Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Inject And Sustain Sustainability (Is2) In Automatic Fare Collection Projects, Hillary Kin Hung Lau, Nicholas Chun Kit Wong

Practical Social and Industrial Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Mash Test Nos. 3-17 And 3-11 On A Non-Proprietary Cable Median Barrier, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, Brandt M. Humphrey, Tyler L. Schmidt, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Integrated 3d Bridge-Condition Visualization (Bcv) To Facilitate Element-Based Bridge Condition Rating (Ebcr), Zhigang Shen, Wayne Jensen

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Routine inspection and maintenance records are essential for bridges to function well throughout their intended lifespan. Although existing bridge management systems are efficient at data storage, it is difficult to conduct comprehensive data analysis and management due to the lack of data integration mechanism. Engineers have to manually put many pieces of bridge drawings and inspection data together to make maintenance or repair/rehab decisions. Building information modeling (BIM) can be applied in bridge asset management area, including bridge inspection/rating to help to integrate the many data pieces. In this project we developed a 3D bridge inspection data management system, using …

Mash Tl-4 Crash Testing And Evaluation Of The Restore Barrier, Jennifer D. Schmidt, Tyler L. Schmidt, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, John D. Reid, James C. Holloway, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Three full-scale vehicle crash tests were conducted according to the MASH Test Level 4 (TL-4) safety performance criteria on a restorable and reusable energy-absorbing roadside/median barrier, designated the RESTORE barrier. The system utilized for test nos. SFH-1 through SFH-3 was 240 ft (73.2 m) long with a nominal height of 38⅝ in. (981 mm). The barrier consisted of an upper steel tube rail attached to the top of 20-ft (6.1-m) long x 22.-in. (565-mm) wide precast concrete beams connected with wedge-shaped joints and supported by 11⅝-in. (295-mm) tall rubber posts and steel skids.

In test no. SFH-1, a 5,021-lb (2,277-kg) …

How To Estimate Pedestrian Demand, Kelly Clifton, Patrick Allen Singleton, Christopher D. Muhs, Robert J. Schneider

TREC Project Briefs

There is growing support to improve the quality of the walking environment and make investments to promote pedestrian travel. Such efforts often require analytical non-motorized planning tools to estimate levels of pedestrian demand that are sensitive to environmental and demographic factors at an appropriate scale. Despite this interest and need, current forecasting tools, particularly regional travel demand models, often fall short.

To address this gap, Oregon Metro and NITC researcher Kelly Clifton worked together to develop a pedestrian demand estimation tool. For generations, planners have been using statistical models to forecast travel demand, but these models have traditionally been auto-centered. …

National Study Of Brt Development Outcomes, Arthur C. Nelson, Joanna Ganning

TREC Final Reports

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is poised to become the “next big thing” in public transit. From virtually no systems a generation ago, there are now 19 lines operating with at least seven under construction and more than 20 in the planning stages. BRT is gaining popularity because of its combination of low capital cost and potential for high levels of benefits. But are BRT systems effective in attracting development?

To answer this and many more trending BRT questions, the Metropolitan Research Center (MRC) reviewed multiple studies using data from the United States Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, and CoStar data …

Commercial Truck Parking And Other Safety Issues, Jerry G. Pigman, Graham Winchester, Nathaniel Swallom

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Commercial truck parking is a safety issue, since trucks are involved in approximately 10% of all fatal accidents on interstates and parkways in Kentucky. Drivers experience schedule demands and long hours on the road, yet they cannot easily determine available parking locations. The objective of this study was to identify information related to parking demand, locations with documented or potential safety issues, and potential countermeasures. The literature review indicated substantial research has been done on commercial vehicle parking, and works have outlined the necessary facilities to accommodate trucks before drivers exceed their allowable hours of driving. Attention to commercial truck …

Best Practices For The Implementation Of The Real Id Act, Jennifer R. Walton, Candice Y. Wallace, Andrew Martin

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The REAL ID Act specifies the minimum standards that must be used to produce and issue driver’s license and identification cards that are REAL ID compliant. Beginning in 2020, if a person does not possess a form of identification that meets REAL ID standards they will not be able to board an aircraft that is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Currently, of the 56 states and jurisdictions required to implement the REAL ID Act, only 23 are in compliance. Although the Commonwealth of Kentucky has not yet implemented the REAL ID Act, an extension allowing Federal agencies to accept …

Identifying Significant Environmental Features Using Feature Recognition, Megan White, Junfeng Zhu, Benjamin L. Blandford, Ted H. Grossardt

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Department of Environmental Analysis at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has expressed an interest in feature-recognition capability because it may help analysts identify environmentally sensitive features in the landscape, including those relating to historic preservation, archaeology, endangered species habitat, and geology. LIDAR Analyst and Feature Analyst are a pair of geoprocessing software packages that have been developed by Textron Systems. Using this software, users can use LIDAR data to identify finely-scaled user-specified features. The software’s automated feature extraction saves time that might otherwise be spent manually analyzing images and digitizing features.

This report explores the capabilities and accuracy of this …

Evaluation Of Concrete Grinding Residue (Cgr) Slurry Application On Vegetation And Soil Responses Along Nebraska State Highway 31, Martha Mamo, Dennis L. Mccallister, Walter H. Schacht

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of Weak-Post W-Beam Guardrail In Mow Strips, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, James C. Holloway

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this study was to adapt and evaluate a weak-post, W-beam guardrail system for use within mow strips and other pavements. The weak-post guardrail system was originally designed as the MGS bridge rail and has also been adapted for use on culverts. It was envisioned that the weak-post design would absorb the impact forces and prevent damage to the mow strips, thereby minimizing maintenance and repair costs.

