Transportation Engineering Commons^™

The Effects Of Pedestrian Countdown Timers On Safety And Efficiency Of Operations At Signalized Inersections, Anuj Sharma, Jacob Schmitz

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Fiscal Year 2011 Fhwa-536 Report For The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Steven Douglas Kreis, Candice Y. Wallace, Bryan Gibson, Sarah M. Mccormack

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires state transportation agencies to submit a biennial report on local highway finances. The purpose of these reports is to provide FHWA with the data it needs to capture the financing of highway activities at the local level. Based on this information, it can identify trends in revenue, expenditures, investments, and program development, and in turn make decisions about future investments. The report, FHWA-536, asks agencies to report on four areas of local highway finance: 1) disposition of highway-user revenues; 2) revenues used for roads and streets identified by source and funding type; 3) road …

Evaluation Of Long-Term Pavement Marking Performance, Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of the investigation was to evaluate the useful life of pavement markings. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) provides general guidelines for the application and installation of pavement markings. However, performance requirements for various types of pavement markings are not included. Retroreflectivity data were collected throughout Kentucky on various longitudinal pavement markings using mobile and manual techniques. Data were collected on one-year, two-year and three-year-old lines. The retroreflectivity levels were analyzed and the several recommendations were made. Minimum levels of retroreflectivity should be set for determining what roads to restripe annually. These values should be lower …

The Relationship Between Vmt And Economic Activity, B. Starr Mcmullen, Nathan Eckstein

TREC Final Reports

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. have exhibited an upward trend over time similar to that observed for gross domestic product (GDP) and personal income (PI). While conventional wisdom suggests that economic growth leads to more driving and thus higher VMT, it is theoretically possible that the causation could also be the other way around. If causation is from VMT to GDP, then legislation such as the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009’s directive to annually reduce national per capita VMT could potentially have an adverse impact on overall economic activity.

This study uses times series …

Refining Greenstep: Impacts Of Vehicle Technologies And Its/Operational Improvements On Travel Speed And Fuel Consumption Curves, Kelly Clifton, Alexander Y. Bigazzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report describes analysis undertaken to establish a method for incorporating traffic operations and ITS strategies into the GreenSTEP model. We first discuss operations impacts on fuel economy and delay from the literature. Then, an investigation of delay adjustments in GreenSTEP shows that different methods of representing delay changes lead to similar (and small) impacts on fuel economy. From this result we establish average speed adjustment by congestion level as the preferred method for incorporating delay effects from operations improvements. An investigation of aggregate traffic operations impacts produces estimates of base speeds without operations improvements, maximum speeds with full operational …

Development Of Alternative Wood-Post Mgs Approach Guardrail Transition, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Kevin D. Schrum, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Dean L. Sicking, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

States’ Support Of Non-Highway Modes Of Transportation: Investigation And Synthesis, Chuck Knowles, Candice Y. Wallace, Benjamin L. Blandford, Timothy J. Brock, Andrew Martin

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this study was to determine how Kentucky and other selected states support and assist non-highway transportation modes and to identify leading and innovative initiatives. For the purposes of this study, the non-highway modes are aviation, public transportation, rail, and waterways. This summary will briefly discuss the rationale, objectives, and methodology for this study. It also provides an overview of the outcomes of the study and the modal matrices.

Guidelines For Road Diet Conversions, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Adam Kirk, Chen Wang, Andrea Cull, Nithin Agarwal

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The purpose of this report is to document the development of the guidelines for the road diet conversions prepared for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The guidelines consider operational and safety aspects of the conversions to assist in the preliminary determination of whether a road diet conversion is appropriate for a given roadway segment. The guidelines provide suggested cross section designs, transition to and from the road diet section and a flow chart for determining the appropriate actions.

Future Flooding Impacts On Transportation Infrastructure And Traffic Patterns Resulting From Climate Change, Heejun Chang, Martin Lafrenz, Il-Won Jung, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Rolando Melgoza, David Ruelas, Deena Platman, Cindy Pederson

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigated potential impacts of climate change on travel disruption resulting from road closures in two urban watersheds in the Portland metropolitan area. We used ensemble climate change scenarios, a hydrologic model, stream channel survey, a hydraulic model, and a travel forecast model to develop an integrated impact assessment method. High-resolution climate change scenarios are based on the combinations of two emission scenarios and eight general circulation models. The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System was calibrated and validated for the period 1988-2006, and simulated for determining the probability of floods from 2020-2049. We surveyed stream cross sections at five road crossings …

Model For Predicting The Impact Upon Economic Development Resulting From Highway Improvement Projects, Eric Thompson, Kanou Comlavi, Mallory Dimmit

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has an interest in integrating state economic development impact as another factor in prioritizing transportation investments. Such efforts require the development of a comprehensive model that can be used to estimate a consistent final measure of economic development impact that can be readily integrated into existing prioritization formulas. This report summarizes the efforts of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research (UNL-BBR) to develop such a model, by measuring the impact of expressway, viaduct, and other major investments projects around the state. Specifically, UNL-BBR developed an economic model to predict the economic impact …

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (2006 - 2010), Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

No abstract provided.

