength KW - Fracture properties KW - Mix design KW - Nanostructured materials KW - Nanotubes KW - Portland cement KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Tensile strength UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00011-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1104633 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01338798 AU - Western Research Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Asphalt Surface Aging Prediction (ASAP) System PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 138p AB - The Asphalt Surface Aging Prediction (ASAP) project has been a 2.5 year effort to predict age-related embrittlement in asphalt pavement surfaces and to develop ground-based and airborne systems to measure key spectral indicators needed for prediction. The idea is to predict failure so that preemptive measures can be applied to the surface to extend the pavement life. Five tasks were involved in this effort. The first was concerned with determining the infrared spectral feature of aging asphalts that best correlate with physical properties of asphalts and with determining whether spectral manipulation methods could isolate the asphalt signature from aggregates. The second task examined field cores, mapped aging severity with depth, and examined surface aging. The third task developed a ruggedize fourier transform infrared spectrometer, an instrumentation vehicle, and supporting software to implement field analyses. At present the diffuse reflectance system does not provide sufficient signal, but modifications may be possible to correct the problem. The fourth and fifth tasks were to be field trials with completed systems. KW - Aging (Materials) KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Cores (Specimens) KW - Embrittlement KW - Forecasting KW - Fourier transforms KW - Infrared spectroscopy KW - Surface course (Pavements) UR - http://www.ncrst.org/ArchivePages/WY-WRI/AppendixA.pdf UR - http://www.ncrst.org/ArchivePages/WY-WRI/AppendixB.pdf UR - http://www.ncrst.org/ArchivePages/WY-WRI/FinalReport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1100716 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337842 AU - Rahim, Ashraf AU - California Polytechnic State University AU - California State University, San Bernardino AU - California Department of Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Evaluation of Waste Recycled Materials Applications in Highway Pavement in California: An Overview of Research PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 44p AB - Five different types of recycled materials used in highway paving projects are reviewed: crumb rubber (CR), recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), recycled asphalt shinges (RAS), and fly ash (FA). The extent to which these materials are used in California and seven other states is evaluated. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has used CR, RAP and RCA for asphalt pavements; RAS and FA have been used in other states. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - California KW - Crumb rubber KW - Fly ash KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Recycled materials KW - Shingles UR - http://leonard.csusb.edu/research/documents/2009-SGP-1043FinalReportPDF.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1084158 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337319 AU - Hossain, M Shabbir AU - Virginia Transportation Research Council AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Characterization of Unbound for Use in the New Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Procedure Pavement Materials From Virginia Sources PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 38p AB - The implementation of mechanistic-empirical pavement design requires mechanistic characterization of pavement layer materials. The subgrade and base materials are used as unbound, and their characterization for Virginia sources was considered in this study as a supplement to a previous study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council. Resilient modulus tests were performed in accordance with AASHTO T 307 on fine and coarse soils along with base aggregates used in Virginia. The degree of saturation as determined by moisture content and density has shown significant influence on the resilient behavior of these unbound materials. The resilient modulus values, or k-values, are presented as reference for use by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The results of other tests were analyzed for correlation with the results of the resilient modulus test to determine their use in estimating resilient modulus values. The results of the triaxial compression test, referred to as the quick shear test in AASHTO T 307, correlated favorably with the resilient modulus. Although the complexity of such a test is similar to that of the resilient modulus test for cohesionless coarse soil and base aggregate, fine cohesive soil can be tested with a simpler triaxial test: the unconfined compression test. In this study, a model was developed to estimate the resilient modulus of fine soil from the initial tangent modulus produced on a stress-strain diagram from an unconfined compression test. The following recommendations are made to VDOT’s Materials Division: (1) implement the use of the resilient modulus test for pavement design along with the implementation of the MEPDG; (2) use the universal constitutive model recommended by the MEPDG to generate the k-values needed as input to MEPDG Level 1 design/analysis for resilient modulus calculation; (3) develop a database of resilient modulus values (or k-values), which could be used in MEPDG design/analysis if a reasonable material match were to be found; (4) use the initial tangent modulus from an unconfined compression test to predict the resilient modulus values of fine soils for MEPDG Level 2 input and the 1993 AASHTO design; and (5) continue to collect data for the unconfined compression test and update the prediction model for fine soil in collaboration with the Virginia Transportation Research Council. Implementing these recommendations would support and expedite the implementation efforts under way by VDOT to initiate the statewide use of the MEPDG. The use of the MEPDG is expected to improve VDOT’s pavement design capability and should allow VDOT to design pavements with a longer service life and fewer maintenance needs and to predict maintenance and rehabilitation needs more accurately over the life of the pavement. KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Modulus of resilience KW - Pavement design KW - Subgrade (Pavements) KW - Unbound materials KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-r6.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1097599 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337306 AU - Zuo, Qiuhai AU - Toutanji, Houssam A AU - Ueno, Shigeyuki AU - University of Alabama, Huntsville AU - University of Alabama, Huntsville AU - University Transportation Center for Alabama AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Modeling Damage in Concrete Pavements and Bridges PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 27p AB - This project focused on micromechanical modeling of damage in concrete under general, multi-axial loading. A continuum-level, three-dimensional constitutive model based on micromechanics was developed. The model accounts for damage in concrete by statistically averaging the response (opening and shear) of an ensemble of microcracks under a three-dimensional stress state. The model is implemented in ABAQUS analysis code and can be utilized by ALDOT engineers to make an informed assessment of the damage in concrete pavements and bridges. KW - Concrete bridges KW - Concrete pavements KW - Constitutive modeling KW - Cracking KW - Damage (Bridges) KW - Damage (Pavements) KW - Microcracking KW - Micromechanical models UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35900/35990/Final_Report_09301.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1097794 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337273 AU - Steciak, Judi AU - Beyerlein, Steve AU - Budwig, Ralph AU - National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Aqueous Ethanol Ignition and Engine Studies, Phase I PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 72p AB - The authors' objectives were to design a micro-dilution tunnel for monitoring engine emissions, measure ignition temperature and heat release from ethanol-water-air mixtures on platinum, and initiate a computational fluid dynamics model of a catalytic igniter. All three efforts progress the understanding of catalytic ignition of alternative transportation fuels. The dilution tunnel used an ejector dilutor to entrain gases and mix them with exhaust. A portable gas analyzer and particle mass monitor sensed gaseous and particulate emissions. The transportable tunnel met design criteria including a user-friendly interface and can accommodate more sophisticated gas analyzers. The surface temperature and heat generation from reactions of ethanol-water-oxygen-nitrogen mixtures on the catalyst were determined using microcalorimetry. Ignition temperatures varied from 380 K to 570 K and heat generation from 0.8 to 11.8 W/cm2 depending on the relative and absolute amounts of ethanol and oxygen. Water showed little to no effect on either the ignition temperature or the heat generation. The authors used a Fluent® finite volume program to model flow during the filling of a catalytic igniter. To gain confidence in modeling, a series of progressively more difficult fluid mechanics problems were solved first. This initial model is an open system with a pressure inlet. Future models will represent a closed mass system with a moving boundary. KW - Catalytic ignitions KW - Combustion KW - Emissions modeling KW - Ethanol KW - Exhaust gases UR - http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/niatt/research/Final_Reports/KLK761_N10-11.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1097788 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337267 AU - Abu-Farsakh, Murad Y AU - Yu, Xinbao AU - Yoon, Sungmin AU - Tsai, Ching AU - Louisiana Transportation Research Center AU - Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Calibration of Resistance Factors Needed in the LRFD Design of Drilled Shafts PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 110p AB - The first report on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) calibration of driven piles in Louisiana (LTRC Final Report 449) was completed in May 2009. As a continuing effort to implement the LRFD design methodology for deep foundations in Louisiana, this report will present the reliability based analyses for the calibration of the resistance factor for LRFD design of axially loaded drilled shafts. A total of 16 cases of drilled shaft load tests were available to authors from Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) archives. Out of those, only 11 met the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) "5%B" settlement criterion. Due to the limited number of available drilled shaft cases in Louisiana, additional drilled shaft cases were collected from state of Mississippi that has subsurface soil conditions similar to Louisiana soils. A total of 15 drilled shafts from Mississippi were finally selected from 50 available cases, based on selection criteria of subsurface soil conditions and final settlement. As a result, a database of 26 drilled shaft tests representing the typical design practice in Louisiana was created for statistical reliability analyses. The predictions of total, side, and tip resistance versus settlement behavior of drilled shafts were established from soil borings using the FHWA O’Neill and Reese design method via the SHAFT computer program. The measured drilled shaft axial nominal resistance was determined from either the Osterberg cell (O-cell) test or the conventional top-down static load test. For the 22 drilled shafts that were tested using O-cells, the tip and side resistances were deduced separately from test results. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the predicted total, tip, and side drilled shaft nominal axial resistance with the corresponding measured nominal resistance. Results of this showed that the selected FHWA design method significantly underestimates measured drilled shaft resistance. The Monte Carlo simulation method was selected to perform the LRFD calibration of resistance factors of drilled shaft under strength I limit state. The total resistance factors obtained at different reliability index were determined and compared with those available in literature. Results of reliability analysis, corresponding to a target reliability index of 3.0, reveals resistance factors for side, tip, and total resistance factor are 0.20, 0.75, and 0.5, respectively. KW - Axial loads KW - Bridge foundations KW - Calibration KW - Drilled shafts KW - Load and resistance factor design KW - Louisiana KW - Reliability analysis KW - Resistance (Mechanics) KW - Resistance factors UR - http://www.ltrc.lsu.edu/pdf/2010/fr_470.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/37000/37800/37870/fr_470.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1098658 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01333797 AU - Ghorbanpoor, Al AU - Feile, Eric P AU - Schultz, Cory E AU - University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee AU - Wisconsin Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Monitoring and Load Distribution Study for the Land Bridge PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 179p AB - A monitoring program and a live load distribution study were conducted for the Land Bridge, located on State Highway 131 between Ontario and LaFarge in southwest Wisconsin. The bridge is a 275-ft long curved double trapezoidal steel box girder construction. Hybrid HPS70W and A588 weathering steels were used for the construction of the bridge. The monitoring program included measurements of live load and thermal strains as well as displacements for the girders over a four-year period. The effects of the in-service live load, in terms of both the applied stresses and the number of load cycles, were found to be insignificant. The thermal stress levels were found to be more significant but with only a limited number of load cycles. It was also found that there was no significant change in the load pattern, for both the stress level and number of load cycles, over the four years of the monitoring program for the bridge. The observed stress levels in the bridge were found to be below the fatigue stress threshold prescribed by AASHTO. This indicated that an infinite life could be expected for the bridge when fatigue is a consideration for the steel box girders. The live load distribution study for the Land Bridge included a field testing, a 3-D numerical simulation, and a comparative study of the results with those determined by the provisions of the AASHTO standard and LRFD specifications. Good agreement was achieved between the load distribution factor values that were obtained from the field testing and the numerical simulation. The comparison of the results with the values obtained from the AASHTO specifications indicated that over-conservative results yielded from the standard specifications while the results from the LRFD specifications were under-conservative. It is recommended that an additional study be performed to overcome this shortcoming of the current design specifications. KW - Box girder bridges KW - Field tests KW - Live loads KW - Load transfer KW - Steel bridges KW - Strain measurement KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Thermal response UR - http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/53016/07-09%2520Final%2520Report.pdf UR - http://wisdotresearch.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/07-09bridgeperformance-f.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1096579 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01333086 AU - Biton, Anna AU - Clark, Michael AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - National Park Service TI - John F. Kennedy National Historic Site General Management Plan Support: Transportation Study PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 92p AB - This report provides an overview of transportation and access issues related to the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site and the surrounding area in Brookline, MA. The study defines transportation-related goals for the site and provides support for development of the site's General Management Plan (GMP). It identifies and evaluates several potential transportation alternatives, and discusses their implementation in the context of one of the GMP alternatives, which would be to establish a satellite visitor center for the site. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - National parks KW - Public transit KW - Satellite parking lots KW - Shuttle service KW - Tourism KW - Transportation planning KW - Visitor centers UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35200/35216/DOT-VNTSC-NPS-10-12.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1097264 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01332911 AU - McLean, David I AU - Walkenhauer, Brian J AU - Washington State University, Pullman AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Seismic Retrofit of Cruciform-Shaped Columns in the Aurora Avenue Bridge Using FRP Wrapping PY - 2010/09//Research Report SP - 96p AB - Experimental tests were conducted on seven 1/3-scale column specimens to evaluate the vulnerabilities of existing cruciform-shaped columns and to develop appropriate retrofit measures that address the identified vulnerabilities. The specimens represented both solid and split columns in the Aurora Avenue Bridge in Seattle, Washington. The as-built specimens failed at low ductility levels due to shear distress. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) jackets with FRP inserts to anchor the jackets in the column reentrant corners along with steel confinement collars to provide confinement in the hinging regions were used to retrofit the column specimens. The retrofitted specimens developed plastic hinging in the column, with enhanced strength, energy and ductility capacities. Guidelines were presented for designing the various components of the retrofit measures. KW - Anchoring KW - Bridges KW - Columns KW - Earthquake resistant design KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Jacketing (Strengthening) KW - Retrofitting KW - Seismicity UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/753.1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35400/35481/753.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1096601 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01332481 AU - Nabors, Dan AU - Moriarty, Kevin AU - Gross, Frank AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Road Safety Audit Toolkit for Federal Land Management Agencies and Tribal Governments PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 66p AB - Road Safety Audits/Assessments (RSAs) have proven to be an effective tool for improving safety on and along roadways. As such, the use of RSAs continues to grow throughout the United States. The success has led to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) including the RSA as one of its nine "proven safety countermeasures." Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMAs) and Tribes are beginning to witness the benefits of conducting RSAs. However, FLMAs and Tribes often face unique conditions, staffing, and funding constraints that do not allow resources to be devoted to improving roadway safety. The "Road Safety Audit Toolkit for Federal Land Management Agencies and Tribal Governments" is intended to be used by FLMAs and Tribes to overcome these obstacles. Information, ideas, and resources are provided in key topic areas including how to conduct an RSA, common safety issues and potential improvements, establishing an RSA program, and incorporating RSAs into the planning process. The Toolkit serves as a starting point, providing information to FLMAs and Tribes about partnerships needed to build support, available funding sources for the program and improvements, tools to conduct RSAs, and resources to identify safety issues and select countermeasures. Worksheets and other sample materials have been provided to aid in the RSA process including requesting assistance, scheduling, analyzing data, conducting field reviews, and documenting issues and suggestions. Examples of programs and experiences of other agencies have also been included throughout to provide examples of successes and struggles in implementing RSAs and improving safety for all road users. KW - Countermeasures KW - Federal Land Management Agencies KW - Financial sources KW - Highway safety KW - Partnerships KW - Road Safety Audit Program (Federal Highway Administration) KW - Safety audits KW - Toolkits KW - Tribal government UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsa/resources/toolkitflh/ UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1096644 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01332480 AU - Sullivan, Andrew J AU - Sisiopiku, Virginia P AU - University of Alabama, Birmingham AU - University of Alabama at Birmingham University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Emergency Dispatchers’ Survey. UAB UTC Domain 2: Development of a Dynamic Traffic Assignment and Simulation Model for Incident and Emergency Management Applications in the Birmingham Region, Aim 3a PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 35p AB - Traffic congestion is a primary concern during major incident and evacuation scenarios and can create difficulties for emergency vehicles attempting to enter and exit affected areas; however, many of the dispatchers who would be responsible for directing the movements of emergency response units during emergencies have not been trained to cope with severe congestion nor have they been given the tools that would allow them to consider traffic congestion in the dispatching process. This report presents the results of a survey of emergency dispatchers in Alabama conducted by the University Transportation Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The survey sought to assess the current practices of emergency dispatchers with respect to traffic congestion. The survey also solicited input from dispatchers regarding the degree to which they feel congestion is a problem in their jurisdiction along with recommendations for addressing the issue. Finally, the survey results were compared to the findings of a similar survey of emergency responders in Alabama which solicited their views on congestion and emergency response. KW - Alabama KW - Dispatchers KW - Dispatching KW - Dynamic traffic assignment KW - Emergency management KW - Simulation KW - State of the practice KW - Surveys KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic incidents UR - http://www.uab.edu/utc/Final%20Reports.html UR - http://www.uab.edu/utc/PDF%20Files/Domain%202%20Project%203a-%20%20Dispatchers%20Survey%20-Final%20Report UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1096621 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329777 AU - Shurbutt, Jim AU - Van Houten, Ron AU - Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Yellow Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons on Yielding at Multilane Uncontrolled Crosswalks PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 50p AB - The rectangular rapid-flashing beacon (RRFB) device is a pedestrian-activated beacon system located at the roadside below side-mounted pedestrian crosswalk signs. This study examined the effects of the RRFB at uncontrolled marked crosswalks. Several methods have been examined to increase driver yielding to pedestrians at multilane crosswalks at uncontrolled locations with relatively high average daily traffic (ADT). Previously, only treatments that employed a red phase have consistently produced sustained high levels of yielding at high-volume multilane crosswalks. A series of five experiments examined the efficacy of RRFBs. These studies found that RRFBs produced an increase in yielding behavior at all 22 sites located in 3 cities in the United States. Data collected over a 2-year follow-up period at 18 of these sites also documented the long-term maintenance of yielding produced by RRFBs. A comparison of RRFBs to a traditional overhead yellow flashing beacon and a side-mounted traditional yellow flashing beacon documented higher driver yielding associated with RRFBs that was not only statistically significant, but also practically important. Data from other experiments demonstrated that mounting additional beacons on pedestrian refuge islands, or medians, and aiming the beacons to maximize its salience at the dilemma zone increased the efficacy of the system, while two other variants were not found to influence the effectiveness of the system. KW - Crosswalks KW - Flashing beacons KW - Highway traffic control KW - Multilane traffic KW - Unsignalized intersections KW - Yellow KW - Yield (Traffic) UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/10043/10043.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090356 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329720 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - The 2009 National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats PY - 2010/09 SP - 42p AB - This report presents results from the 2009 National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats (NSUBS), the only probability-based nationwide child restraint survey in the United States that observes restraint use and interviews an adult occupant to collect race, ethnicity, and other data. The NSUBS is conducted by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The 2009 NSUBS found that 41 percent of 4- to 7-year-old children were restrained in booster seats in 2009 as compared to 43 percent in 2008. The restraint use for children 1 to 3 increased from 92 percent to 96 percent while the restraint use rate for all children under 13 remained unchanged at 89 percent. There was some improvement in restraint use by non-Hispanic Black or African-American children. Restraint use by Hispanic children was significantly lower than non-Hispanic children across all age groups. KW - Booster seats KW - Child restraint systems KW - Children KW - Ethnic groups KW - Highway safety KW - Race KW - Surveys KW - Utilization UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811377.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090648 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329362 AU - Robinson, R AU - Goodrich Fuel and Utility Systems AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Health and Usage Monitoring System Functional Assessment - Goodrich Health and Usage Management System PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 29p AB - This report provides an assessment of the Goodrich Health and Usage Management System (GHUMS) onboard system (OBS) and ground station (GS) functional capabilities. For each identified HUMS-specific function, the role of the OBS and the GS is identified with particular emphasis on the relationship of the two subsystems and the functional partitioning between the two. This report also outlines the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components of all HUMS subsystems, and identifies the role that COTS plays in the overall functionality of the system. KW - Aviation safety KW - Helicopters KW - Management KW - Monitoring KW - Onboard systems KW - Vibration UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090712 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329318 AU - Mahapatra, R N AU - Lee, J AU - Gupta, N AU - Manners, B AU - Texas Engineering Experiment Station AU - Lumark Technologies, Incorporated AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Microprocessor Evaluations for Safety-Critical, Real-Time Applications: Authority for Expenditure No. 43 Phase 4 Report PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 69p AB - Research into the characteristics of complex microprocessors and systems-on-a-chip revealed increasing difficulties in design assurance of airborne systems containing these commercial off-the-shelf devices. This was found to require system-level methods, including monitoring, fault or anomaly detection, and corrective actions based on resilient system architectures and system controls. This approach is accumulatively identified as safety nets. Phase 4 initiated the evaluation of simulation and test tools to aid in the safety net approach. It was determined that safety nets must be involved at multiple levels with aircraft systems. Phase 5 will further research the device characteristics and the safety net approach. A Federal Aviation Administration Handbook for the selection and verification of systems using these devices was planned in Phase 4 and will be implemented with the results from Phase 5. KW - Aircraft operations KW - Aviation safety KW - Avionics KW - Certification KW - Critical systems KW - Microprocessors KW - Real time information UR - http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/air_software/media/AR-10-21.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090690 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329284 AU - Green, P E AU - Matteson, A AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of 2008 Florida Crash Data Reported to MCMIS Crash File PY - 2010/09//Special Report SP - 46p 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. Earlier studies have shown that reporting to the MCMIS Crash File was incomplete. This report examines the factors that are associated with reporting rates for the State of Florida. MCMIS Crash File records were matched to the Florida Crash file to determine the nature and extent of underreporting. Overall, it appears that Florida is reporting 28.0 percent of crash involvements that should be reported to the MCMIS Crash file. There is some disagreement in vehicle type as determined by VIN decoding and the entry recorded on the police accident report. The reporting rate for truck tractors is 46.7 percent, while the reporting rates for single unit trucks are 6.0, 16.2, and 24.2 percent for trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings in pounds of 10,000-19,5000; 19,501-26,000; and greater than 26,000, respectively. The reporting rate for buses is 5.3 percent. Fatal crashes are reported at about 86.0 percent, but injured/transported and towed/disabled crashes are reported at about 30.9 and 22.7 percent, respectively. The Highway Patrol has a reporting rate of 85.2 percent, while the reporting rate for police departments is 57.6 percent and for sheriff's offices is 60.6 percent. Missing data rates are low for most variables. There are some inconsistencies between vehicle configuration as coded in the Florida Crash file and the MCMIS file. KW - Bus crashes KW - Crash data KW - Fatalities KW - Florida KW - Motor Carrier Management Information System Crash File KW - Motor carriers KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic safety KW - Truck crashes UR - http://www.umtri.umich.edu/content/mcmisFL08.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090674 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328470 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management Executive Summary PY - 2010/09 SP - 10p AB - Traffic incident management (TIM) is a planned and coordinated program to detect and remove incidents and restore traffic capacity as safely and as quickly as possible. Over time, various tools and strategies have been developed and implemented in an effort to improve overall TIM efforts. The nature and extent of tools and strategies in use are highly variable across the Nation, reflecting different priorities, congestion effects, levels of program maturity, and investment. As a direct result, the reported effectiveness of individual or combined strategies is inconsistent. To achieve a higher level of effectiveness in U.S. TIM efforts and to accelerate the implementation process, the objectives of this investigation were to review and assess various TIM policies, procedures, and technologies to identify current “best practices” in the United States, and seek a synergistic partnership with the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC) to support both the identification of best practices in the United States and the implementation of these practices by State, regional, and local TIM partners. Information to support this investigation was obtained through a review of published and electronic information sources and input from TIM practitioners representing law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical services, transportation, and towing and recovery agencies in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Task-specific and cross-cutting challenges commonly encountered by TIM responders in the performance of their duties, and novel or effective strategies for overcoming these challenges (i.e., best practices), were considered. Task-specific challenges may include obtaining accurate information from motorists, accessing the scene, and condemning a spilled load. Crosscutting challenges may include interagency coordination and communication, technology procurement and deployment, and performance measurement. The reported tools and strategies for improving TIM range from sophisticated, high-technology strategies to simple, procedural strategies. KW - Best practices KW - Communication KW - Coordination KW - Incident management KW - Policy KW - Procedures KW - Strategic planning KW - Technology KW - United States UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10050x/fhwahop10050x.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089511 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328469 AU - Britanyak, Peter AU - Dixon, Dylan AU - Fuhrman, Alex AU - Den Braven, Karen AU - National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Development of an Ethanol Blend Two-Stroke Direct-Injection Snowmobile for Use in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge and National Parks: University of Idaho’s Direct-Injected Two-Stroke Snowmobile Using E2X Fuel PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 36p AB - The University of Idaho’s entry into the 2010 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge (CSC) was a direct-injection (DI) two-stroke powered snowmobile modified to use blended ethanol fuel. The modulated and battery-less direct-injection system used to decrease exhaust emissions and improve fuel economy maintained near stock power output of the engine. Noise from the engine compartment was reduced by custom placement of sound absorbing materials. Pre-competition testing had the snowmobile entering the 2010 SAE CSC competition weighing 507 lbs (230 kg) wet, before adding sound deadening material. KW - Ethanol KW - Recreational vehicles KW - Snowmobiles UR - http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/NIATT//research/Final_Reports/KLK760_N10-09.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089445 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328461 AU - ETC Institute AU - Missouri Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Report Card From Missourians - 2010 PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 145p AB - This survey populates data for five customer satisfaction measures for the MoDOT Tracker; 5a, 12j, 13c, 17d and 18b. The survey also asks other evaluative and priority questions that measure the public’s support for various ways of raising and appropriating revenue for transportation. Using previous annual surveys as a baseline, the investigators collaborated with MoDOT to finalize the survey questions to be asked. A professional calling center was contracted to obtain a representative sample of each of the 10 MoDOT Districts, with a minimum of 350 respondents per District. Potential respondents were contacted through random digit dialing (RDD) from May 11 through May 22. A total of 3,526 interviews were completed for the study. KW - Customer satisfaction KW - Fund raising KW - Interviewing KW - Missouri KW - Missouri Department of Transportation KW - Public opinion KW - Revenue generation KW - Surveys UR - http://library.modot.mo.gov/RDT/reports/Rd08018/or11001.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089632 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328190 AU - Schurr, Karen S AU - Gardner, Brian R AU - Rijal, Shashwat AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Nebraska Department of Roads AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Optimal Design of Work Zone Median Crossovers PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 152p AB - The use of temporary median crossovers in work zones allows for the closure of one side of a multi-lane roadway while maintaining two-way traffic on the opposite side. This process provides the ability for construction and maintenance crews to construct, rebuild, or perform maintenance on a portion of one direction of a roadway segment while allowing roadway users continued access through the facility. A number of behavior studies were conducted on single-lane and dual-lane crossovers at work zone locations in the State of Nebraska resulting in general guidelines for optimal geometric design features of such work zone elements. KW - Geometric design KW - Median crossovers KW - Work zones UR - http://ne-ltap.unl.edu/Documents/NDOR/design_workzone_median.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46600/46651/FlippedPagesSchurr_P581_Optimal_Design_main_report_FINAL_COMBINED.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089376 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328134 AU - Stanley, Laura M AU - Mueller, Jessica AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Montana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Defensive Vehicle Handling Training on Novice Driver Safety: Phase 3. Data Analysis and Results PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 49p AB - This project evaluates the effectiveness of a multistage driver education program for Montana’s young drivers. A total of 347 teenaged drivers who had completed high school driver education agreed to participate. These drivers were randomly split into two groups of approximately equal size, one of which received additional instruction in a defensive driving workshop (case group) and another that did not (control group). Self-reported and DMV data were collected over a four-year period (from 2006 to 2009) to determine the drivers’ involvement in near-misses, single- and multiple-vehicle collisions and any citations received. In 2006 and 2007, there was a significantly lower number of self-reported citations in the case group compared to the control group. However, when adjusted for driving exposure the differences were found to be insignificant. When adjusting for driving exposure, near-miss and collision experience between the two groups was not significantly different during any of the survey years. It should be noted that other possible positive outcomes of the training, such as increased knowledge, increased skills, and increased driving adaptability, cannot be measured by analyzing the dependent variables collected in this study. KW - Defensive drivers KW - Driver experience KW - Driver training KW - Driving KW - Highway safety KW - Teenage drivers UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/defensive/final_report.pdf UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/defensive/phaseii/final_report.pdf UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/defensive/phaseiii/final_report.pdf UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/research/projects/safety/defensive.shtml UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45800/45863/final_report85.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086344 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328116 AU - Gallagher, Susan AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Montana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - 2010 Summer Transportation Institute PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 30p AB - The Summer Transportation Institute (STI) hosted by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University serves to attract high school students to participate in an innovative summer educational program in transportation. The STI aims to address the nation’s need for a diverse pool of transportation professionals. In order to meet this goal, the STI serves to heighten pre-college student interest in transportation careers and to enhance the necessary skills of students from diverse backgrounds to achieve careers in the transportation field. Fifteen secondary school students participated in the residential program at MSU from June 13 to June 25, 2010. The STI recruited rising tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students from a mix of backgrounds and hometowns. Students lived on MSU campus while learning about career opportunities in transportation. The two-week program provided a multidisciplinary academic curriculum, which included guest speaker presentations, hands-on laboratories, and field trips. Students learned about all modes of transportation and gained leadership skills while working on team design-build projects. Highlights included field trips to the Montana Department of Transportation headquarters in Helena, Gallatin Field airport, and two major road redesign projects in Billings, Montana. In addition, the participants learned about college preparation and career planning. During the evenings and weekend, STI students participated in educational, sports, and team-building activities. KW - Education and training KW - High school students KW - Montana KW - Summer Transportation Institute KW - Transportation careers UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/research/external/docs/research_proj/summer/final_report10.pdf UR - http://www.mdt.mt.gov/research/projects/admin/summer.shtml UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45800/45825/final_report10_46.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086345 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325113 AU - Christopher Poe AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Guide for Geometric Design and Operational Factors That Impact Truck Use of Toll Roads PY - 2010/09 SP - 38p AB - Texas has approximately 300 miles of toll roads, predominantly in the three largest and most congested urban areas of Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) Division of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority are developing a substantial toll road network in the Austin area. The North Texas Tollway Authority and the Harris County Toll Road Authority are responsible for the toll road systems in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas. Both of these agencies have new expansion projects under development in their areas. TTA also operates a toll road on SH 49 in Tyler, Texas, in a more rural environment of east Texas. Additional toll road and managed lane projects are in development by TxDOT through comprehensive development agreements in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin/San Antonio areas. At the same time, the freight and trucking industry are growing at an increasing rate. The vehicle miles of truck travel have increased 216 percent since 1970, whereas overall vehicle miles of travel have only increased 137 percent in the same time (1). Ninety percent of all goods moving, measured by value, are moved by truck (2). Truck safety is also a concern. According to 2007 data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Texas leads the nation in the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks with 421 crashes (large trucks defined as gross vehicle weight exceeding 10,000 lb) (3). Because of Texas’ size and significant trucking industry, higher crashes would be expected. However, Texas exceeds the next two highest states, California by 30 percent and Florida by 60 percent, The purpose of this guide is to identify the potential factors that could impact truck use of toll roads and managed lanes. The guide summarizes the trucking and freight industry needs through synthesis of existing literature. Geometric design and roadway operational factors that are important to truck drivers and freight operators were identified for inclusion in new toll road design in hopes of building facilities that are more attractive to those users in terms of safety and efficiency. The factors are organized around facility geometric design characteristics (e.g., horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, cross section, ramp design), operating characteristics (e.g., signing and pavement markings), industry needs (e.g., safety, travel reliability), and corridor operational strategies (e.g., transportation management, intelligent transportation systems). KW - Austin (Texas) KW - Dallas (Texas) KW - Fatalities KW - Fort Worth (Texas) KW - Freight traffic KW - Geometric design KW - Highway design KW - Houston (Texas) KW - Managed lanes KW - Mobility KW - Motor carriers KW - Toll roads KW - Traffic crashes KW - Truck crashes KW - Truck traffic KW - Trucking KW - Urban goods movement UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5377-P2.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35000/35076/0-5377-P2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085933 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325108 AU - Green, Paul E AU - Matteson, Anne AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration TI - Evaluation of 2008 Florida Crash Data Reported to the MCMIS Crash File PY - 2010/09//Special Report SP - 46p 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. Earlier studies have shown that reporting to the MCMIS Crash File was incomplete. This report examines the factors that are associated with reporting rates for the State of Florida. MCMIS Crash File records were matched to the Florida Crash file to determine the nature and extent of underreporting. Overall, it appears that Florida is reporting 28.0 percent of crash involvements that should be reported to the MCMIS Crash file. There is some disagreement in vehicle type as determined by VIN decoding and the entry recorded on the police accident report. The reporting rate for truck tractors is 46.7 percent, while the reporting rates for single unit trucks are 6.0, 16.2, and 24.2 percent for trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings in pounds of 10,000-19,5000; 19,501-26,000; and greater than 26,000, respectively. The reporting rate for buses is 5.3 percent. Fatal crashes are reported at about 86.0 percent, but injured/transported and towed/disabled crashes are reported at about 30.9 and 22.7 percent, respectively. The Highway Patrol has a reporting rate of 85.2 percent, while the reporting rate for police departments is 57.6 percent and for sheriff‘s offices is 60.6 percent. Missing data rates are low for most variables. There are some inconsistencies between vehicle configuration as coded in the Florida Crash file and the MCMIS file. KW - Crash data KW - Crash records KW - Florida KW - Impact tests KW - Motor Carrier Management Information System Crash File KW - Motor carriers KW - Truck crashes KW - Truck tractors KW - Truck traffic KW - Trucking safety UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35000/35092/102677.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085886 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325007 AU - Jasek, Debbie AU - Storey, Beverly AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Transportation for Humanity: Meeting the Needs in the Colonias PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 27p AB - An estimated over 400,000 Texas residents, most of whom are legal citizens of the United States, currently live under poor conditions in colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. These communities have numerous problems, but one that transcends most other issues is the lack of reliable, safe and affordable transportation, both public and private. The 1996 Texas Colonias Van Project was an innovative initial effort to satisfy the public transportation needs of these unique communities; however, the van project is completed and the vehicles used during its course are depleted and not slated for replacement. The goal of the research was to assess the current transportation challenges facing residents of the colonias and determine the feasibility of vehicle procurement through donations or at-cost purchases from a variety of entities and/or individuals to support the program, and recommendations for alternative funding mechanisms to support the local community centers in their efforts to provide transportation to the colonias populations. KW - Low income groups KW - Needs assessment KW - Public transit KW - Socioeconomic areas KW - Texas-Mexico Border region KW - Transportation disadvantaged persons UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/167178-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086153 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324996 AU - Boyles, Stephen D AU - Gardner, Lauren AU - Waller, S Travis AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Robust Pricing of Transportation Networks Under Uncertainty PY - 2010/09 SP - 50p AB - Both public and private entities are concerned with the impacts of future toll revenue, and the effects of tolled facilities on system congestion. Due to the inherent complexity of transportation systems, it is impossible to predict travel demand and congestion conditions exactly, and simplistic attempts to account for this consistently underestimate true levels of congestion. Thus, in the context of roadway pricing, there is a need to develop mathematical models which explicitly account for both demand and supply uncertainty in both the short-term and long-term time scales. This project will develop these models, which will be suitable either to determine the best pricing policies to maximize revenue or minimize congestion, or to evaluate alternative toll policies according to these metrics. Thus, these models will produce more accurate predictions of toll revenues and congestion levels than are available using current methods. KW - Mathematical models KW - Road pricing KW - Toll roads KW - Tolls KW - Traffic congestion KW - Travel demand KW - Uncertainty UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/169206-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086186 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324982 AU - Bushey, Joseph AU - Jackson, Eric AU - Correa, Juan Pablo AU - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering AU - Connecticut Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Environmental Mitigation Alternatives for Transportation Projects in Connecticut PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 94p AB - The objective of this study is to determine whether consolidated mitigation alternatives such as In-lieu Fee (ILF) and Wetland Banking (WB) programs are viable options to be implemented in Connecticut. Specifically, the study focuses on whether the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) may be able to develop such programs for their own use. ConnDOT is interested in the potential for alternative mitigation strategies to decrease costs and improve construction timing while potentially increasing wetland environmental benefits. To address this objective, published literature was reviewed concerning mitigation practices and surveys of other states and potential third parties were conducted to identify possible solutions. The primary study recommendation is for ConnDOT to more thoroughly evaluate the cost-benefits of implementing an ILF EMA program. As significantly less money is required up-front for an ILF program than that required for a WB program, it is recommended that an ILF program is the most appropriate mechanism to provide EMAs in Connecticut, and that ConnDOT consider developing an ILF program for its transportation projects. ConnDOT’s decision to develop an ILF program should take into consideration potential cost savings and user and public relations benefits for eliminating construction delays associated with more timely mitigation approval, as well as the increased environmental benefits of larger, more contiguous mitigation projects. Furthermore, in Connecticut the regulation of private impacts by municipalities prevents the private sector from buying into an EMA program. Until state law is amended to allow for private participation in an EMA program, ConnDOT would need to establish an EMA program accounting for only state impacts, hoping that a successful program will serve to prompt the General Assembly to update the state’s legal structure regarding wetland mitigation. