Engineering Commons^™

Comparative Analysis Of Road Roughness Specifications, Abduvokhid Yunusov, Narikawa Kazuo

Acta of Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent

In this paper, it is given that comparative analysis of road pavement roughness specifications between Uzbekistan and Japan. Road roughness measurement methods and acceptance values in construction and maintenance were analyzed. Based on comparative analysis, we developed recommendations about pavement roughness measurement methods for road authority of Uzbekistan.

Iri Roughness Index Requirements For Highway Functional Classification, Abduvokhid Yunusov, Jamshid Sodikov

Acta of Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent

The paper reviews the role of highway functional classification in pavement management. Predominantly, technical classification is used in pavement management in CIS countries. The paper raises importance of highway functional classification in pavement maintenance in order to efficiently manage road network. IRI roughness index is widely used to monitor, assess road condition, analyze life cycle of the pavement. Authors proposed IRI values according to highway functional classification.

Diversionary Behavior During Congestion, Venkata Vamsikrishna Peddisetty

LSU Master's Theses

Most people in the US prefer to travel on freeways, but when there is congestion they divert onto local routes to avoid travel delay. This study measures the traffic diversion induced by an increase in congestion on I-10 freeway in Baton Rouge during congestion, using a Bluetooth Detection System. The main objective of the study was to identify the difference in the level of congestion on the I-10 between the Mississippi River Bridge and the I-10/I-12 split and the level of congestion on local roads that triggers traffic to divert from the freeway to parallel arterials. Other objectives include measuring …

Hurricane Evacuation Modeling Using Behavior Models And Scenario-Driven Agent-Based Simulations, Yuan Zhu, Kun Xie, Kaan Ozbay, Hong Yang

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Transportation modeling and simulation play an important role in the planning and management of emergency evacuation. It is often indispensable for the preparedness and timely response to extreme events occurring in highly populated areas. Reliable and robust agent-based evacuation models are of great importance to support evacuation decision making. Nevertheless, these models rely on numerous hypothetical causal relationships between the evacuation behavior and a variety of factors including socio-economic characteristics and storm intensity. Understanding the impacts of these factors on evacuation behaviors (e.g., destination and route choices) is crucial in preparing optimal evacuation plans. This paper aims to contribute to …

Exploring High-Resolution Data Obtained From Asc/3 Controller Of Intersection Se Division St & Se 122nd Ave, Portland, Oregon, Naowar Al-Abbas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

High-resolution data obtained from ASC/3 controllers can be used to create a variety of performance measures, helping engineers and professionals in monitoring intersection performance, identifying issues, and making proper improvements. These measures concern the intersection quality of the progression, capacity, and non-vehicular operations (e.g. pedestrian crossings). In this report, we explored high-resolution data obtained from the intersection of SE Division Street and 122nd Avenue. This intersection had some safety concerns as it is considered one of most dangerous intersections in Portland, Oregon. Thus, the first variable we examined from the data was pedestrian wait time when a cross request is …

Land Suitability Analysis For Emergency Medical Services Posts Along State Highways: A Case Study Of California, Ernest Tufuor, Laurence Rilett, Yunwoo Nam, Antonio Hurtado Beltran

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The response time of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to road accidents can be the difference between life and death. The California strategic highway safety plan highlight the need to improve the response time and recognizes that: 37% and 8% of the fatal crashes are 30 or more miles away from a trauma center in rural and urban areas respectively.

The paper seeks to: (1) demonstrate the viability of using spatial multi-criteria analysis in road safety management, and (2) provide a good scientific justification in selecting optimal counties for EMS posts. The goal is to propose areas that are close to …

A Joint Econometric Approach For Modeling Crash Counts By Collision Type, Tanmoy Bhowmik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there is growing recognition that common unobserved factors that influence crash frequency by one attribute level are also likely to influence crash frequency by other attribute levels. The most common approach employed to address the potential unobserved heterogeneity in safety literature is the development of multivariate crash frequency models. The current study proposes an alternative joint econometric framework to accommodate for the presence of unobserved heterogeneity – referred to as joint negative binomial-multinomial logit fractional split (NB-MNLFS) model. Furthermore, the study undertakes a first of its kind comparison exercise between the most commonly used multivariate model (multivariate …