Evaluation of the weak posts in mow strips began with three rounds of dynamic bogie testing. Round 1 of bogie testing showed that 4-in. (102-mm) thick concrete would sustain only minor …

Understanding Interactions Between Drivers And Pedestrian Features At Signalized Intersections, Pei-Sung Lin, Achilleas Kourtellis, Zhenyu Wang, Rui Guo

CUTR Faculty Journal Publications

Florida experienced serious pedestrian safety problems and had the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the U.S. from 2008–2011. Pedestrian safety at signalized intersections is the most serious concern due to frequent and severe conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. Pedestrian features directly related to pedestrian safety are used to increase driver compliance behaviors and reduce vehicle-pedestrian conflicts. This project aimed to explore driver behaviors at signalized intersections with four identified pedestrian features—“STOP HERE ON RED,” “NO TURN ON RED,” “TURNING VEHICLES YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS,” and “RIGHT ON RED ARROW AFTER STOP” signs—by using an innovative safety data source, the Strategic Highway …

An Exploration Of Bicyclist Comfort Levels Utilizing Crowdsourced Data, Bryan Philip Blanc

Dissertations and Theses

Bicycle transportation has become a central priority of urban areas invested in improving sustainability, livability, and public health outcomes. Transportation agencies are striving to increase the comfort of their bicycle networks to improve the experience of existing cyclists and to attract new cyclists. The Oregon Department of Transportation sponsored the development of ORcycle, a smartphone application designed to collect cyclist travel, comfort, and safety information throughout Oregon. The sample resulting from the initial deployment of the application between November 2014 and March 2015 is described and analyzed within this thesis. 616 bicycle trips from 148 unique users were geo-matched to …

Evaluation Of Deterioration Of Structural Concrete Due To Chloride Intrusion And Other Damaging Mechanisms, Sudhir Palle, Brian K. Howell, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Bobby W. Meade

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky's bridges continue to age and experience distress. The intrusion of chlorides into concrete remains the primary mechanism for deterioration. It leads to reinforcing steel corrosion that damages the adjoining concrete structure. This study found problematic chloride concentrations in Kentucky concrete bridge elements (decks, pier caps, abutments). Chloride levels have been found at concentrations sufficient to initiate reinforcing steel corrosion. In some cases, chloride concentrations were sufficient to cause accelerated corrosion and produce major section loss of reinforcing steel. Advanced stages of corrosion such as these typically require costly repairs and maintenance to extend the service life of bridges.

Field …

Analysis Of Historical Travel Time Data, Mei Chen, Xu Zhang, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Travel speed is a critical piece of information for many applications. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) states that calculating travel speeds illuminates the performance of the nation’s highway system. New technologies make the collection of speed data more straightforward than ever. Private vendors collect and sell this data, and KTC purchased speed data for 2010-2013 from NAVTEQ (now HERE). The main objectives of the research were to:

• Evaluate private sector speed data and its use in generating travel time based performance measures
• Create a mechanism to integrate this speed data with networks maintained by …

Online Driver’S License Renewal, Valerie J. Keathley, Andrew Martin, Jennifer R. Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Department of Vehicle Regulation is exploring the possibility of developing and implementing online driver’s license renewal. The objective of this project was to: 1) evaluate online driver’s license and REAL ID renewal programs in other states to identify best practices; 2) examine two options to institute online renewal; and 3) identify what legislative changes would be required in Kentucky to authorize an online renewal program. KTC surveyed 25 states with online license renewal programs in place, and received responses from 14 states. Survey respondents indicated that online renewal is more efficient, improves customer service, cuts down on foot …

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (2010-2014), Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman, Michael A. Fields

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 2010 through 2014. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Rates were calculated for various types of highways and for counties and cities. Difference criteria were used for exposure.

Conceptual Development Of An Impact-Attenuation System For Intersecting Roadways, Joseph G. Putjenter, Robert W. Bielenberg, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Longitudinal barriers are commonly used to shield hazards, including stiff bridge rail ends and slopes. In some locations, a secondary roadway intersects the primary roadway within the guardrail’s length-of-need (LON). Some intersections may have as little as 15 ft (4.6 m) between the intersection and beginning of the bridge railing, which require short-radius guardrail systems. One short-radius guardrail system has passed several crash tests under AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) standards.

Site conditions provided by the Nebraska Department of Roads were used to determine the constraints for a new safety treatment for intersecting roadways and include intersection radii, …

Mgs Dynamic Deflections And Working Widths At Lower Speeds, Nicholas A. Weiland, Cody S. Stolle, John D. Reid, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) has been full-scale crash tested in many configurations, including installations adjacent to slopes, with different types of wood posts, with and without blockouts, for culvert and bridge applications, and at high flare rates. Although the performance of the MGS and the dynamic deflection and working width of the barrier have been examined, little is known about the dynamic deflection and working width of the MGS when impacted at lower speeds. The MGS is a relatively low-cost barrier, and the Test Level 3 (TL-3) version could be installed for TL-2 and TL-1 applications. The barrier is …

Development Of A Pedestrian Demand Estimation Tool, Kelly Clifton, Patrick Allen Singleton, Christopher D. Muhs, Robert J. Schneider

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Most research on walking behavior has focused on mode choice or walk-trip frequency. In contrast, this study is one of the first to analyze the destination choice behaviors of pedestrians. Using about 4,500 walk trips from a 2011 household travel survey in the Portland, OR, region, we estimated multinomial logit pedestrian destination choice models for six trip purposes. Independent variables included terms for impedance (walk-trip distance); size (employment by type, households); supportive pedestrian environments (parks, a pedestrian index of the environment variable called PIE); barriers to walking (terrain, industrial-type employment); and traveler characteristics. Unique to this study was the use …