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Connecticut KW - Environmental mitigation KW - Environmental monitoring KW - Environmental protection KW - Water quality management KW - Wetlands UR - http://www.ctcase.org/reports/EMA.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086102 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324979 AU - Al-Rub, Rashid K Abu AU - Masad, Eyad A AU - Graham, Michael A AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Physically Based Model for Predicting the Susceptibility of Asphalt Pavements to Moisture-Induced Damage PY - 2010/09 SP - 73p AB - This study presents a novel moisture-induced continuum damage model for asphalt concrete. Moisture-induced damage is treated realistically as two mechanisms: (1) degradation of the adhesive bond between the asphalt mastic and aggregates and (2) degradation of the cohesive strength of the mastic. The moisture-induced damage model is formulated in a novel way, accounting for the gradual, irreversible degradation of a mix using continuum damage mechanics. Different mechanistic evolution laws are proposed for predicting adhesive and cohesive moisture-induced damage. To the authors’ best knowledge, this model is the first continuum model to capture all facets of realistic asphalt mix response. Moreover, a time- and rate-dependent damage constitutive law is proposed to predict crack nucleation and propagation due to different mechanical loading conditions. The moisture-induced and mechanically-induced damage models are integrated into a three-dimensional nonlinear viscoelastic-viscoplastic constitutive model to allow for more realistic prediction of damage evolution in asphalt concrete under various traffic and environmental loading conditions. Numerical integration algorithms are presented for implementing the model in the well-known finite element code Abaqus. Finally, various aspects of the integrated continuum damage mechanics model are investigated and found to match the qualitative behavior of experiments. The current moisture-induced damage model can be used by pavement engineers to predict the time frame over which moisture-induced damage may occur and to rank asphalt mixtures for moisture damage susceptibility. KW - Adhesion KW - Asphalt concrete pavements KW - Cohesive strength KW - Continuum models KW - Finite element method KW - Mastic asphalt KW - Moisture damage KW - Viscoelasticity KW - Viscoplasticity UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00012-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085909 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324977 AU - Solaimanian, Mansour AU - Pennsylvania State University, University Park AU - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Correlation of Laboratory-Compacted and Field-Compacted Hot-Mix Asphalt Permeability PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 39p AB - This report presents a summary of results, analysis, and development of a protocol for testing permeability of asphalt specimens prepared in the laboratory or produced from field cores. The objective of the research project was to evaluate the correlation between the laboratory-measured permeability of laboratory prepared specimens and the laboratory-measure permeability of corresponding field cores. Field cores and loose, hot-mix asphalt samples were obtained from six constructed pavements. Four were 9.5-mm Superpave mixes and two were 12.5-mm mixes. Falling head permeability tests were conduced on both field cores and Superpave gyratory compacted (SGC) specimens covering a range of air voids and porosities. These tests indicated that in general permeability increases as the air void or porosity increases. For the 12.5-mm mixes, a porosity level of approximately 7 to 8 percent for both field cores and lab-compacted specimens seems to be a threshold value beyond which permeability begins to increase drastically. For the 9.5-mm mixes, the cores and lab-compacted specimens could be considered practically impervious for porosities lower than 8 percent. In general, laboratory-prepared specimens demonstrated lower permeability compared with field cores at comparable levels of porosity and thickness, even though no unique correlation could be developed based on the results of this investigation. The upper limits of 1.25x10(-3) cm/sec and 1.5x10(-3) cm/sec are recommended for SGC specimens and field cores, respectively, assuming specimens have air void and thickness levels established in the test protocol proposed under this research. KW - Asphalt KW - Compactors KW - Gyratory compactors KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Permeability KW - Superpave UR - ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Documents/Research/Complete%20Projects/Extending%20Pavement%20Life/Correlation%20of%20Laboratory%20Compacted%20and%20Field%20Compacted%20Hot%20Mix%20Asphalt%20Permeability.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086280 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324960 AU - Lindly, Jay K AU - Jones, Steven AU - Wilkes, Mary Beth AU - University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa AU - University Transportation Center for Alabama AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Feasibility of Developing a Pilot Car Training and Certification Program in Alabama PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 60p AB - The State of Alabama does not currently require certification for the pilot car drivers who escort oversize/overweight vehicles. The Alabama Department of Transportation contracted with The University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA) to investigate such certification, and this report summarizes the investigation. Efforts focused on three areas: (1) Update of escort requirements section of the Overweight & Overdimensional Permits Office Rules & Regulations, § 32-9-29, Code of Alabama (1975). Proposed modified text for the Rules & Regulations has been prepared in consultation with ALDOT Permits Office personnel. (2) Compile a Truckers Guide educates truckers about the permit requirements and pilot car requirements for oversize/overweight loads, in addition to other trucking issues. This 28-page booklet has been completed. (3) Submit an implementation plan and budget to ALDOT for a pilot car driver certification course. A proposal has been submitted and funded that encompasses preparing training materials and teaching the first sessions of the course. KW - Alabama KW - Certification KW - Escort service KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Heavy vehicles KW - Oversize loads KW - Overweight loads KW - Pilot car drivers KW - Pilot cars KW - Training programs UR - http://utca.eng.ua.edu/research/projects/?id=06411 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086123 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324951 AU - Sener, Ipek N AU - Eluru, Naveen AU - Bhat, Chandra R AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - On Jointly Analyzing the Physical Activity Participation Levels of Individuals in a Family Unit Using a Multivariate Copula Framework PY - 2010/09 SP - 62p AB - The report focuses on analyzing and modeling the physical activity participation levels (in terms of the number of daily “bouts” or “episodes” of physical activity during a weekend day) of all members of a family jointly. Essentially, the authors consider a family as a “cluster” of individuals whose physical activity propensities may be affected by common household attributes (such as household income and household structure) as well as unobserved family-related factors (such as family life-style and health consciousness, and residential location-related factors). The proposed copula-based clustered ordered-response model structure allows the testing of various dependency forms among the physical activity propensities of individuals of the same household (generated due to the unobserved family-related factors), including non-linear and asymmetric dependency forms. The proposed model system is applied to study physical activity participation of individuals, using data drawn from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area Household Travel Survey (BATS). A number of individual factors, physical environment factors, and social environment factors are considered in the empirical analysis. The results indicate that reduced vehicle ownership and increased bicycle ownership are important positive determinants of weekend physical activity participation levels, though these results should be tempered by the possibility that individuals who are predisposed to physical activity may choose to own fewer motorized vehicles and more bicycles in the first place. The authors' results also suggest that policy interventions aimed at increasing children’s physical activity levels could potentially benefit from targeting entire family units rather than targeting only children. Finally, the results indicate strong and asymmetric dependence among the unobserved physical activity determinants of family members. In particular, the results show that unobserved factors (such as residence location-related constraints and family lifestyle preferences) result in individuals in a family having uniformly low physical activity, but there is less clustering of this kind at the high end of the physical activity propensity spectrum. KW - Activity choices KW - Bicycle travel KW - Cluster analysis KW - Copulas KW - Families KW - Lifestyle KW - Multivariate analysis KW - Physical activity KW - Residential location KW - Travel behavior KW - Travel surveys UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161020-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086148 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322751 AU - Carlson, Paul J AU - Park, Eun Sug AU - Miles, Jeff AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of a Model Performance-Based Sign Sheeting Specification Based on the Evaluation of Nighttime Traffic Signs Using Legibility and Eye-Tracker Data: Data and Analyses. Volume 2 PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 144p AB - This report presents data and technical analyses for Texas Department of Transportation Project 0-5235. This project focused on the evaluation of traffic sign sheeting performance in terms of meeting the nighttime driver needs. The goal was to develop a nighttime driver needs specification for traffic signs. Full information on the project is presented in Report 0-5235-1 Volume 1. KW - Eye movements KW - Legibility KW - Luminance KW - Materials KW - Night visibility KW - Performance based specifications KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Sign sheeting KW - Tracking systems KW - Traffic signs UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5235-1-VOL2.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34600/34609/0-5235-1-VOL2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1084078 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322741 AU - Carlson, Paul J AU - Miles, Jeff AU - Park, Eun Sug AU - Young, Sarah AU - Chrysler, Susan AU - Clark, Jeremy E AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of a Model Performance-Based Sign Sheeting Specification Based on the Evaluation of Nighttime Traffic Signs Using Legibility and Eye-Tracker Data: Data and Analyses. Volume 1 PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 190p AB - This project focused on the evaluation of traffic sign sheeting performance in terms of meeting the nighttime driver needs. The goal was to develop a nighttime driver needs specification for traffic signs. The researchers used nighttime sign legibility and eye-tracker data to assess the performance needs of nighttime drivers on a closed-course facility as well as on the open road. The researchers also used internally illuminated signs during the research to control the sign luminance (rather than being constrained to the luminance curves provided by the retroreflective sheeting materials on the market). Using the results of the nighttime legibility and eye-tracker studies, the researchers developed a classification scheme for retroreflective sheeting materials based on luminance requirements derived from the study. Then the researchers modeled the retroreflective geometries resulting from common roadway scenarios (sign position, roadway type and cross-section, vehicle size, etc). Using the luminance requirements derived from the study and market-weighted headlamp flux matrices, the researchers developed an approach to sign sheeting specification that is based on nighttime driver needs. KW - Eye movements KW - Legibility KW - Luminance KW - Materials KW - Night visibility KW - Performance based specifications KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Sign sheeting KW - Tracking systems KW - Traffic signs UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5235-1-VOL1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34600/34608/0-5235-1-VOL1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1084080 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322737 AU - Gabree, Scott AU - Yeh, Michelle AU - Jo, Young Jin AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Electronic Flight Bag (EFB): 2010 Industry Survey PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 132p AB - This document provides an overview of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) systems and capabilities, as of June 2010. This document updates and replaces the April 2007 EFB Industry Review (Yeh and Chandra, 2007). As with the previous industry survey, the focus is on the human systems interface. The information for this report was gathered through industry contacts, demonstrations, websites, brochures, and trade journal reports. This report was conducted in support of the Federal Aviation Administration (AA), but the information is intended to be of use to anyone interested in EFBs. The report contains four sections. The first section provides an overview of the effort. The second contains tables summarizing the information collected from those manufactures who provide an integrated EFB system solution. The third provides details for products and services offered by EFB systems manufactures, i.e., those who develop physical EFB hardware and provide EFB software. The fourth contains detailed information for products offered by EFB software manufacturers who do not develop EFB hardware. Software manufacturers were classified into two categories: those who offer an integrated and customizable software package that integrates several functions/applications and those who provide commercial off-the-shelf software that has not been integrated, customized, or tailored for a particular EFB. References to FAA EFB regulatory and guidance material and links to Flight Standardization Board (FB) reports, which provide information regarding the operational suitability for particular EFB models are also included. KW - Civil aviation KW - Data collection KW - Electronic flight bags KW - Flight decks KW - Hardware KW - Information technology KW - Software KW - Technological innovations UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34400/34493/DOT-VNTSC-FAA-10-14.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34400/34493/EFB_Industry_Survey_2010_Final_10.06.2010_1_.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1084094 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322477 AU - Miele, Charles R AU - Plaxico, Chuck AU - Stephens, Denny AU - Simunovic, Srdjan AU - Battelle Memorial Institute AU - Oak Ridge National Laboratory AU - National Transportation Research Center, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - U26: Enhanced Finite Element Analysis Crash Model of Tractor-Trailers (Phase C) PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 276p AB - NTRCI sponsored the research team of Battelle, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) to conduct a three-phase investigation to enhance and refine a FE model for simulating tractor-semitrailer crash events involving roadside safety hardware such as bridge rails and median barriers. This report documents the work completed in the third phase of the project. The objective of this investigation led by Battelle was to validate and enhance computer models of a tractor-semitrailer combination for use in analysis, design, and evaluation of roadside safety hardware. The work completed during this project phase involved: 1) Continued enhancements of the tractor and semitrailer model, 2) Validation of the model by comparing model results to two full-scale tractor-semitrailer crash tests, and 3) Development of an interactive graphics based on-line user manual and FE model website. The tractor-semitrailer vehicle FE model developed in this project is the most advanced of this vehicle class in terms of physical function, geometric detail and material property accuracy. The model is computationally very robust given its complexity. It has been extensively debugged and exercised hundreds of times for the cases within the range of NCHRP Report 350 TL-5 speeds and impact angles. The model is reasonably accurate and may be used by the engineering community to design and develop roadside safety hardware that will improve overall safety of the travelling public. The model is available for download at http://www.ntrci.org. KW - Bridge railings KW - Crash analysis KW - Finite element method KW - Median barriers KW - Roadside safety hardware KW - Simulation KW - Tractor trailer combinations KW - Truck crashes KW - Trucking safety UR - http://www.ntrci.org/ntrci-50-2010-019 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082901 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322469 AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 123p AB - Traffic incident management (TIM) is a planned and coordinated program to detect and remove incidents and restore traffic capacity as safely and quickly as possible. Over time, various tools and strategies have been developed and implemented in an effort to improve overall TIM efforts. This report describes task-specific and cross-cutting issues or challenges commonly encountered by TIM responders in the performance of their duties, and novel and/or effective strategies for overcoming these issues and challenges (i.e., best practices). Task-specific challenges may include obtaining accurate information from motorists, accessing the scene, and condemning a spilled load. Cross-cutting challenges may include interagency coordination and communication, technology procurement and deployment, and performance measurement. The reported tools and strategies for improving TIM range from sophisticated, high-technology strategies to simple, procedural strategies. Information to support this investigation was obtained through (1) a review of published and electronic information sources and (2) input from TIM personnel in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington representing law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical services, transportation, and towing and recovery agencies. For many of the individual tools and strategies, a wide range of effectiveness was reported by locale, challenging the explicit identification of best practices and suggesting that local conditions related to the nature and extent of operation, maintenance, marketing, etc. have a significant impact on the perceived or measured success of specific TIM efforts. The National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC), in cooperation with FHWA, provides a unique forum for not only disseminating the information presented here but also for standardizing practices to consistently maximize the effectiveness of TIM efforts. KW - Best practices KW - Clearance time (Traffic incidents) KW - Communication KW - Coordination KW - Highway traffic control KW - Incident management KW - Performance measurement KW - Traffic incidents UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10050/fhwahop10050.pdf UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10050/index.htm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082836 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322251 AU - Choi, Eun-Ha AU - National Center for Statistics and Analysis TI - Crash Factors in Intersection-Related Crashes: An On-Scene Perspective PY - 2010/09//NHTSA Technical Report SP - 37p AB - Crashes often occur at intersections because these are the locations where two or more roads cross each other and activities such as turning left, crossing over, and turning right have the potential for conflicts resulting in crashes. In order to understand the crash scenarios at intersections, this study examines general characteristics of motor vehicle traffic crashes at intersections by analyzing the association of the critical reason with several crash factors such as driver’s sex and age, traffic control device, critical pre-crash event, and atmospheric condition. The National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey data collected at crash scenes between 2005 and 2007 is used in statistical analyses such as descriptive analysis, generalized logit model, and configural frequency analysis. Descriptive statistics are first used to highlight characteristics of the intersection-related crashes. The results from this analysis provide guidelines for in-depth analysis. Close associations of crash factors with critical reasons of an event that made the crash imminent are revealed through the analysis of generalized logit model. Subsequently, the configural frequency analysis is used to identify patterns of driver-attributed critical reasons in the intersection-related crashes in terms of crash factors such as traffic control devices, pre-crash event, and driver’s age and sex. Many interesting findings are obtained in this study. For example, crash occurrence may be attributed to illegal maneuver or inattention while crossing over at intersections controlled by traffic signals or stop signs. For both male and female drivers 55 and older, crash occurrence may be attributed to misjudgment of gap or other’s speed and inadequate surveillance. Male drivers of all ages are likely to be involved in intersection-related crashes due to illegal maneuver or driving aggressively or too fast for conditions. KW - Age KW - Crash causes KW - Crash characteristics KW - Driver characteristics KW - Drivers KW - Gender KW - Intersections KW - Logits KW - National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey KW - Signalized intersections KW - Statistical analysis KW - Traffic control devices KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811366.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1083638 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01321104 AU - Guarino, Jenny AU - Champaneri, Amrut AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Factors Involved in Fatal Vehicle Crashes PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 6p AB - For every vehicle crash, there are numerous factors contributing to its severity. In 2008, 37,261 people were killed in an estimated 5.81 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes. While fatal crashes are not the most prevalent, they are the most consequential from a safety standpoint, making it vital to understand factors common to fatal incidents. This report examines factors that contribute to fatal crashes involving a motor vehicle (e.g., car, truck, or bus). Accident level data was obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for 2004–20083. Analysis of the FARS database shows: 1) Single-vehicle crash fatalities are the most prevalent. 2) The main factors in single-vehicle fatal crashes involve the functionality of traffic controls and the first harmful event in a crash (e.g., rollover, traffic barrier, or ditch). 3) With regard to two-vehicle fatal crashes, main factors are traffic controls and the characteristics of the roadway (e.g., roadway alignment or surface type). 4) In multi-vehicle (three or more) fatal crashes, road characteristics, vehicle speed, and road type (e.g., interstate or country road) are the main factors involved. KW - Crash causes KW - Fatalities KW - Highway factors in crashes KW - Multiple vehicle crashes KW - Single vehicle crashes KW - Traffic crashes KW - Two vehicle accidents UR - http://www.bts.gov/publications/bts_technical_report/2010_008/pdf/entire.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987506 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226648 AU - Eschbach, Karl AU - Cline, Michael AU - Cherrington, Linda AU - Edrington, Suzie AU - Ellis, Patricia AU - Kraus, Edgar AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - University of Texas, San Antonio AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Transit Administration AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Estimated Impacts of the 2010 Census on the Texas Transit Funding Formula PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 322p AB - Changes in the population and land area of urbanized areas in Texas will play a significant role in determining the allocation of public transportation funds to service providers in Texas after Census 2010. The purpose of this research report is to review the impacts of the changes in urbanized area population and non-urbanized (rural) population and land area for 2010 on the current Texas Transit Funding Formula for allocation of Federal Section 5311 and state rural and urban funds. This collaborative effort between the Texas Transportation Institute and the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio draws upon the complementary expertise of public transportation planners, demographers, and geographic information systems professionals of the two research organizations. The research project identifies areas with the potential to exceed 200,000 in population and those non-urbanized areas that have potential to become urbanized (over 50,000 people) in 2010. The implications of these changes will be examined relative to the current public transportation funding allocations. The research staff provides a comprehensive assessment of these changes for the state as a whole and for individual transit service providers. KW - 2010 Census KW - Financing KW - Impacts KW - Population KW - Public transit KW - Rural transit KW - Texas KW - Urban transit UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6199-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987401 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226634 AU - Poe, Christopher AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Geometric Design and Operational Factors that Impact Truck Use of Toll Roads PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 78p AB - This purpose of this project was to identify the potential factors that could impact truck use of toll roads or managed lanes. The researchers outlined the trucking and freight industry needs through synthesis of existing literature. Identification of geometric and operating factors that are important to truck drivers and operators in terms of safety and efficiency will better characterize what makes toll roads attractive to those users. The factors are organized around industry needs (e.g., safety, travel reliability), facility design characteristics (e.g., access, ramp design, system connectivity), operating characteristics (e.g., signing and pavement markings), and corridor operating characteristics (e.g., traffic, congestion). The research resulted in published guidelines to help transportation planners, highway designers, and transportation operations professionals determine the geometric design and operational factors important to attract the trucking and freight industry to toll roads. The research was done through known relationships of design, safety, and operations. KW - Geometric design KW - Highway operations KW - Managed lanes KW - Toll roads KW - Truck traffic UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5377-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/982099 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226631 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Measuring Cross-Border Travel Times for Freight: Otay Mesa International Border Crossing Final Report PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 90p AB - In October 2008 The Federal Highway Administration contracted a study team to conduct a two-part study to assess technology for the measurement of travel times for trucks through the Otay Mesa international border crossing into the US. The primary goal was to evaluate the ability of one of two technologies to accurately record travel times through the border zone. The specific objectives of the project were to: (1) Assess the effectiveness of a technology for automated capture of travel time for vehicles crossing the border. (2) Gather historical travel time data over the period of one year. The results of the work are summarized in this Final Report. KW - Data collection KW - Freight transportation KW - International borders KW - Otay Mesa-Tijuana border crossing KW - Technology assessment KW - Travel time KW - Truck traffic UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=681 UR - http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10051/fhwahop10051.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987430 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226605 AU - Carlson, Paul J AU - Bligh, Roger AU - Pike, Adam AU - Miles, Jeff AU - Menges, Wanda AU - Paulus, Susan AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - On-Going Evaluation of Traffic Control Devices PY - 2010/09//Technical Report SP - 134p AB - This project was established to provide a means of conducting small-scale research activities on an as needed basis so that the results could be available within months of starting the specific research. This report summarizes the small-scale research activities that were conducted between September 2008 and August 2009. There were four primary activities and two secondary activities. The four primary activities were: developing a temporary sign support with cross bracing, providing technical support on an AASHTO retroreflective sign sheeting material specification, conducting human factors research on sign sheeting materials, and monitoring lead-free pavement marking test deck performance. In addition, the researchers also provided support for hurricane evacuation routing and started a research activity focused on identifying traffic signs with supplemental light emitting diodes (LEDs). KW - Evacuation KW - Human factors KW - Impact tests KW - Retroreflectivity KW - Road markings KW - Routes KW - Sign sheeting KW - Sign supports KW - Traffic control devices UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6384-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/982049 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01220469 AU - Knecht, William R AU - Lenz, Michael AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Causes of General Aviation Weather-Related, Non-Fatal Incidents: Analysis Using NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System Data PY - 2010/09 SP - 52p AB - Adverse weather remains a major cause of general aviation accidents. However, weather alone is never the sole culprit. Searching for other salient causal factors, the authors turned to incident analysis. Incidents are less serious than accidents, but far more common, and have witnesses to better determine causes. The current research examined 100 GA weather-related incident reports made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) during 2005-06. With pilot permission, ASRS gathered additional data on nearly 300 variables related to possible root causes. The following factors seemed to constitute a problem for 5%, or more, of pilots: 1. Darkness (4 dusk +17 night = 21% of pilots). 2. Moisture affecting visibility (clouds, fog, rain, snow > 50%) and/or air movement affecting aircraft handling (thunderstorm, icing, turbulence > 25%). 3. Multiple weather factors experienced simultaneously (85%). 4. Failure to get a preflight weather briefing, or “briefing” with only a low-grade (non-aviation-oriented) source (5%). 5. Deterioration of weather forecast accuracy over time (66% correct forecasts at departure, decreasing to 37% correct at destination). 6. Weather that materialized worse than predicted (35%. This implicitly includes lack of en-route forecast updates). 7. Lack of weather-related training and experience (> 50%, non-instrument-rated and new instrument-rated pilots). 8. Inadequate equipment (less-experienced pilots tend to have less-capable airframes and avionics). 9. Ambulance missions (7%, particularly helicopter ambulance). 10. “Non-weather-related factors”: decision-making (26%), time pressure (21%), “get-home-itis” (9%), aircraft equipment problem (8%), fatigue (7%), distraction by passenger or crew (5%). In broad terms, this analysis reveals two major at-risk target groups with distinct training needs: (1) Non-instrument-rated pilots; and (2) Newly minted instrument-rated pilots. KW - Aircraft incidents KW - Aviation safety KW - Aviation Safety Reporting System KW - Crash causes KW - General aviation aircraft KW - General aviation pilots KW - Weather UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201013.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/980765 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01208051 AU - Bertini, Robert AU - Ahn, Soyoung AU - Rayabhari, Manasa AU - Ou, Oing AU - Feng, Wei AU - Portland State University AU - Arizona State University, Tempe AU - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Characteristics of Transitions in Freeway Traffic PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 114p AB - This research seeks to understand the characteristics of transitions as freeway traffic changes from one state to another. This study addresses the features of two types of transitions; transitions near a merge and transitions along shock waves during the onsets and dissipations of queues at several freeway sites. Individual vehicle trajectory data were analyzed for studying the transitions near a merge. The length of a transition zone was measured by analyzing the spatial changes in flow, density and speed along kinematic waves near a merge. It was found that the length of transition in terms of flow, density and speed were respectively around 90m, 120m and 180m indicating that the transition in flow occurs over a short distance while the transition in speed occurs in much longer space. The dynamics of the transition zone were explored by analyzing the relationship among the transition durations, rates and various traffic and geometric variables at four freeway sites. Transition durations observed from the four sites vary from 10 to 24 minutes during the onsets of queues while the durations ranged from 10 to 30 minutes during the dissipations of the queues. At each site, formations and dissipations of queues displayed similar durations. Transition rates during the onsets of queues ranged from -7.6 to -2.2 kmph/min while they ranged from 2.0 to 6.2 kmph/min during the dissipations of queues. Some lane-specific features are observed in terms of initial speeds (just prior to transition), change in speed during transition, transition durations, and rates. It is also found that the structure of transition does not change in the absence of freeway interchanges as a queue expands and recedes. Finally, it is found that the transition rates tend to be larger upstream of an on-ramp while they tend to be smaller upstream of an off-ramp, indicating that inflows and outflows have different effects on transition characteristics. KW - Freeways KW - Merging traffic KW - Off ramps KW - On ramps KW - Pavement transition areas KW - Queuing KW - Shock waves (Highway traffic) KW - Time duration KW - Traffic density KW - Traffic flow KW - Traffic speed UR - http://www.otrec.us/project/37 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34200/34223/OTREC-RR-10-12_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968880 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01208050 AU - de Rivera, Catherine E AU - Bliss-Ketchum, Leslie L AU - Portland State University AU - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Effectiveness of Vertebrate Passage and Prevention Structures: A Study of Boeckman Road in Wilsonville PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 46p AB - One of the most obvious impacts roads have on the natural world is direct mortality to individual animals that attempt to cross roads. A less obvious but likely more important impact of roads on many species is habitat fragmentation. The ability for individuals to travel between subpopulations is the key to genetic diversity as well as ultimately the survival of the species. Considering these impacts and management goals to increase habitat connectivity, increased attention has been given to creating road design that reduces wildlife collisions. Most studies, however, have been in other countries or regions and most focus on connectivity for just one or a few species and rarely in urban settings. This study examines the effectiveness of a variety of under-road passage structures for a community of animals in an urban wetland. Wildlife passage was taken into great consideration in the construction of the Boeckman Road Extension, the new road (2006) in Wilsonville, Oregon, examined in this study. As a result it includes a bridge, two box culverts and eleven round concrete culverts to facilitate wildlife passage as well as a mammal fence atop an amphibian/reptile wall. In order to monitor passage use the authors used a combination of sand-track monitoring and motion-detection cameras. They compared passage structure use to movement in the habitats surrounding the road by monitoring four habitat transects in addition to the passage structures (Road transect). They also conducted tag and release studies targeted to small mammals. Finally, camera data collected in passage structures were compared to camera monitoring at the end of the exclusionary fencing. A total of 26 species were detected in this study, 73% (19) of which were found to be using passage structures. 15% (4) of the identified species were detected on transects but not in passages and 11.5% (3) were detected in locations other than transects or passage structures. The bridge structure provided passage to the highest number of species (16), followed by the 24” and 18” culverts, which had a combined total of 11 species, and lastly the 9x4 culverts, which were flooded, with 2 species detected. The results indicate that large and medium mammals overall did not use passages less than would be expected based on their local movement in habitats. In pit and Sherman traps 16 of the 48 small mammals that were captured and tagged were re-caught, but only four of these moved from one transect to another, with two moving away from the road and the other two moving toward and under the road. Of the species detected with cameras at the passage structures and circumventing fencing, excluding small mammals, reptiles and amphibians (139), 19% (33) were found potentially crossing on the road surface. The proportion of deer detected using over-road crossings (23%) is of particular concern for driver safety. The bridge structure provided the greatest passage, in not only frequency of crossings but also species present. When maintenance factors, driver safety and species of greatest concern are included, the higher cost of the bridge structure would likely be even further balanced by the benefits. This study highlights the effectiveness and potential problems (and possible fixes) of some of the passage and prevention structures. Including passage and prevention structures such as these in road design is imperative for habitat connectivity and the need for this becomes even more apparent as Oregon’s native wildlife face an ever increasing urban landscape as well as the potential impacts of climate change. KW - Amphibians KW - Box culverts KW - Bridges KW - Cameras KW - Concrete culverts KW - Deer KW - Habitat (Ecology) KW - Habitat connectivity KW - Mammals KW - Monitoring KW - Reptiles KW - Road kill KW - Small mammals KW - Urban areas KW - Wetlands KW - Wildlife KW - Wildlife crossings KW - Wildlife fencing KW - Wilsonville (Oregon) UR - http://www.otrec.us/project/239 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34200/34225/OTREC-RR-10-14_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968900 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01208049 AU - Monsere, Christopher M AU - Ahn, Soyoung AU - Zheng, Zuduo AU - Portland State University AU - Arizona State University, Tempe AU - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Empirical Observation of the Impact of Traffic Oscillations on Freeway Safety PY - 2010/09//Final Report SP - 56p AB - Traffic oscillations are typical features of congested traffic flow that are characterized by recurring decelerations followed by accelerations (stop-and-go driving). The negative environmental impacts of these oscillations are widely accepted, but their impact on traffic safety has been debated. This report describes the impact of freeway traffic oscillations on traffic safety. This study employs a matched case-control design using high resolution traffic and crash data from a freeway segment. Traffic conditions prior to each crash were taken as cases, while traffic conditions during the same periods on days without crashes were taken as controls. These were also matched by presence of congestion, geometry and weather. A total of 82 cases and about 80,000 candidate controls were extracted from more than three years of data from 2004 to 2007. Conditional logistic regression models were developed based on the case-control samples. To verify consistency in the results, 20 different sets of controls were randomly extracted from the candidate pool. The results reveal that the standard deviation of speed (thus, oscillations) is a significant variable, with an average odds ratio of about 1.08. This implies that the odds of a (rear-end) crash occurring increases by about 8 percent with an additional unit increase in the standard deviation of speed. The average traffic states prior to crashes were less significant than the speed variations in congestion. KW - Crash data KW - Freeways KW - Logistic regression analysis KW - Rear end crashes KW - Speed variation KW - Standard deviation KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic oscillations KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic speed UR - http://www.otrec.us/project/108 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34200/34224/OTREC-RR-10-13_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968898 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207190 AU - Prasanna, Viktor AU - Bakshi, Amol AU - University of Southern California, Los Angeles AU - METRANS Transportation Center AU - University Transportation Centers Program TI - Integrated Modeling and Simulation Framework for Freight Transportation in Metropolitan Areas PY - 2010/09 SP - 22p AB - Globalization has led to an increase in the volume of traffic flows by all transportation modes, contributing to congestion, traffic crashes, and pollution in metropolitan areas around ports, rail yards, and airports. The authors note that simulation modeling offers researchers the opportunity to evaluate specific aspects of traffic congestion, but suggest that a framework for integrated traffic modeling and simulation which can support the integration of a multitude of simulation tools is needed to capture the complex transportation problems the country faces, and to improve transportation efficiency and capacity. In this paper, the authors describe a semantic framework for integrated traffic modeling and simulation. A domain ontology acts as the key component enabling model and application integration. This ontology also forms the basis for intuitive user interfaces that allow engineers to refine their solutions. KW - Computer models KW - Freight traffic KW - Simulation KW - Traffic simulation UR - http://www.metrans.org/sites/default/files/research-project/08-04%20Final_0_0.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/935563 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207136 AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - National Rail Plan: Moving Forward PY - 2010/09//Progress Report SP - 27p AB - The United States and world economies are experiencing an increased demand for rail. Expanding U.S. passenger and freight mobility will require a networked railroad system that is able to modernize and increase capacity. With an estimated U.S. population growth of 70 million people over the next 25 years, mostly centered in metropolitan regions, a national rail plan is needed to ensure a coordinated and intelligent system that provides safe, reliable, and efficient passenger and freight rail service. The United States now faces new challenges spurred by unprecedented population growth, economic transformations, and technological innovations. High-speed rail, now established in many developed nations, is positioned to benefit the United States as the States’ plans mature and projects are implemented. With FY 2009 kick starting U.S. high-speed rail investment and planning, follow-on funding and strategic investment will bring us closer to realizing the vision outlined by Congress and the Administration. The next American transformation will require an interconnected and balanced transportation network that maximizes the benefits of every mode. A key to integrating these systems is higher-performing rail, including the full spectrum of high-speed and intercity passenger rail, commuter rail, and freight rail. These interconnected rail systems will relieve congestion, promote livable communities, facilitate economic expansion, respect environmental sustainability and provide choices for the American public. This investment will set the stage for job creation, sustainable economic competitiveness, a more resilient infrastructure and a lasting prosperity. This Progress Report details the interplay of factors that demonstrate the importance of efficient and effective rail infrastructure to the Nation’s economy. These include a dramatic increase in population, particularly in high-growth areas, and the concomitant need for transporting more freight and improving safety. Such an infrastructure will also reduce fuel consumption, which, in turn, will enhance our national security by diminishing our reliance on foreign oil. This report will then describe the different yet complementary visions for the two rail systems, a high-speed and intercity passenger rail system and a high-performing freight rail system. These systems will use many of the same resources and much of the same infrastructure. Working in tandem, they will connect people and goods in a seamless and efficient manner. Finally, the report will describe the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) outreach program to develop the National Rail Plan, and its synergy with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) strategic goals. KW - Benefits KW - Freight trains KW - High speed rail KW - Intercity transportation KW - Interconnectedness KW - Passenger trains KW - Rail transit KW - Railroad commuter service KW - Railroad transportation KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation planning KW - United States UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Details/L02696 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/967871 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01454080 AU - Chowdhury, Mashrur AU - Wang, K C AU - Fries, Ryan AU - Zhou, Yan AU - Tupper, Lee AU - Ogle, Jennifer AU - Anjuman, Tahera AU - Bhide, Vikram AU - Bhavsar, Parth AU - South Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Clemson University AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Communication Alternatives for Intelligent Transportation Systems PY - 2010/08/31/Final Report SP - 244p AB - The primary focus of this study involved developing a process for the evaluation of wireless technologies for intelligent transportation systems, and for conducting experiments of potential wireless technologies and topologies. Two wireless technologies: Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) were chosen to demonstrate the proposed evaluation process. The authors performed numerous field tests on these technologies to evaluate various critical parameters of wireless communication. The authors also implemented a network design process using Wi-Fi and WiMAX technologies to support a traffic surveillance system in seven metropolitan areas of South Carolina. Additionally, a video surveillance test was conducted to study the transmission of real-time traffic video over a wireless network. Making use of the results from the field study, the authors applied a communication simulator, ns-2, to compare the communication performance of a traffic sensor network under simulated environmental conditions. They also built an integrated simulator using ns-2 and a vehicular traffic simulator, PARAMICS. This integrated simulator was then used to study the communication behavior of the system during traffic incidents. Additionally, the authors conducted a performance-cost analysis for selected wireless technologies. This study provided an important foundation for evaluating the performance and reliability of different wireless technologies. The research results presented in this study will benefit the South Carolina Department of Transportation, other transportation agencies, and stakeholders in evaluating and selecting cost-effective wireless communication options for different traffic control and management applications. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Communication systems KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Field tests KW - IEEE 802.11 (Standard) KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - South Carolina KW - Traffic surveillance KW - Wireless communication systems KW - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) UR - http://www.clemson.edu/t3s/scdot/pdf/projects/Final%20Report%20676.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46200/46244/SPR_676.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1220801 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01344986 AU - Burger, Charlotte AU - Mejias, Luis AU - Plosky, Eric AU - Volpe National Transportation Systems Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Alternative Transportation Study: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge PY - 2010/08/31 SP - 107p AB - This report provides an assessment of historic and current visitation, infrastructure, and transportation conditions at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas in southwest Oklahoma. The study defines transportation-related goals for the refuge, current issues, and identifies ten potential solutions that focus on alternative transportation, including pedestrian, bicycle, wayfinding and information, and transit. The analysis supports the development of the Wichita Mountains Comprehensive Conservation Plan. KW - Alternatives analysis KW - Cyclists KW - Pedestrians KW - Public transit KW - Transportation planning KW - Wayfinding KW - Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/36000/36100/36141/DOT-VNTSC-FWS-10-03.