Investigation Of Factors Contributing To Fog-Related Single Vehicle Crashes, Jiazheng Zhu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fog-related crashes continue to be one of the most serious traffic safety problems in Florida. Based on the historical crash data, we found that single-vehicle crashes have the highest severity among all types of crashes under fog conditions. This study first analyzed the contributing factors of the fog-related single-vehicle crashes' (i.e., off road/rollover/other) severity in Florida from 2011 to 2014 using association rules mining. The results show that lane departure distracted driving, wet road surface, and dark without road light are the main contributing factors to severe fog-related single vehicle crashes. Some suggested countermeasures were also provided to reduce the …

Hierarchical Corridor Safety Analysis Using Multiple Approaches, Saif Alarifi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traffic crashes are a major cause of concern globally. Extensive efforts from transportation professionals have been made to investigate new methods to identify the contributing factors to crashes at various locations on the road network. Corridors, among other road network's components, play a vital role in moving people and goods between primary zones in different areas, and the safety and operational improvements of them have been the focus of many studies since they carry the most traffic on the road network. Corridors contain mainly intersections and segments, and previous corridor studies have focused on a sole type of road entity. …

Investigating And Facilitating The Transferability Of Safety Performance Functions, Ahmed Tarek Ahmed Farid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Safety performance functions (SPFs) are essential analytical tools in the road safety field. The SPFs are statistical regression models used to predict crash counts by roadway facility type, crash type and severity. The national Highway Safety Manual (HSM) is a generic guidebook used for road safety evaluation and enhancement. In it, default SPFs, developed using negative binomial (NB) regression, are provided for multiple facility types and crash categories. Roadway agencies, whether public or private, may opt to not invest their resources in data collection and processing to develop own localized SPFs. Instead, the agencies may adopt the HSM's. However, the …

A Decision Support Model For Autonomous Trucks Strategies, Ahmad Mohamed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We examined the potential to improve the movement of freight using Truck Platooning Lane strategies on limited access highways in the State of Florida. In the First part of this research, we investigated the potential benefits from dedicating one lane from existing lanes for autonomous trucks only. In this regard, a general framework tool was developed to evaluate and compare different measurements (e.g., travel tim and emissions) to better assist decision makers to determine the most effective freight transportation strategy. Additionally, the travel time, level of service and emissions on Florida Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) were systematically analyzed using a …

Explore Contributing Geometric Factors And Built-Environment On Bicycle Activity And Safety At Intersections, Scott Castro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to explore all factors associated with bicycle motor-vehicle crashes at intersections in order to improve bicycle safety and bicycle activity. Factors such as exposure (bicycle and vehicle volumes), existing facilities (bike lanes, sidewalks, shared-use paths), geometric design (# of lanes, speed limit, medians, legs, roadway conditions), and land-use were collected and evaluated using Poisson, Zero-Inflated Poisson, and Negative Binomial models in SAS 9.4 software. Increasing the bicycle travel mode can have positive lasting effects on personal health, the environment, and improve traffic conditions. Deterrents that keep users from riding bicycles more are the lack of facilities and …

Accommodating Exogenous Variable And Decision Rule Heterogeneity In Discrete Choice Models: Application To Bicyclist Route Choice, Bibhas Dey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thesis contributes to our understanding of incorporating heterogeneity in discrete choice models with respect to exogenous variables and decision rules. Specifically, we evaluate latent segmentation based mixed models that allow for segmenting population based on decision rules while also incorporating unobserved heterogeneity within the segment level decision rule models. In our analysis, we choose to consider the random utility framework along with random regret minimization approach. Further, instead of assuming the number of segments (as 2), we conduct an exhaustive exploration with multiple segments across the two decision rules. Within each segment we also allow for unobserved heterogeneity. The …

Understanding Crisis Communication And Mobility Resilience During Disasters From Social Media, Kamol Roy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rapid communication during extreme events is one of the critical aspects of successful disaster management strategies. Due to their ubiquitous nature, social media platforms offer a unique opportunity for crisis communication. Moreover, social media usage on GPS enabled devices such as smartphones allow us to collect human movement data which can help understanding mobility during a disaster. This study leverages social media (Twitter) data to understand the effectiveness of social media-based communication and the resilience of human mobility during a disaster. This thesis has two major contributions. First, about 52.5 million tweets related to hurricane Sandy are analyzed to assess …

