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The Impacts Of Biofuels On Transportation And Logistics In Indiana, Frank Dooley, Wallace Tyner, Kumares C. Sinha, Justin Quear, Lydia Cox, Maria Cox

JTRP Technical Reports

Like the rest of the US, the ethanol industry in Indiana has rapidly expanded, growing from one plant in 2006 to a projected 13 by 2010. One result of this expansion is that truck and rail traffic flows in Indiana are shifting, as more corn and beans are processed in state. Most of the change in transportation requirements will likely be concentrated in regions of Indiana where the ethanol plants are constructed.

The goal of this work was to determine how the entry of ethanol and biodiesel plants changes the inbound and outbound transportation flows of corn, soybeans, DDGS, and …

Applicability Of Borman Decision Tree Its Management Tool To Other Expressway Systems, Ahmed S. Soliman, Robert Bertram Jacko, Barry K. Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

An empirical model called the Traffic Air Quality Model (TAQ) was developed from meteorological and PM2.5 measurements adjacent to the Borman Expressway in Northwest Indiana to estimate PM2.5 road emissions. It concluded that on average a 74% improvement in air quality is expected (based on reduction of mass emitted per mile [g/mi]) when the average Borman speed range is improved from < 30 mph to >50 mph. An additional 39% (on average) improvement in the PM_2.5 emissions on the Borman Expressway was found when traffic flow speeds increased from 55 mi/h to 75 mi/h. The TAQ model was found to perform well when tested …

Reduction Of Automobile And Aircraft Collisions With Wildlife In Indiana, David J. Glista, J. Andrew Dewoody, Travis Lee Devault

JTRP Technical Reports

Conflicts between wildlife and human interests have increased in recent decades due to growing human populations and the resulting expansion of anthropogenic pressures into wildlife habitat. Our overall objectives were to evaluate the the potential impacts of wildlife on transportation in Indiana and vice-versa. The results presented in this final report summarize two aspects of our research: the impact of automotive traffic on wildlife (“road kill”; Part I), and the wildlife hazards present at general aviation airports around the state (“airstrike”; Part II). The road kill dataset indicated that at 13 survey routes traversing 180 linear km of road, 11,068 …

Indiana Furniture Supply Chain, Ananth V. Iyer, Svenja Sommer, Amanda Thompson, Justina Mikals

JTRP Technical Reports

An initial survey assessing overall supply chain issues was reviewed with twenty Indiana wood products companies. A longer follow up survey accompanied by in-person interviews, assessed more specific supply chain issues, and was reviewed with ten Dubois County wood products companies. From this, a supply chain map of major suppliers and customers located both inside and outside of Indiana was developed. The research also attempted to capture the industry trends and characteristics in a formal model, to explore the impact of INDOT projects on the competitiveness of the industry.

Continuation Of Research To Determine The Effectiveness Of Its On Borman Expressway, Robert Bertram Jacko, William H. Schneider, Ahmed S. Soliman, Barry K. Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

This study is a continuation and the final phase of the SPR-2338 project that involves monitoring the ambient air quality levels adjacent to the Borman Expressway. The purpose of this phase was to classify the traffic conditions along the Borman Expressway in terms of ambient air quality levels. The duration of the phase was from April 1, 2002 to April 30, 2004. The study has shown that, in a close proximity to the Borman Expressway, air quality levels mirror the dynamic nature of traffic along the Borman, despite being surrounded by major industrial stationary sources. Therefore, a descriptive model was …

Effectiveness Of The Borman Expressway Its Program On Local Air Quality, Timothy M. Labreche, Robert Bertram Jacko, Barry K. Partridge, William H. Schneider, Ahmed S. Soliman

JTRP Technical Reports

Particulate Matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), and meteorological parameters were monitored at 10 second averaging intervals adjacent the Borman Expressway in Northwestern Indiana before and during the implementation of an Intelligent Transportation System. Traffic data was collected from sensors on the expressway. The high-resolution data permitted the expressway contribution to local air quality to be separated from background components of local air quality and significant correlations were made between pollutant flux and traffic flow and pollutant flux and highway occupancy. Traffic incidents (accidents / congestion) were shown to have a rapid impact on local …