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1105441 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337844 AU - Willson, Richard AU - Sirotnik, Barbara AU - Bockman, Shel AU - Ruiz, Christen AU - California State University, San Bernardino AU - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Travel Behavior of Residents of Transit-Oriented Development in the Inland Empire PY - 2010/08/31/Final Report SP - 64p AB - This study examines the travel patterns of residents of multi-family housing and transit-oriented development in California's Inland Empire. These residents rely primarily on driving alone in private vehicles for their commuting and non-work trips. Residents of multi-family housing have higher reported bus/rail transit shares than county averages for all types of housing, however. Despite this, the percentage of work trips in single-occupant vehicles (SOV) is similar to county-wide averages, indicating less carpooling among the multi-family housing residents. Comparing survey respondents who live close to transit services with those who live farther away does not reveal significant differences in transit use, although those close to transit carpool more frequently. As expected, there was less transit use than found in mature transit-oriented developments elsewhere in California since Inland Empire transit service is less extensive. Although the housing developments near transit are reasonably dense, they lack other elements that reduce single occupancy trips such as diversity of land uses, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit service frequency, and parking pricing. KW - Carpools KW - Commuting KW - Housing KW - Inland Empire (California) KW - Population density KW - Single occupant vehicles KW - Transit oriented development KW - Travel behavior KW - Vehicle miles of travel UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1084160 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207439 AU - Rizzo, Piervincenzo AU - Zhu, Xuan AU - University of Pittsburgh AU - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Sensing Technology for Damage Assessment of Sign Supports and Cantilever Poles PY - 2010/08/31/Final Report SP - 224p AB - This report presents the results of research activities conducted under Contract No. 519691-PIT 008 on “Sensing Technology for Damage Assessment of Sign Supports and Cantilever Poles” between the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The two primary goals of the contract were the development of a finite element model for the prediction of fatigue life of sign supports, and the development of a low-cost sensing technology to monitor sign support structures for the detection of damage. The project has made use of test equipment and computer support at the University of Pittsburgh’s Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and Structural Health Monitoring studies and the Watkins-Haggart Structural Engineering Laboratory. KW - Cantilevers KW - Damage detection KW - Failure KW - Finite element method KW - Inspection KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Poles (Supports) KW - Sensors KW - Service life KW - Sign supports KW - Structural health monitoring UR - ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Documents/Research/Complete%20Projects/Smart%20Transportation%20Solutions/Sensing%20Technology%20for%20Damage%20Assessment%20of%20Sign%20Supports%20and%20Cantilever%20Poles.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34200/34205/Sensing_Technology_for_Damage_Assessment_of_Sign_Supports_and_Cantilever_Poles.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968180 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465171 TI - Evaluate Nighttime Seat Belt Enforcement AB - This task order provides an independent evaluation of the extent to which a nighttime seat belt high visibility enforcement program in a high belt use State affects daytime and nighttime seat belt use and other high risk driving behaviors. The contractor will assess public awareness of increased nighttime messaging and enforcement and analyze changes in the State's crash experience. Additional analyses will identify the characteristics of daytime and nighttime high risk drivers. KW - High risk drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Nighttime driving KW - Risk taking KW - Seat belt usage KW - Seat belts KW - Traffic law enforcement UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1233404 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01431182 AU - Ellis, Ralph D AU - Pesantes-Tavares, Eileen AU - Fisher, Kyle AU - University of Florida, Gainesville AU - Center for Multimodal Solutions for Congestion Mitigation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Enhancement of a Network Analysis Tool to Accommodate Multiple Construction Work Zone Analysis (Initial Investigation) PY - 2010/08/30/Final Report SP - 45p AB - A major issue in transportation projects is capacity reduction due to lane closures. Calculating capacity for a specific project can be done using information from the Highway Capacity Manual, but how often should a lane closure be expected is still not well studied. In this preliminary research project, the authors present the percentages that a lane closure can be expected in highway resurfacing projects and in major bridge projects, such as replacement and structural improvements. These values, combined with the capacity of the highway segment and the traffic demand can reveal if during construction there will be traffic delays. Further research needs to be made to validate and expand this study. KW - Highway capacity KW - Highway projects KW - Lane closure KW - Network analysis (Planning) KW - Traffic delays KW - Travel demand KW - Work zones UR - http://cms.ce.ufl.edu/research/ellis_2010-017_final_report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45600/45656/ellis_2010-017_final_report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1197877 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01467639 TI - Annual Driver Survey AB - These annual surveys provide demographic and other pertinent information about commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers for upcoming rulemakings. KW - Annual KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Demographics KW - Drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Surveys UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1235875 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01567322 AU - Cooley, L Allen AU - James, Robert S AU - Burns Cooley Dennis, Incorporated AU - Mississippi Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Characterization of Asphalt Drainage Course Layers PY - 2010/08/26/Final Report SP - 42p AB - Asphalt Drainage Courses (ADCs) have generally been required under all four-lane flexible pavements in Mississippi. Asphalt drainage courses are designed in Mississippi using No. 57 limestone, sandstone or granite combined with 2.5 percent asphalt binder. This research study had two primary objectives related to ADCs. First, the research was to characterize ADC layers for default input values into Mississippi’s mechanistic-empirical (M-E) pavement design system. Secondly, the research was to characterize ADC layers in the field to provide inputs for ADC layers in ELMOD5. In order to investigate the first objective, six different aggregates were obtained and tested. The exact test method selected for testing these materials was based upon a literature review and discussions with industry experts on the testing of these materials. Based upon the testing of these materials, a default modulus value of 60,000 psi was recommended for use with the new M-E pavement design system. In order to investigate the second objective, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing was conducted on six in-place pavements in which an ADC layer was included. Data from these six pavements were analyzed and recommendations provided for inclusion into ELMOD5. These recommendations were based upon the conditions of the edge drains for the pavements and had input modulus values ranging from 60 ksi to 200 ksi. KW - Aggregates KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Drainage KW - Edge drains KW - ELMOD (Computer program) KW - Falling weight deflectometers KW - Flexible pavements KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Mississippi KW - Modulus of resilience UR - http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20181%20-%20Characterization%20of%20Asphalt%20Drainage%20Course%20Layers.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/55000/55100/55106/State_Study_181_-_Characterization_of_Asphalt_Drainage_Course_Layers.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1356630 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01464069 TI - Guidebook for Airport Irregular Operations (IROPS) Contingency Planning AB - Meeting customer core needs during Irregular Operations (IROPS) is a critical problem for airports, airlines, and aviation service providers. IROPS are events that disrupt optimized flight schedules and negatively impact the normal flow of passengers through the air transportation system. In the wake of the weather-related multi-hour disruptions in 2007 and 2008, several workshops (including the September 2007 DFW IROPS Workshop, the July 2008 DFW Regional Diversion Airport/Airline Workshop, and the January 2008 ACI-NA IROPS Workshop) were held to proactively address these challenges and set the stage for communication, collaboration, and coordination and identify best practices within the industry. These workshops identified potential actions for improvement, among which included: (1) Airlines, airports, government agencies, and other system partners should update contingency plans, and should include sufficient collaboration; (2) Communication among these parties should be collaborative, coordinated, and on-going; and (3) Service providers (e.g., concessionaires, ground transportation) should continually evaluate the level of services provided in meeting customer needs during IROPS. To address these actions, a national task force appointed by the Secretary of Transportation met over a period of 10 months and produced model contingency plan recommendations in November 2008. This task force included government employees, representatives of airlines, airports, and consumer groups. The task force produced a recommended Model Plan for Lengthy Airline Onboard Ground Delays. The U.S. Department of Transportation also established regulations for Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections, which requires air carriers to develop individual contingency plans at the large and medium hub airports they serve. Contingency planning for large, medium, and small airports, using a collaborative and coordinated approach among key airport stakeholders, is essential to address current and evolving aviation challenges that disrupt the normal flow of passengers through the air transportation system. Further research is needed to provide additional assistance in this area. The objective of this research is to prepare a practical airport guidebook for commercial passenger service airports of all sizes to develop, continually evaluate, and/or update their contingency plans for procedures pertaining to IROPS that may cause significant disruptions to customers. This research will assist aviation system partners in improving their response to customer care during a broad array of IROPS conditions and will devise a step-by step template in the form of an interactive CD for the preparation of contingency plans that include necessary communications, collaboration, and coordination to address customer needs. A specific focus on the needs of smaller airports will be included in the development of the guidebook. KW - Airport operations KW - Airport runways KW - Contingency planning KW - Customer service KW - Delay management KW - Handbooks KW - Passenger service KW - Runway capacity UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2808 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232297 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329761 AU - Borden, Roy H AU - Cote, Ben M AU - Gabr, M A AU - Park, Young Jin AU - Pyo, Sang Chul AU - Robinson, Brent R AU - North Carolina State University, Raleigh AU - North Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Establishment of Subgrade Undercut Criteria and Performance of Alternative Stabilization Measures PY - 2010/08/25/Final Report SP - 304p AB - The main objectives of the research work were to develop a systematic approach for determining whether or not undercut is necessary, and to investigate the adequacy of stabilization measures as implemented in conjunction with the undercut approach. The research work encompassed small and large scale laboratory testing, limited field testing using DCP, and numerical analyses and modeling. The following milestones were achieved based on the work performed in this project: i. Establishment of undercut design criteria based on the magnitude of strength and modulus of the subgrade soils. The undercut criteria were based on meeting a deformation limit state of 1 inch for both pumping and rutting, but with the additional requirement that bearing resistance of subgrade is at least twice the applied tire pressure to minimize the potential for rutting. ii. Development of a procedure for the use of DCP to provide input data for undercut criteria on the basis of modulus and strength. The proposed procedures are based on the analysis of the DCP data using wave mechanics and offer the advantage of using the DCP data to discern the need for undercut with depth (by applying the proposed undercut criteria incrementally) at the various phases of design and construction. iii. Development of guidelines for specifying a stabilization measure to achieve adequate subgrade support. Five stabilization measures were investigated through the performance of 22 large scale laboratory tests. These included the use of select fill, aggregate base course (ABC), geogrids with ABC, geotextiles with ABC, and lime stabilization. The performance of each stabilization measure was investigated in the laboratory and through numerical analyses. iv. Demonstrating the applicability of the proposed measures in several field configurations. Four field cases were idealized from actual project sections. The field cases were numerically modeled with the stabilization measures, and observations were made regarding subgrade response under static, proof roll, and cyclic loading. v. Performance of a comparative cost analysis to illustrate the relative cost of each stabilization measure in relation to measured performance (surface deformation). The cost analyses were performed with results presented in a normalized form in an attempt to account for variables such as strength of the stabilization measure and subgrade deformation. KW - Cone penetrometers KW - Excavation KW - Geosynthetics KW - Performance KW - Soil stabilization KW - Subgrade (Pavements) KW - Undercutting UR - http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/research/download/2008-07finalreport.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090468 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463802 TI - Website Designer and Coding Support Services AB - The objective of this contract is to provide Website Designer and Coding support services to the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Planning, Environment and Realty in support of the programs of the Office of Real Estate Services and the Office of Planning. The contractor shall furnish personnel for on-site work to provide non-personal technical services in support of the mission of FHWA. The specific service to be requested will be handled through issuance and administration of this task order. KW - Coding systems KW - Design KW - Information technology KW - Support services KW - Technical assistance KW - Websites (Information retrieval) UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232029 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328462 AU - Sullivan, Jim AU - Aultman-Hall, Lisa AU - Troy, Austin AU - Azaria, Dale AU - Lawe, Stephen AU - University of Vermont, Burlington AU - Resource Systems Group, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrated Land-Use, Transportation and Environmental Modeling: Validation Case Studies PY - 2010/08/23 SP - 44p AB - For decades the transportation-planning research community has acknowledged the interactions between the evolution of our transportation systems and our land-use, and the need to unify the practices of land-use forecasting and travel-demand modeling (TDM). Recognizing this interaction, TDMs are linked to land-use models to provide for an integrated land-use/transportation modeling environment. The construction of any modeling framework comes at a cost to its owner. Travel-demand and land-use models require, initially: specification/estimation of the model for a base-year, and calibration of the model with known base-year data; and, on an ongoing basis: improvement of model function (“training”) with improved coefficients, and checking of model results frequently for errors in consistency. Most travel-demand or land-use models are never considered factually “complete”, as the update/correction process is ongoing, due to the model complexity and the vast number of inputs, controls, coefficients, and outputs. So the critical factor in the decision to construct a model or augment an existing model is monetary cost or the level of effort required to do so. The relevant question becomes, first, “What will be the value added by this new cost?” and, second, “Does this added value justify the expenditure of effort?” This project sets out to initiate an analysis of the added validation-accuracy provided by the level of effort required to develop increasingly complex and increasingly disaggregate land-use and travel-demand models. This study examines the forecast output from a range of contemporary model integrations to assess how accuracy has been added relative to the effort required to develop the integrations. KW - Integrated transportation systems KW - Land use models KW - Land use planning KW - Travel demand KW - Travel demand management KW - Value added UR - http://www.uvm.edu/~transctr/trc_reports/UVM-TRC-10-008.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089572 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01335379 AU - Cevallos, Fabian AU - Wang, Xiaobo AU - Skinner, Jon AU - Florida International University, Miami AU - Federal Transit Administration TI - Using Data from an Electronic Fare Collection System to Identify the Travel Behavior of Seniors and the Disabled Community PY - 2010/08/20/Final Report SP - 72p AB - The elderly and people with disabilities have particular characteristics that need to be understood to be able to provide transit service that is sensitive to their needs. Most transit agencies in the U.S. collect data from electronic farebox systems that usually contain critical information about seniors and the disabled population. This research was designed to help transit agencies efficiently use data collected at the farebox and generate information that can be used to improve services for seniors and people with disabilities. It uses computerized mechanisms to take full advantage of the data to determine the travel characteristics and behavior of this very important segment of the population. Knowing the travel patterns and preferences of the elderly and disabled community can provide transit planners with the information needed to plan ahead. Expected use of this information may include prioritizing transit amenities, assessing existing and needed infrastructure, providing services at particular time of day and at particular locations using the type of vehicles needed to provide transit services, explaining compliance with the federal regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and helping improve the overall mobility of seniors and people with disabilities. KW - Aged KW - Amenities KW - Americans with Disabilities Act KW - Automatic fare collection KW - Compliance KW - Data collection KW - Infrastructure KW - Mobility KW - Persons with disabilities KW - Planning KW - Public transit KW - Transit operating agencies KW - Transit services KW - Travel behavior UR - http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/TRANSPO_EFC_System_Special_Population.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1098702 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463806 TI - Sustainable Highways Strategic Outreach & Program Support AB - In support of the Office of Natural Environment's (HEPN) sustainable highways research that will develop criteria and tools for sustainable highways, HEPN will work with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) for strategic outreach and program management support. The Criteria and Tools for Sustainable Highways Research (CTSH Research) being developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), under a separate contract with CH2M Hill, will encourage the use of specific measures and approaches in the planning, project development, design and construction process and throughout a project's lifecycle that result in sustainable roadways. An evaluation tool is being designed to serve as a system for assessing the sustainability of roadway projects. KW - Highway design KW - Highways KW - Planning and design KW - Project management KW - Strategic planning KW - Sustainable development KW - Sustainable transportation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232033 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463807 TI - State Smart Transportation Initiative AB - The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to support the "State Smart Transportation Initiative" (SSTI) to work directly with governors and state executives to develop, promote and implement innovative state and regional initiatives including transportation, environment and economic development. KW - Economic development KW - Initiatives KW - Planning and design KW - Regional development KW - Regional planning KW - Smart growth KW - Smart transportation UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1232034 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01208119 AU - Rephlo, Jennifer AU - Carter, Mark AU - Robinson, Mark AU - Katz, Bryan AU - Philmus, Ken AU - Science Applications International Corporation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Toll Facilities Workplace Safety Study Report to Congress PY - 2010/08/18/Report to Congress SP - 122p AB - This document presents the findings of a study undertaken to investigate issues surrounding worker and motorist safety in the vicinity of toll collection facilities. The study was undertaken in direct response to Section 1403 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) legislation, and was focused on accomplishing two main objectives: (1) to study the safety of highway toll collection facilities for workers and motorists through data, and through interviews and observations; and (2) to identify recommendations for improving toll facility safety – in the form of safety strategies for consideration by toll agencies. The study involved a review of existing literature, a survey of toll operators, site visits to 7 agencies, interviews with 21 agencies, a workshop with representatives from 20 agencies, and an analysis of available worker injury and motorist crash data. Together these activities provided a better understanding of the safety of toll collection facilities and allowed for identification of a wide range of strategies that toll agencies can consider implementing when looking to improve safety at their toll plazas. The study team obtained records on workplace injuries from 15 agencies (approximately 2,600 records) and records on crashes from 7 agencies (over 10,000 records). However, the data was not broad enough nor consistent enough from one agency to the next to allow significant industry-wide conclusions to be drawn. As a result, a key recommendation of this study is that standardized reporting procedures be implemented across the country whereby tolling agencies would document accidents and injuries occurring in the vicinity of toll plazas in a consistent and comparable manner. The report also recommends that a centralized database be created and maintained to store and organize this data in a searchable format. Based on the accident and injury data collected and the agency interviews conducted, the study did not find evidence to suggest that toll collector fatalities are a frequent occurrence at toll plazas. KW - Crash data KW - Employees KW - Highway safety KW - Industrial accidents KW - Injuries KW - Toll collection KW - Toll facilities KW - Toll workers KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tolling/if08001/toll00.cfm UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968696 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01566757 TI - Implementation of the Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester (AMPT) for Superpave Validation AB - This pooled fund study is open to any highway agency interested in using simple performance tests (SPT) to aid in material characterization for design and analysis of flexible pavements. The objectives of this pooled fund study are to: (i) nationally procure the SPT for highway agencies interested in obtaining and using the SPT to characterize asphalt mixtures designed using Superpave technology; (ii) provide support in training technicians to use the SPT to perform the proposed standard practices for measuring dynamic modulus, flow number and flow time of asphalt mixtures compacted using the Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC); and (iii) evaluate the nation-wide implementation and use of the SPT for assessing performance of asphalt mixtures over a wide range of climatic conditions, materials, and structures. KW - Flexible pavements KW - Gyratory compactors KW - Mix design KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement performance KW - Simple performance tests KW - Superpave UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/405 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1358413 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01457796 AU - Banks, M Katherine AU - Schwab, A Paul AU - Purdue University AU - Indiana Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Evaluation of Toxicity Analysis for Foundry Sand Specifications PY - 2010/08/16/Final Report SP - 26p AB - Byproducts from many industries have the potential to be used as construction materials, but some means is required to determine if the material is environmentally benign. Foundry sands are produced in many states and can be useful as in transportation projects. However, INDOT currently requires the use of the MICROTOX test to assess the potential toxicity of the sands, and this requirement is viewed as an unnecessary impediment by the producers of foundry sands and is a requirement not encountered in other states. Therefore, the goal of this project was to review current requirements for testing of recycled materials, determine the availability of MICROTOX testing, and to make recommendations concerning the continued use of MICROTOX as an assessment tool. Strictly from viewpoint of environmental protection, the inclusion of Microtox makes sense. The test has the sensitivity to detect potentially toxic agents in recycled sand that might escape chemical analysis. The test, therefore, provides a layer of assurance that otherwise would be absent. From the perspective of the foundry industry, the Microtox test is an unneeded hurdle that could potentially block the beneficial use of spent foundry sand. Cost is one consideration, but the lack of local analytical facilities for the Microtox is particularly troublesome. The authors recommend that the Microtox test be retained by INDOT, but they suggest the following: a) Minimize the number of samples of foundry sand that must be tested possibly by reducing the frequency of sampling and testing; b) A consistent, readily available laboratory needs to be established to ensure rapid turn around of analyses and reduced costs. Currently, the demand is low and some dedicated equipment is needed to perform the test. One of the potential outcomes of this project discussed during the negotiations for this project was a possible follow-up project in which the authors would investigate the modifications to the bioassay. This might include exploring alternatives to Microtox or simplifications of the Microtox test. The authors remain open to this possibility, but from the scientific point of view, such a follow-up may not be necessary. Of all the bioassays reviewed, Microtox seemed to be the most widely used (though not for foundry sands), and the authors found no evidence that other bioassays were being offered routinely at commercial labs. KW - Bioassay KW - Building materials KW - Chemical analysis KW - Foundry sand KW - Sampling KW - Testing KW - Toxicity KW - Waste products UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284314253 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218719 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01219970 AU - Rahai, Hamid R AU - University of Southern California, Los Angeles AU - METRANS Transportation Center AU - University Transportation Centers Program TI - Assessment of Ring Injectors for Reducing NOx and PM Emissions of Diesel Engines PY - 2010/08/16/Final Report SP - 22p AB - The effects of ring injectors on the performance of a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system were investigated. The mixing effectiveness of circular and rectangular ring injectors on a heated turbulent jet was tested. Results indicate that the ring injector enhances mixing process between the axial flow and the injecting flow with the rectangular injector having a higher mixing effectiveness. In part two of the investigation, an SCR system with a rectangular two-hole ring injector was developed and the system was tested using the exhaust of a 3-cylinder aspired diesel engine under a moderate shaft loading condition, using ammonia gas as the reducing agent. Results show nearly 80 percent reductions in NOx emissions. Further study is underway to assess the effect of opposed exhaust flow ammonia injection and tab mixer to identify the best configuration for development of high efficiency automated prototype SCR unit. KW - Catalytic converters KW - Diesel engine exhaust gases KW - Fuel injectors KW - Nitrogen oxides KW - Particulates UR - http://www.metrans.org/sites/default/files/research-project/AR%2007-05-Final%20Report-Rahai-CSULB_0_0.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/935570 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01577875 TI - Creating Renewable Energy through Sustainable Nutrient Management Practices- Digestion of Manure and Cover Crops to Reduce Fossil Fuel Use in the Northeast AB - No summary provided. KW - Crops KW - Fertilization (Horticulture) KW - Fossil fuels KW - Fuel consumption KW - Northeastern United States KW - Renewable energy sources KW - Sustainable development UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1371178 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207440 AU - Linzell, Daniel AU - Chen, Abner AU - Sharafbayani, Mohammad AU - Seo, Junwon AU - Nevling, Deanna AU - Jaissa-Ard, Tanit AU - Ashour, Omar AU - Pennsylvania State University, University Park AU - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Guidelines for Analyzing Curved and Skewed Bridges and Designing Them for Construction PY - 2010/08/15/Final Report SP - 511p AB - Although the use of curved and skewed bridges continues to increase steadily throughout the United States, certain aspects of their behavior during construction and while in service still are not well understood. The effects of design, fabrication, and construction on the geometry and load distribution in a curved or skewed bridge system are areas in which further study and understanding are required. This project utilized remote acquisition capabilities for instruments on two structures in the Interstate 99 corridor: a horizontally curved, steel, I-girder bridge, and a skewed, prestressed, concrete bridge. Data obtained from these structures were examined and the numerical model accuracy for curved and skewed, steel, I-girder bridges and select appropriate model types and software was investigated. Parametric studies were undertaken on a group of representative curved and skewed steel bridge structures to numerically examine the influence of specific variables on behavior during construction. Results enabled the identification of preferred erection sequencing approaches. Among other results, girder vertical deflections were decreased when paired-girder erection methods were used and paired inner erection was preferred for structures with severe curvature. Erection methods examined herein did not show appreciable influence on skewed bridge behavior. Drop-in erection would be an acceptable approach for either curved or skewed bridges. The findings and the numerical modeling from the parametric studies formed the basis for suggesting possible modifications to relevant Pennsylvania Department of Transportation publications. Web out-of-plumbness did not cause appreciable bridge deflection and stress increases when the out-of-plumbness was within the limit (1%) specified in the Structural Welding Code. Exceeding the 1% limit of the web out-of-plumbness can result in slightly higher deformations and stresses. The use of temporary construction shoring can significantly reduce girder deflections, leading to a more constructible condition. Inconsistent cross-frame detailing increased vertical and radial deflections in curved bridges and lateral deflections in skewed bridges. Replacing solid plate diaphragms in skewed bridges slightly increased deformations but did not severely affect cross-frame stresses. The applied temperature change did not have an appreciable impact on overall bridge deflections and stresses for all of the radii, skew angles and cross-frame spacings studied. KW - Bridge construction KW - Bridge design KW - Cross-frame members KW - Curved bridges KW - Deflection KW - Deformation KW - Girder bridges KW - Guidelines KW - Mathematical models KW - Prestressed concrete bridges KW - Remote sensing KW - Skew bridges KW - Steel bridges KW - Stresses UR - ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_PDF_FILES/Documents/Research/Complete%20Projects/Improving%20Pennsylvania%20Bridges/Guidelines%20for%20Analyzing%20Curved%20and%20Skewed%20Bridges.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34200/34206/Guidelines_for_Analyzing_Curved_and_Skewed_Bridges.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968385 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328151 AU - Chi, Guangqing AU - Mississippi State University, Mississippi State AU - National Center for Intermodal Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Assessing Economic and Demographic Impacts of Intermodal Transportation Systems PY - 2010/08/14/Final Report SP - 25p AB - There exists a large literature of transportation impacts on economic and demographic change. Prior studies have focused on single modes of transportation individually rather than integrating these modes. Yet, little work has been undertaken to study the economic and demographic impacts of intermodal transportation systems. This study fills the gap in the literature by examining intermodal passenger transportation impacts on demographic change. Specifically, this research investigates the effects of highways and airports on population change in the minor civil divisions of Wisconsin by adopting an integrated spatial approach. The results show that overall, airport accessibility and highway improvement affect population change, but highway accessibility and airport improvement do not. However, the effects exhibit variation across rural, suburban, and urban areas. Highway improvement acts as an investment input and airport accessibility uses the locational advantage to promote rural population growth. In suburban areas, airport accessibility promotes population growth but highway accessibility acts as a facilitator of out-migration. The effects on urban population change are not statistically significant and are likely constrained to land use policies and regulations. This study has important implications to transportation planning as transportation planning practices are focusing more attention on intermodal transportation systems as a whole rather than any single mode of transportation. Intermodal transportation systems have become increasingly important for transportation performance and efficiency. KW - Accessibility KW - Airports KW - Demographics KW - Economic impacts KW - Highways KW - Improvements KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Population KW - Rural areas KW - Suburbs KW - Urban areas UR - http://ncit.msstate.edu/publications/publications_01.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086604 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01370146 AU - Hiemstra, Glen AU - Glen Hiemstra AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Growing the Idaho Economy: Moving into the Future PY - 2010/08/13/Final Report SP - 60p AB - This is a report on transportation and the possible future economy of the State of Idaho from 2010 to 2030, including current assets to leverage, driving forces shaping the future, long-range economic opportunities for Idaho including four future scenarios, risks to a preferred future, strategic implications for transportation, regional case studies, and final conclusions. The economic opportunities stressed in the report are next generation energy technology, leadership in tourism and recreation, sustainable agriculture and food security, attracting the creative class to communities, and leveraging higher education. The key implications for transportation in Idaho are: focusing on critical commerce corridors, preserving and maintaining the current system, planning for significant vehicle transition and related infrastructure change, planning for increased freight traffic, increasing density, doubling transit capacity, adding lane miles, joining intelligent transportation efforts, improving systems performance with information, exploring new materials, enhancing rail and ports, and thinking more broadly than just transportation systems. KW - Economic analysis KW - Economic forecasting KW - Future KW - Idaho KW - Strategic planning KW - Transportation planning UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45100/45141/RP_203_Final.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45100/45141/RP_203_Final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136640 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01560744 TI - Evaluation of Plant-Produced High-Percentage RAP Mixtures in the Northeast AB - The objectives of this research are to: (1) Evaluate the performance of plant-produced reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) mixtures, in terms of low temperature cracking, fatigue; cracking, and moisture sensitivity in the laboratory and the field; (2) Establish guidelines on when it is necessary to bump binder grades with RAP mixtures; (3) Provide further understanding of the blending that occurs between RAP and virgin binder in plant-produced mixtures. KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Mix design KW - Northeastern United States KW - Reclaimed asphalt pavements KW - Recycled materials UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/458 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1351307 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207863 AU - Thiele, Jeffrey C AU - Sicking, Dean L AU - Faller, Ronald K AU - Bielenberg, Robert W AU - Lechtenberg, Karla A AU - Reid, John D AU - Rosenbaugh, Scott K AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Nebraska Department of Roads AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of a Low-Cost, Energy-Absorbing Bridge Rail PY - 2010/08/11/Final Report SP - 439p AB - A new, low-cost bridge rail was designed to be compatible with the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) such that an approach transition would not be required between the two barriers. It was desired that the system minimize bridge deck and rail costs. Several concepts for an energy-absorbing bridge post were developed and tested. These concepts included strong-post systems designed with plastic hinges and weak-post systems designed to bend near the attachment to the bridge deck. The final post concept incorporated S3x5.7 (S76x8.5) steel sections which were designed to bend at their bases. Each post was housed in a socket placed at the vertical edge of the deck and anchored to the deck with one through-deck bolt. A W-beam section was used as the rail element and was attached to the posts with a bolt that was designed to break during an impact event. Two full-scale crash tests were performed according to the Test Level 3 impact conditions provided in the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), in which the system successfully met all safety performance criteria. The dynamic deflection of the new bridge rail and BARRIER VII modeling demonstrated that the new bridge rail would not require a transition when used with the MGS. KW - Bridge railings KW - Energy absorbing materials KW - Highway bridges KW - Highway safety KW - Impact tests KW - Posts UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/967961 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01576004 TI - Kinetic-to-Electric Energy Conversion (KEEC) AB - In phase I, researchers will evaluate existing piezoelectric generation technologies in the laboratory and through mathematical modeling to optimize placement in pavement. In phase II, project site selections will be made for demonstration and evaluation purposes. KW - Energy conversion KW - Kinetic energy KW - Mathematical models KW - Optimization KW - Pavement performance KW - Piezoelectric materials UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/projects/projectsdb/projectdetails.cfm?projectid=FHWA-PROJ-10-0036 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1369872 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575024 TI - Balancing Safety and Capacity in an Adaptive Signal Control System, Phase II AB - This research focuses on the development of a real-time signal timing methodology and algorithms that balance safety and efficiency. KW - Adaptive control KW - Highway capacity KW - Highway traffic control KW - Real time control KW - Traffic control devices KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic signal timing UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/30000/30200/30278/08051.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367105 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461681 TI - Paratransit Emergency Preparedness and Operations Handbook AB - Paratransit operators face special challenges in responding to natural disasters and other emergencies. Not only do these systems transport a particularly vulnerable population, most systems are operated by contract providers so that drivers are not employees of the transit agency and are not under direct control of the transit agency. Response issues to emergencies can be divided according to whether the emergency is one that can be predicted (such as hurricanes) and ones that occur suddenly with no warning (earthquakes, major electrical blackouts, terrorism). In the case of emergencies that can be predicted, paratransit systems may be called upon to assist in evacuation or to bring people with disabilities to shelters. TRB Special Report 294: The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation, released in July 2008, generally found that transit (defined to include bus, rail, and paratransit) is not sufficiently integrated into emergency response planning. KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Earthquakes KW - Emergency response time KW - Natural disasters KW - Paratransit services KW - Power outages KW - Terrorism UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2892 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229901 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01465791 TI - Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Support for the Interagency Agreement between FHWA and United States Fish and Wildlife Service Determination and Finding for Economy Act Order AB - The purpose of this reimbursable agreement (RA) between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is to provide partial funding for a multi-year interagency effort to identify and help secure landscape-scale highway crossing opportunity areas for multiple wildlife species in the interstate areas of the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Idaho. This movement across highways is necessary as wildlife populations move across the Northern Rockies landscape in response to changes in distribution and abundance of habitats and key foods resulting from climate change. This project uses grizzly bear and black bear movements because of their broad landscape and habitat requirements and because re-linking grizzly populations can also serve the movement needs of many other species. KW - Black bear crossings KW - Climate change KW - Grizzly bears KW - Habitat (Ecology) KW - Idaho KW - Montana KW - Rocky Mountains KW - Wildlife crossings UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1234025 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01570494 TI - Technology Transfer Intelligent Compaction Consortium (TTICC) AB - The proposed project is for the establishment of a pooled fund for state representatives to continue this collaborative effort regarding intelligent compaction. The Technology Transfer Intelligent Compaction Consortium (TTICC) will be open to any state desiring to be a part of new developments in intelligent compaction leading to the implementation of new technologies which will lead to longer life pavements through the use of an integrated system of emerging innovative technologies. Two workshop meetings will be conducted each year. One of the meetings will be in person and is anticipated to occur during fall. The location of the in-person workshop meetings will be determined by the Executive Committee and moved regionally each year to participating states. The second meeting will be a webinar and occur in early spring hosted by the Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC). KW - Intelligent compaction KW - Pavements KW - Service life KW - Technological innovations KW - Technology transfer KW - Webinars KW - Workshops UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/461 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1362135 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01575181 TI - High-speed Truck Research AB - This project will develop and evaluate design specifications for higher-speed trucks for use in shared corridors in addition to improving the quality of truck casting materials. KW - Casting KW - High speed vehicles KW - Specifications KW - Trucks KW - Vehicle design UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1367425 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01573567 TI - Traffic Management Center Pooled Fund Study—Task 2: Integration of Traffic Management Centers and Law Enforcement, Needs Assessment AB - This project will assess the current practices and identify institutional, operational, and technical issues and challenges that all agencies face with integrating Traffic Management Centers and law enforcement. The results of this effort will lead to the identification of a list of topics and issues to be addressed and a series of next steps to be considered in a further study that is intended to develop a product that will provide necessary guidance to address agencies' needs. KW - Law enforcement KW - Needs assessment KW - Pooled funds KW - Traffic control KW - Traffic control centers UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1366794 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01340421 AU - Reid, John D AU - Lechtenberg, Karla A AU - Stolle, Cody S AU - University of Nebraska, Lincoln AU - Mid-America Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Development of Advanced Finite Element Material Models for Cable Barrier Wire Rope PY - 2010/08/02/Final Report SP - 367p AB - An improved LS-DYNA model of ¾-in. (19-mm) diameter 3x7 wire rope commonly used in roadside cable guardrail installations has been developed. A Belytschko-Schwer beam element was selected along with material *MAT_166. Numerical noise was reduced using part stiffness damping with a coefficient of 2%, and frequency range damping with a coefficient of 12%. The optimum element length based on timestep, accuracy, and computational cost was determined to be between 0.4 and 0.8 in. (10-20 mm). Dynamic component tests were conducted on wire rope to determine material properties. These tests were simulated and the results compared to the physical tests. The new proposed wire rope model more accurately simulated the wire rope tension and bogie vehicle motion than other previously-developed wire rope models. The wire rope was also modeled in full-scale crash test models using a Chevrolet C2500 pickup model, consistent with NCHRP Report No. 350 TL-3 impact conditions. Results of the crash test and simulation were compared, and the wire rope response was determined to be accurate. Therefore the new wire rope model was determined to be an improvement over existing models of wire rope and is recommended for use in cable guardrail simulations. KW - Cables KW - Computer models KW - Guardrails KW - Highway safety KW - Impact tests KW - Wire rope UR - http://matc.unl.edu/assets/documents/matcfinal/Reid_DevelopmentofAdvancedFiniteElementMaterialModelsforCableBarrierWireRope.pdf UR - http://matc.unl.edu/research/research_projects.php?id=25 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1101500 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01570495 TI - Validation and Implementation of Hot-Poured Crack Sealant AB - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with Virginia Transportation Research Council, proposes to validate and implement the recently developed Performance-Based Guidelines for the Selection of Hot-Poured Crack Sealants. The test variations within laboratories were successfully verified. The developed tests and new guidelines will be submitted to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for consideration as new specifications. KW - Crack sealants KW - Guidelines KW - Hot pour sealants KW - Implementation KW - Performance based specifications KW - Validation UR - http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/453 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1362136 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01468071 TI - Drivers' Asynchronous Day-to-Day Route Choices with Information Provision AB - With the diffusion of information and communication technologies into the transportation sector, more traffic information will be available to drivers. In an advanced traveler information system, interactions among road networks, drivers, and traffic information could impact safety, efficiency, environmental, and other characteristics of the overall transportation system. In this project, we propose a new modeling framework to systematically study how information provision would impact drivers' day-to-day route choice decisions. In this framework, individual drivers have heterogeneous decision intervals and how drivers respond to different information provision schemes. With simulations and theoretical investigations, we will study stability and efficiency of the overall transportation system under different demand levels, information provision schemes, and distribution of