Assessing The Impact Of Multi-Variate Steering-Rate Vehicle Control On Driver Performance In A Simulation Framework, Michael Xynidis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When a driver turns a steering-wheel, he or she normally expects the vehicle's steering system to communicate an equivalent amount of signal to the road-wheels. This relationship is linear and occurs regardless of the steering-wheel's position within its rotational travel. The linear steering paradigm in passenger vehicles has gone largely unchanged since mass production of passenger vehicles began in 1901. However, as more electronically-controlled steering systems appear in conjunction with development of autonomous steering functions in vehicles, an opportunity to advance the existing steering paradigms arises. The following framework takes a human-factors approach toward examining and evaluating alternative steering systems …

Development And Application Of An Optimization Approach For Cost-Effective Deployment Of Advanced Wrong-Way Driving Countermeasures, Adrian Sandt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wrong-way driving (WWD) is a dangerous behavior, especially on high-speed divided highways. The nature of WWD crashes makes it difficult for agencies to combat them effectively. Advanced WWD countermeasures equipped with flashing lights, detection devices, and cameras can significantly reduce WWD. However, these countermeasures' high costs mean that agencies often cannot deploy them at all exit ramps. To help agencies identify the most cost-effective deployment locations for advanced WWD countermeasures, an innovative WWD countermeasure optimization approach was developed. This approach consists of a WWD hotspots model and a WWD countermeasures optimization algorithm. The WWD hotspots model uses non-crash WWD events, …

Risk Management And Practice Alignment For Utility Coordination On Transportation Projects, Roy E. Sturgill Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Utility coordination is an exceedingly complex effort of managing, communicating, and facilitating the avoidance and relocation of utility facilities as needed for highway projects. Utility coordination occurs throughout the design and delivery of a project and best practices are used to make sure this occurs efficiently and in the best interest of the public, who are not only the taxpayers but also the ratepayers. Recent research has attempted to enhance utility location technology and procedures, instill frameworks and tools for utility coordination, and proceduralize risk management relative to utility coordination. However, research attempting to improve various aspects of utility coordination …

Lies, Damned Lies, Avs, Shared Mobility, And Urban Transit Futures, Graham Currie

Journal of Public Transportation

It seems to me there is a gigantic lot of nonsense discussed about the future of transport and the future of public transport in particular. As a researcher in the field, I find my emotions boiling over. I get angry at blanket statements telling us public transport has no future and it seems to me much of what is talked about regarding transport futures flies in the face of facts and a long history of what knowledge has gleaned about the human condition, economics, cities, and travel. My hope is that readers will see prevailing discourse differently as a result …

Does The Future Of Mobility Depend On Public Transportation?, Kari Watkins

Journal of Public Transportation

We’ve all seen the headlines. “Will self-driving cars, taxis make mass transit obsolete?” (Davidson 2017) and “What happens if Uber or Lyft outcompetes public transit?” (Sen 2017) or even “Department Of Transportation Says The Future Of Transit Looks Pretty Bleak” (Griggs 2015). We are entering the next great revolution in how people move about in cities. But does the future of transportation mean the end of transit?

Improved Mobility Through Blurred Lines, Carol Schweiger

Journal of Public Transportation

No abstract provided.

Better Integrating Travel Choices Into Future Urban Mobility Systems: The Day The Highways Stood Still, Eric Schreffler

Journal of Public Transportation

No abstract provided.

Not If, But When: Autonomous Driving And The Future Of Transit, Jerome M. Lutin

Journal of Public Transportation

This paper discusses the implications of autonomous vehicle technology on auto use and travel behavior, and the resulting impacts on public transportation. The paper goes on to explore how autonomous driving technology can make more efficient use of bus transportation and improve service to disabled individuals. The paper concludes with recommendations for transit agencies to engage with government and suppliers of autonomous vehicles to promote research, development, and policies that will allow the industry to reap the benefits of this revolutionary and disruptive technology.

Reflections On The Future Of Public Transportation, Joel Volinski

Journal of Public Transportation

No abstract provided.