2011 Driver Attitudes And Awareness Survey, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A basic set of questions were developed that could be used in periodic surveys that track drivers attitudes and awareness concerning impaired driving, seat belt use, and speeding issues. The objective of the survey was to learn the knowledge, views, and behaviors of drivers in these areas. This report documents the results of the 2011 survey with a comparison to the 2010 baseline survey.

The method used to conduct the survey was a telephone survey. In addition to questions for the three major highway safety areas of impaired driving, seat belt use, and speeding, an additional question was …

Experimental Coating On Interstate 264 In Jefferson County, Bobby W. Meade, Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A waterborne acrylic coating was applied over a washed and tool cleaned zinc/vinyl system as a maintenance overcoat. The coating has several positive characteristics in that it is “user friendly”, substrate tolerant, develops good adhesion quickly, and is environmentally friendly. There were some issues concerning quality of work in surface preparation and application and in the fact that on two locations bubbles developed in the newly applied coating. The cause of the bubbling has not been determined.

Evaluation Of Safe Routes To School Programs: Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Parental Decision-Making, Lynn Weigand, Noreen Mcdonald

TREC Final Reports

In the United States, walking to school declined from 42% of 5-18 year olds in 1969 to 16% in 20011. The US Department of Transportation has responded to this dramatic decrease by funding the Safe Routes to School program for $612 million in SAFETEA-LU. The program’s funding emphasize infrastructure improvements such as completing sidewalks and adding crosswalks by requiring between 70% and 90% of funding be allocated toward infrastructure. However, recent research shows that 2 of 3 children who currently are driven to school, but live close enough to walk, do so because it is more convenient for parents. Currently, …

Improving Intersection Design Practices, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Adam Kirk, Nithin Agarwal, Chris Jones

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The purpose of this report is to document the development of the Intersection Design Alternative Tool (IDAT) developed for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. IDAT provides an automated objective design and evaluation approach of 14 alternative intersection designs to assist in the conceptual design of at-grade intersections. The tool evaluates intersection operations, safety performance, bicycle/pedestrian accommodation and has the ability to assist access management implementation.

Construction Training For The Current And Next Generation Of Technicians, Paul M. Goodrum, Dong Zhai

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Technicians are a vital component to the success of any roadway projects. Unfortunately, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is experiencing significant shortages of technicians among all aspects of construction and maintenance. Training and developing the adequate numbers of qualified technicians is a substantial endeavor that requires a comprehensive examination of the adequacy of current training program versus the anticipated skill needs of technicians on future projects. Two questionnaires were developed to identify this gap. One is to investigate the skills and trainings that the Cabinet’s technicians possesses and received, and the second is to investigate the skills and/or knowledge which …

2011 Safety Belt Usage Survey In Kentucky, Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of this study was to establish 2011 safety belt and child safety seat usage rates in Kentucky . The 2011 survey continues to document the results after enactment of the original “secondary enforcement” statewide mandatory safety belt law in 1994 and the subsequent change to “primary enforcement” which was enacted in 2 006. Data were collected at 160 randomly selected sites in 18 counties across Kentucky. Data from the individual sites were combined into a statewide percentage considering roadway functional classification, county, and vehicle miles traveled.

The data show that the usage rate in 2011 (82.2 …

A Simplified Method For Analyzing Factors Contributing To Motorcyclists’ Fatal Injuries In Ohio, Deogratias Eustace, Vamsi Krishna Indupuru

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

The aim of this paper was to analyze traffic crash data by using a simplified method in determining significant factors that increase the risk of a motorcyclist being fatally injured once involved in a motorcycle crash in Ohio. The concept of overrepresentation, which is similar to relative risk, was used in identifying significant variables associated with the elevated risk of a motorcycle crash resulting into a fatality. The overrepresentation factor (ORF) was calculated for each variable of interest. The ORF offers a simple but powerful procedure of determining whether a certain factor significantly occurs more or less frequently in one …

Identification Of Risk Factors Associated With Motorcycle-Related Fatalities In Ohio, Deogratias Eustace, Vamsi Krishna Indupuru, Peter W. Hovey

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Out of the 7,138,476 motorcycles operating on U.S. roads, 346,925 were registered in the state of Ohio in the year 2007. Although motorcycles represent only 2.8% of all registered vehicles in the state of Ohio, motorcycling accounts for more than 13% of Ohio highway traffic fatalities. Since 2005, Ohio has had a distressing distinction of being among the fifteen states that have sustained more than half of all motorcycle fatalities recorded in the USA (NHTSA 2007; NHTSA 2008a). For the past ten years, the overall motorcycle crash fatalities have been increasing while the motor vehicle occupant crash fatalities have been …

Developing Deterioration Models For Nebraska Bridges, George Morcous

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.