drivers' decision intervals. This project could lead to more insights on impacts of information provision on drivers' behaviors in transportation networks. Through this project, we will develop a set of theoretical, simulation, and experimental tools for studying drivers' route choice behaviors. The developed tools and gained insights could be helpful for understanding how such new technologies as inter-vehicle communications can help reduce congestion and emissions through proper route guidance. KW - Advanced traveler information systems KW - Day-to-day variability KW - Driver information systems KW - Information and communication technologies KW - Information technology KW - Route choice UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1236307 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01468069 TI - Revisiting the Use of Traveler Information to Induce Mode Shifts AB - The goal of this research is to revisit the interaction between traveler information and users in light of recent technological and scientific developments, and to discover whether it is possible to use this information to influence mode choice. Web and GPS-enabled smartphones have not only become an increasingly important delivery channel for travel information, they have also changed the nature, accuracy and personalization of information that can be distributed to and collected from travelers. Moreover, advances in behavioral economics have given researchers new insights into decision factors in mode and route choice which were previously not recognized. Research at the University of California (UC) Berkeley has shown that there is significant potential for personalized information on environmental and healthy impacts of a person's choices to create mode shifts, but so far it has not been possible to verify these findings in a complex, real-life setting. This project will make use of an innovative traveler information system developed at UC Berkeley that has already found widespread use and that will allow the collection of travel data from participating individuals. Using these data, the research team will estimate discrete choice models explaining the observed behavior, offering a new perspective on the value of personalized traveler information. KW - Behavior KW - California KW - Global Positioning System KW - Information systems KW - Mode choice KW - Mode shifting KW - Smartphones KW - Sustainable development KW - Travel behavior KW - Traveler information and communication systems UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1236305 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01468068 TI - TOD, Infill Housing, and Car Share: A Feasibility Study AB - Planners increasingly look to transit-oriented development (TOD) as an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, TOD residents tend to rely on private vehicles for non-work travel, and thus still require parking, which makes housing more expensive. Pricing low-income households out of TODs is not just a social equity concern, but also increasingly an environmental problem as well, since it forces commuters to live in outlying areas, increasing their auto commutes. This study will investigate the feasibility of reducing parking requirements around TOD and the impact of such strategy on small-scale infill housing production. Specifically, using the case of five BART stations in San Francisco's Easy Bay, we will examine auto ownership and parking demand patterns in the station areas; infill development potential; potential use of car share; and the financial feasibility of development with reduced parking requirements. Through this combined analysis of transportation demand and housing supply, we hope to show how infill housing development might reduce its provision of parking while increasing local affordability. KW - Affordable housing KW - Infill (Development) KW - Parking KW - Parking facilities KW - Public transit KW - Sustainable development KW - Transit oriented development UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1236304 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463743 TI - ECO-Friendly Navigation System Research for Heavy-Duty Trucks Project AB - Heavy-duty trucks are a critical component of the U.S. goods movement system; however, these trucks consume a large amount of fuel and emit significant pollutants and greenhouse gases. The trucking industry is always looking for any measure to improve operations and reduce fuel consumption, including efficient routing and scheduling. Most existing routing systems are based on minimizing total miles traveled. However, fuel consumption and emissions aren't necessarily minimized by distance, particularly in congestion and areas that have significant changes in road grade. In this project, it is proposed to develop a new set of routing algorithms that are specifically designed to minimize fuel consumption and emissions for heavy-duty trucks. These ECO-Friendly Navigation algorithms will build upon our previous research in eco-routing algorithms developed for light-duty vehicles. The key innovation in this proposed research is the integration of our navigation technology with a rich set of truck energy and emissions data collected by CE-CERT's state-of-the-art heavy-duty Mobile Emissions Laboratory (MEL) as well as sophisticated truck energy and emissions models that CE-CERT has developed over the years. New algorithms will be researched and developed, followed by an actual prototype implementation in our heavy-duty truck (MEL). Using this prototype system, the effectiveness of the routing algorithms will be carefully evaluated. It is expected that significant fuel and emissions savings will occur, particularly when road congestion is high and in areas that have significant elevation changes. KW - Behavior KW - Driving KW - Fuel consumption KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Pollutants KW - Trucks UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231970 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463742 TI - Spatially Focused Travel Survey Data Collection and Analysis: Closing Data Gaps for SB 375 Implementation AB - This research will help close a crucial data gap in land use-travel behavior studies. Current estimates of land use-travel behavior relationships are typically based on average effects for metropolitan areas or larger geographies. That gives little insight into the effect of small-area land use policies such as targeted infill development, transit-oriented land uses near stations, or similarly localized policies. In California, Senate Bill (SB) 375 requires that metropolitan planning organizations incorporate land use-transportation planning, but existing travel diary surveys have very few observations in transportation planning, but existing travel diary surveys have very few observations in areas of policy interest. This research will obtain a large number of travel diary surveys in small neighborhoods of high policy relevance for SB 375, providing data that will assist in SB 375 and related policy development. In addition to data and analysis that will directly benefit greenhouse gas emission reduction policy, the methods developed in this research will advance efforts toward low-cost, rapid travel data collection that can be used in before-and-after transportation program evaluations. KW - Climate change KW - Data collection KW - Land use planning KW - Transit oriented development KW - Travel behavior KW - Travel surveys UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231969 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463741 TI - Development and Evaluation of Intelligent Energy Management Strategies for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles AB - Recently, there has been significant interest in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV's) as a means to decrease dependence on imported oil and to reduce emissions. One of the critical considerations in PHEV development is the design of the energy management strategy, which determines how energy in a hybrid powertrain should be produced and utilized as a function of various vehicle parameters. Existing pre-set strategies often do not optimize the vehicle's energy and emissions performance due to the lack of a priori knowledge of the trip the vehicle will make. By introducing more flexible, intelligent strategies, greater energy savings and lower emissions are possible. This project will develop intelligent energy management strategies for PHEV's. These comprehensive strategies will consist of charge-depleting control strategies and battery recharging strategies. The battery recharging strategies will consider a pre-planned itinerary for the day and the information about available charging infrastructures in determining the optimal initial and terminal battery state of charge for each trip. Then, the charge-depleting control strategies will take into account this information and a priori knowledge of vehicle location, road characteristics, and traffic information along the route to achieve more efficient energy use and lower emissions for each trip. KW - Air quality management KW - Battery chargers KW - Electric vehicles KW - Energy management systems KW - Fuel consumption KW - Plug-in hybrid vehicles KW - Pollutants KW - Traffic information UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231968 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463738 TI - Behavioral Integration of Location, Activity and Travel Behavior AB - This project fills a critical gap of knowledge in the behavioral relationships among land use, transportation, and the environment. It exploits recently developed databases to integrate location choices, lifecycle stages, activity participation, and travel behavior. The databases contain a fractural representation of space that includes land parcels, US Census blocks, US Census block groups, US Census tracts, and with a rich combination of land use and transportation network attributes. Geographically attached to these databases is also a travel behavior survey that locates each household and its daily travel in space. In this way a combined database that contains a union of data of all the mentioned databases will be used to study the relationship at the level of decision makers among residential location, work location(s), school location(s), car ownership, and daily activity/travel using statistical and econometric models. These are the models that are needed for large regional forecasting simulation systems to assess the impacts of SB 375 policy actions. A key innovation in the approach proposed here is the use of tested ideas from time geography (e.g., Hagerstrand's time-space prism) and intrahousehold bargaining behavior (e.g., negotiation of time allocation to activities among household members) as well as a fractal approach to compute accessibility indicators at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The models developed here incorporate the findings from past research in University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) projects by Goulias and Yoon on space time activity and travel behavior. They also take advantage of the considerable investment in data assembly and model building in projects by Goulias from the Southern California Association of Governments and by Goulias and Henson for the University of California (UC) Office of the President. KW - Accessibility KW - California KW - Database management systems KW - Land use planning KW - Location KW - Travel behavior KW - Travel patterns UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231965 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463737 TI - Affordable Housing in Transportation Corridors - Built Environment, Accessibility, and Air Pollution Implications of Near-Roadway Residential Locations AB - Near-roadway areas are important sites for infill affordable housing. These areas at times have compact, mixed-use characteristics that could be associated with reduced auto dependency and more active travel and transit use. Integrated land use and transportation planning for these areas offer the potential of helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but near-roadway smart growth strategies could exacerbate air pollution exposures since vehicle-related air pollutants and related adverse health effects are highly localized near major roadways. The proposed research will evaluate the distribution of affordable housing projects in Southern California which have received support from the Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs in relation to built environment and transportation resources and near-roadway air pollutant hazards in order to improve affordable housing site selection and design criteria. We will also use portable global positioning systems (GPS) and pollution tracking technologies to measure the travel behavior and air pollution exposure of residents of HOPE VI projects across transportation microenvironments and near-roadway locations in goods movement corridors. The resulting highly-revolved activity/exposure profiles will support the development of more effective land use, housing and transportation policies to mitigate near-roadway air pollution hazards for diverse and low-income communities. KW - Accessibility KW - Affordable housing KW - Air pollution KW - Air quality management KW - Global Positioning System KW - Land use planning KW - Low income groups KW - Residential location KW - Transportation planning KW - Travel behavior UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231964 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463736 TI - Up in the Air: New Urban Designs for LRT Stations in Highway Medians AB - Transit advocates argue for the positive implications of transit stations on their surroundings, yet certain physical factors and site restrictions may undermine positive outcomes. To contain construction costs, avoid right-of-way acquisition, increase train speeds, and limit modal conflicts, some cities, including several in California, construct light rail train systems in existing highway rights-of-way. Some questions, however, about this strategy, include the impact such stations have on adjacent neighborhoods (in terms of land values, noise, and safety) and the lack of integration with surrounding activities and land uses, resulting in lost opportunities for transit-oriented development. Scholarship exists on the effects of such stations on real estate values and economic development but little has been done on how urban design might achieve better integration of highway median stations with neighborhoods. The proposed research 1) documents the various obstacles such stations face in leveraging light rail transit (LRT) investments for transit-oriented development; 2) examines case studies of different urban design strategies for better integration of such stations to their surroundings; 3) develops a set of performance and functional measures for different urban design solutions; and 4) suggests urban design guidelines to enhance the potential for developing transit supportive nodes in the vicinity of highway median stations. KW - Elevated guideways KW - Land use planning KW - Light rail transit KW - Medians KW - Policy making KW - Rail transit stations KW - Sustainable development KW - Transit oriented development KW - Urban design UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231963 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463735 TI - A Dynamic Normative Model of Conditions for Viability of Alternative Fuel Vehicles AB - With California Air Resources Board's legislation of Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates in 1990, and with California legislative acts AB 32 and SB 375 more recently, there have been positive expectations for Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) adoption. In this project we present an approach for addressing the demand for AFVs by explicitly incorporating dynamics and normative influences in a utility maximizing framework. Rather than attempting to predict the dynamics of demand associated with any particular AFV, the project will focus on identifying stable "final" states that are likely to be achievable vis-a-vis assumed vehicle characteristics , supply environment, and normative influences. Put simply, we ask the question "Under what circumstances would the competition among the various alternative fuel alternatives lead to a stable equilibrium in which those vehicles have a certain share of the market." The main objective of this project is to assess the conditions under which certain classes of AFVs can be expected to find at least a niche market within the fleet of vehicles purchased by consumers. In attacking this problem, we first attempt to quantify the role of the so-called "bandwagon" effect evident in consumers' adoption of the Toyota Prius. Then, incorporating this effect, together with supply-side conditions related to the refueling of AFVs, into a dynamic demand model, we seek to identify conditions leading to possible stable equilibria in which AFVs (or a subset of such AFVs) are significantly represented in the vehicle fleet. This assessment the dynamics of AFV adoption possibilities will provide a benchmark that will assist in determining the potential impacts of future AFV penetration into the automobile market. KW - Alternate fuels KW - California KW - Energy conservation KW - Energy consumption KW - Environmental impacts KW - Green technology KW - Hybrid vehicles KW - Renewable energy sources KW - Zero emission vehicles UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231962 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463721 TI - Tour-Based and Activity-Based Modeling of Clean Trucks at Southern California Ports AB - The San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California represent one of the major container port complexes in the world, contributing very significantly to both Southern California and national economies. However, projected SPBP growth and the associated economic benefits are threatened by negative externalities of port operations such as increasing traffic congestion, air pollution, and adverse health impacts in the local community. Widespread concerns about these problems caused directly by freight movements have led to measures to mitigate traffic congestion and air quality in the SPBP area. However, forecast freight demand utilizing these strategies has largely been estimated by conventional four-step planning models, as used for passenger transportation. Such models cannot adequately capture the complex structure and behavior of freight movements, and advances in logistics and information technology. This research will explore and develop more behaviorally-oriented tour-based and activity-based models of SPBP drayage truck movements, using global positioning system (GPS) data. Expected results include new and improved insights into spatial and temporal operations of port trucks, contributions to the port-related component of urban freight modeling, as well as to the evaluation of traffic and environmental impacts of SPBP operating policies and air pollution mitigation strategies. KW - Activity based modeling KW - Air pollution KW - Drayage KW - Environmental impacts KW - Freight traffic KW - Freight transportation KW - Marine terminals KW - Port operations KW - San Pedro (Los Angeles, California) KW - Trucking UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231948 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463720 TI - Greening Freight Transportation: An Analysis of Some Social Benefits from Shifting Freight Traffic to Off-Peak Hours AB - Freight movement is essential to our prosperity, but it also generates large external costs in the form of additional congestion, air pollution, and truck-related accidents that further compound congestion and air pollution. Unfortunately, these external costs are not yet fully understood. The idea of shifting freight delivery off-peak was proposed a long time ago but it is still controversial. The purpose of this project is to better assess some of the social benefits of shifting freight operations off peak with an emphasis on congestion, sir pollution (CO2, NOx, and PM), its health impacts, and accidents related to freight trucks, using an innovative approach and state-of-the-art tools. Our focus will be on the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California, which is one of the largest container port complexes in the world; it contributes significantly to both California's and the nation's economies but its growth is threatened by its environmental performance. We will build on our previous University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) research in order to provide new insights into the impacts of off-peak SPBP freight corridor operations. KW - Air pollution KW - Drayage KW - Exhaust gases KW - Freight traffic KW - Freight transportation KW - Off peak periods KW - Pollutants KW - Traffic crashes KW - Traffic simulation KW - Trucking UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231947 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463718 TI - Measuring Intersection Safety AB - This project proposes to measure the time when every vehicle enters an intersection, together with its speed and the signal phase. These data will be analyzed to score how unsafe the vehicle's entrance to the intersection is, e.g. score is 0 if the vehicle enters during green below the speed limit, or 1 if the vehicle enters during amber or red or faster than the speed limit. An aggregation of the score will create an intersection safety index (ISI). Changes in ISI over time will be correlated with traffic conditions and with the intersection signal control plan, to tease out the impact of the latter on ISI. There are two tasks. The first is to design modifications to 170 controllers to extract signal phase and time-synchronize it with the detector measurements of each vehicle's speed. The second task is to collect and analyze data at several intersections. The ISI technique differs from the three approaches to intersection safety: the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) intersection design guidelines based on an assessment of crash statistics; the Traffic Conflict Technique (TCT) using trained observers to watch an intersection and assess the occurrence of near-accident events; and RITA/CICAS initiative to assist drivers to improve safety. KW - Intersection Safety Index (ISI) KW - Intersections KW - Traffic conditions KW - Traffic conflicts KW - Traffic safety KW - Traffic signal control systems KW - Traffic speed UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231945 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463716 TI - Community Builder: Integrating Community Visioning, Modeling, and Planning AB - This proposal seeks to link much more closely the currently rather disconnected exercised of community visioning, modeling and planning for land use and transportation. We propose to build on two existing platforms: I-PLACE3S, which has come into wide use for community visioning efforts in California and elsewhere, and UrbanSim, a modeling system that is being widely adopted by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and other users to model alternative policy scenarios of land use and transportation. The passage of SB375 in California has pressed MPOs to use advanced models and information technology to assess the use of land use policies and tools to help achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets. Our proposed research would assist in providing useful tools to address the complex challenges of coordinating metropolitan transportation planning with local land use planning, and involving community stakeholders in a meaningful process to create visions for their communities, and to find the combinations of policies that will help them achieve those visions. The results will include Open Source software platform that can be used by planning organizations and other stakeholders, and a web site for access to the software, documentation, and related research. KW - California KW - City planning KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Information technology KW - Land use planning KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Transportation KW - Visioning UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231943 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463713 TI - The Economics of Speed - Assessing the Performance of High Speed Rail in Intermodal Transportation AB - The purpose of the proposed research is to understand how the operating speed of a high-speed system influences its performance within the context of the inter-modal transportation system. It aims to clarify how performance enhancement resulting from a marginal increase in line-haul speed varies depending on the structure of the intermodal network. The research focuses initially on the supply side with the specification and estimation of rail cost functions in which speed is included explicitly. These can then be integrated into origin-destination performance measures at the intermodal level. Additional work can follow to look at the demand side. There are many fairly good models of demand that relate performance to market share and other related indicators, although speed is often embedded in these models and is not easily parsed out as a decision variable. But there is a real dearth of cost models, especially ones where speed is an explicit exogenous variable. This research aims to fill this gap. It will add to current University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) funded work on intermodal measures of performance by integrating speed into the performance assessment of intermodal systems. The ultimate purpose is to inform policy regarding the choice of technology and configuration for high-speed rail systems. KW - Cost modeling KW - Economics KW - High speed rail KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Operating speed KW - Origin and destination KW - Performance assessment KW - Transportation planning UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231940 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463712 TI - Impact of Access Modes on Urban Transit Systems Technology and Network Configuration AB - The research will explore how the speed and cost characteristics of the access modes for a transit trunk line (e.g. rail, bus rapid transit (BRT)) influence the optimal choice of trunk technology and network configuration for an urban transit system. We intend to examine if and how alternative access modes can make capital-intensive technologies such as rail and BRT more competitive backbones to integrated hierarchical urban transit systems. The access modes to be examined in these analyses will include: walking, bicycling, electric bikes, taxis, personal automobiles, and buses, both when operated as part of fixed-route and flexible-route feeder service. The trunk technologies to be analyzed will include: buses, BRT, light and heavy rail. Two types of passenger travel demand profiles will be studied: CBD-focused vs uniformly distributed. These will be examined for cities of varying sizes. The continuous approximation approach will be used to formulate cost models for access modes. Analytic models that jointly determine trunk configuration and access mode will be developed, such that insights can be obtained regarding the causal relation between transit access and trunk network configuration. KW - Accessibility KW - Bus rapid transit KW - Mode choice KW - Optimization KW - Primary highways KW - Public transit KW - Rail transit KW - Urban transit UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231939 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01463708 TI - Psychological Economics, Travel Behavior, Residential Location Choice, and Sustainability: Possible New Rationales for Policy Intervention AB - Reducing carbon emissions and other problems of auto use is thought to require incentivizing or requiring developers to build more densely, and reforming existing regulations that contribute to low-density development and an oversupply of parking. But it is possible that problems leading to too much sprawl and too much auto use are not limited to external costs like congestion, pollution, and accident risks, or problems with government regulation. It could also be that imperfect decision making plays an important role - a common theme in psychological economics. In trading up for housing size and school quality in suburban locations, households may receive sparse social networks, more commute-related stress, and reduced time with their families. Such decisions may not be optimal for some households and if so this would reduce consumer demand for dense locations. This research will explore the importance of imperfect decision making when choosing where to live and how to travel, and discuss possible policy responses for consumer demand for sustainable living. Using laboratory survey experiments and a mail survey of more representative population we investigate two decision making phenomena: (a) systematic over-prediction of future housing and commute satisfaction, and (b) failure to consider less salient criteria such as social networks and time scarcity. KW - Commuters KW - Congestion management systems KW - Decision making KW - Planning KW - Public transit KW - Residential location KW - Traffic congestion KW - Travel behavior KW - Urban sprawl UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1231935 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461814 TI - Evaluation of Airport Emissions within State Implementation Plans AB - Aviation is a growth sector in the United States. The growth of air traffic operations in the U.S. has resulted in an increase in traffic at the nation's major airports, accompanied by a corresponding increase in surface congestion and emissions. Of the Nation's 3,000 commercial service airports, only 158 are currently located in the Environmental Protetion Administration (EPA) designated nonattainment or maintenance areas (a concise list of these airports is located at: http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/airports/environmental/vale/). As EPA's emission control strategies for other non-aviation sectors take effect, the aviation emissions sources could become more pronounced both within the current Rate of Progress (ROP) emission inventories conducted for our Nation's poor air quality regions as well as the future forecasted State Implementation Plan (SIP) emission budgets. At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) projects the growth of the U.S. aviation activities. How well do the individual SIP emission forecasts agree with the FAA's aviation activity TAF? Given that most SIP emission forecasts for aviation sources differ with the FAA's aviation activity TAF, the objective of this research is to develop recommendations and/or guidance for local and state agencies to better represent future airport emission sources in their SIP forecasts. This research will answer the following questions.  What portion(s) of the individual SIP emissions budgets do airport sources represent? What are the forecasted out years of SIP attainment compliance? How were airport emission sources forecasted for these out years? How do the SIP emissions forecasts compare with the FAA's TAF activity forecast? If there is considerable difference between the two, what recommendations can be brought forth to improve the forecasted growth of airport emissions within the applicable SIP budgets to better align with the FAA TAF? KW - Air transportation facilities KW - Airport access KW - Airport congestion KW - Airport terminals KW - Civil aviation KW - Environmental impacts KW - Pollutants KW - State implementation plans UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2792 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1230034 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461801 TI - Evaluating Terminal Renewal versus Replacement Options AB - Most airport terminal facilities (e.g., terminal building, parking garages, and terminal roadways) are nearing the end of their useful life. In addition, the airline industry has significantly reduced capacity over the last few years to better match passenger demand, which has reduced the need for capacity-driven expansion at most airports. These reduced passenger levels, as well as the financial state of most airlines, put an additional financial burden on airport operators to maintain current rates and charges by making very sound capital investment decisions. Very often, components of terminal facilities reach the end of their useful life or become significantly outdated long before the structural integrity of the facility reaches the end of its useful life. However, these components, such as mechanical and IT systems, can be very difficult and costly to replace without major impacts to the facility and disruption to ongoing operations. Further compounding the issue is the lack of space at many airports to simply construct replacement facilities and avoid much of the complexity of renovating existing facilities without significantly disrupting passengers or ongoing operations. Airports with adequate space face tough scrutiny from the airlines to provide significant justification that new facilities are a more financially feasible solution than renewing the current facilities. Thorough analysis of the myriad relevant factors is required in order to decide whether to renew existing facilities or construct replacement facilities, particularly when the new facilities are not capacity-driven. This detailed analysis is typically not included at the Master Plan level but should occur before facility programming and schematic design services are commissioned. Nor can this analysis be conducted by simply comparing the initial capital cost of multiple options but rather must provide a total cost outcome perspective over a consistent investment horizon. The objective of the research is to establish a set of decision tools that can be used by airport operators, airlines, and consultants in evaluating options to renovate existing terminal facilities or replace them with new facilities. KW - Air transportation facilities KW - Aircraft maintenance KW - Airport capacity KW - Airport expansion KW - Airport operations KW - Airport planning KW - Expansion projects KW - Maintenance practices KW - Master plans KW - Research projects UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2807 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1230021 ER - TY - ABST AN - 01461682 TI - Command-Level Decision Making for Transit Emergency Managers AB - Command-level decision making is a critical factor in successfully managing and mitigating critical incidents. Incident training for transit emergency response personnel is currently conducted manually. A significant number of individuals (including command-level senior staff) and commitment of time are needed to exercise and train for specific scenarios. At many transit agencies, emergency response and recovery training is conducted one time each year, with varying quality, thereby limiting the opportunities that command-level senior staff have to improve their incident management skills. Simulation provides a safe and realistic environment in which responders can hone their decision-making skills. Research has shown that responders (including command-level staff) who have more experience with critical incidents are more likely to make more "workable," "timely," and "cost-effective" decisions. By increasing the effectiveness of training, transit agencies will be better prepared to manage critical incidents. The National Guard Bureau and the TRB Cooperative Research Programs have sponsored development of training simulation scenarios and no-license-fee systems on which to deploy them (see Special Note A). Research is needed to develop additional scenarios specifically for the transit industry, which would supplement discussion and operations-based exercises as a means to simulate, train, and assess critical incident decision making reflecting real-world constraints. To do so, the scenarios and the system they are deployed on must be affordable, cost-effective, easy to setup and use, have readily available support, provide a measured assessment, and allow participants to exercise the resources and policies they use currently in response to emergencies. The objective of the research is to develop a scenario-based training system compliant with federal standards (e.g., the National Incident Management System and the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program) and relevant transit industry standards and regulations. It is anticipated that the training system will be delivered through an automated, functional exercise simulation system capable of providing on-demand emergency response training and exercises. It is anticipated that the training system will operate either on an existing platform (e.g., NGB EMST, ACRP AEROS/TUFD) or an alternate system with substantially similar key functions and attributes (see Special Note A). The system should accommodate individual training, team training, and multi-agency training within one framework. It should also address novice, intermediate, and expert levels of learning and provide foundational concepts in a knowledge-level system for prerequisite study prior to team exercises, thus moving the learner from novice to expert. The system must be cost free to the end-user, scalable, easy to setup and use, have readily available support, provide a measured assessment, and allow participants to exercise the resources and policies they use currently in response to emergencies. The system should also allow a transit agency/property to customize training and exercises reflecting particular staffing and geographic characteristics. The system must be configured to protect security sensitive information; it should present training and exercise options; and it should be able to track the progress of individual employees and teams in meeting training requirements. KW - Awareness KW - Decision making KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Emergency management KW - Emergency response time KW - Incident Command System KW - Incident management KW - Public transit KW - Security KW - Training KW - Transit operating agencies UR - http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2891 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1229902 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01333759 AU - Tsaftaris, Sotirios A AU - Katsaggelo, Aggelos K AU - Soyak, Eren AU - Northwestern University, Evanston AU - Northwestern University, Evanston AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - iTRAC: Intelligent Video Compression for Automated Traffic Surveillance Systems PY - 2010/08/01/Final Report SP - 38p AB - Non-intrusive video imaging sensors are commonly used in traffic monitoring and surveillance. For some applications it is necessary to transmit the video data over communication links. However, due to increased requirements of bitrate this means either expensive wired communication links or the video data being heavily compressed to not exceed the allowed communications bandwidth. Current video imaging solutions utilize aging video compression standards and require dedicated wired communication lines. Recently H.264 (a newer standard) has been proposed to be used in transportation applications. However, most video compression algorithms are not optimized for traffic video data and do not take into account the possible data analysis that will follow either in real time at the control center or offline. As a result of compression, the visual quality of the data may be low, but more importantly, as the authors' research efforts in vehicle tracking has shown, the tracking accuracy and efficiency is severely affected. iTRAC aims to inject highway content- awareness in the H.264 encoding standard. The authors' technology operates within the computational limits of consumer grade hardware equipment. With the possible reduction in bitrate they envision that they can provide a portable, easy to deploy, low cost, low power, wireless video imaging sensor. KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Sensors KW - Traffic surveillance KW - Video compression KW - Video imaging detectors UR - http://www.ccitt.northwestern.edu/documents/Katsaggelos_itrac_report_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1094755 ER - TY - SER AN - 01333661 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Jin, Wen-Long AU - Yuan, Daji AU - Yang, Hao AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - University of California, Irvine TI - A Study on Potential Environmental Benefits of Green Driving Strategies with NGSIM Data PY - 2010/08/01 SP - 17p AB - This paper examines potential environmental benefits of green driving strategies using Next-Generation Simulation (NGSIM) trajectory data collected on I-80 in the San Francisco Bay area and the VT-Micro macroscopic emission model. The authors describe the VT-Micro model, NGSIM data, and the procedure for computing emissions. They also examine the impacts of trajectory sampling and speed-acceleration adjustment on emissions, and propose a new model, Equation 13, to understand the relationships between emissions, fuel consumption and average speed. Green driving strategies to smooth traffic flow can achieve the best effects when average speed of traffic flow is about 50 km/hr. KW - Driving KW - Environmental impacts KW - Exhaust gases KW - Fuel consumption KW - Mathematical models KW - Microsimulation KW - NGSIM (Computer model) KW - Traffic speed UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-29.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1093755 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01587402 AU - Wu, R AU - Signore, J M AU - Harvey, J T AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Summary of SPTC Pooled-Fund Study for Sharing and Evaluation of CalME Flexible Pavement Design Software PY - 2010/08//Research Report SP - 31p AB - The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has funded the development of design models for flexible pavements and for overlays that have been incorporated in the software currently known as CalME. Under the direction of University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) staff over a two-year period, personnel from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) participated in examining these models and identifying areas where they might be modified or enhanced. This project was funded by State Pavement Technology Consortium (California, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington) through a pooled-fund study. In-person training on CalME was provided by UCPRC at each of the participating state departments of transportation (DOTs). Case studies were conducted by UCPRC using data provided by the individual DOTs. Feedback was collected throughout the project and questionnaires were sent at its completion to collect final comments on CalME. This technical memorandum describes the researchers’ efforts, including details of the evaluation and data collection procedures, other activities undertaken, and the case study using CalME. The participating states found many CalME features helpful and might adopt a selected set of models or approaches in their respective efforts to implement mechanistic-empirical (M-E) design. KW - CaIME (Software) KW - California Department of Transportation KW - Case studies KW - Flexible pavements KW - Mechanistic-empirical pavement design KW - Minnesota Department of Transportation KW - Pooled funds KW - Texas Department of Transportation KW - Washington State Department of Transportation UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/764.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1395379 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01541429 AU - Sexton, R Scott AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of GPS Survey Data Management Protocols/Policy PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 66p AB - This project developed a statewide policy and criteria for collecting, analyzing, and managing global positioning system (GPS) survey data. The research project determined the needs of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities in adopting the GPS real time kinetic (GPS RTK) stakeout and automated machine grading (AMG) construction techniques. The project resulted in reformatting and editing of the “Alaska Survey Manual,” proposed revisions to the “Construction Manual,” the “Design Manual,” and to Standard Specification 642—Construction Surveying. Project activities included pilot projects for highways and airports, a comprehensive questionnaire for construction engineers in the three regions, and GPS training for the regions. The resulting survey manual update is provided as the final research product report. KW - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities KW - Construction management KW - Data collection KW - Global Positioning System KW - Specifications KW - Training UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52600/52608/fhwa_ak_rd_10_11.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1325141 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01526344 AU - Friedman-Berg, Ferne AU - Allendoerfer, Kenneth AU - Deshmukh, Atul AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - Moving Toward an Air Traffic Control Display Standard: Creating a Standardized Target Symbology for Terminal Situation Displays PY - 2010/08//Technical Note SP - 72p AB - In this study, the authors applied human factors best practices to the design of an enhanced target symbol set for terminal displays. To design new symbols, the authors first identified types of information that would be most operationally useful. Four types of information were selected that would provide the greatest operational benefits and tactical support for the controllers. These included aircraft category (Small, Large, Heavy, and Super Heavy), aircraft heading, aircraft altitude, and aircraft conformance to its assigned route or altitude. To evaluate the effectiveness of the symbols, search, sorting, and selection tasks were used that measured symbol preference, reaction time, and symbol identification. The results indicated that the controllers used consistent heuristics for categorizing symbols into different size and conformance categories. For both the heading and category coding, the authors also found benefits in terms of both increased accuracy and decreased reaction times. No benefits were found for the altitude coding. By using meaningful symbols to convey relevant tactical information, such as aircraft category and heading, both visual search speed and target detection accuracy are increased. On the basis of these findings, the authors propose a set of symbols and provide recommendations for creating standardized symbology for terminal situation displays and other safety critical systems. KW - Aircraft operations KW - Best practices KW - Human factors KW - Information display systems KW - Reaction time KW - Recommendations KW - Symbols KW - Terminal air traffic control UR - http://hf.tc.faa.gov/publications/2010-moving-toward-an-air-traffic-control-display-standard/full_text.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1307217 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01474169 AU - Kamalanathsharma, Raj Kishore AU - Hancock, Kathleen L AU - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Arlington AU - Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Congestion-Based Emergency Vehicle Preemption PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 114p AB - This research analyzed and evaluated a new strategy for preemption of emergency vehicles along a corridor, which is route-based and adaptive to real-time traffic conditions. The method uses dynamic offsets which are adjusted using congestion-levels to provide uninterrupted preempted green signal for the emergency vehicle throughout its route. By achieving a higher average emergency vehicle speed, this method promises faster emergency response which results in saving life and property as well as larger emergency service radius for the dispatch stations. The research evaluated the effectiveness of two possible algorithms for offset adjustment using measured vehicle queues. It is showed to reduce the emergency vehicle travel-time by 31 percent when compared to cases without preemption and 13 percent when compared to traditional method of individual-intersection preemption. KW - Algorithms KW - Emergency response time KW - Emergency vehicles KW - Offsets (Traffic signal timing) KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic signal preemption UR - http://www.mautc.psu.edu/docs/VT-2009-04.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1244171 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01454508 AU - Bell, Erin Santini AU - Sipple, Jesse AU - University of New Hampshire, Durham AU - New Hampshire Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - In-Service Performance Monitoring of a CFRP Reinforced HPC Bridge Deck PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 173p AB - The Rollins Road Bridge in Rollinsford, New Hampshire was constructed in part with funding from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA’s) Innovative Bridge Research and Construction (IBRC) program and opened to traffic in December, 2000. A requirement of the IBRC program is the use of high performance and innovative materials and the implementation of an instrumentation and evaluation plan. The FHWA provided funds for the instrumentation and data acquisition system on the bridge, but not for the long-term post-processing of the collected data. Of the originally installed 80 sensors, over 50 temperature and strain gauges are currently operational. The response recorded by these gauges is used for performance monitoring of the innovative bridge deck and overall condition assessment of the Rollins Road Bridge. The health of the US infrastructure is on the minds of everyone following the August 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The safety of bridges nationwide should be a top priority for both our citizens and government since they are the backbone of this nation’s economy, with 73% of all traffic and 90% of all truck traffic traveling over state-owned bridges. Performing nondestructive load tests, collecting structural response data, and structural modeling techniques allow bridge owners an objective insight into the health of a bridge. This report includes the Special Topics Studies required to create a structural modeling that can be used to evaluate collected data. The art of reconciling the structural model to reflect collected field data also allows bridge owners to have an up-to-date analytical model of the bridge for condition assessment, decision-making, and asset management. The results from the Rollins Road Bridge load test accurately show that a model can be updated to match measured structural response from a nondestructive load test. KW - Asset management KW - Bridge decks KW - Bridge superstructures KW - Data collection KW - Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program KW - Live loads KW - Load tests KW - Nondestructive tests KW - Structural health monitoring UR - http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/materials/research/projects/documents/FHWA-NH-RD-14282I.