A Synthesis Of Mobile Ticketing Applications Used By Commuter Railroads In The United States, Jonathan Mesoraca, Candace Brakewood

Journal of Public Transportation

Since 2012, many major commuter railroads have deployed mobile ticketing applications (or “apps”) that allow passengers to pay fares directly using their smartphones. In light of this rapid technological change, this research aims to provide a synthesis of the current state of mobile ticketing in the United States. The 14 largest commuter railroads that have launched mobile ticketing apps are compared in four different areas: (1) the ticket validation process; (2) ticket types offered in the mobile app; (3) additional features in the app; and (4) the process for transferring to other modes using the app. The results reveal that …

Ex-Regular Users Of Public Transport: Their Reasons For Leaving And Returning, Paula Vicente, Elizabeth Reis

Journal of Public Transportation

This paper describes the characteristics of former regular users of public transport in the metropolitan area of Lisbon. It also examines why these people stopped using public transport and explores what would make them become regular users again. The empirical results revealed significant socio-demographic differences between current and ex-regular users, namely in relation to gender and social level. Differences were also found in travel characteristics, car ownership, and satisfaction with the transit service. The main reasons given by ex-regular users for no longer using public transport included changes in their lives (e.g., change in workplace/residence/ school or becoming unemployed) and …

Effect Of Socioeconomic And Demographic Factors On Kentucky Crashes, Aaron Berry Cambron

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The goal of this research was to examine the potential predictive ability of socioeconomic and demographic data for drivers on Kentucky crash occurrence. Identifying unique background characteristics of at-fault drivers that contribute to crash rates and crash severity may lead to improved and more specific interventions to reduce the negative impacts of motor vehicle crashes. The driver-residence zip code was used as a spatial unit to connect five years of Kentucky crash data with socioeconomic factors from the U.S. Census, such as income, employment, education, age, and others, along with terrain and vehicle age. At-fault driver crash counts, normalized over …

Evaluation And Augmentation Of Traffic Data From Private Sector And Bluetooth Detection System On Arterials, Yaobang Gong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traffic data are essential for public agencies to monitor the traffic condition of the roadway network in real-time. Recently, public agencies have implemented Bluetooth Detection Systems (BDS) on arterials to collect traffic data and purchased data directly from private sector vendors. However, the quality and reliability of the aforementioned two data sources are subject to rigorous evaluation. The thesis presents a study utilizing high-resolution GPS trajectories to evaluate data from HERE, one of the private sector data vendors, and BDS of arterial corridors in Orlando, Florida. The results showed that the accuracy and reliability of BDS data are better than …

Drone Deliveries Logistics, Efficiency, Safety And Last Mile Trade-Offs, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Chad Tucker, Polina Polikakhina

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drone last mile deliveries are receiving a lot of attention from startups and big companies like Google, Amazon, and UPS. Around the world there are already examples of successful small scale delivery operations utilizing drones. Despite all the hype and excitement around this topic, there is surprisingly little research done on understanding the capabilities and technical tradeoffs among drones that are currently available in the market. The goal of this paper is to survey currently available multicopter drones and analyze them in terms of their potential for last mile and last yard deliveries. Novel data …

Repairable Precast Buildings And Bridges, Abdullah Boudaqa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A new moment-resisting precast connection is developed in the present work through experimental and analytical studies to accelerate construction of bridges and buildings, to improve their seismic performance, and to quickly repair them through replacement of exposed reinforcement. The new precast joint detailing incorporates (1) detachable external reinforcing steel bars restrained against buckling, which is referred to as buckling restrained reinforcement (BRR), to develop plastic bending moments, (2) a steel pipe connecting the precast members through a pin connection to resist plastic shear forces, and (3) detachable mechanical bar splices to assemble and disassemble BRR at any time specifically after …

Compaction Testing Of Granular Material, Jason Jerome Weber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The South Dakota Department of Transportation SDDOT uses the Ohio Highway Department’s Typical Moisture Density Curves for preforming compaction quality control on granular soil materials in junction with standard moisture density relations. The SDDOT also uses the Nuclear Density Gauge NDG, Sand Cone, and Rubber Balloon methods to conduct in-situ density tests. Compaction quality control of recycled pavements is conducted using test strips. The test strip method works well for large areas but becomes problematic for small areas. The ODOT Materials Manual states “Moisture-Density proctor curves and controls were originally developed to be used on cohesive (clays and silts) soils. …