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1223068 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01451116 AU - United States Federal Highway Administration TI - Sellwood Bridge, SE Tacoma Street and Oregon State Highway 43, Multnomah County : environmental impact statement PY - 2010/08//Volumes held: Draft, Final, Final AppendixJ KW - Environmental impact statements KW - Oregon UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1219660 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01451084 AU - United States Federal Highway Administration TI - US 26/89/189/191 south of Jackson, Teton County : environmental impact statement PY - 2010/08//Volumes held: Draft, Final,Draft technical reports B1, Final technical reports B2 KW - Environmental impact statements KW - Wyoming UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1219628 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01450865 AU - Li, Lin AU - Liu, Juanyu AU - Zhang, Xiong AU - Alaska University Transportation Center AU - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Resilient Modulus Characterization of Alaskan Granular Base Materials PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 108p AB - Resilient modulus (MR) of base course material is an important material input for pavement design. In Alaska, due to distinctiveness of local climate, material source, fines content and groundwater level, resilient properties of D-1 granular base course materials are significantly affected by seasonal changes. The presence of fines (P200) affects frost susceptibility of base materials and controls the aggregates’ ability to support vehicular load, especially during the spring-thaw period. A laboratory investigation was conducted on D-1 materials from Northern, Central, and Southeast Regions of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities at different temperatures, moisture and fines contents to systematically evaluate the impact of fines content on the resilient properties of D-1 base course materials with varied fines content, gradation, moisture content and temperature during thawing and provide regression coefficients ki which are required for the flexible pavement design, KW - Alaska KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Fines (Materials) KW - Flexible pavements KW - Freeze thaw durability KW - Frigid regions KW - Granular bases KW - Modulus of resilience KW - Pavement design KW - Temperature UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46100/46193/107045-Fines-Final-report-J.liu-ineautc1106.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/46000/46700/46790/107045-Fines-Final-report-J.liu-ineautc11061.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1218225 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01379851 AU - Gorjestani, Alec AU - Menon, Arvind AU - Cheng, Pi-Ming AU - Shankwitz, Craig AU - Donath, Max AU - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Design of a Minimal Sensor Configuration for a Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System – Stop Sign Assist: CICAS-SSA Report #4 PY - 2010/08 SP - 215p AB - The Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System-Stop Sign Assist (CICAS-SSA) is an infrastructure-based driver support system that is used to improve gap acceptance at rural stop-controlled intersections. The SSA system will track vehicle locations on the major road and then display messages to the driver on the minor road. The primary goal of the current work was to evaluate several candidate CICAS-SSA concepts in order to identify a single sign that may provide the greatest utility in terms of driver performance and usability at a real-world rural intersection. A secondary goal of the current work was to determine the ideal physical characteristics (i.e., location and rotation of a sign relative to drivers) of the candidate CICAS-SSA at a test intersection to maximize comprehension (and subsequent use) of the sign. The primary goal was accomplished by conducting three studies. The first two studies examined icon use and word selection for three candidate CICAS-SSA signs. The third study evaluated driving performance and usability for three candidate SSA sign designs compared to a baseline condition for the purpose of identifying the final candidate sign to be field tested at the Minnesota test intersection. The secondary goal was accomplished by conducting two studies that determined the optimal physical characteristics for the sign’s location in order to maximize driver comprehension. KW - Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System KW - Crash avoidance systems KW - Gap acceptance KW - Intersections KW - Location KW - Messages (Communications) KW - Rural highways KW - Sensors KW - Stop signs KW - Variable message signs UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/research_docs/pdf/cicas_tech_docrpt4.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1147589 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01370194 AU - Zoghi, M AU - Ebrahimpour, A AU - Pothukutchi, V AU - Idaho State University, Pocatello AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance Evaluation of Chip Seals in Idaho PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 155p AB - The intent of this research project is to identify a wide variety of parameters that influence the performance of pavements treated via chip seals within the State of Idaho. Chip sealing is currently one of the most popular methods of maintenance for paved road surfaces. It entails spraying the pavement surface with asphalt (or “binder”) and then immediately covering it with aggregate (or “chips”) and using rollers to compress and settle the application. Chip sealing is used to seal non-structural cracks, increase surface friction, and improve ride quality. There are a variety of techniques and formulas (“design methods”) for mixing the binder and aggregate used in chip sealing. In Idaho, these design methods lack uniformity: empirical methods are used, based on an informal rule-of-thumb, the experiences of the parties making the chip seal, and the materials that are readily available. This project compares the methods used in Idaho with several different design methods that have been developed in various parts of the world. The project’s research focus is a series of laboratory experiments using different binders and aggregates obtained from all six Idaho Transportation Department districts. The results of these experiments have been compiled and analyzed, with the findings included herein. Chief among these findings, it was observed that the ratio of median size to flakiness index of the aggregate exhibits a better correlation with the percentage aggregate retained rather than the least dimension (as used in the commonly used McLeod Design Method). It was also found that the cleanness value of the aggregate is a critical factor for retaining aggregate -- i.e., keeping the chips on the treated road surface, rather than breaking free from the binder. This report concludes with a series of seven recommendations for improving chip sealing practice in Idaho, and with a list of eight areas worthy of additional research. KW - Chip seals KW - Idaho KW - Mix design KW - Pavement maintenance KW - Pavement performance KW - Performance measurement KW - Preservation UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45500/45537/RP_190_Final_Report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136571 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01370168 AU - Sadid, H AU - Wabrek, R M AU - Dongare, S AU - Idaho State University, Pocatello AU - Idaho Transportation Department AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Materials Acceptance Risk Analysis: Pavement Markings PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 51p AB - This study involves examination of pavement markers as requested by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). A comprehensive literature review of various types of pavement markings and markers used by different transportation departments was performed to identify the most cost effective markings based on performance, durability, and useful life expectancy. This study revealed that there were no conclusive findings and recommendations by different investigations and field studies for various types of pavement markings. The performance characteristics of pavement markings and their effectiveness in guiding roadway users depend on many factors including but not limited to: product quality, application process, surface preparation, environmental conditions, annual average daily traffic (AADT), driver’s age and visual performance, vehicle type, type of headlights, and pavement type. In addition, the results of field studies conducted by different investigators show that the conclusions were highly dependent upon the method of studies, the study models used, the type of measurement devices, and the accuracy of their operation. However, some investigators and transportation departments are in agreement on certain issues including: the performance characteristics, life expectancy, and the associate cost. The most cost effective pavement marking identified and utilized by different transportation departments on low level traffic volume is paint followed by epoxy. Tape is commonly used on high volume AADT roadways by different agencies. Ninety-eight percent of pavement markings used in Idaho are paint with the other two percent consisting of tape or other types including Methyl Methacrylate (MMA). The Idaho Transportation Department’s current practice in using pavement markings is the most cost effective. ITD is in line with many other transportation departments throughout the country that deal with similar climate conditions. KW - Idaho KW - Methyl methacrylate KW - Risk analysis KW - Road marking materials KW - Road marking tapes KW - Road markings KW - Traffic paint UR - http://dot.idaho.gov/highways/research/archived/reports/RP%20182A_Pavement%20MarkingsFinal.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1136576 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361174 AU - Zaouk, Abdullatif K AU - Parida, Basant AU - Silver, Mark AU - Foster-Miller Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Locomotive Fuel Tank Structural Safety Testing Program: Passenger Fuel Tank Side Impact Load Test PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 44p AB - This report represents a passenger fuel tank load test simulating a Side Impact Collision. The test is based on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) requirements for locomotive fuel tanks in the Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 238, Appendix D. This test covers Section (a) (3) of Appendix D, which states that in a side impact collision by an 80,000-pound Gross Vehicle Weight tractor/trailer at the longitudinal center of the fuel tank, the fuel tank shall withstand, without exceeding the ultimate strength, a 200,000-pound load (2.5g) distributed over an area of 6 inches (in) by 48 in (half the bumper area) at a height of 30 in above the rail (standard DOT bumper height). This report presents the test data, which showed that the resulting displacement of the tank sidewall corresponding to a maximum side impact load of nearly 300 kilopounds was approximately 0.5 in. This comprised of mostly elastic deformation and very little plastic deformation. Upon unloading, no local residual plastic deformation was noticeable to the naked eye although plotted test data revealed a small residual plastic deformation of 0.1 in. No crack or tank breach was observed near the side impact load application zone or elsewhere in the tank. Therefore, from the FRA regulatory perspective, the tank is considered to have satisfied the structural integrity requirement set forth in 49 CFR Part 238, Appendix D, Section (a) (3). KW - Fuel tanks KW - Load tests KW - Locomotives KW - Railroad safety KW - Regulations KW - Side crashes KW - Structural analysis KW - Structural tests KW - Tractor trailer combinations UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/110 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126971 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361123 AU - Li, Dingqing AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Slab Track Field Test and Demonstration Program for Shared Freight and High-Speed Passenger Service - Final Report PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 126p AB - Two types of slab tracks were installed on the High Tonnage Loop at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing. Direct fixation slab track (DFST) and independent dual block track (IDBT) were installed into a 5-degree curve with 4-inch superelevation. The total slab track test section was 500 feet (ft) long, which consisted of 250 ft of IDBT and 250 ft of DFST. This program was conducted to demonstrate the durability of the slab track for 39-ton axle loads while maintaining the track geometry conditions of a Class 9 track. More specifically, the program was carried out to characterize slab track stiffness conditions, to quantify slab track dynamic responses and long-term performance under heavy axle load train operation, and to provide the test data for validating slab track analysis and design methodologies for shared heavy-freight and high-speed train service. KW - Axle loads KW - Concrete slab track KW - Demonstration projects KW - Design KW - Durability tests KW - Field tests KW - Freight trains KW - High speed rail KW - Performance tests KW - Railroad tracks KW - Shared tracks KW - Stiffness tests KW - Track geometry UR - http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/109 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1126968 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361064 AU - Kockelman, Kara AU - Anjomani, Ardeshir AU - Paul, Binny M AU - Nostikasai, Dian AU - Tayyebi, Ali AU - Kharel, Gehandra AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Design and Application of Accessible Land-Use Modeling Tools for Texas Regions PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 72p AB - This report consists of two parts. The first summarizes key details of the Suitability Analysis (SA) model, while the second illustrates the implementation details of the Gravity Land-Use Model (G-LUM). Both modeling approaches have been applied to the Austin region of Texas, but for different case study examples. KW - Applications KW - Austin (Texas) KW - Case studies KW - Design KW - Gravity models KW - Land use models KW - Suitability analysis UR - http://www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf_reports/5_5667_01_1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1127041 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01361014 AU - Choi, Seongcheol AU - Won, Moon C AU - Texas Tech University, Lubbock AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Horizontal Cracking in Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 96p AB - Horizontal cracking (HC) at the depth of longitudinal steel in continuously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP) was not known until 1999, when HC was observed in the section on IH 35 in the Waco District. At that time, no prior research was done on this topic and no reports published. Concerned about this type of cracking and its effect on the long-term performance of CRCP, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) initiated this research study. The primary objective of this study was to identify the mechanism of HC in CRCP due to environmental loading (temperature and moisture variations). To this end, a numerical model was developed to predict the risk of HC in CRCP. Laboratory and field testing was also conducted to evaluate the actual behavior of concrete near longitudinal steel. The measured data was used to develop and validate a numerical model for the prediction of HC potential in CRCP. The mechanism of vertical stress development in concrete near longitudinal steel was investigated with a comprehensive numerical analysis. The results of the study indicate that pavement design, more specifically longitudinal steel design, concrete material properties such as coefficient thermal expansion (CoTE), modulus of elasticity, drying shrinkage and strength, and construction quality such as curing and temperature control, all have effects on HC development. Two-mat steel, lower values of CoTE and drying shrinkage and modulus, higher strength of concrete, good quality curing and temperature control will lower the potential for HC. Since there are almost an infinite number of combinations of design, materials and construction variables during the construction of CRCP, more general guidelines rather than prescriptive ones were developed. The guidelines cover three areas – pavement design, materials and construction quality. The implementation of the guidelines is expected to minimize the occurrence of horizontal cracking in CRCP. KW - Concrete curing KW - Continuously reinforced concrete pavements KW - Horizontal cracking KW - Modulus of elasticity KW - Numerical analysis KW - Pavement design KW - Paving KW - Shrinkage KW - Thermal expansion UR - http://www.depts.ttu.edu/techmrtweb/reports/complete_reports/0-5549-3-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1127114 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01357802 AU - Ramani, Tara AU - Zietsman, Josias AU - Eisele, William AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - User's Manual for Sustainable Transportation Performance Measures Calculator PY - 2010/08 SP - 96p AB - Sustainable transportation can be viewed as the provision of safe, effective, and efficient access and mobility into the future while considering economic, social, and environmental needs. For the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to assess options and monitor progress toward achieving the goals of sustainable transportation it is essential that the underlying sustainability-related goals and objectives be quantified and applied to project, corridor, and network levels for planning, operation, and maintenance. In recognition of this need, TxDOT sponsored research under project 0-5541 “Developing Sustainable Transportation Measures for TxDOT’s Strategic Plan.” The overall goal of this project was to develop sustainable transportation performance measures for TxDOT’s strategic goals and objectives as well as a framework for TxDOT to implement a sustainable transportation system in Texas. The end result of this framework is a user-friendly analysis tool developed in Microsoft Excel® to serve as a platform for evaluating the performance measures and combining them into a final sustainability index. This report contains the User's Manual for this tool. Chapter 1 provides an introduction. Chapter 2 is a general overview of the calculator, including hardware and software requirements and a general description of its main components. Chapter 3 discusses how to use the calculator while performing an analysis. Chapter 4 gives an overview of the performance measures used within the calculator. Chapter 5 discusses understanding the results of the calculator. KW - Analytical tools KW - Computer program documentation KW - Microsoft Excel (Software) KW - Performance measurement KW - Strategic planning KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-5541-01-P2.zip UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1123290 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01355090 AU - Samtani, Naresh C AU - Nowatzki, Edward A AU - NCS Consultants, LLC AU - Yeh and Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Hollow Bar Soil Nails: Review of Corrosion Factors and Mitigation Practice PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 81p AB - Hollow bar soil nails (HBSNs) have been used in the United States in earth retention systems for over 10 years. HBSNs are commonly used in place of solid bar soil nails (SBSNs) when the solid bar installation would require temporary casing of the hole. A state-of-the-practice document was prepared by FHWA in 2006 to identify (a) the various peculiarities of HBSNs in comparison with conventional SBSNs, and (b) areas of further research, evaluation and testing that would help agency personnel and design professionals understand the potential of HBSNs as a mainstream technology for permanent soil nail applications. This report concentrates on one of the specific areas of study identified in the 2006 report as related to development of corrosion mitigation guidance. This report presents the results of an industry-wide survey including agencies, designers, consultants, manufacturers and contractors related to installation of HBSNs and practices with respect to corrosion aspects. Based on the responses it was found that a lack of guidance on corrosion protection is limiting the use of HBSNs for permanent applications in corrosive environments. There are numerous contributing factors that may lead to corrosion of HBSNs. These factors are identified in this report along with a review of the current corrosion mitigation guidance. Parameters to be evaluated in formal corrosion studies are outlined. Finally, recommendations for interim corrosion mitigation guidance and further studies are provided. KW - Corrosion KW - Corrosion protection KW - Earth walls KW - Nails KW - Protective coating KW - Retaining walls KW - Soil nailing KW - Surveys KW - Testing UR - http://www.cflhd.gov/programs/techDevelopment/geotech/corrosion/01_HBSN_Corrosion_Factors_Mitigation.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1118826 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01354114 AU - Burati, James L AU - Straub, Daniel AU - Delk, Adam AU - Zhou, Xiaodan AU - Clemson University AU - South Carolina Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Validation of Contractor HMA Testing Data in the Materials Acceptance Process PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 288p AB - This study conducted an analysis of the SCDOT HMA specification. A Research Steering Committee comprised of SCDOT, FHWA, and Industry representatives provided oversight of the process. The research process included a literature review, a brief survey to which 42 highway agencies replied, in-person interviews with a few selected agencies, and extensive statistical analyses of test data supplied by SCDOT. Analyses were conducted to determine appropriate standard deviation values to represent the variability of each of the acceptance characteristics used by SCDOT. A total of 1,260 density test results were provided from 22 different projects. A total of 1,775 asphalt content (AC) tests and 1,343 air voids (AV) and VMA tests were provided from 30 different projects. In addition, SCDOT verification test results were obtained from 10 projects and were analyzed and compared with their corresponding contractor acceptance tests. The previous and current SCDOT verification procedures were evaluated and issues concerning each were presented and discussed. Ranges for the appropriate values to use for the within-lot standard deviations for Density, AC, AV, and VMA were also developed. The analysis of verification tests results resulted in new verification testing procedures that were recommended for consideration by SCDOT. KW - Acceptance tests KW - Air voids KW - Asphalt content KW - Contractors KW - Density KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Mineral aggregates KW - Quality assurance KW - South Carolina KW - Verification UR - http://www.clemson.edu/t3s/scdot/pdf/projects/Final%20Report-SCDOT-Validation-FHWA-SC-10-02.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1116915 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01353623 AU - Bodvarsson, Gudmundur A AU - Muench, Stephen T AU - Washington State Transportation Center AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Loop Detector Installation on the Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Lifespan: Case Study on I-5 PY - 2010/08//Research Report SP - 76p AB - The installation of loop detectors in portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP) may shorten affected panel life, thus prematurely worsening the condition of the overall pavement. This study focuses on the performance of those loop embedded panels (LEP) by analyzing pavement data collected by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and comparing it to the overall pavement performance on I-5 in King County. The results were divided by non-rehabilitated, diamond ground and dowel bar retrofit and diamond ground PCCP, as was done in the reference paper, to facilitate comparison. Overall, LEP perform worse – regarding panel cracking – in comparison to loop free panels (LFP), except on the small section of I-5 that has been Dowel Bar Retrofitted and Diamond grinded. For the non-rehabilitated PCCP, the difference between LEP and LFP with 1 crack is less than 1% but more than twice as many LEP have what is considered “failed” panels (2 or more cracks) than LFP. This might indicate that the loop installation affects more the severity of panel cracking than being the cause for it. Using these results and assuming panel replacement of the cost of $20,000 each, the cost of loop installation to the pavement was found to be $560 each. Traffic simulation was done for a section of I-5 to calculate delay due to lane closures, which loop detector installation constitutes. The user cost associated with the delay is a substantial part of the overall cost of loop installation, 40 – 60 percent depending on the number of affected lanes on the freeway. If user costs are accounted for, the overall cost of video and loop detection systems can be comparable. KW - Case studies KW - Concrete pavements KW - Costs KW - Diamond grinding KW - Dowel bar retrofit KW - Interstate 5 KW - Life cycle costing KW - Loop detectors KW - Pavement cracking KW - Pavement performance KW - Service life KW - Washington (State) UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/744.5.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1118375 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01353618 AU - Muench, Stephen T AU - Washington State Transportation Center AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Best Practices Summary Report PY - 2010/08//Research Report SP - 29p AB - This report summarizes the work and findings from WA-RD 744. This work consisted of four separate efforts related to best practices for portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement design and construction: (1) a review of past and current PCC pavement, (2) an analysis of PCC pavement studded tire wear on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) network, (3) a life cycle assessment (LCA) of PCC pavement rehabilitation options and (4) an analysis of the effects of loop detector installation on PCC pavement life. Key findings are: (1) outstanding issues to resolve with PCC pavement include the impact of smaller maximum aggregate size, new dowel bar materials, and shorter joint spacing, (2) there is no effective means to mitigate studded tire wear, (3) stud wear is typically in the range of 0.04-0.09 mm/yr but tends to occur more quickly early on in pavement life, (4) excessive stud wear problems are limited and not a widespread issue, (5) an aggregate hardness program like Alaska’s can help ensure stud wear does not become a major issue on newly constructed pavements, (6) life cycle assessment (LCA) can be a useful information tool and tends to show that crack, seat and overlay rehabilitation of aged PCC pavement provides many environmental advantages; and (7) current loop embedment practices do not seem to affect pavement life, however, previous practices may have. KW - Aggregate gradation KW - Aggregate hardness KW - Best practices KW - Concrete pavements KW - Construction management KW - Crack and seat treatment KW - Dowel bar retrofit KW - Environmental impacts KW - Life cycle analysis KW - Life cycle costing KW - Loop detectors KW - Overlays (Pavements) KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement joints KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Service life KW - Spacing KW - Studded tires KW - Washington (State) KW - Wear UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Research/Reports/700/744.1.htm UR - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/744.1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1118377 ER - TY - SER AN - 01352480 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Thakuriah, Piyushimita AU - Metaxatos, Paul AU - Mohammadian, Abolfazl AU - University of Illinois, Chicago AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Bus Riding on Shoulders PY - 2010/08 IS - 10-073 SP - 58p AB - Bus on shoulder (BOS) operations have been ongoing in several locations across the United States and abroad. Public transit buses in the designated highway and arterial shoulders are generally allowed to travel up to 15 mph faster than traffic in the general lanes, but no more than 35 mph. These operations are typically undertaken to give public transit riders a faster and more reliable traveling experience when highway and arterial general traffic lanes are congested. The research team reviewed the literature on safety and operational aspects of shoulder use and the ways in which shoulder use has been incorporated as a way to manage congestion in several regions. They also interviewed primary stakeholders, who might be involved in planning and operating a BOS system in Northeastern Illinois and analyzed their comments. They found that highway shoulders have been used for a variety of purposes in many regions over time with proper precautions and appropriate authorization, including operating buses on them to bypass congestion in the general traffic lanes. In this study, the investigators show that BOS operations have been undertaken as part of congestion management strategies in many regions. Although Illinois stakeholders have raised many concerns, it appears that BOS operations are feasible for Northeastern Illinois, although much will depend on the selection of the right highway segments, bus driver education and training, awareness among motorists, and various other strategies that should be addressed. Cost and legal factors governing BOS operations should also be addressed. BOS operations may effectively work in Northeastern Illinois, if implemented as part of an overall congestion management strategy and after being studied as a part of a year-long demonstration project to identify the best ways to operate. KW - Bus on shoulder operations KW - Bus transit operations KW - Congestion management systems KW - Northeastern Illinois KW - Operating speed KW - Road shoulders KW - Service reliability KW - Stakeholders KW - Strategic planning KW - Traffic congestion UR - https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/45885/FHWA-ICT-10-073.pdf?sequence=2 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1117146 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01346526 AU - Lee, John D AU - Fiorentino, Dary AU - Reyes, Michelle L AU - Brown, Timothy L AU - Ahmad, Omar AU - Fell, James AU - Ward, Nic AU - Dufour, Robert AU - University of Iowa, Iowa City AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Assessing the Feasibility of Vehicle-Based Sensors to Detect Alcohol Impairment PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 312p AB - Despite persistent efforts at the local, state, and federal levels, alcohol-impaired driving crashes still account for 31% of all traffic fatalities. The proportion of fatally injured drivers with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) greater than or equal to 0.08% has remained at 31-32% for the past ten years. Vehicle-based countermeasures have the potential to address this problem and save thousands of lives each year. Many of these vehicle-based countermeasures depend on developing an algorithm that uses driver performance to assess impairment. The National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) was used to collect data needed to develop an algorithm for detecting alcohol impairment. Data collection involved 108 drivers from three age groups (21-34, 38-51, and 55-68 years of age) driving on three types of roadways (urban, freeway, and rural) at three levels of alcohol concentration (0.00%, 0.05%, and 0.10% BAC). The scenarios used for this data collection were selected so that they were both representative of alcohol-impaired driving and sensitive to alcohol impairment. The data from these scenarios supported the development of three algorithms. One algorithm used logistic regression and standard speed and lane-keeping measures; a second used decision trees and a broad range of driving metrics that are grounded in cues the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has suggested police officers use to identify alcohol-impaired drivers; a third used a support vector machine. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a vehicle-based system to detect alcohol impairment based on driver behavior. The algorithms differentiate between drivers with BAC levels at and above and below 0.08%BAC with an accuracy of 73 to 86%, comparable to the standardized field sobriety test. This accuracy can be achieved with approximately eight minutes of driving performance data. Differences between drivers and between roadway situations have a large influence on algorithm performance, which suggests the algorithms should be tailored to drivers and to road situations. KW - Accuracy KW - Algorithms KW - Blood alcohol levels KW - Countermeasures KW - Data collection KW - Drunk drivers KW - Fatalities KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Human subject testing KW - Impaired drivers KW - In vehicle sensors KW - National Advanced Driving Simulator UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/811358.pdf UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/811358A.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1108737 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01346523 AU - Walker, Roger S AU - Fernando, Emmanuel AU - University of Texas, Arlington AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Portable Profiler for Pavement Profile Measurements - Final Report PY - 2010/08//Technical Report; Final Report SP - 78p AB - This report provides a summary of work performed on Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Research Project 0-6004. The project was initiated to develop a single path, easy to use, portable profiler. Such a device was developed. The profiler measurements from the device provide TxDOT an instrument that can easily be mounted or removed from the front or rear bumper of typical TxDOT vehicles. The profile generated is compatible with existing TxDOT formats. Two separate certification tests were successfully conducted on both a full-size Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) pickup truck and a TxDOT full-size van at the inertial profiler certification track located at the Texas A&M Riverside Campus. KW - Certification KW - Equipment design KW - Pavement profile KW - Portable equipment KW - Profilometers UR - http://ranger.uta.edu/~walker/Reports/Final_0-6004-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1108669 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01346521 AU - Ramani, Tara AU - Zietsman, Josias AU - Eisele, William AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Sustainable Trandsportation Performance Measures Calculator: User's Manual PY - 2010/08 SP - 96p AB - Sustainable transportation can be viewed as the provision of safe, effective, and efficient access and mobility into the future while considering economic, social, and environmental needs. For the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to assess options and monitor progress toward achieving the goals of sustainable transportation it is essential that the underlying sustainability-related goals and objectives be quantified and applied to project, corridor, and network levels for planning, operation, and maintenance. In recognition of this need, TxDOT sponsored research under project 0-5541 “Developing Sustainable Transportation Measures for TxDOT’s Strategic Plan.” The overall goal of this project was to develop sustainable transportation performance measures for TxDOT’s strategic goals and objectives as well as a framework for TxDOT to implement a sustainable transportation system in Texas. The end result of this framework is a user-friendly analysis tool developed in Microsoft Excel® to serve as a platform for evaluating the performance measures and combining them into a final sustainability index. This report is a User's Manual for this analysis tool. Chapter 1 introduces the User's Manual, highlights the intended audience for the material and lists the remaining chapters in this user’s manual. Chapter 2 gives a general overview of the calculator, including hardware and software requirements and a general description of its main components. Chapter 3 discusses how to use the calculator while performing an analysis. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the performance measures used within the calculator. Chapter 5 discusses understanding the results of the calculator. KW - Access KW - Computer program documentation KW - Computer tools KW - Mobility KW - Performance measurement KW - Strategic planning KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-5541-01-P2.zip UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1108083 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01346510 AU - Cleveland, Theodore G AU - Rainwater, Kenneth A AU - Smirnov, Sergey AU - Barnes, Wade AU - DaCosta, Larissa AU - Basnet, Bijay AU - Aseze, Martin AU - Mendoza, Zeferino AU - Singleton, Kirsten AU - Murphy, Holly AU - Ulary, Annabell AU - Texas Tech University, Lubbock AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Hydraulic Capacity of Type-H Inlets PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 242p AB - Type H Inlets are frequently used by the Texas Department of Transportation as median drains for divided highways. Despite frequent use, engineers do not have adequate design information to mathematically describe the hydraulic performance of these structures. Typically, it has been assumed that IL-H-G and IL-H-L function essentially the same as roadway grates or curb inlets, but there is no basis for that assumption. Type-H drop inlets were investigated using a database from literature-reported experiments for similar inlets and physical model studies conducted at Texas Tech University (TTU). The findings of this study are: Type-H inlets, as studied, perform similar to the HEC-22 expectations when the weir-type conditions are applied (Equation (4-26) in HEC-22). Orifice-type models could not explain the TTU or the literature-derived observations. A power-law model that uses the dimensionless groups suggested by Cassidy (1966), with the slopes omitted, provides a reasonable explanation of inlet behavior. SWMM was investigated as a predictive tool by comparison to the TTU experimental results. The SWMM model was subject to very minimal calibration yet predicted performance reasonably well, especially when full inlet capture may occur. Examples of performance prediction using HEC-22, the power-law model and SWMM are presented to provide some guidance for Type-H inlet design. KW - Culvert inlets KW - Design KW - Divided highways KW - Drainage structures KW - Hydraulic capacity KW - Hydraulics KW - Literature reviews KW - Medians KW - Performance prediction KW - Structural models KW - SWMM (Computer program) UR - http://www.depts.ttu.edu/techmrtweb/reports/complete_reports/0-5823-fpr.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1108086 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01344991 AU - Boodlal, Leverson AU - Abraham, Tintu AU - KLS Engineering, LLC AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Sample Transportation Management Plans and Templates PY - 2010/08 SP - 278p AB - This Guide consisting of samples, templates, and tips is designed to help transportation agencies with the development and implementation of their own Transportation Management Plans (TMPs). Understanding the work zone impacts is critical to developing effective work zone TMPs that provide for adequate safety and mobility for the traveling public and construction workers. The primary intended audience for this guide is transportation agency staff, including technical staff, (planners, designers, traffic engineers, highway/safety engineers, etc); management and executive-level staff responsible for setting policy and program direction; field staff responsible for building projects and managing work zones; and staff responsible for assessing performance in these areas. The TMP samples and templates presented in the guide represent two projects with different levels of impacts. (1) Template 1 and Sample 1— Projects with minor-to-moderate level of impacts. (2) Template 2 and Sample 2— Projects with moderate-to-major level of impacts. KW - Mobility KW - Transportation management plans KW - Transportation planning KW - Work zone safety UR - http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/final_rule/tmp_examples/sample_tmps/final_sample_tmps.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1105654 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01343582 AU - Sears, Justine AU - Glitman, Karen AU - University of Vermont, Burlington AU - Department of Energy AU - Vermont Department of Public Service AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Vermont Transportation Energy Report: Vermont Clean Cities Coalition PY - 2010/08 SP - 35p AB - The mission of the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition (VCCC) is to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels for transportation. This annual report provides policy makers with relevant and timely data on the status of fuel consumption, vehicle purchases, transportation expenditures, and travel behavior in Vermont. This information is intended to form the basis of data-driven policy discussions and initiatives. KW - Annual reports KW - Fossil fuels KW - Fuel consumption KW - Motor vehicles KW - Policy KW - Purchasing KW - Travel KW - Travel behavior KW - Vermont UR - http://www.uvm.edu/~transctr/trc_reports/UVM-TRC-10-017.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1105602 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01343314 AU - Jansuwan, Sarawut AU - Wonginta, Thitima AU - Chen, Anthony AU - Utah State University, Logan AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development of a Decision Support Tool for Assessing Vulnerability of Transportation Networks PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 194p AB - This research develops a decision support tool for assessing vulnerability of transportation networks. This report consists of 1) describing the trends of freight movements in Utah, 2) identifying the current and potential freight chokepoints/bottlenecks in Utah, 3) estimating a simplified truck Origin-Destination (O-D) trip table using the commodity flow data from the U.S. Department of Transportation Freight Analysis Framework (FAF), 4) developing a visualization tool combined with geographical information systems (GIS) features for transportation network vulnerability analysis as a decision support tool, 5) conducting a case study based on the disruption scenarios of highway bridges using the highway system in the state of Utah to evaluate the decision support tool, and 6) providing suggestions for future research. KW - Bottlenecks KW - Case studies KW - Commodity flow KW - Decision support systems KW - Freight Analysis Framework KW - Freight traffic KW - Geographic information systems KW - Highway bridges KW - Origin and destination KW - Risk assessment KW - Traffic network disruption KW - Trip tables KW - Trucking KW - Utah KW - Visualization UR - http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=42364 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/40000/40500/40586/UT-10.13_DS_Tool_for_Assessing_Network_Vulnerability_final_web.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1105133 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01342813 AU - Cluett, Chris AU - Kitchener, Fred M AU - Battelle Seattle Research Center AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Implementation and Evaluation of the Sacramento Regional Transportation Management Center Weather Alert Notification System PY - 2010/08//Evaluation Report SP - 85p AB - This report presents the results of an evaluation of Caltrans District 3 Regional Transportation Management Center’s (RTMC) implementation of a weather alert notification system. This alert system was selected for implementation from among several weather information integration strategies identified by the RTMC through a self-evaluation process supported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Road Weather Management Program. The weather types of particular interest to RTMC operations are fog, wind and frost. These weather conditions have potential consequences for the operation of their transportation system and the safety of the traveling public. The RTMC desired to more effectively and proactively manage their system and keep their traveling public well informed when faced with these weather conditions. They implemented a system that automatically generates adverse weather warnings and alerts to the RTMC operators to help them make more timely and effective decisions regarding posting advisory messages to the public on electronic roadside message signs. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to support evaluation measures in both the baseline and post-deployment periods. The evaluation focused on several significant weather events (fog, wind and frost), documenting the alerts, the progress of the event, and operator messaging responses to the event. It identified a need for operator training and for clear procedures to guide the use of the alert system, and these improvements were implemented on an on-going basis during the course of the evaluation over the 2009-2010 winter period. Management intends to fine tune their alert system, including adding additional sensors when their budgets will allow that, based on the evaluation findings, to further enhance the alert system’s effectiveness. KW - Alert systems KW - Data collection KW - Fog KW - Frost KW - Highway operations KW - Regional planning KW - Regional transportation KW - Road weather information systems KW - Sacramento (California) KW - Sensors KW - Traffic control centers KW - Traffic data KW - Wind UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/36000/36100/36168/sac_evaluation_report_final.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1103950 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01341958 AU - Schmalzer, Peter N AU - Plett, Randy W AU - Elkins, Gary E AU - MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - LTPP Specific Pavement Studies (SPS) Materials Action Plan Final Report PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 238p AB - This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program Materials Action Plan (MAP). The MAP was initiated in August 2004 to improve the extent and amount of materials data to characterize the pavement structure of test sections at LTPP Specific Pavement Study (SPS) -1, -2, -5, -6, and -8 experimental sites. The success of the MAP can be attributed to the cooperation and efforts of participating highway agencies, leadership of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) LTPP team, and technical input from LTPP’s Transportation Research Board Committee and Expert Task Groups. The MAP was also supported by the efforts of the FHWA LTPP team of technical services, regional support, and laboratory contractors. Through this effort, the amount and quality of available materials data greatly increased. Data from tests not previously performed were added, results from aging materials tests were obtained, corrections were made to some pavement structure information from new field investigations, and to the extent possible, previous data deficiencies were corrected. This report documents the planning, execution, and outcomes of this highly successful activity. KW - Asphalt concrete KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Concrete pavements KW - Data collection KW - Laboratory tests KW - Long-Term Pavement Performance Program KW - Materials tests KW - Portland cement concrete KW - Properties of materials KW - Specific Pavement Studies (LTPP) KW - Subbase (Pavements) KW - Subgrade (Pavements) KW - Test sections UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/10049/10049.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1104403 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01340429 AU - Sheridan, Richard AU - Maynard, Brian AU - Harrison, Bryan D AU - Manteuffel, Chris AU - University of Rhode Island, Kingston AU - Rhode Island Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - RIDOT Salt Tolerant Tree and Shrub Guide PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - v.p. AB - Access and knowledge of a salt tolerant plant list is critical for Rhode Island highways. Rhode Island has a number of unique environmental characteristics that make roadside plantings difficult to establish. These include road salt runoff and salt spray from both highways and ocean breezes. The presence of roadside vegetation has many functions that serve highway users and the state. This study reviewed the literature available on salt tolerant trees and shrubs and consulted associated professionals for recommendations on those plant species viable for Rhode Island. The study also reviewed existing roadside plantings in the state of Rhode Island identified by the RIDOT landscape division for their success in establishing in difficult salt stressed environments. The accompanying guide provides a list of salt tolerant trees and shrubs found in the literature review which are suitable to the Rhode Island climate. The salt tolerant plants are divided into lists by salt tolerance, plant characteristics, and groups associated by light and moisture requirements. This manual is a tool for RIDOT landscape and engineering personnel to help select plants for roadside use in Rhode Island. KW - Landscaping KW - Plants KW - Rhode Island KW - Roadside KW - Runoff KW - Seawater KW - Shrubs KW - Sodium chloride KW - Tolerance (Physiology) KW - Trees UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1101836 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01337360 AU - Stokoe, Kenneth H AU - Kallivokas, Loukas F AU - Nam, Boo H AU - Carpenter, Claire K AU - Bryant, Adam D AU - Weeks, Damon A AU - Beno, Joseph H AU - Scullion, Thomas AU - Liu, Wenting AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Progress During the First Year Towards Building the Total Pavement Acceptance Device (TPAD) PY - 2010/08//Annual Report SP - 79p AB - During the first year of Project 0-6005, significant progress was made towards developing the Total Pavement Acceptance Device (TPAD). The TPAD will be a multi-function device that will be used to survey continuously along pavements at speeds in the range of 5 to 10 mph. The test functions will include those associated with Rolling Dynamic Deflectometer (RDD), ground penetrating radar (GPR), Distance Measurement Instrument (DMI) and high-precision differential Global Positioning System (GPS), and surface temperature measurements, as well as digital video imaging of the pavement and right-of-way conditions. The basic moving platform for the TPAD was selected and initial prototype tests were conducted at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Flight Services Facility at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA). Progress was made in developing: (1) improved rolling sensors and associated data analysis methods commensurate with the target testing speeds and (2) an integrated data acquisition and display system that records all test functions on the same time and distance baselines. KW - Acceptance tests KW - Airport runways KW - Data collection KW - Data displays KW - Distance measuring equipment KW - Global Positioning System KW - Ground penetrating radar KW - Pavements KW - Prototype tests KW - Prototypes KW - Rolling dynamic deflectometers KW - Rolling sensors KW - Surface temperature KW - Total Pavement Acceptance Devices KW - Video imaging detectors UR - http://www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf_reports/0_6005_1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1100349 ER - TY - SER AN - 01337332 JO - Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series PB - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AU - Straub, T D AU - Over, T M AU - U.S. Geological Survey AU - Illinois Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Pier and Contraction Scour Prediction in Cohesive Soils at Selected Bridges in Illinois PY - 2010/08//Research Report SP - 133p AB - This report presents the results of testing the Scour Rate In Cohesive Soils-Erosion Function Apparatus (SRICOS-EFA) method for estimating scour depth of cohesive soils at 15 bridges in Illinois. The SRICOS-EFA method for complex pier and contraction scour in cohesive soils has two primary components. The first component includes the calculation of the maximum contraction and pier scour (Zmax). The second component is an integrated approach that considers a time factor, soil properties, and continued interaction between the contraction and pier scour (SRICOS runs). The SRICOS-EFA results were compared to scour prediction results for non-cohesive soils based on Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 (HEC-18). On average, the HEC-18 method predicted higher scour depths than the SRICOS-EFA method. A reduction factor was determined for each HEC-18 result to make it match the maximum of three types of SRICOS run results. The unconfined compressive strength (Qu) for the soil was then matched with the reduction factor and the results were ranked in order of increasing Qu. Reduction factors were then grouped by Qu and applied to each bridge site and soil. These results, and comparison with the SRICOS Zmax calculation, show that less than half of the reduction-factor method values were the lowest estimate of scour; whereas, the Zmax method values were the lowest estimate for over half. A tiered approach to predicting pier and contraction scour was developed. There are four levels to this approach numbered in order of complexity, with the fourth level being a full SRICOS-EFA analysis. Levels 1 and 2 involve the reduction factors and Zmax calculation, and can be completed without EFA data. Level 3 requires some surrogate EFA data. Levels 3 and 4 require streamflow for input into SRICOS. Estimation techniques for both EFA surrogate data and streamflow data were developed. KW - Bridge piers KW - Bridges KW - Cohesive soils KW - Contraction KW - Depth KW - Forecasting KW - Illinois KW - Scour UR - https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/45749/FHWA-ICT-13-025.pdf?sequence=2 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1097595 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01335440 AU - Lodgher, Akhtar AU - Perkins, Judy A AU - Yang, Yonggao AU - Jones, Erick AU - Hawkins, H Gene AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Prairie View A&M University AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Feasibility and Applications of RFID Technologies to Support Right-of-Way Functions: Technical Report PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 116p AB - Radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology provides the capability to store a unique identification number and some basic attribute information, which can be retrieved wirelessly. This research project studied the feasibility of using RFID technology to support managing assets in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) right-of-way (ROW). The project focused on using RFID to support managing utilities, outdoor advertising, ROW marker/survey control, and other highway infrastructure features and attributes. Research activities included synthesizing existing information on RFID applications and specific information on utility management, conducting laboratory evaluations of the performance of RFID tags in selected buried applications, developing an integration schema for RFID application, assessing the feasibility of TxDOT using or requiring RFID to manage assets in the ROW, and identifying implementation opportunities for RFID in ROW applications. RFID markers are commercially available for identifying underground utilities and are used by some utility companies for this purpose. But no state transportation agency has required their use on a widespread basis, although one agency has used such markers during a utility relocation project and found the application to have significant benefits. The research team found that RFID technology, while widely used for inventory control, has limited application for a transportation agency in the highway right-of-way. Based on the findings generated from the activities of this project, the research team does not recommend the widespread use of RFID technologies for managing assets in the ROW. However, the research team found that there may be some benefits to using RFID technology in limited applications, such as utility relocation projects and survey monumentation. KW - Asset management KW - Feasibility analysis KW - Public utilities KW - Radio frequency identification KW - Right of way (Land) KW - Roadside advertising KW - Underground utility lines UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6142-1.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/36000/36000/36042/0-6142-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1098928 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01333758 AU - U.S. Census Bureau AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Exports: 2007 Economic Census, Transportation, 2007 Commodity Flow Survey: United States PY - 2010/08 SP - 68p AB - The 2007 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is undertaken through a partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), U.S. Department of Transportation. This survey produces data on the movement of goods in the United States. It provides information on commodities shipped, their value, weight, and mode of transportation, as well as the origin and destination of shipments of commodities from manufacturing, mining, wholesale, and select retail and services establishments. For the purposes of this report, an export is considered a shipment from any of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to a foreign country. Shipments to U.S. possessions and territories are also treated as exports. Shipment characteristics, including value, tons, and ton-miles, are presented in summary form in this report. KW - 2007 Commodity Flow Survey KW - Census KW - Commodity flow KW - Economic indicators KW - Exports KW - Origin and destination KW - Shipments KW - Transportation modes KW - United States UR - http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/ec07tcf-ex.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1094153 ER - TY - SER AN - 01333648 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Yang, Hao AU - Yuan, Daji AU - Jin, Wen-Long AU - Saphores, Jean-Daniel AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - University of California, Irvine TI - Simulation Evaluation of Green Driving Strategies Based on Inter-Vehicle Communications PY - 2010/08 SP - 23p AB - This paper examines two green driving strategies based on inter-vehicle communication (IVC) aimed at reducing tailpipe emissions. Excessive speed and stop-and-go traffic significantly increase fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. It is anticipated that IVC, including vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, will be available in the future to relay time-critical and location-based traffic information between vehicles allowing people to drive more smoothly and safely, which also affects fuel use. In this paper the authors study green driving strategies based on IVC and their effects on emission reductions in different traffic conditions. Newell’s car-following model and VT-Micro are integrated to establish a simulation platform. With higher market penetration of IVC-equipped vehicles, reduction of emissions and fuel consumption are greater. The greater the delay in communication, the smaller the reduction in emissions and fuel consumption. KW - Car following KW - Driving KW - Exhaust gases KW - Fuel consumption KW - Intelligent speed adaptation KW - Market share KW - Mathematical models KW - Simulation KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-28.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1093754 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330119 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Recker, Will AU - Marca, James E AU - Rindt, Craig AU - Dechter, R AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - University of California, Irvine AU - University of California, Irvine AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Personal Travel Assistant (PTA): Measuring the Dynamics of Human Travel Behavior PY - 2010/08 SP - 46p AB - A simple, continuously collected GPS sequence was investigated to determine whether it can be used to accurately measure human behavior. Hybrid Dynamic Mixed Network (HDMN) modeling techniques were applied to learn behaviors given an extended GPS data stream. A key design decision behind the proposed architecture was to use an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) to provide a communication infrastructure among various components of the application. Personal Travel Assistants running on mobile devices like cell phones could help travelers change their travel plans when routes are affected by crashes or natural disasters. KW - Advanced traffic management systems KW - Advanced traveler information systems KW - Algorithms KW - Cellular telephones KW - Global Positioning System KW - Mathematical models KW - Travel behavior KW - Travel demand UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-31.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090753 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330118 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Guerra, Erick AU - Cervero, Robert AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Cost of a Ride: The Effects of Densities on Fixed-Guideway Transit Ridership and Capital Costs PY - 2010/08 SP - 29p AB - Transit projects are extremely costly and require high ridership levels in order not to incur large deficits. More than 50 transit investment projects built in the U.S. since 1970 were investigated and a strong relationship is found between costs and ridership. In addition, ridership and capital costs typically increase with job and population densities, leading to questions about whether municipalities should zone for minimum densities around existing or planned stations or for different types of investments. Many transit stations in the US do not have the surrounding job or population densities to support cost-effective transit service. KW - Capital costs KW - Cost recovery KW - Costs KW - Economic analysis KW - Mode choice KW - Network analysis (Planning) KW - Population density KW - Rail transit facilities KW - Ridership KW - Transit oriented development KW - Travel behavior KW - Zoning UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-32.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090754 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330116 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Boarnet, Marlon G AU - Ferguson, Gavin AU - Edwards, Rufus AU - Princevac, Marko AU - Bartolome, Christian AU - Pan, Hansheng AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - University of California, Irvine AU - University of California, Riverside AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Fine Particulate Concentrations Near Arterial Streets: The Influence of Building Placement and Wind Flow PY - 2010/08 SP - 18p AB - The placement of buildings influences the concentration of fine particulates by altering wind flow. The authors collected measurements of fine particulate concentration, wind speed, wind direction, and traffic levels around five Southern California arterials selected to represent a range of building densities. In some cases the difference in average concentrations between opposite sides of the street was on the order of 10 μg/m3. In most cases the concentration was higher on the upwind side of the street, where the wind wakes of buildings limit the dispersion of particulates. Although this work is exploratory in nature, it reveals that fine particulate concentrations can vary even within a single city block, a scale finer than those used in current policy models. KW - Arterial highways KW - Built environment KW - Particulates KW - Structures KW - Wakes KW - Wind UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-24.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090536 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330112 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Harsman, Bjorn AU - Quigley, John M AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Political and Public Acceptability of Congestion Pricing: Ideology and Self-Interest PY - 2010/08 SP - 37 AB - Previous research has found public and political opposition to congestion pricing. In this study, the experience of Stockholm, where congestion pricing was introduced for a seven-month trial period followed by a referendum, is investigated. Prior research analyzed public acceptance for congestion pricing based on consumer responses to sample surveys. In contrast, this analysis is based on the revealed preferences as found in the referendum. It also considers the variability in advantages, such as lower travel times, and disadvantages, such as cost of paying tolls. In the case of Stockholm, voters indicated that they valued travel time savings enough to approve the continuance of tolls. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Congestion pricing KW - Consumer preferences KW - Economic efficiency KW - Externalities KW - Public opinion KW - Regression analysis KW - Road pricing KW - Stockholm (Sweden) KW - Tolls KW - Travel time KW - Urban transportation policy UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-17.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090482 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330110 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Wang, Rui AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Leaders, Followers and Laggards: Adoption of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in California PY - 2010/08 SP - 28p AB - Little quantitative research has been devoted to voluntary climate actions at the local level in comparison to those at federal and state levels. It is unclear why some cities act as leaders in the fight against climate change, some act as followers, while others remain laggards. This study empirically tests some hypotheses about local political will to mitigate climate change. Applying a survival analysis to California cities’ adoption of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, this study examines the association between cities’ adoption of the Mayors Agreement and a broad range of characteristics, such as: local demographics, jurisdiction size, government structure, political preference and environmentalism, local air quality and congestion level, and behavior of neighboring jurisdictions. Results support the importance of income level, political preference and environmentalism of the local communities, as well as a city’s administrative capacity and autonomy. Congestion relief seems to be an important benefit motivating cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. KW - California KW - Demographics KW - Environmental protection KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Income KW - Local government KW - Political factors KW - Socioeconomic factors KW - Traffic congestion KW - U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement KW - Urban transportation policy UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-22.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090483 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330098 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Kanafani, Adib AU - Wang, Rui AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Measuring Multimodal Transport Level of Service PY - 2010/08//Final Draft SP - 44p AB - One of the challenges facing intermodal integration is that the planning framework needed for it lacks appropriate measures of level of service (LOS) that cut across the modes involved and the connections between them. In this study a framework and a set of metrics of LOS in a multimodal context is developed. Measures of performance are defined from the user’s perspective (demand side) and the provider’s perspective (supply side). A working definition of a “multi-modal corridor” is adopted and a methodology for defining and combining measures of performance for such a corridor is developed. The methodology is defined in the context of evaluation for the purpose of choosing among alternative corridors. The approach is grounded in utility theory and quantitatively these measures of performance are defined as indirect utility functions of the type used in choice models. Many LOS metrics are non-additive and their combination for a multimodal systems requires specific models that reflect the way the attributes impact users of different modes and during different segments of a multimodal journey. KW - Choice models KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Level of service KW - Mathematical models KW - Multimodal transportation KW - Performance measurement KW - Supply KW - Travel demand UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-26.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090537 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330096 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Gu, Weihua AU - Li, Yuwei AU - Cassidy, Michael J AU - Griswold, Julia B AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - University of California, Berkeley AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - On the Capacity of Isolated, Curbside Bus Stops PY - 2010/08 SP - 19p AB - The maximum rates that buses can discharge passengers at bus stops are examined. Models were developed to estimate these capacities for curbside stops that are isolated from the effects of traffic signals. The estimates account for key features of the stops, including their target service levels assigned to them by a transit agency. Among other things, the models predict that adding bus berths to a stop can sometimes return disproportionally high gains in capacity. There is value in reducing service-time variations via the improved management of passenger boarding and unloading such as wider doors and off-board fare collection. In contrast to formulas in professional handbooks, the present models also account for the effects of the bus arrival process at a stop. Knowledge of these cause and effect relations can be useful when choosing the number of berths to be deployed at a curbside stop. KW - Arrivals and departures KW - Boarding and alighting KW - Bus bays KW - Bus stops KW - Dwell time KW - Headways KW - Mathematical models KW - Schedules and scheduling KW - Traffic models UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-18.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090481 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330093 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Sivakumarana, Karthikgeyan AU - Li, Yuwei AU - Cassidy, Michael J AU - Madanat, Samer AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration AU - University of California, Berkeley TI - Cost-Saving Properties of Schedule Coordination in a Simple Trunk-and-Feeder Transit System PY - 2010/08 SP - 18p AB - Coordination of vehicle schedules in a public transit system affects generalized costs. An idealized system that delivers its users to a common destination by requiring each to transfer from a feeder to a trunk-line vehicle is considered. Continuum models are used first to analyze cases in which the trunk-line vehicle schedule is given exogenously. When feeder vehicles are dispatched in coordination with this exogenous trunk-line schedule, the reduction in user cost often outweighs the added cost to the feeder operation. In cases when the frequencies of trunk and feeder services can be established jointly, the models show that coordination can be Pareto improving, meaning that operator and user costs both diminish. Conditions that give rise to these cost savings are specified. Practical implications are discussed. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Cost effectiveness KW - Feeder services KW - Mathematical models KW - Public transit KW - Schedules and scheduling KW - Transit operating agencies KW - Travel demand UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-19.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090480 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330091 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Pan, Hansheng AU - Bartolome, Christian AU - Princevac, Marko AU - Edwards, Rufus AU - Boarnet, Marlon G AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Investigation of Roadside Particulate Matter Concentration Surrounding Major Arterials in Five Southern Californian Cities PY - 2010/08 SP - 21p AB - In order to study the influence of urban building form on flow and dispersion of vehicular emissions, field measurements were performed on major arterials in five Southern Californian cities with different building geometries. Local mean wind, turbulence, virtual temperature, roadside fine particulate matter concentration, and traffic flow data were collected. Observation shows the influence of building geometry on street level concentration of particulates. Tall buildings cause a strong downdraft which upon impinging the street level flushes street canyon from pollutants. Field experiments show the influence of local meteorological variables and their interaction with urban canopy to particle concentration. Concentrations at the windward side of buildings within urban canopy are extremely sensitive to wind direction. Turbulent flux, sensible heat flux and turbulent velocity affect concentrations by enhancing vertical transport. KW - Air pollution KW - Arterial highways KW - Atmospheric turbulence KW - Built environment KW - Exhaust gases KW - Multistory structures KW - Particulates KW - Southern California KW - Speed KW - Traffic flow KW - Wind UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-23.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090484 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330090 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Boriboonsomsin, Kanok AU - Vu, Alexander AU - Barth, Matthew AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - University of California, Riverside AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Eco-Driving: Pilot Evaluation of Driving Behavior Changes among U.S. Drivers PY - 2010/08 SP - 18p AB - On-board eco-driving devices provide instantaneous fuel economy feedback that can affect driving behaviors, and consequently fuel economy, of gasoline-engine vehicle drivers in the U.S. under real-world driving conditions. The results from 20 samples of drivers in Southern California show that on average the fuel economy on city streets improves by six percent while the fuel economy on highways improves by one percent. This group of drivers is willing to adopt eco-driving practices in the near future (mean score of 7.4 out of 10); 40 percent have already practiced eco-driving, and that penetration rate could go up to 95 percent if price of gasoline increases to $4.40 per gallon. KW - Advanced driver information systems KW - Driver information systems KW - Drivers KW - Ecodriving KW - Feedback control KW - Fuel consumption KW - Gasoline KW - Mathematical models KW - Navigation devices KW - Prices KW - Vehicle electronics UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-20.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090479 ER - TY - SER AN - 01330086 JO - UCTC Research Paper AU - Jin, Wen-Long AU - University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Modeling Connectivity of Inter-Vehicle Communication Networks along Discrete Traffic Streams PY - 2010/08 SP - 29p AB - Rapid developments in telecommunications and information technologies could yield next-generation Intelligent Transportation Systems that rely on inter-vehicle communications (IVC) to disseminate time-critical and location-based traffic information. IVC-based systems are less costly to deploy than existing centralized transportation information systems. A new model is presented for computing the instantaneous connectivity and end node probability for vehicles in a transportation network where vehicle distribution may not be uniform and the positions of the vehicles may depend on one another. While it yields results consistent with those in the literature, it is simpler in formulation and computation. The model provides a means for studying how the distribution patterns of vehicles may affect the propagation of information. KW - Automatic vehicle location KW - Mathematical models KW - Nodes (Networks) KW - Optimization KW - Traffic flow KW - Vehicle to vehicle communications UR - http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/UCTC-FR-2010-27.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090539 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329779 AU - Rakauskas, Michael AU - Creaser, Janet AU - Manser, Michael AU - Graving, Justin AU - Donath, Max AU - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Validation Study – On-Road Evaluation of the Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System – Stop Sign Assist Sign: CICAS-SSA Report #5 PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 107p AB - The CICAS-SSA sign is a roadside driver support system that is intended to improve gap rejection at rural stop-controlled intersections. The CICAS-SSA system tracks vehicle locations on a major roadway and then displays a message to a driver on the minor road via an active LED icon-based sign. The basis of this sign is a “Divided Highway” sign that is commonly presented in traffic environments. Overlaid on the roadways of the sign are yellow or red icons that represent approaching vehicles that are at a distance at which the driver on the minor road should proceed with caution or at a distance that is considered unsafe to enter the intersection. Previous research conducted in a driving simulation environment indicated potentially beneficial changes in driver decision-making relative to approaching vehicle gap sizes and indicated that drivers perceive the system as being both useful and satisfying. While simulation-based evaluations provide a wealth of useful information, their ability to replicate the full array of behavioral, cognitive, and perceptual elements of a driving environment do have some limitations. It is because of these limitations that it is useful to confirm simulation-based findings in a real-world environment. The primary goal of the current work was to evaluate the candidate CICAS-SSA sign in a real-world setting to confirm previously identified benefits and identify any unintended consequences of sign usage. This goal was accomplished through a validation field test performed at the intersection of US Highway 52 and County Road 9 in Southern Minnesota. The findings of the work are summarized in this report. KW - Behavior KW - Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System KW - Countermeasures KW - Field studies KW - Gap acceptance KW - Highway safety KW - Intersections KW - Rural highways KW - Stop signs KW - Traffic crashes KW - Warning signs UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/research_docs/pdf/cicas_tech_doc5.pdf UR - http://www.its.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/pdfdownload.pl?id=1452 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090902 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329731 AU - Gorjestani, Alec AU - Menon, Arvind AU - Cheng, Pi-Ming AU - Shankwitz, Craig AU - Donath, Max AU - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - The Design of a Minimal Sensor Configuration for a Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System—Stop Sign Assist: CICAS-SSA Report #2 PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 61p AB - The deployment of a Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System – Stop Sign Assist (CICAS-SSA) can save lives by addressing the causal factor of crashes at rural thru-Stop intersection: drivers who stop on the minor leg of the intersection, improperly assess the gaps in the traffic on the major leg, proceed, and are then hit. The prototype CICAS-SSA system consisted of a network of sensors covering both the minor and the major legs of the intersection. Sensors on the minor road monitored the approach of vehicles and classified them based on their length and height. Sensors along the major road were arrayed to track vehicles (and the gaps between them) approaching the crossroads from 2000 feet away as a means to ensure that the tracking algorithm had sufficient time to “lock on” and track all approaching vehicles. Because cost is a primary concern for any highway safety application, the development of a “minimal sensor set” which would provide adequate safety performance for minimum cost was paramount to the success of the CICAS-SSA program. This report documents the development of this minimal sensor configuration. KW - Arterial highways KW - Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System KW - Gap acceptance KW - Highway safety KW - Intersections KW - Rural highways KW - Secondary roads KW - Sensors KW - Stop signs KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www.cts.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/pdfdownload.pl?id=1446 UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/research_docs/pdf/cicas_tech_docrpt2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090892 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329730 AU - Rollins, Kyle M AU - Gerber, Travis M AU - Na, Mo'oud AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Numerical Analysis of Dense Narrow Backfills for Increasing Lateral Passive Resistance PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 210p AB - Previously, full-scale lateral load tests conducted on pile caps with different aspect ratios showed that placement of a narrow, dense backfill zone against the cap could substantially increase the passive resistance. The objective of this study is to develop design equations to predict the increased passive resistance for these limited width backfills for both 2D and 3D conditions. For this purpose, the finite element program, PLAXIS 2D was used to investigate the 2D or plane strain passive resistance. To validate the procedure, numerical results were calibrated against analytical results obtained from PYCAP and ABUTMENT. The analytical models were additionally validated by comparison with measured ultimate passive resistances. The calibrated model was then used to simulate the passive behavior of limited width gravel backfills. Parametric studies were also executed to evaluate the influence of a range of selected design parameters, related to the pile cap geometry and backfill soil type, on the passive resistance of limited width backfills. Numerical results indicated that significant increases in passive resistance could be expected for long abutment walls where end effects are less pronounced and the geometry is closer to a plane strain condition. Based on results obtained from the parametric studies, a design method was developed for predicting the ultimate passive resistance of limited width backfills, for both plane strain and 3D geometries. Comparisons between measured and numerical results indicated that using the Brinch- Hansen 3D correction factor, R3D, as a multiplier to the plane strain resistances, will provide a conservative estimate of the actual 3D passive response of a pile cap with a limited width backfill. KW - Backfilling KW - Gravel KW - Lateral loads KW - Numerical analysis KW - Passive resistance KW - Pile caps UR - http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=37916 UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=1789317676767302 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1090431 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01329715 AU - Grejner-Brzezinska, Dorota A AU - Edwards, Karla AU - Ohio State University, Columbus AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Performance of GEOID09 for Height Conversion in Ohio PY - 2010/08 SP - 50p AB - This study evaluates Height Modernization issues related to NGS hybrid geoid performance (specifically GEIOD09 and GEOID03) for height conversions between NAVD88 and NAD83 for the state of Ohio and quality of gravity and height data needed to produce a cm-accurate gravimetric geoid. The hybrid geoid is of particular significance in this study, because an accurate hybrid geoid would support both accurate height conversions as well as improve orthometric (MSL) height determination, facilitating the almost-total replacement (except in GPS-antagonistic environments) of traditional leveling exercises by GPS leveling, a much more cost- and labor-efficient heighting technique than its traditional counterpart. KW - Ellipsoid heights KW - Geoids KW - Global Positioning System KW - Height KW - Leveling KW - Modernization KW - Ohio UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/698181347/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089737 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328482 AU - Yu, Xiong AU - Yu, Xinbao AU - Case Western Reserve University AU - Ohio Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Field Monitoring of Scour Critical Bridges: A Pilot Study of Time Domain Reflectometry Real Time Automatic Bridge Scour Monitoring System PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 213p AB - Scour is a major threat to the safety of bridges. Instruments for the measurement and monitoring of bridge scour are necessary to study scour processes and to support bridge management. The lack of robust and economical scour monitoring devices prevents the implementation of a bridge scour monitoring program among bridge owners. This project explores the design and analyses of scour sensors using principles of Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). The performance of a scour probe was first tested in laboratory simulated scour experiments. Three different signal analyses methods were developed to obtain the scour depth from TDR signals. Besides scour depth, additional information related to scour assessment, i.e. sediment density and electrical conductivity of water, were also determined from TDR signals. The sensing principles and analysis algorithms were validated from simulated scour tests under various conditions which are expected to be encountered in the field. The field conditions considered included: variation of sediment types, water conductivity, turbidity, air entrapment, and water elevation. These further validated the robustness of the scour sensing principles. Upon validation, a field worthy sensor was designed. The sampling area and effective measured dielectric constant were determined using a finite element analysis method. Evaluation of the sensor indicated that it was able to successfully monitor the scour processes (scour and refill) in real-time with high accuracy. Six TDR bridge scour sensor were installed at BUT-122-0606 bridge on SR 122 over the Great Miami River in Butler County, with assistance of project partners GRL Engineers Inc., and J&L laboratories. Automatic monitoring units were installed to automatically taking scour sensor signals and wireless transmitting the sensor data. The sensors were installed using routine geotechnical site investigation tools and procedures. High quality signals were obtained, from which the development of scour adjacent to bridge piers were measured. The results are reasonable. The pilot study points to the promise of this new technology for long term bridge scour monitoring purpose. Continued evaluation and refinement of this new scour monitoring sensor system is highly recommended. KW - Bridges KW - Monitoring KW - Scour KW - Sensors KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Time domain reflectometers UR - http://worldcat.org/oclc/698673119/viewonline UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1089507 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328164 AU - Strawderman, Lesley AU - Usher, John M AU - Mississippi State University, Mississippi State AU - National Center for Intermodal Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Implications of System Usability on Intermodal Facility Design PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 56p AB - Ensuring good design of intermodal transportation facilities is critical for effective and satisfactory operation. Passenger use of the facilities is often hindered by inadequate space, a poor layout, or lack of signage. This project aims to improve the design of transportation facilities by first understanding how passengers use the facilities. A cognitive model was created for three common airport tasks: departing, transferring, and arriving at an airport. The model, which defines the physical and cognitive steps required for a passenger to complete each task, was validated using focus groups. Researchers then visited 10 airports to assess the ability of a passenger to complete the tasks using those exact steps at each facility. The results of the model, focus groups, and airport visits were used to develop a number of design guidelines addressing multiple aspects within a facility, including signage, facility layout, and user tasks and processes. KW - Airports KW - Design KW - Intermodal facilities KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Passengers KW - Usability UR - http://ncit.msstate.edu/publications/publications_01.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086608 ER - TY - SER AN - 01328162 JO - TechBrief PB - Federal Highway Administration AU - Do, Ann AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effects of Yellow Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons on Yielding at Multilane Uncontrolled Crosswalks PY - 2010/08 SP - 4p AB - This document is a technical summary of the Federal Highway Administration report, Effects of Yellow Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons on Yielding at Multilane Uncontrolled Crosswalks (FHWA-HRT-10-043). This study examined the effects of side-mounted yellow light-emitting diode (LED) rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs) at uncontrolled marked crosswalks in a series of experiments. Many methods have been examined to increase driver yielding behavior to pedestrians at multilane crosswalks at uncontrolled sites with relatively high average daily traffic (ADT). Only treatments that employ a red phase have consistently produced sustained high levels of yielding in previous studies. A series of five experiments examined the efficacy of RRFBs to increase driver yielding behavior. These studies examined the effects of RRFBs at 22 sites in 3 cities in the United States (St. Petersburg, FL; Washington, DC; and Mundelein, IL). Data were also collected over a 2-year follow-up period at 18 of these sites to determine the long-term effects of the RRFB treatments. Another objective of the study was to compare the RRFB with a traditional overhead yellow flashing beacon and a side-mounted traditional yellow flashing beacon. A final objective of the study was to attempt to identify ways to further increase the effectiveness of the treatment. Variants subjected to evaluation included mounting additional units on a median or pedestrian refuge island and aiming the RRFB system to maximize brightness at a target site. KW - Crosswalks KW - Flashing beacons KW - Highway traffic control KW - Light emitting diodes KW - Multilane traffic KW - Unsignalized intersections KW - Yellow KW - Yield (Traffic) UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/10046/10046.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086576 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328143 AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Highway Safety Improvement Program Assessment Toolbox PY - 2010/08 SP - 66p AB - The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is established under 23 U.S.C. 148 with the primary purpose of achieving a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on public roads. The HSIP encompasses the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), the State’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (State HSIP), which includes the High Risk Rural Roads program (HRRRP), and the Railway-Highway Grade Crossing Program (RHGCP). The HSIP Assessment Toolbox presents information to assist SDOTs, FHWA Division Offices and other safety partners (i.e., Metropolitan Planning Organizations), as appropriate, with HSIP-related program assessments. Each type of program assessment is described in detail within the toolbox, while supporting resources are provided in the appendices. KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Highway safety KW - Improvements KW - Program evaluation KW - Safety programs UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/resources/fhwasa10017/fhwasa10017.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086321 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01328117 AU - Strawderman, Lesley AU - Eksioglu, Burak AU - Mississippi State University, Mississippi State AU - National Center for Intermodal Transportation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Development of an Intermodal Training Program for Disaster Relief Agencies PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 22p AB - Natural disasters impact society on a broad level, often leading to both financial damage and the loss of human life. This project seeks to improve the design and operation of disaster relief chains by providing agencies with an intermodal transportation decision making and training tool, focusing on the use of air, rail, and trucks in providing aid (cargo and personnel) following a disaster. Building upon knowledge gained from a previous NCIT project regarding factors that impact choice of transportation modes in disaster relief, the product of the current project is an intermodal transportation training program for disaster relief agencies. The program, viewed as a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow, allows users to investigate the benefits of intermodal transportation, allowing trainees to make informed transportation decision in disaster relief agencies. KW - Decision making KW - Disaster preparedness KW - Disaster relief KW - Disasters and emergency operations KW - Intermodal transportation KW - Training programs UR - http://ncit.msstate.edu/publications/publications_01.html UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086611 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325139 AU - Sayer, James R AU - Bogard, Scott E AU - Funkhouser, D AU - LeBlanc, David J AU - Bao, Shan AU - Blankespoor, Adam D AU - Buonarosa, Mary Lynn AU - Winkler, Christopher B AU - University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems Heavy-Truck Field Operational Test Key Findings Report PY - 2010/08 SP - 124p AB - This document presents key findings from the heavy-truck field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to examine the effect of a prototype integrated crash warning system on driving behavior and driver acceptance. The heavy-truck platform included three integrated crash-warning subsystems (forward crash, lateral drift, and lane-change/merge crash warnings) installed on a fleet of 10 Class 8 tractors and operated by 18 commercial drivers for 10 months. Each truck was instrumented to capture detailed data on the driving environment, driver behavior, warning system activity, and vehicle kinematics. Data on driver acceptance was collected through a postdrive survey and debriefings. The key findings indicate that integrated crash warning systems not only offer benefits relative to improved driver performance (e.g., improved headway keeping), but that the majority of commercial drivers accepted the system and reported subjective benefits from the integrated system they used. Of the drivers who participated, 15 out of 18 stated that they preferred a truck with the integrated system, stating that they would also recommend that their company consider the purchase of vehicles with integrated safety systems installed. No negative behavioral adaptation effects from the drivers’ 10-month use of the integrated system were observed. KW - Behavior KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Crash warning subsystems KW - Data collection KW - Field tests KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Integrated vehicle-based safety systems KW - Traffic safety KW - Truck drivers KW - Warning systems UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35000/35094/102672.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085888 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325024 AU - Conway, Alison J AU - Walton, C Michael AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Road Pricing Methodology for Infrastructure Cost Recovery PY - 2010/08 SP - 296p AB - The purpose of this research is to provide a theoretical framework for future commercial vehicle user-charging using real-time vehicle weight and configuration information collected using weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems. This work provides an extensive review of both mechanisms and technologies employed for commercial and passenger vehicle user-charging worldwide. Existing commercial vehicle-user charging structures use only broad vehicle classifications to distinguish between vehicles for the pricing of user-fees. The methodology proposed in this study employs highway cost allocation methods for development of an “Axle-Load” toll structure. A theoretical case study, based on information from Texas State Highway 130, is performed to explore the equity improvements that could be achieved through implementation of this proposed structure. Some sensitivity analysis is also performed to examine the potential revenue impacts due to uncertainties in different data inputs under existing and proposed structures. KW - Axle loads KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Cost allocation KW - Cost recovery KW - Infrastructure KW - Revenues KW - Road pricing KW - Sensitivity analysis KW - Trucks KW - Weigh in motion UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00064-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086099 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325018 AU - Thompson, Melissa AU - Unnikrishnan, Avinash AU - Conway, Alison J AU - Walton, C Michael AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - A Comprehensive Examination of Heavy Vehicle Emissions Factors PY - 2010/08 SP - 143p AB - This report summarizes the findings from reviewing the literature on several topics that are related to heavy vehicle emissions including engine and fuel types, vehicle technologies that can be used to reduce or mitigate vehicle emissions, the factors that affect vehicle emissions, vehicle emissions modeling, and current and future policy requiring accurate accounting of heavy vehicle emissions. The pollutants present in diesel exhaust are known to have undesirable effects on both human health and the environment. There are many engine and fuel alternatives for current and prospective vehicle owners to consider that have differing effects on a vehicle’s pollutant output. In addition, new technologies, such as diesel particulate filters, auxiliary power units, and selective catalytic reduction, are being used in the production of new vehicles, and can often be installed on used vehicles, to reduce emissions and/or improve fuel economy. Accurate heavy vehicle emissions modeling is important in forming policies designed to reduce pollutants from heavy vehicle operation at both the vehicle and regional level. Such policies can include cap-and-trade schemes, carbon taxing, and road user charging. All of these policy types have been implemented in the European Union to varying degrees, but only some have been implemented in the United States. However, all of these are now being considered in the U.S., and could be implemented in the future. KW - Air quality management KW - Diesel engine exhaust gases KW - Environmental policy KW - Greenhouse gases KW - Heavy vehicles KW - Pollutants UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00067-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086091 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325005 AU - Cherrington, Linda AU - Arndt, Jeffrey AU - Edrington, Suzie AU - Taylor, Ryan AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Texas Transit Leadership Initiative PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 82p AB - The purpose of this project was to research and develop a leadership development program that addresses the needs of rural and small urban transit managers at each stage of a career along a continuum from new employees just entering the industry to senior staff members who are anticipating retirement. The project goal was to establish a sustainable leadership development program that has value to the transit industry in Texas. The project was a collaborative effort of Texas Transportation Institute and the Texas Department of Transportation, Public Transportation Division (TxDOT-PTN). KW - Leadership KW - Managerial personnel KW - Public transit KW - Rural areas KW - Small cities KW - Texas UR - http://utcm.tamu.edu/publications/final_reports/Cherrington_09-38-04.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085894 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325004 AU - Gorjestani, Alec AU - Menon, Arvind AU - Cheng, Pi-Ming AU - Newstrom, Bryan AU - Shankwitz, Craig AU - Donath, Max AU - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities AU - Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Macroscopic Review of Driver Gap Acceptance and Rejection Behavior at Rural Thru-Stop Intersections in the US – Data Collection Results for Eight States: CICAS-SSA Report #3 PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 77p AB - Crashes at rural thru-stop intersections arise primarily from a driver attempting to cross or enter the mainline traffic stream after failing to recognize an unsafe gap condition. Because the primary cause of these crashes is not failure to stop, but failure to recognize an unsafe condition, the US DOT FHWA, Mn/DOT, and the University of Minnesota ITS Institute undertook the CICAS-SSA program. CICAS-SSA uses roadside radar sensors, a computer processor and algorithms to determine unsafe conditions, and an active LED icon based sign to provide timely alerts and warnings which are designed to reduce the frequency of crashes at rural expressway intersections. These rural, thru-stop crashes are problems in many states. In conjunction with the CICAS-SSA program, Mn/DOT and the University of Minnesota led a nine-state (CA, GA, IA, MI, MN, NC, NH, NV, and WI) pooled-fund study whereby driver behavior data at rural thru-stop intersections was collected by the Minnesota Mobile Intersection Surveillance System (MMISS). The ultimate goal of the pooled fund study and the analysis of that data described here, was to identify whether drivers in different regions of the county exhibit different gap acceptance/rejection behavior, and if different driver behaviors are identified, determine whether they are different enough to inhibit the deployment of a common CICAS-SSA design throughout the US. The analysis of the data indicated that the system can indeed be deployed nationally. KW - Behavior KW - Drivers KW - Gap acceptance KW - Highway safety KW - Regions KW - Rural highways KW - States KW - Traffic crashes KW - United States KW - Unsignalized intersections UR - http://www.cts.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/pdfdownload.pl?id=1448 UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/research_docs/pdf/cicas_tech_docrpt3.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086285 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325003 AU - Eluru, Naveen AU - Paleti, Rajesh AU - Bhat, Chandra R AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Examining the Influence of Tolls on Commute Departure and Route Choice Behavior in the Chicago Region PY - 2010/08 SP - 39p AB - In the United States, a significant number of individuals depend on the auto mode of transportation. The high auto dependency, in turn, has resulted in high auto travel demand on highways. The resulting traffic congestion levels, surging oil prices, the limited ability to address increased auto travel demand through building additional transportation infrastructure, and the emphasis on reducing GHG emissions has led to the serious consideration and implementation of travel demand management (TDM) strategies in the past decade. Congestion pricing is a frequently considered TDM option to alleviate travel congestion in urban metropolitan regions. Congestion pricing might induce changes in activity location, travel route, departure time of day, and travel mode. The current study contributes toward understanding the influence of congestion pricing on commuter behavior by specifically examining what dimensions of commuter travel behavior are affected as a response to congestion pricing. Specifically, the authors formulate and estimate a joint disaggregate model of commute departure time and route choice drawing from the 2008 Chicago Regional Household Travel Inventory (CRHTI). The empirical analysis demonstrates the significance of individual and household socio-demographics on commuter behavior. The results also highlight how vehicle availability plays an important role in determining individual’s sensitivity to travel time and travel cost. To demonstrate the applicability of the joint modeling framework to determine optimal toll fares, the authors compute value of travel time measures for different demographic groups. KW - Chicago Metropolitan Area KW - Commuters KW - Congestion pricing KW - Departure time KW - Route choice KW - Tolls KW - Travel behavior KW - Urban areas UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/169200-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086164 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01325000 AU - Rollins, Kyle M AU - Gerber, Travis M AU - Cummins, Colin R AU - Pruett, Joshua M AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Dynamic Passive Pressure on Abutments and Pile Caps PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 255p AB - This study investigated the lateral load response of a full-scale pile cap with nine different backfill conditions, more specifically being: 1) no backfill present (baseline response), 2) densely compacted clean sand, 3) loosely compacted clean sand, 4) densely compacted fine gravel, 5) loosely compacted fine gravel, 6) densely compacted coarse gravel, 7) loosely compacted coarse gravel, 8) a 3-ft wide densely compacted fine gravel zone with loosely compacted clean sand backfill, and 9) a 6-ft wide densely compacted fine gravel zone with loosely compacted clean sand backfill. The pile cap was loaded using a combination of hydraulic load actuators and an eccentric mass shaker. The actuators were used to slowly push (statically load) the pile cap to incrementally larger target displacement levels. At each displacement level, the actuators were used to cyclically displace the pile cap a small distance, and the shaker was used to apply a dynamic loading on top of the static holding force from the actuators. Hence, the results presented in this report address static, cyclic, and dynamic loadings. The results of this study include horizontal load versus displacement relationships for the pile cap with differing backfill conditions and earth pressure distributions along the pile cap face. The results also include comparisons between measured and theoretically-based or calculated values. Additional results include descriptions of vertical displacement, horizontal displacement and cracking of the backfill. The stiffness and damping for the pile cap with the different backfill conditions were also determined. KW - Backfill soils KW - Backfilling KW - Bridge abutments KW - Dynamic loads KW - Load tests KW - Passive earth pressure KW - Pile caps KW - Repeated loads KW - Static loads UR - http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=37917 UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=1838712787279376 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35400/35442/UT.10-18_NEW.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086081 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324999 AU - Moulton, Benjamin E AU - Peterson, Anne AU - Haddix, Dar AU - Drew, Lisa AU - Insight Policy Research AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors: 2008. Volume II - Findings Report PY - 2010/08//Final Report: Findings Report SP - 128p AB - This report presents results from the eighth in a series of national telephone surveys conducted for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to assess current status and trends regarding the public’s attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behavior related to drinking and driving. This Volume (II): Findings Report presents a detailed description of respondents’ behaviors and attitudes including reported frequency of drinking and driving, the characteristics of their most recent drinking-driving occasion, their perceptions of drinking and driving as a problem, actions they have taken to avoid drinking and driving or prevent others from driving impaired, their attitudes and experience with enforcement of the drinking and driving laws, and the perceived effectiveness of different intervention strategies. Volume I: Summary Report presents a summary of these topics. Volume III: Methods Report describes the survey methodology and contains copies of the 2008 survey questionnaires. Twenty percent of the public age 16 and older had in the past year driven a motor vehicle within 2 hours of drinking alcohol, a number largely unchanged from previous survey years. About two-thirds of these drinking-drivers did so in the past 30 days. Computed national estimates showed the public making 85.5 million drinking-driving trips in the past 30 days, up from 73.7 million trips in 2004 and reversing a declining trend in such trips since 1995. Males were overrepresented, accounting for 48% of the population 16 and older but 78% of past-month drinking-driving trips. While few persons 16 to 20 reported drinking and driving, those that did tended to acknowledge they were heavy drinkers, an average of 5.7 drinks per normal sitting. However, binge drinking was most common among 21-to-24-year-olds, and males in this age group were most likely to report riding in the past year with a driver who might have had too much alcohol to drive safely (24%). A subset of the total sample was categorized as problem drinkers based on the data. More than one-half (56%) of drinking-drivers that were identified as problem drinkers said they had driven at least once in the past year when they thought they were over the legal limit, compared to 24% of other drinking-drivers. More than four-fifths (81%) of the public 16 and older viewed drinking and driving by others as a major safety threat to themselves and their families. One-third (33%) of all respondents had ridden with a designated driver in the past year, and 44% of drivers had been a designated driver in the past year. One-third of the public believed drivers who have had too much to drink to drive safely will be very likely (21%) or almost certain (12%) to get stopped by the police. Thirty percent had seen a sobriety checkpoint in the past year. KW - Alcohol use KW - Attitudes KW - Behavior KW - Drivers KW - Drunk drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Knowledge KW - Surveys KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811343.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085844 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324987 AU - Drew, Lisa AU - Royal, Dawn AU - Moulton, Benjamin AU - Peterson, Anne AU - Haddix, Dar AU - Insight Policy Research AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors: 2008. Volume III - Methodology Report PY - 2010/08//Final Report: Methodology Report SP - 100p AB - This report presents the details of the methodology used for the 2008 National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors conducted by Gallup, Inc. for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This survey represents the eighth version in a series of periodic surveys that began in 1991. The objective of this survey was to assess the status and trends regarding the public’s attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behavior related to drinking and driving. The Volume III: Methodology Report is prepared to supplement (i) Volume I: Summary Report which presents the key results of the survey including: basic frequencies on drinking and driving, perceptions of drinking and driving as a problem, actions taken to prevent drinking and driving, attitudes and experience with enforcement of drinking and driving laws, and the perceived effectiveness of different intervention strategies and (ii) Volume II: Findings Report providing an in-depth analysis of the topics presented in Volume I. This Volume III, Methodology Report, describes the methods used for sampling, data collection, data weighting, data analysis, and also includes copies of the questionnaires. The target population for the 2008 National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behavior was the general driving age public (aged 16 and older) in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. The mode of data collection, as in the previous rounds, was telephone. However, because of the rapidly expanding cell phone only population, as well as to ensure adequate coverage of young adults in the target population, the sample for the 2008 study also included interviews with respondents who use only cell phones and do not have a landline phone in their household. All interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish. The target population was geographically stratified into the four census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West), and sampling was done independently within each stratum (region). The sample allocation across the four regions was proportional to the size of the target population in each region. This is a departure from the NHTSA 2004 and 1999/2000 surveys, where about 100 interviews were completed for each of the 50 States and D.C. Interviewing took place over a three-month period, from September 10, 2008 to December 22, 2008 and each interview averaged about 17.5 minutes in length. For the main study, a total of 50,448 landline and 32,049 cell phone numbers were dialed across all four regions. A total of 6,999 interviews were completed, including 1,607 (about 23%) interviews from the cell phone only sample. A minimum of seven plus seven call design was used to make a human contact and then to complete an interview, and the overall response rate was 24.1%. The procedure for response rate calculation was based on the standard guidelines established by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). The final telephone sample of persons aged 16 and older was weighted to U.S. population counts to account for the sample design, differential non-response, and under-coverage of some groups in the sample frame. For post-stratification weighting, target data were obtained from the Current Population Survey (March 2008). A non-response bias study was also planned in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements in order to examine the potential for nonresponse bias. A total of 200 interviews were completed with a random sample of non-respondents. The questionnaire for the non-response bias study included a subset of questions from the main study. The analysis plan for the non-response bias study was to compare the respondents and the non-respondents on key variables (survey data on selected survey questions). In addition, respondents of the 2008 national survey were split into two groups: i) early or “easy to reach” and ii) late or “difficult to reach” respondents. The total number of calls required to complete an interview in the main study was used to define these groups. Overall, findings indicated that there was little difference between respondents and non-respondents. This suggests that the possibility of any serious non-response bias is minimal. Finally, an experiment was incorporated in this study to assess whether a cash incentive increased response rates among cell phone-only respondents. Out of the 1,209 who received the incentive offer, 970 (80.23%) completed the survey. Among the 793 who did not receive the incentive, 637 (80.32%) completed the survey. These nearly identical percentages suggest that the offer of a $10 cash incentive did not impact the propensity of completing the survey among cell phone-only respondents. KW - Alcohol use KW - Attitudes KW - Behavior KW - Drivers KW - Drunk drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Knowledge KW - Methodology KW - Surveys KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811344.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085845 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324969 AU - Pappas, Eleni AU - Machemehl, Randy AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Predicting the Incremental Effects on Transit Ridership Due to Bus-On-Shoulder Operations PY - 2010/08 SP - 87p AB - Bus-On-Shoulder (BOS) operations are an extremely effective method for increasing the quality of a bus service; allowing for a bus to use a freeway shoulder as a bypass lane not only decreases bus travel time but also increases the bus service’s overall performance. BOS has also been found to increase bus ridership. The modern BOS system began in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area almost 20 years ago. Using the extensive data available from Minneapolis-Saint Paul, ridership changes due to BOS operations were explored. The data showed that with 90% confidence, ridership will increase by at least 4.5% and as much as 14.3%. This report explores how the citizens of Austin, Texas would respond to a BOS operation on local freeways. A stated preference survey was administered to a sample of Austin commuters. It was determined that potential riders would desire a time savings of 7 or more minutes. Typically, it is challenging for persons to accurately predict time savings, therefore it was concluded that, for a BOS operation to be successful, it was necessary for there to be a perceived time savings. KW - Bus on shoulder operations KW - Bus transit KW - Bus transit operations KW - Bypass lanes KW - Ridership KW - Road shoulders UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/476660-00073-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086096 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324968 AU - Drew, Lisa AU - Royal, Dawn AU - Moulton, Benjamin AU - Peterson, Anne AU - Haddix, Dar AU - Insight Policy Research AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors: 2008. Volume I - Summary Report PY - 2010/08//Final Report: Summary Report SP - 36p AB - This report presents results from the eighth in a series of national telephone surveys conducted for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to assess current status and trends regarding the public’s attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behavior related to drinking and driving. This Volume I: Summary Report, presents key results from the survey, including the reported frequency of drinking and driving, perceptions of drinking and driving as a problem, actions taken to prevent drinking and driving, attitudes and experience with enforcement of the drinking and driving laws, and the perceived effectiveness of different intervention strategies. Volume II: Findings Report provides an in-depth analysis of the topics presented in Volume I, in addition to other topics of interest. Volume III: Methodology Report describes the methods used to conduct the interviews and analyze the data, and includes copies of the questionnaires. Twenty percent of the public age 16 and older had in the past year driven a motor vehicle within 2 hours of drinking alcohol, a number largely unchanged from previous survey years. About two-thirds of these drinking-drivers did so in the past 30 days. Computed national estimates showed the public making 85.5 million drinking-driving trips in the past 30 days. Eight percent of the population had ridden in the past year with a driver they thought had consumed too much alcohol to drive safely, with males 21 to 24 (24%) most likely to report this. Thirty percent of drinking-drivers had driven in the past year when they thought they were over the legal limit for alcohol and driving. More than four-fifths (81%) of the public age 16 and older viewed drinking and driving by others as a major safety threat to themselves and their families. One-third (33%) had ridden with a designated driver in the past year. Forty-four percent of drivers had been a designated driver in the past year. About 1% of the population 16 and older had been arrested for a drinking and driving violation in the past 2 years; the percentage was 5% for males 21 to 24. Four in 10 persons (40%) believed the penalties for violating drinking and driving laws should be much more severe, while an additional 26% believed they should be somewhat more severe. Thirty percent had seen a sobriety checkpoint in the past year. There was a preference that sobriety checkpoints be conducted weekly (40%) or monthly (35%). When asked if there was a national minimum drinking age in the United States, 71% said “yes.” Of those who said there was a minimum legal drinking age, 86% correctly identified it as 21. Of eight intervention strategies read to respondents, alcohol interlocks ranked first in the percentage that believed them very effective in reducing or preventing drunk driving (63%), followed by providing alternate ways for people who have had too much to drink to get home, suspending the license of drunk drivers, and impounding or seizing the vehicle of drunk drivers (all at 54%). KW - Alcohol use KW - Attitudes KW - Behavior KW - Drivers KW - Drunk drivers KW - Highway safety KW - Knowledge KW - Surveys KW - Trend (Statistics) UR - http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811342.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1085843 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324964 AU - Quadrifoglio, Luca AU - Shen, Chung-Wei AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Performance Analysis of the “Zoning” Strategies for ADA Paratransit Services PY - 2010/08 SP - 53p AB - ADA paratransit systems are dial-a-ride services providing public transportation to disabled customers. In large metropolitan areas, these services might adopt zoning strategies to simplify their management. The objective of this research is to provide a more in-depth evaluation and comparison between centralized and decentralized zoning strategies for the city of Houston, Texas, by developing a simulation model to evaluate the effect of zoning strategies on the productivity and service quality for the ADA paratransit service. Three decentralized zoning strategies are compared to a centralized no-zoning strategy. Results show that the decentralized “Four-zone” strategy, as opposed to the centralized no-zoning strategy, needs a fleet larger by 17 percent, its empty trip miles are larger by 11 percent, values for the passenger trips per vehicle revenue hour are lower and its average waiting time is 3.7 percent lower. KW - Americans with Disabilities Act KW - Paratransit services KW - Performance measurement KW - Persons with disabilities KW - Quality of service KW - Strategic planning KW - Zoning UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/169114-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086160 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324958 AU - Conway, Alison J AU - Walton, C Michael AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - State Commercial Vehicle Security Enforcement: Operations, Technologies, and Barriers PY - 2010/08 SP - 66p AB - This report details the results of a survey of state enforcement agencies concerning past, present, and future enforcement practices and advanced technology use for commercial vehicle security, as well as recommendations for future improvements. The study examines practices in 19 states, including 7 land border crossing states and 11 states with one or more major marine ports of entry. Current technology applications, future needs, and past and existing barriers to implementation are all identified. The study also examines both successes and needs for cooperation between federal, state, and industry stakeholders. Particular focus is also placed on identifying changes that have occurred since 9/11. KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Commercial vehicles KW - Cooperation KW - Intelligent transportation systems KW - Law enforcement KW - Security KW - State government agencies KW - Truck traffic KW - Trucks UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/473700-00074-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086086 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324957 AU - Kim, Sang-Soo AU - EZ Asphalt Technology, LLC AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Asphalt Binder Cracking Device to Reduce Low Temperature Asphalt Pavement Cracking PY - 2010/08//Final Project Report SP - 36p AB - The main objectives of this project are to refine the ABCD test method and to conduct the ABCD interlaboratory study (ILS). During Phase 1, ABCD test equipment and test procedures were refined. During Phase 2, five units of ABCD were manufactured and tested for an ABCD ILS. Thirty one laboratories volunteered for the ABCD ILS. Following manufacturing and testing, the units were delivered to the first five participating laboratories. As a laboratory finished the ILS testing, the unit was repacked and shipped to the next waiting laboratory. Due to the larger than expected number of volunteering laboratories, the original binder samples prepared for this ABCD ILS ran out in the middle of ILS testing . Replacement binder samples were used for the later part of ABCD ILS testing. The analyses of ABCD ILS were based on the data from 23 laboratories that used the original binder samples. With very limited experience with the ABCD equipment and test procedure, almost all participating laboratories were able to complete the ABCD ILS successfully without major difficulty. Ten laboratories also volunteered to participate in Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR) critical temperature ILS. The results of ABCD and BBR ILS indicated that the precision estimates of ABCD cracking temperature and those of the BBR critical temperature were comparable. The standard deviation of the ABCD cracking temperature, the strain jump, and the fracture strength for single operator ABCD tests were 0.95°C, 5.48 με, and 0.86 MPa, respectively. The standard deviation of the ABCD cracking temperature, the strain jump, and fracture strength for multilaboratory ABCD test were 1.36°C, 7.21 με, and 1.13 MPa, respectively. The standard deviation of the BBR critical temperature for single operator and multilaboratory test were 0.44°C and 0.75°C, respectively when the critical temperatures were determined from an interpolation process where the BBR test results from two adjacent grading temperatures bracket the critical values of creep stiffness and m-value. The precision estimates of the BBR critical temperature are better than those of the ABCD cracking temperature. However, the BBR critical temperature alone cannot estimate the proper cracking temperature of asphalt binder. Strength test must be performed and combined with the BBR test results. Then, the precision of the resulting cracking temperature by BBR would be similar to that of ABCD cracking temperature. To further improve the precision of ABCD test results, No-Trim ABCD test procedure was developed. An experiment performed with limited number of binders showed that the steps for trimming and lubrication of the silicone mold in the current ABCD procedure could be eliminated. Based on these findings, a revised ABCD test procedure was developed and presented in this report. The No-Trim ABCD test procedure is expected to improve the precision of ABCD test results, especially the multilaboratory precision estimates. KW - Asphalt pavements KW - Bituminous binders KW - Cracking KW - Laboratory tests KW - Test procedures UR - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/partnerships/asphalt/ez/ez.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086282 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01324948 AU - Gorjestani, Alec AU - Menon, Arvind AU - Cheng, Pi-Ming AU - Shankwitz, Craig AU - Donath, Max AU - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities AU - Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Determination of the Alert and Warning Timing for the Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System - Stop Sign Assist Using Macroscopic and Microscopic Data: CICAS-SSA Report #1 PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 65p AB - Crashes at rural thru-stop intersections arise primarily from a driver attempting to cross or enter the mainline traffic stream after failing to recognize an unsafe gap condition. Because the primary cause of these crashes is not failure to stop, but failure to recognize an unsafe condition, the US DOT FHWA, Mn/DOT, and the University of Minnesota ITS Institute undertook the Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System – Stop Sign Assist (CICAS-SSA) program. CICAS-SSA uses roadside radar sensors, a computer processor and algorithms to determine unsafe conditions, and an active LED icon based sign to provide timely alerts and warnings which are designed to reduce the frequency of crashes at rural expressway intersections. The focus of this report is the alert and warning timing used to provide a driver with assistance in recognizing and taking appropriate action when presented a gap which could be considered unsafe. The work presented herein uses both macroscopic data collected by roadside sensors and data acquisition equipment in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, and microscopic data collected using an instrumented vehicle and test subjects at the Minnesota Research Intersection, located at the intersection of US Hwy 52 and Goodhue County Road 9. Three tenets that are particularly germane to the determination of alert and warning timing for the CICAS-SSA system are: (1) the system does not help a driver choose a safe gap; it is designed to assist a driver with unsafe gap rejection, (2) it indicates when it is unsafe to proceed, not when it is safe to proceed, and (3) it must complement good decision making, and address those instances where poor decision making could lead to a crash. KW - Crash rates KW - Decision making KW - Drivers KW - Gap acceptance KW - Highway safety KW - Rural highways KW - Traffic crashes KW - Unsignalized intersections KW - Warning signs KW - Warning timing UR - http://www.cts.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/pdfdownload.pl?id=1444 UR - http://www.its.dot.gov/research_docs/pdf/cicas_tech_doc1-5.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1086286 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322465 AU - Rollins, Kyle M AU - Gerber, Travis M AU - Heiner, Luke AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Passive Force-Deflection Behavior for Abutments with MSE Confined Approach Fills PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 83p AB - Approach fills behind bridge abutments are commonly supported by wrap-around mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls; however the effect of this geometry on passive force development is unknown. This report describes the first large-scale tests to evaluate passive force-deflection curves for abutments with MSE wingwalls. A test was also performed with fill extending beyond the edge of the abutment wall for comparison. The abutment wall was simulated with a pile supported cap 5.5 ft high, 11 ft wide, and 15 ft long in the direction of loading. The backfill behind the pile cap consisted of clean sand compacted to 96% of the modified Proctor maximum density. As the pile cap was loaded laterally, pressure on the MSE wall led to pull-out of the steel reinforcing grids and the MSE wall panels moved outward about 2% of the wall height when the ultimate passive force developed. Despite pullout, the passive force per effective width was 28 kips/ft for the pile cap with MSE wingwalls compared to 22.5 kips/ft for the cap without wingwalls. Nevertheless, the passive force with the MSE wingwalls was still only 76% of the resistance provided by the cap with fill extending beyond the edges. The pile cap with MSE walls required greater movement to reach the ultimate passive force (deflection of 4.2% of wall height vs. 3%). The Caltrans method provided good agreement with the measured passive resistance while the log spiral method required the use of a higher plane strain friction angle to provide reasonable agreement. KW - Bridge abutments KW - Deflection KW - Earth pressure KW - Earth walls KW - Load tests KW - Mechanically stabilized earth KW - Passive forces UR - http://udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=17433513304748492 UR - http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=36592 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082899 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01322463 AU - LaClair, Tim AU - Knee, Helmut AU - Franzese, Oscar AU - Arant, Michael AU - Hathaway, Richard AU - Keil, Mitch AU - Pape, Doug AU - Rhoda, Dale AU - National Transportation Research Center, Incorporated AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - U24: Heavy Truck Rollover Characterization (Phase C) PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 342p AB - The effect of changes in the suspension of a cargo tank semitrailer on its roll stability was studied in experiments and modeling. Three configurations were considered: a typical design; a design with a wider track; and a design with wider track and greater separation between the air bags. All configurations used new generation wide base single tires (NGWBST). The experiments consisted of a steady state “ramp” steer, a transient “step” steer, and a more challenging dynamic “double lane change” maneuver. Lumped parameter and flexible body models of the combination vehicle were developed and exercised. Widening the track of the semitrailer’s axles raised the threshold for lifting a tire from the pavement, as predicted. Moving the suspension’s air bags farther apart changed several characteristics of the behavior, with no consistently measurable changes in wheel liftoff threshold. Limited testing with electronic stability control (ESC) showed that the suspension changes did not affect ESC performance. The damping of the trailer roll oscillation provided by the suspension itself was greater than the damping provided by the shock absorbers. This auxiliary damping was generated, at least in part, by the restricted movement of air between the suspension air bags. This work is the final in a series of studies funded by NTRCI to characterize the roll behavior of heavy vehicles and develop computer simulation models to explain that behavior. Previous studies have explored the behavior of a van semitrailer, a flatbed semitrailer, and a tank semitrailer. KW - Electronic stability control KW - Heavy duty trucks KW - Rollover crashes KW - Simulation KW - Stability (Mechanics) KW - Suspension systems KW - Trucking safety KW - Vehicle dynamics UR - http://www.ntrci.org/ntrci-50-2010-018 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082777 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01321184 AU - Zaouk, A K AU - Parida, B AU - Silver, M AU - Foster-Miller Associates, Incorporated AU - Federal Railroad Administration TI - Locomotive Fuel Tank Structural Safety Testing Program: Passenger Locomotive Fuel Tank Jackknife Derailment Load Test PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 49p AB - This report presents the results of a passenger locomotive fuel tank load test simulating jackknife derailment (JD) load. The test is based on FRA requirements for locomotive fuel tanks in the Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 238, Appendix D. This test covers Section (a) (2) of Appendix D, which states that the fuel tank shall support transversely at the center a sudden loading equivalent to one-half the weight of the locomotive at a vertical acceleration of 2g without exceeding the ultimate strength of the material. The load is assumed to be supported by one rail, distributed between the longitudinal centerline and the edge of the tank bottom, with a railhead surface of 2 inches (in). The nominal weight of an F59 PHI passenger locomotive is approximately 268,000 pounds (lb). This report presents the test data and their correlations to the results of finite element analysis (FEA) using ABAQUS. The test data showed that the resulting vertical displacement of the tank bottom wall corresponding to a maximum JD load of 317 kilopounds was approximately 4 in. This comprised both elastic and plastic components of deformation. Upon unloading, a local residual plastic deformation of nearly 1 in was found, and no crack or breach in the tank wall was detected in the plastically deformed zone or elsewhere. Results of FEA are also included and compared with those obtained from the test. From the FRA regulatory perspective, the tank is considered to have satisfied the structural integrity requirements set forth in CFR 49, Part 238, Appendix D, Section (a) (2). KW - Derailments KW - Fuel tanks KW - Jackknifing KW - Locomotive operations KW - Locomotives KW - Passenger trains KW - Railroad crashes KW - Railroad safety KW - Simulation UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/42000/42200/42296/Jackknife_Derailment_Load_Test.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987575 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01321166 AU - Anderson, R AU - Yunk, Karen AU - Lovas, D AU - Scism, M AU - Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Incorporated AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Noteworthy Practices: Addressing Safety on Locally-Owned and Maintained Roads. A Domestic Scan. PY - 2010/08 SP - 74p AB - Locally-owned road safety remains a challenge to many States. Several States have shown measured success in addressing local road safety. Seven States were identified to participate in the Local Road Safety Domestic Scan, allowing a team of transportation professionals from the Federal, State, and local levels to visit and document their practices. The Domestic Scan report identifies and documents practices in the planning, programming, and implementation of efforts to improve local road safety. Practices are presented in data collection and analysis; local project identification; local project administration; funding; training and technical assistance; outreach and partnerships between State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and local agencies. The report provides States with valuable information to launch a local road safety program or implement documented practices to improve an established program. KW - Crash data KW - Education and training methods KW - Highway maintenance KW - Highway safety KW - Law enforcement KW - Metropolitan planning organizations KW - Transportation planning UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa10027/ UR - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa10027/fhwasa10027.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1075124 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01321099 AU - Rollins, Kyle M AU - Gerber, Travis M AU - Kwon, Ku Hyun AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Lateral Pile Cap Load Tests with Gravel Backfill of Limited Width PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 44p AB - This study investigated the increase in passive force produced by compacting a dense granular fill adjacent to a pile cap or abutment wall when the surrounding soil is in a relative loose state. Lateral load tests were performed on a pile cap with three backfills to evaluate the static and dynamic behavior. One backfill consisted of loose silty sand while the other two consisted of dense gravel zones 3 ft. (0.91 m) and 6 ft. (1.82 m) wide between the pile cap and the loose silty sand. The 3 ft. and 6 ft. wide dense gravel zones increased the lateral resistance by 75% to 150% and 150% to 225%, respectively, relative to the loose silty sand backfill. Despite being thin relative to the overall shear length, the 3 ft. and 6 ft. wide gravel zones increased lateral resistance to 59% and 83%, respectively, of the resistance that would be provided by a backfill entirely composed of dense gravel. The dynamic stiffness for the pile cap with the gravel zone decreased about 10% after 15 cycles of loading, while the damping ratio remained relatively constant with cycling. Dynamic stiffness increased by about 10% to 40% at higher deflections, while the damping ratio decreased from an initial value of about 0.30 to around 0.26 at higher deflections. KW - Abutments KW - Backfill soils KW - Force KW - Gravel KW - Lateral loads KW - Load tests KW - Mechanics KW - Pile caps UR - http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=36230 UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=1838628586274452 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35400/35443/UT-10.17.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082125 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01321094 AU - Rollins, Kyle M AU - Stenlund, Tony E AU - Brigham Young University AU - Utah Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Laterally Loaded Pile Cap Connections PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 133p AB - This study investigated the moment capacity and load-displacement response of the pile-to-cap connection details. Lateral load tests were conducted on four pile caps (3 ft. H x 3 ft. W x 6.5 ft. L) with two 40 foot-long steel pipe piles (12.75 inch OD) with different connection details. Two caps included a reinforced connection detail with six or 12 inch pile embedment while the other two relied exclusively on their respective embedment lengths of 12 and 24 inches. A hydraulic ram was used to apply a cyclic lateral force to each of these pile caps until failure occurred. Load-displacement curves were developed for each cap and bending moments were computed from strain measurements in the piles. The pile cap with piles embedded two diameters (24 inches) into the cap performed successfully. In contrast, a cap with piles embedded only one diameter failed after developing a large crack through the entire cap. The two pile caps with shallow embedment (0.5 to 1.0 diameter) and a reinforcing cage connection still developed at least 40% to 60% of the moment capacity of the pile which was much greater than predicted by PCI design equations based only on embedment. The load-displacement curves and bending moments computed using the computer program GROUP were in very good agreement with measured values when the pile connections were considered to be "fixed-head". However, assuming a "free-head" or pinned connection significantly overestimated displacement even for the connection with only 6 inches of embedment. These results suggest that it is relatively difficult to create a truly pinned connection detail and that some connections which are assumed to be pinned may actually behave more like fixed connections. KW - Lateral loads KW - Load tests KW - Pile caps KW - Structural connection UR - http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=38070 UR - http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=1838506422268074 UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/35000/35400/35444/UT-10.16.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082233 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01321090 AU - Ferguson, Erin M AU - Duthie, Jennifer AU - Waller, S Travis AU - University of Texas, Austin AU - Southwest Region University Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Network Methods for Project Selection Based on Optimizing Environmental Impact PY - 2010/08 SP - 149p AB - Traditionally, transportation road networks have been designed for minimal congestion. Unfortunately, such approaches do not guarantee minimal vehicle emissions. Given the negative impacts of vehicle pollutants as well as tighter national air quality standards, it is critical for regions to be able to identify capacity modifications to road networks such that vehicle emissions are minimal. This ability combined with land use changes and opportunities for non-auto travel are paramount in helping regions improve air quality. However, network design research has yet to directly address this topic. To fill this apparent gap in network design research, an emissions network design problem and solution method are proposed in this report. Three air pollutants are considered: hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. The proposed model is applied to two road networks: Sioux Falls, ND and Anaheim, CA. The model is a bi-level optimization problem solved using a genetic algorithm and incorporates the influence of demand uncertainty. Findings indicate designing for minimal congestion tends to increase emissions of criteria air pollutants. However, not adding capacity to a road network also increases emissions of pollutants. Therefore, an optimization problem and solution method, such as the model presented here, is useful for identifying capacity additions that reduce vehicle emissions. It is also useful for understanding the tradeoffs between designing a network for minimal congestion versus minimal vehicle emissions. KW - Air pollution KW - Air quality management KW - Environmental impacts KW - Exhaust gases KW - Highway capacity KW - Highway design KW - Optimization KW - Road networks KW - Traffic congestion UR - http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/161026-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/1082275 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226737 AU - Department of Transportation TI - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Lacks Core Elements for a Successful Acquisition Function PY - 2010/08 SP - 32p AB - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) relies on the procurement of goods and services to achieve its primary mission of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. In fiscal year 2009, FMCSA received a $234 million budget for its operations and programs to support its mission-$80 million or 34 percent of which was for the procurement of goods and services. FMCSA also relies heavily on contract arrangements that place a high risk on the Agency because they tie the contractor's profit to the number of hours worked, thus imposing the risk of cost overruns on the Government. FMCSA spends about 40 percent of its dollars on such contracts compared to about 5 percent Government wide. We performed this audit at the request of FMCSA's former Administrator. Our audit objectives were to determine whether FMCSA's contract award and administration practices comply with applicable laws and regulations. As a result, we reviewed FMCSA's (1) acquisition planning and competition of contracts, (2) contract administration and oversight, and (3) acquisition infrastructure. Our audit work included a review of 27 FMCSA contracts valued at $192 million from a universe of contract actions reported between fiscal year 2005 and January 12, 2009. We conducted this audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards and believe the evidence we obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. KW - Commercial vehicle operations KW - Competition KW - Contract administration KW - Fatalities KW - Highway safety KW - Motor Carrier Safety administration KW - Motor carriers KW - Procurement UR - http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/FMCSA%20Acquisition%20Function%208-24-10%20%28508%20Compliant%29.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987544 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226728 AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TI - Traffic Safety Facts Research Note: Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes PY - 2010/08 SP - 4p AB - In 2009, 33,808 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States--the lowest number of deaths since 1950 (33,186 fatalities in 1950). This was a 9.7-percent decline in the number of people killed, from 37,423 in 2008 to 33,808, according tothe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) 2009 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Fatalities declined among all categories of vehicle occupants and nonoccupants. Motorcyclist fatalities broke the continuous 11-year increase with a large decline of 850 fatalities (24% of the total decline of 3,615). Motorcyclist fatalities now account for 13 percent of total fatalities. Passenger car occupant fatalities declined for the seventh consecutive year, and are at their lowest level since NHTSA began collecting fatality crash data in 1975. Light-truck occupant fatalities dropped for the fourth consecutive year, and are at their lowest level since 1997. The largest percentage reduction of people killed was among large-truck occupants (26%) compared to any other vehicle category, followed by motorcyclists with a 16-percent reduction. KW - Crash data KW - Crash injuries KW - Data collection KW - Drunk drivers KW - Fatalities KW - Human factors in crashes KW - Motorcycle crashes KW - Traffic crashes UR - http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811363.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987545 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226649 AU - Mileski, Joan P AU - Thrailkill, Robert AU - Haupt, Karl AU - Lane, John AU - McMullen, William AU - Gunn, Joshua AU - Kruse, C James AU - Bierling, David AU - Olson, Leslie E AU - Huang, Jun AU - Lorente, Paula AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas A&M University, Galveston AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Analysis and Recommendations on Protecting Waterways from Encroachment PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 182p AB - The purpose of this project was to investigate and determine hazards to navigation (encroachments) in the Texas Portion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) that originate from shore, and to make recommendations for mitigating these hazards in the future. The research team collected various types of data to identify encroachment hazards and understand how and where obstacles are built including incident data from the U. S. Coast Guard; survey information from vessel operators; data from physical inspection of the waterway; survey information from developers, economic development corporations, and shippers; survey information from county and local officials in all coastal counties; and information on permitting procedures data from the various federal, state, and local jurisdictions involved with shoreline development. This study concludes that the major problems caused by development of structures that encroach into the waterway are the narrowing of the channel, lack of strategic mooring or push-in (hold-up) places needed in inclement weather, and congestion caused by additional inexperienced recreational boaters. This study results in a guidebook for permitters and a guidebook for developers on the types and quantity of structures that should be permitted along the GIWW. The guidebooks should help develop and permit “smart” development with regard to navigation through better cooperation between governmental agencies on permitting development and a focus on the agglomeration, clustering, and density of development on the waterway, and increased cooperation between developers, governmental agencies, and the barge industry in maintaining the GIWW for its primary use of moving goods effectively and efficiently to promote and support Texas and U.S. commerce. KW - Development KW - Encroachment KW - Guidelines KW - Gulf Intracoastal Waterway KW - Preservation KW - Waterways UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6225-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/987151 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226641 AU - Zhou, Fujie AU - Fernando, Emmanuel AU - Scullion, Tom AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Development, Calibration, and Validation of Performance Prediction Models for the Texas M-E Flexible Pavement Design System PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 216p AB - This study was intended to recommend future directions for the development of TxDOT’s Mechanistic-Empirical (TexME) design system. For stress predictions, a multi-layer linear elastic system was evaluated and its validity was verified by comparing the measured tensile strains under accelerated pavement (ALF) loading with the computed values. After reviewing all existing pavement performance models, the VESYS model was recommended for predicting flexible pavement layer rutting and an Overlay Tester-based fatigue cracking model was proposed, which includes both crack initiation and propagation models. For hot-mix asphalt (HMA) rutting predictions, the dynamic modulus test and repeated load test are proposed to provide material properties. The proposed HMA rutting model was calibrated using the rutting data from the NCAT test track and the Texas LTPP-SPS 5 test sections. The proposed fatigue cracking models were calibrated with performance data from NCAT. Resilient modulus and permanent deformation testing is recommended for base and subgrade materials and future research efforts are required to improve the repeatability of the permanent deformation test. For stabilized bases the traditional fatigue models are recommended and calibration factors were proposed based on existing accelerated pavement test data. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the adequacy of the LoadGage program to compute allowable axle load limits for thin pavements. On sections trafficked to failure, very good results were obtained when moisture correction factors were applied to the laboratory measured engineering properties. Implementation should proceed by incorporating the proposed models and default material properties into a design software package, upgrading the available repeated load equipment, performing additional calibration, and developing additional default values for a wider range of Texas materials. KW - Accelerated tests KW - Fatigue cracking KW - Flexible pavements KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement performance KW - Repeated loads KW - Rutting UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5798-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/986540 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226639 AU - Fernando, Emmanuel G AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Investigation of Rainfall and Regional Factors for Maintenance Cost Allocation PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 66p AB - The existing formulas used by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to allocate the statewide maintenance budget rely heavily on inventory and pavement evaluation data. These formulas include regional factors and rainfall indices that vary by district to account for differences in environmental and soil factors across the state. The existing regional factors were developed in the 1990s and were intended to reflect differences in environmental and soil factors between districts. It is not known how these factors were calculated since no documentation is available that explains their development. Since the regional factors were introduced, the Texas Transportation Institute has completed a project in which a database of climatic and soil factors were compiled to characterize the variation of climatic and soil conditions across Texas. TxDOT’s Maintenance Division realized the potential value of using this information and directed an implementation project to re-examine the existing regional and rainfall factors with the objective of revising the current factors to better reflect differences in climatic and soil conditions between districts. This report documents the evaluation of the existing rainfall and regional factors and the development of a revised set of factors for maintenance cost allocation. KW - Climatic regions KW - Cost allocation KW - Maintenance KW - Rainfall UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-4519-01-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/982128 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226629 AU - Lee, Doh-Won AU - Zietsman, Josias AU - Farzaneh, Mohamadreza AU - Johnson, Jeremy AU - Ramani, Tara AU - Protopapas, Annie AU - Overman, John AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Characterization of In-Use Emissions from TxDOT's Non-Road Equipment Fleet - Final Report PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 140p AB - The objective of this document is to present the findings of the study characterizing in-use emissions of TxDOT’s non-road diesel equipment. This document presents literature reviews of emission reduction technologies and emission control measures practiced by the state of Texas and other states, discusses selection of TxDOT’s non-road equipment and emission reduction technologies for emissions testing, and shows the in-use emissions of TxDOT’s diesel equipment before and after installing and utilizing the selected emission reduction technologies (hydrogen enrichment and fuel additive technologies) using portable emission measurement systems (PEMS). Emissions measurements and data comparison and analysis have been performed with the technologies. The selected technologies did not show statistically significant NOx emissions reductions. From additional analysis with other pollutants, both technologies did not show any benefits in terms of emissions reductions. An optimization model has also been developed as part of this research and can be used to maximize the benefit of deploying other emission reduction technologies (that are proven effective) among TxDOT’s non-road diesel fleet. KW - Air quality management KW - Construction and maintenance equipment KW - Diesel engine exhaust gases KW - Diesel engines KW - Emission control devices KW - Measurement KW - Nitrogen oxides KW - Portable Emissions Measurement System KW - Texas UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5955-2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/984439 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226628 AU - Chaudhary, Nadeem A AU - Chu, Chi-Leung AU - Sunkari, Srinivasa R AU - Balke, Kevin N AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Guidelines for Operating Congested Traffic Signals PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 120p AB - The objective of this project was to develop guidelines for mitigating congestion in traffic signal systems. As part of the project, researchers conducted a thorough review of literature and developed preliminary guidelines for combating congestion. Then, the researchers conducted a survey of selected practitioners in Texas to get feedback on their concerns about congestion and opinions about a list of strategies developed after literature review. Researchers also conducted simulation studies to analyze the impact of bay length, traffic distribution, and phasing sequence selection on the throughput capacity of left-turn bay and adjacent through lane under loaded traffic conditions. Researchers also conducted field and simulation studies to show the applications of preliminary guidelines. Finally, they modified guidelines to account for lessons learned through field studies. KW - Throughput (Traffic) KW - Traffic congestion KW - Traffic distribution KW - Traffic queuing KW - Traffic signal control systems KW - Traffic signal phases KW - Traffic simulation UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5998-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/982136 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226620 AU - Freeman, Thomas J AU - Button, Joe W AU - Estakhri, Cindy K AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Effective Prime Coats for Compacted Pavement Bases PY - 2010/08//Technical Report SP - 150p AB - Prime coats have long been used to seal the surface pores in the base, thus reducing the migration of moisture and absorption of the first application of surface treatment binder, strengthen the granular base near its surface by binding the finer particles of aggregate, help protect the base from inclement weather and limited vehicular traffic before the next pavement layer is constructed, and promote adhesion between a granular base and a subsequently applied bituminous surface by precoating the surface of the base and by penetrating the voids near the surface. The main objective of this research project was to evaluate the effectiveness of prime coats and determine which combinations of methods and materials provide the most benefit to TxDOT. Testing methods and equipment were developed to measure the penetration of the prime coat into the base course and to determine the increase in adhesion and cohesion at the surface of the base course provided by the prime coat. KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Compaction KW - Paving KW - Prime coats KW - Primers (Materials) KW - Road construction KW - Sealing compounds UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5635-1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/984416 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01226612 AU - Middleton, Dan AU - Longmire, Ryan AU - Bullock, Darcy M AU - Charara, Hassan AU - Bullock, Darcy AU - Texas Transportation Institute AU - Texas Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Proposed Test Protocol for Video Imaging Detection at Intersection Stop Lines PY - 2010/08 SP - 30p AB - Test protocols for non-loop detectors have often required comparing the performance attributes of these detectors with those of loops or other point detectors, or to manual counts. However, that comparison is not always appropriate for a variety of reasons, and it does not provide all of the critical information needed to make acceptance or rejection decisions. In the case of video image vehicle detection systems (VIVDS), comparison with loops (i.e., simple count comparisons) provides only a limited glimpse on performance since the two systems have different perspectives on approaching vehicles. In all cases except those in which cameras are oriented vertically downward, cameras and loops or other pavement-based detectors detect vehicles at different points. Also, for VIVDS, factors such as the “aspect ratio” (ratio of horizontal distance to detection zones divided by the camera height) vary significantly, and these variables significantly impact the accuracy of camera-processor systems. The purpose of this document is to report on the development of a proposed concept for a VIVDS test protocol. KW - Evaluation and assessment KW - Intersections KW - Stop lines KW - Test protocols KW - Video imaging detectors UR - http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6030-P2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/982120 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01225592 AU - Vachal, Kimberly AU - Malchose, Donald AU - Benson, Laurel AU - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute AU - North Dakota Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Safety Insights and Indicators for North Dakota’s Teen Drivers PY - 2010/08 SP - 39p AB - North Dakota teens have relatively high risk for crash injury and death. Analysis of a survey completed by 2,284 teens in the state shows age, driving exposure, driving experience, and demographics are interrelated factors in safety outcomes. The oldest teens are least likely to be consistent seat belt users. School grades are a strong demographic in teen driving safety – 80% of teens that reported A’s in school report high seat belt use compared to 25% of teens that reported F’s. Seat belt use is significantly higher among female teens, and for teens located in rural and western areas. Seat belt use has a negative correlation with crash involvement and ticket incidence. Models of safety indicators for licensed teen crashes, tickets, and seat belts are developed to better understand interrelated factors. Low driving exposure, high school grades, and high seat belt use are strong factors in positive safety outcomes. Control variables show safety outcomes vary by geography and region. Teens that completed private driver education did report a significantly higher rate of ticketing, compared to those with public education, but this relationship is not significant when other factors, such as age, geography, and experience, are controlled in the safety outcome model for tickets. KW - Academic grades KW - Age KW - Crash exposure KW - Crash injuries KW - Crash risk forecasting KW - Demographics KW - Driver education KW - Driver experience KW - Fatalities KW - Gender KW - North Dakota KW - Seat belt use KW - Seat belts KW - Surveys KW - Teenage drivers KW - Traffic violations UR - http://www.ugpti.org/pubs/pdf/DP230.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/986734 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01225590 AU - Diefenderfer, Stacey D AU - Virginia Transportation Research Council AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Analysis of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide Performance Predictions: Influence of Asphalt Material Input Properties PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 49p AB - The "Guide for Mechanistic-Empirical Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures" (MEPDG) is an improved methodology for pavement design and the evaluation of paving materials. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is expecting to transition to using the MEPDG methodology in the near future. The purpose of this research was to support this implementation effort. A catalog of mixture properties from 11 asphalt mixtures (3 surface mixtures, 4 intermediate mixtures, and 4 base mixtures) was compiled along with the associated asphalt binder properties to provide input values. The predicted fatigue and rutting distresses were used to evaluate the sensitivity of the MEPDG software to differences in the mixture properties and to assess the future needs for implementation of the MEPDG. Two pavement sections were modeled: one on a primary roadway and one on an interstate roadway. The MEPDG was used with the default calibration factors. Pavement distress data were compiled for the interstate and primary route corresponding to the modeled sections and were compared to the MEPDG-predicted distresses. Predicted distress quantities for fatigue cracking and rutting were compared to the calculated distress model predictive errors to determine if there were significant differences between material property input levels. There were differences between all rutting and fatigue predictions using Level 1, 2, and 3 asphalt material inputs, although not statistically significant. Various combinations of Level 3 inputs showed expected trends in rutting predictions when increased binder grades were used, but the differences were not statistically significant when the calibration model error was considered. Pavement condition data indicated that fatigue distress predictions were approximately comparable to the pavement condition data for the interstate pavement structure, but fatigue was over-predicted for the primary route structure. Fatigue model predictive errors were greater than the distress predictions for all predictions. Based on the findings of this study, further refinement or calibration of the predictive models is necessary before the benefits associated with their use can be realized. A local calibration process should be performed to provide calibration and verification of the predictive models so that they may accurately predict the conditions of Virginia roadways. Until then, implementation using Level 3 inputs is recommended. If the models are modified, additional evaluation will be necessary to determine if the other recommendations of this study are impacted. Further studies should be performed using Level 1 and Level 2 input properties of additional asphalt mixtures to validate the trends seen in the Level 3 input predictions and isolate the effects of binder grade changes on the predicted distresses. Further, additional asphalt mixture and binder properties should be collected to populate fully a catalog for VDOT’s future implementation use. The implementation of these recommendations and use of the MEPDG are expected to provide VDOT with a more efficient and effective means for pavement design and analysis. The use of optimal pavement designs will provide economic benefits in terms of initial construction and lifetime maintenance costs. KW - Asphalt mixtures KW - Fatigue cracking KW - Mathematical models KW - Mathematical prediction KW - Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide KW - Pavement design KW - Pavement distress KW - Pavement performance KW - Properties of materials KW - Rutting UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-r3.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/986726 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01225589 AU - Diefenderfer, Brian K AU - Maupin, G W AU - Virginia Transportation Research Council AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Field Trials of High-Modulus High-Binder-Content Base Layer Hot-Mix Asphalt Mixtures PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 36p AB - The purpose of this study was to document the field experience of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the use of high-modulus high-binder-content (HMHB) base layer hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. Information was gathered with regard to the construction of HMHB base mixtures at three field trial sites in Virginia, and laboratory tests were conducted on samples that were gathered before and during construction. The three locations were the sites of deep rehabilitation or new construction, and HMA base mixtures were used at designed asphalt content, designed asphalt content plus 0.4% additional asphalt, and/or designed asphalt content plus 0.8% additional asphalt. Two of the field trial locations had no construction-related issues; difficulties during compaction occurred at the third. Laboratory testing of materials collected from this location showed the mixture to have a low air void content, a high percentage of voids filled with asphalt, and a binder performance grade that was lower than expected. This was also the only location from which materials were collected for fatigue testing, the results of which did not show a clear relationship between binder content and fatigue life. It is thought that the mixture production and construction issues at this location were site specific and not generally indicative of a larger trend when HMHB mixtures are used. The research showed that HMHB mixtures incorporating 0.4% additional asphalt binder could be successfully constructed but was unable to determine if the same was true of HMHB mixtures incorporating 0.8% additional asphalt binder. Further study may be needed to determine the maximum additional asphalt binder that can be successfully incorporated. Additional studies using repeated-load permanent deformation should be conducted to determine if a cutoff value (or a range) of the flow number can be established to determine optimum performance. This study documented the field and laboratory knowledge gained by VDOT when producing and placing HMHB mixture test sections in an effort to achieve a long-lasting perpetual-type flexible pavement. These designs offer the potential to reduce fatigue cracking by incorporating additional asphalt binder and reducing the void content of the mixture. The use of an adjusted binder grade or RAP to maintain the necessary stiffness for high binder contents should provide the necessary stiffness to minimize the susceptibility for rutting during service. Quantification of the economic benefits of using HMHB mixtures is a future goal that can be realized after longer term study of field performance. KW - Air voids KW - Asphalt content KW - Base course (Pavements) KW - Binder content KW - Bituminous binders KW - Dynamic modulus of elasticity KW - Field tests KW - Hot mix asphalt KW - Laboratory tests KW - Pavement design KW - Perpetual pavements KW - Rehabilitation (Maintenance) KW - Road construction KW - Stiffness KW - Test sections KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-r2.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/986723 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01225588 AU - Hamidi, Ajmal AU - Fontaine, Michael D AU - Demetsky, Michael J AU - Virginia Transportation Research Council AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - A Planning-Level Methodology for Identifying High-Crash Sections of Virginia’s Primary System PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 63p AB - The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been developing safety performance functions (SPFs) as a way to identify sites with a potential for safety improvement more effectively. An SPF estimates the expected safety performance of a roadway as a function of its characteristics. Using SPFs, VDOT can identify which roads have a significantly higher number of crashes than would be expected based on site conditions. Other VDOT studies have developed SPFs with a microscopic perspective that separately examine individual intersections or discrete roadway segments. The purpose of this study was to develop an SPF-based methodology to conduct more intermediate-scale safety analyses. VDOT’s Traffic Engineering Division indicated that such a methodology would be useful for corridor screening and planning-level applications. The scope of the study was limited to the following roadway types in Virginia’s primary system: rural two-lane, rural multilane divided, rural multilane undivided, urban two-lane, urban multilane divided, and urban multilane undivided. For each type, roadway inventory data, traffic volume data, and crash data from 2003 through 2007 were compiled and integrated into a database. This study then took an approach that diverged from that of other SPF research to develop intermediate-scale SPFs. Instead of crashes at intersections and on roadway segments being separated, intersection and segment crashes were combined and mapped onto the appropriate roadway inventory links. In addition, site aggregation was performed to combine similar, adjacent roadway links into longer aggregated sites. SPFs were then generated from these aggregated sites through regression analysis. A site prioritization demonstration was then performed using the aggregate SPFs and aggregate sites to create lists of sites with the highest potential for safety improvement. Finally, a comparison of these lists and those generated by the critical rate method produced quantitative evidence of the advantage of the developed SPF-based methodology over the traditionally used critical rate method. Once implemented, the methodology developed in this study should enable VDOT to conduct corridor screening and planning-level analyses in a more effective and cost-efficient manner. KW - Crash data KW - Databases KW - Divided highways KW - High risk locations KW - Highway corridors KW - Multilane highways KW - Regression analysis KW - Rural highways KW - Safety improvement KW - Safety Performance Functions KW - Two lane highways KW - Urban highways KW - Virginia UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-r4.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/986730 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01221037 AU - Miller, John S AU - Virginia Transportation Research Council AU - Virginia Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration TI - Feasibility of Using Jobs/Housing Balance in Virginia Statewide Planning PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 78p AB - The Code of Virginia (§ 33.1-23.03) requires that the Statewide Transportation Plan include “quantifiable measures and achievable goals relating to . . . job-to-housing ratios.” Such ratios reflect jobs/housing balance, defined as an equivalence in the numbers of an area’s jobs and area residents seeking those jobs. This report identifies planning policies based on jobs/housing balance, examines the impact of such balance on commuting, and demonstrates how to measure this balance using Virginia data. The research suggests that the Code requirement may be satisfied by using the ratio of jobs to labor force, as this ratio is highly correlated with the job-to-housing ratio (based on examining 1980, 1990, and 2000 data) and is computationally feasible, at the jurisdictional level, on an annual basis. Alternative approaches for satisfying the requirements of the Code are also described in the report; these alternative approaches require additional effort but may be productive in certain circumstances. A simple longitudinal model developed using changes in Virginia jurisdiction commute time from 1990 through 2000 estimates that the average impact of a given urban jurisdiction improving its balance by 20% is a reduction in commute time of about 2 minutes. This effect is evident only if several factors, such as the manner in which the urban region is defined, are carefully controlled. Otherwise, there is no significant impact of a change in jobs/housing balance on a given jurisdiction’s commute time. This finding is within the wide range of impacts of jobs/housing balance noted in the literature. KW - Commuting KW - Jobs-housing balance KW - Land use planning KW - Sustainable transportation KW - Transportation planning KW - Urban areas KW - Virginia KW - Work trips UR - http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-r1.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/981980 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01220483 AU - Gao, H Oliver AU - Stasko, Timon H AU - Cornell University AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Diesel Retrofit Assessment for NYS DOT to Retrofit its Existing Engine Fleet PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 121p AB - The NYS DEC has required the use of retrofit technologies for various state agency, state public authority, and regional public authority heavy duty vehicles, as well as heavy duty vehicles used on behalf of such agencies and authorities. This report was compiled to assist NYS DOT in its efforts to comply in the most cost effective manner possible, without compromising its core functions. The results of the literature review and key points from conversations with fleet managers and retrofit/engine manufacturers form the basis of the quantitative analysis of benefits and costs calculated for various retrofit technologies. These benefits and costs naturally depend on many aspects of the vehicle in question, such as its size, model year, and usage pattern. In the long term, the most cost effective way to reduce PM emissions is to replace the oldest trucks. Another decently cost effective option is to install level 1 retrofits on relatively new class 8 dump trucks, starting with the newest which are compatible. While the long term cost effectiveness should be a key factor in developing emission reduction strategies, there are several other important factors to consider: near-term budget constraint; other possible options; and vehicle and duty cycle compatibility. KW - Benefit cost analysis KW - Diesel engine exhaust gases KW - Diesel engines KW - Environmental impacts KW - Environmental mitigation KW - New York (State) KW - Retrofitting UR - http://www.utrc2.org/research/assets/159/DOT_Diesel_Retrofit1.pdf UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-07-12%20Final%20report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/980829 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01220474 AU - Gao, H Oliver AU - Sonntag, Darrell AU - Morse, Patrick AU - Cornell University AU - New York State Department of Transportation AU - University Transportation Research Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Air Quality and Energy Impacts of NYSDOT Highway ROW Management PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 101p AB - Mowing the highway right-of-way is important for the safety of roadway users and maintaining the highway infrastructure. However, little quantitative data are available on the energy use and air quality impacts of highway mowing activities. In this report, fuel usage and exhaust emission rates are reported from a study that monitored tractors operating in real-world conditions by the New York State Department of Transportation. The emissions and fuel consumption from the mowing practices of twelve tractors were compared based on miles-mowed per hour and acres-mowed per hour. The distance-based comparison revealed that there was substantial variability in emissions and fuel rates due to the technology of each tractor. Due to the high fuel rates of the relatively newer (2004) and larger tractors, the absolute emissions levels from these tractors were comparable to the older 1980’s era tractors. In the area-based comparison, the operating conditions and mower type were the dominant variables determining the emission and energy rates. The sickle bar, flail and rotary equipped mowers had comparable fuel consumption and emission rates. Mowing over the guiderails, which use a large tractor and a small cutting head, had fuel consumption and emission rates 2 to 4 times higher than the other mowing activities. Highway mowing activities are an important source of air-borne pollutants and this study showed that mowing the median or highway roadside can be equivalent to 20-60 passes of a 1990’s era heavy-duty diesel truck for CO2 and NOx emissions, and 50-60 passes for PM emissions. KW - Air quality KW - Diesel engine exhaust gases KW - Energy consumption KW - Environmental impacts KW - Fuel consumption KW - Maintenance equipment KW - Mowing KW - New York (State) KW - Right of way (Land) UR - http://www.utrc2.org/research/assets/160/DOT_Modeling_Emission1.pdf UR - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-07-13_NYSDOT%20ROW%20Emissions%20Final_Report_Sept_2_2010.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/980825 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01219907 AU - Fay, Laura AU - Akin, Michelle AU - Wang, Shaowei AU - Shi, Xianming AU - Williams, Dan AU - Western Transportation Institute AU - Wisconsin Department of Transportation AU - Department of Transportation TI - Correlating Lab Testing and Field Performance for Deicing and Anti‐icing Chemicals (Phase 1) PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 106p AB - Laboratory tests are often used to evaluate deicer performance, but they have been shown to correlate poorly to actual field performance. This report provides a comprehensive review of literature related to laboratory and field testing of deicers, from deicer performance to friction. Laboratory testing has ranged from simple experiments with few parameters to more complex tests that mimic plowing, pavement type, and a range of temperatures. However, a laboratory experiment that would be expected to correlate well to deicer field performance was not found. Additionally, equipment used to measure friction in a laboratory was very different than the large‐scale, high speed devices used in the field. Finally, the state of practice regarding friction measurements in the aviation transportation sector may be de‐emphasized in light of complications posed by reliability, repeatability, time‐stability, and correlation to aircraft braking performance. After reviewing the literature and interviewing 13 experts with extensive experience testing deicers and measuring friction, the following recommendations were made. Melting rate should be measured. The parameters that should be included in the laboratory test are: air temperature, pavement temperature, relative humidity, pavement type, and uniform snow/ice. Traffic and a plowing mechanism should also be included. Finally, two or three ways to measure friction should be tried in the early stages to ensure reliable measurements for a variety of conditions. KW - Atmospheric temperature KW - Deicing chemicals KW - Field tests KW - Friction KW - Humidity KW - Laboratory tests KW - Literature reviews KW - Measurement KW - Melting KW - Surface temperature KW - Types of pavements KW - Winter maintenance UR - http://wisdotresearch.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/10-17deicingcorrelation-f.pdf UR - http://www.clearroads.org/research-projects/downloads/Final%20-%20Correlating%20Lab%20Testing%20and%20Field%20Performance%20for%20Deicing%20and%20Anti-Icing%20Chemicals.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/973413 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01208056 AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Bureau of Transportation Statistic Special Report: Effects of the February 2010 Snowstorms on Airline Performance PY - 2010/08 SP - 5p AB - Several snowstorms in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast during February 2010 disrupted air travel not only at airports blanketed with snow but at airports across the United States and its territories. Altogether, more than 20,000 flights, or 4.2 percent of all flights scheduled during the month, were canceled due to weather. This was the highest weather cancellation rate for any month since the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) began collecting data on the extent and causes of cancellations in June 2003. The national ramifications shows the origin and destination for air travel segments (originating from a major airport) canceled because of weather on Feb. 10, 2010 the day with the most scheduled flight disruptions in February. From the 35 major airports, all flights were canceled on 510 segments, accounting for 20 percent of all scheduled departures (2,350 flights) from the 35 airports. All flight segments departing from two major airports Baltimore Washington (BWI) and Washington Reagan (DCA), and two small airports Long Island-Islip (ISP) and Atlantic City (ACY) were canceled due to weather. In looking at the impacts of weather on on-time airline performance in February 2010, this report uses BTS Airline On-Time Performance data. Analysis shows: February 2010 had the greatest proportion of weather-related cancellations on record, with 4.2 percent of flights canceled (20,206 flights). The previous record was 2.8 percent (15,872 flights) in February 2007. On the peak day, February 10, 23 percent of all scheduled flights (3,932 flights) were canceled nationwide due mainly to the near or complete closure of several large Northeastern hub airports. Cancellations from storms over the entire month are estimated to have cost $80100 million. KW - Air transportation KW - Aviation safety KW - Blizzards KW - Economic impacts KW - Flight cancellations KW - Flight delays KW - Inclement weather KW - Snowstorms KW - Travel disruptions KW - Weather conditions UR - http://www.bts.gov/publications/special_reports_and_issue_briefs/special_report/2010_07/html/entire.html UR - http://www.bts.gov/publications/special_reports_and_issue_briefs/special_report/2010_07/pdf/entire.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968949 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207443 AU - Hida, Susan AU - Ibrahim, Firas I Sheikh AU - Capers, Harry A AU - Bailey, Gregory L AU - Friedland, Ian M AU - Kapur, Jugesh AU - Martin, Barney T AU - Mertz, Dennis R AU - Perfetti, Gregory R AU - Saad, Thomas AU - Sivakumar, Bala AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) AU - National Cooperative Highway Research Program TI - Assuring Bridge Safety and Serviceability in Europe PY - 2010/08 SP - 60p AB - U.S. engineers need advanced tools and protocols to better assess and assure safety and serviceability of bridges. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of Europe to identify best practices and processes to assure bridge safety and serviceability. The scan team found that the European highway agencies expect their bridge programs to not only ensure user safety, but also to meet serviceability expectations and enhance capital investment decisions. The team gathered information on safety and serviceability practices and technologies related to design, construction, and operations. Team recommendations for U.S. implementation include developing a national strategy to increase use of refined analysis for bridge design and evaluation, encouraging States to use refined analysis combined with reliability analysis to avoid unnecessary rehabilitation or replacement of bridges, and encouraging adoption of the concept of annual probability of failure to quantify safety in probability-based design and rating specifications. KW - Best practices KW - Bridge design KW - Europe KW - Failure probability KW - Finite element method KW - Quality assurance KW - Quality control KW - Reliability analysis KW - Safety KW - Serviceability KW - Study tours UR - http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/pl10014/pl10014.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968177 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207199 AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) AU - National Cooperative Highway Research Program TI - Public Policies for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility: An Implementation Project of the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility International Scan PY - 2010/08 SP - 68p AB - In May 2009, a team of 12 transportation professionals from the United States with expertise in bicycling and walking visited five countries in Europe to identify and assess effective approaches to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility. The countries visited—Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—were chosen because of their innovative approaches to pedestrian and bicycle transportation, as well as the potential transferability of their policies and practices. Later in 2009, the international scan team developed a summary report that outlined its findings and a list of recommended implementation actions. One of the highest rated implementation actions was the development of a policy review for bicycling and walking safety and mobility. This report is the result of that recommended implementation action. The purpose of this report is to identify and provide examples of effective policies and implementing programs that support pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility. The examples are from cities in the United States, as well as from other countries (in particular, the five countries visited in the international scan). KW - Bicycle safety KW - Bicycling KW - Denmark KW - Germany KW - Livable communities KW - Mobility KW - Pedestrian safety KW - Policy KW - Study tours KW - Sweden KW - Switzerland KW - United Kingdom KW - United States KW - Walking UR - http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/library/details.cfm?id=4572 UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968124 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207197 AU - Washburn, Scott S AU - Li, Jing AU - University of Florida, Gainesville AU - Center for Multimodal Solutions for Congestion Mitigation AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Development of a Simulation Program for Two-Lane Highway Analysis PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 63p AB - In this project, the objective of implementing into CORSIM the ability to model two-lane highways was accomplished. More specifically, the modeling capabilities and features incorporated into CORSIM under this project include: (1) Basic two-lane highway segments with passing maneuvers (including passing one vehicle or multiple vehicles at a time) in the oncoming lane; (2) Two-lane highway segments with a passing lane; (3) Two-lane highway segments connecting to signalized intersections; (4) New TRF file inputs that allow the user to modify certain parameters of the two-lane highway modeling logic; and (5) New performance measure outputs [e.g., Percent Time-Spent-Following (PTSF) and follower density] and passing maneuver data outputs. With this new simulation capability in CORSIM, traffic operations on complex two-lane highways (e.g., two-lane highway with occasional signalized intersections) can be analyzed. KW - CORSIM (Traffic simulation model) KW - Highway operations KW - Passing KW - Passing lanes KW - Signalized intersections KW - Traffic simulation KW - Two lane highways UR - http://cms.ce.ufl.edu/research/cms_2008_002_final_report.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/45000/45600/45638/cms_2008_002_final_report.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968126 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01207154 AU - Prinzo, O Veronika AU - Campbell, Alan AU - Hendrix, Alfred M AU - Hendrix, Ruby AU - Federal Aviation Administration AU - Federal Aviation Administration TI - U.S. Airline Transport Pilot International Flight Language Experiences, Report 4: Non-Native English-Speaking Controllers Communicating With Native English-Speaking Pilots PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 42p AB - In 1998, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) took a heightened interest in the role of language in airline accidents. Member states agreed to take steps to ensure air traffic control (ATC) personnel and flight crews involved in flight operations in airspace where the use of the English language is required were proficient in conducting and comprehending radiotelephony communications in English. This report is a compilation of responses and comments by a group of U.S. pilots from American, Continental, Delta, and United Airlines of their difficulties in international operations. In this report, their responses to questions 39-45 are presented as a compiled narrative. The authors derived six major thrusts: (1) The English language proficiency of non-native English-speaking controllers may be inadequate for high workload conditions; (2) Pilots develop and use different strategies to improve ATC communications once they determine the controller’s language proficiency; (3) Pilots describe ATC communications between users of the same and different languages; (4) Language switching distracts pilots and limits understanding, adversely affects situational awareness, leaves them with feelings of uncertainty, and increases their workload; (5) Language barriers most affect situational awareness just prior to top-of-descent and during taxi; and (6) How pilots compensate for reductions in situational awareness. The authors offer 16 recommendations to improve communication practices ranging from developing standardized and secure English language testing for use by all ICAO member states, to realistic emergency and nonroutine scenarios and simulations demonstrating use of conversational English to enhance datalink for surveillance and communications. KW - Air pilots KW - Air traffic control KW - Air traffic controllers KW - Communication KW - English language KW - Proficiency KW - Voice communication UR - http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2010s/media/201012.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/935415 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01206865 AU - Barbeau, Sean AU - Georggi, Nevine Labib AU - Winters, Philip AU - National Center for Transit Research AU - Florida Department of Transportation AU - Department of Transportation TI - Travel Assistance Device (TAD) – Deployment to Transit Agencies PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 103p AB - The ability to travel where and when one desires is a basic requirement for independent living that most people take for granted. To travel independently, a transit rider practices at least 23 skills including finding the route, arriving at the correct stop on time, and determining when to exit at destination. Travel trainers who provide one-on-one instruction on public transportation, report that recognizing a landmark near the desired bus stop, requesting a stop at the proper time, and exiting the bus at the destination stop are among the most challenging skills to master for individuals with cognitive disabilities. Parents/guardians are often reluctant to encourage the use of fixed-route transit due to their own hesitations about a person's abilities and well being. Prior studies by the research team developed the Travel Assistance Device (TAD) mobile phone software application that addresses these challenges and supplements the trainer’s instruction. TAD provides various informational prompts including the audio messages “Get ready” and “Pull the cord now!” and vibrates to alert the rider to pull the stop cord. These prompts are delivered to the rider in real-time as he or she rides the bus using the embedded global positioning system (GPS) technology in off-the-shelf cell phones. TAD’s real-time location of the rider can be viewed by the travel trainer or family member through a Web page. Previous testing of TAD with the local transit trainer and 12 cognitively disabled individuals on the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) bus system successfully demonstrated this proof of concept. Even with TAD’s standards-based approach, the challenges of deploying TAD to other areas – both technical and resource requirements – were largely unknown. This project deployed TAD to four additional transit agencies in Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota, and Pinellas counties in Florida and identified the technical, policy, and administrative hurdles for the adoption of TAD at transit agencies. These deployment tests demonstrate that the TAD application performs successfully in additional cities by using commercially available GPS-enabled cell phones and existing bus stop and schedule datasets provided by transit agencies in the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format. The diversity in how transit agencies provide travel training services, and the extent of the assistance provided by travel trainers, will affect the implementation of TAD. In particular, transit agencies will likely require a local champion, at least in the preliminary stage, to coordinate with early users of TAD at the agency and facilitate a smooth adoption of the technology. Furthermore, having the buy-in of top level management seems to be a necessary component to testing TAD, especially at agencies that do not have designated travel trainers. It was concluded that the availability of an active travel-training program better facilitates TAD deployment to that agency. A human behavior analysis study discussed in this report provided supporting evidence that TAD has a positive effect on the ability of individuals with cognitive disabilities to travel independently using public transportation. Implementation of this research will be the operation of the TAD system to serve transit users, particularly novice riders, seniors, tourists, and individuals with disabilities. To achieve that objective, USF’s Division of Patents and Licensing has licensed TAD to Dajuta, a Florida company that will handle the daily operation and support of the TAD system and train travel instructors to use TAD with their trainees. KW - Aged KW - Cellular telephones KW - Cognitive impairment KW - Education and training methods KW - Global Positioning System KW - Persons with disabilities KW - Public transit KW - Tourists KW - Transit operating agencies KW - Transit riders KW - Travel assistance devices KW - Travel training UR - http://www.fdot.gov/research/Completed_Proj/Summary_PTO/FDOT_BDK85_977-12_rpt.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34000/34053/FDOT_BDK85_977-12_rpt.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968067 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01206864 AU - Hale, W Micah AU - Tackett, Andrew M AU - Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Examining the Effects of Mixer Type and Temperature on the Properties of Ultra-High Performance Concrete PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 97p AB - Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is a highly advanced material that has been created as a result of many years of concrete research and development. UHPC addresses a number of concerns that plague most concrete types by taking advantage of today’s latest technology in order to produce this innovative product. Although UHPC is known for producing many beneficial qualities for concrete users, because of the unique makeup of the material, there are some areas that remain unexplored. For instance, the mixer typically specified to batch UHPC is a high shear/energy mixer (e.g., pan). Currently, little information is known as to whether a beneficial or negative impact may be experienced in concrete properties [e.g., flow, strength, modulus of elasticity (MOE)] when a lower shear/energy mixer (e.g., drum/ready-mix truck) is used. Another point of interest that has not been explored is the effect on fresh concrete temperature produced when the dry constituent mixing materials (also referred to as premix), such as portland cement, aggregate, silica fume, and ground quartz, are placed at some specific temperature and batched with ice as a replacement for mixing water. Because of these two uncertainties, the goal of this thesis is to rectify such unknowns. Two studies were fashioned addressing the issues listed above. Both studies documented UHPC fresh (flow and temperature) and hardened properties (MOE and compressive strength) to gather information for analysis purposes. The influence of ice on resultant batch temperature could not be determined for the small pan made batches. The drum mixed batches, with their larger volume of materials, proved more beneficial for analysis. Flows for both mixers were erratic over time, but were generally within the acceptable specifications; this fact was dependent upon the type of mixer used. Two different curing procedures were used during the research period. The type of curing regimen used largely influenced UHPC hardened properties. Depending upon the type of curing method used, a stark difference in ultimate strength and MOE values could be observed. KW - Compressive strength KW - Concrete curing KW - Concrete flowability KW - Concrete mixers KW - Fresh concrete KW - Hardened concrete KW - Modulus of elasticity KW - Temperature KW - Ultimate strength KW - Ultra high performance concrete UR - http://www.arkansastrc.com/MBTC%20REPORTS/MBTC%203012.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34000/34057/MBTC_DOT_3012.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968066 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01206859 AU - Mason, Scott J AU - Pohl, Edward A AU - Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Network Design Analysis for Special Needs Student Services PY - 2010/08//Final Report SP - 40p AB - Population growth can lead to public school capacity issues, as well as increased school bus utilization. This increased utilization, in turn, can result in longer school bus transport times for both regular and special needs/medically fragile students. Special needs or medically fragile students are children with special health care needs who are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition. These students require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by typical children. It is common practice to provide special needs students with specially equipped buses and/or special classroom environments with specific facilities or services. However, the assignment of student services to schools is regularly made without regard to bus transportation considerations for special needs students. Considering the potentially negative impact of long school bus rides on these students, the authors present the first systematic, integrated analyses of special needs student busing and classroom assignments. The authors provide models and algorithms for maintaining administration-based transportation financial performance measures while simultaneously designing smarter transportation networks. The smarter networks produced by these models assign special needs services to schools in concert with considering both student geographical location and service needs. In the future, the authors hope to pilot these model results in local school districts to assess the efficacy of the proposed methods in practice. KW - Algorithms KW - Bus transit KW - Mathematical models KW - Network design KW - School children KW - Special needs school children KW - Travel time KW - Trip length UR - http://www.arkansastrc.com/MBTC%20REPORTS/MBTC%203019.pdf UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/34000/34000/34056/MBTC_DOT_3019.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/968065 ER - TY - RPRT AN - 01206821 AU - Qiao, Pizhong AU - Washington State University, Pullman AU - TransNow, Transportation Northwest AU - Washington State Department of Transportation AU - Federal Highway Administration AU - Research and Innovative Technology Administration TI - Seismic Performance and Smart Health Monitoring of Concrete with Recycled Aggregate: Part I: Smart Health Monitoring of Concrete with Recycled Aggregate PY - 2010/08//Final Research Report SP - 69p AB - Concrete is one of the most widely used artificial materials in construction, and the consumption of cement and concrete is maintained at a rapid rate of increase. According to statistics from the European Cement Society, the world's cement production was about 10 million tons in 1900, but it increased to 6,400 million tons in 1998. Concrete is a composite material, consisting of aggregates and paste. Paste is a continuous phase matrix, in which granular aggregates are embedded. To produce the granular aggregates in concrete, not only a lot of the natural resource of stone materials is needed, but also the ecological environment is adversely impacted. On the other hand, when concrete structures reach the limit of their service life, a large amount of old constructions need to be dismantled in addition to natural disasters’ destructive effects, leading to plenty of waste concrete. As a sort of waste produced by demolishing old buildings, waste concrete will result in serious environmental pollution and vast resource extravagance if it is not reutilized or recycled. To protect the environment and maintain sustainable development in construction, the technology of recycled concrete is becoming one of the demanding research fields. The frame construction using recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) has been commonly considered in engineering practice, and its ability to resist earthquake loading is important. However, little or no research on seismic performance of RAC structures has been explored. The objectives of the proposed study are two-fold: (1) to evaluate the seismic performance of RAC structures, and (2) to assess the condition and detect damage in RAC using embedded smart piezoelectric sensors/actuators. A combined experimental, theoretical and numerical approach will be considered to evaluate the seismic performance of RAC and develop the condition assessment and damage detection strategy using smart materials. KW - Earthquake engineering KW - Piezoelectric sensors KW - Recycled concrete KW - Recycled materials KW - Smart materials KW - Smart structures KW - Structural health monitoring KW - Sustainable development UR - http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/33000/33900/33994/TNW2010-05.pdf UR - https://trid.trb.org/view/935542 ER -