Engineering Commons^™

Impacts Of Replacing A Tight Diamond Interchange With A Spui – A Wilsonville Interchange Study, Sina Vadaei

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Tight diamond interchanges (TDI) and single point urban interchanges (SPUIs) are generally types of interchanges that can be used interchangeably in areas where right-of-way is constrained. There are limited amount of research conducted regarding the operational analysis and comparison of these two interchanges. The research that has been done regarding this topic are outdated and generally conclude that SPUIs perform better or about the same. Without knowing the true performances of the two interchange designs, it would make it difficult for engineers and planners to choose between the two interchanges.

This research study will use the current updated version of …

Characterization Of Bridge Deck Runoff, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Elizabeth G. Jones, Renys Barrios

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

In this study, time-weighted composite samples of bridge runoff and hourly traffic data were collected at four sampling locations in Nebraska. Total suspended solids (TSS) and hexane extractable material (HEM) had the highest concentrations during the first rainfall event of the year, while other constituent concentrations peaked during the third rainfall event of the year. In general, constituent concentrations were highest in the spring, and then decreased throughout the summer and fall. Average concentrations of TDS, TSS, chloride, iron, and lead measured in this study were higher than those found in the previous NDOR study at the same sampling locations. …

Highway Rail Crossing Prioritization, Bryan Gibson, Reginald R. Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Technical Assistance Report

Research team members at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Civil Engineering and the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) worked with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to develop a high-level mechanism for ranking highway-rail crossings for reconstruction and/or rehabilitation. The Highway Rail Crossing Prioritization implementation study yielded the Rail Crossing Improvement Priority (RCIP), which combined qualitative measures of crossing conditions with quantitative measures including proposed project costs and a valuation of the crossing based on rail and truck traffic. This effort provides a template by which further development can yield prioritization procedures for road-rail grade separation projects.

Safety At Half-Signal Intersections In Portland, Oregon, Todd Robert Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

The safety at half-signalized intersections in Portland, Oregon is analyzed in this thesis using 10 years of crash history and analysis of video that was collected at a subset of intersections. A half-signalized intersection has a standard red-yellow-green traffic signal for automobiles on the major road, a stop sign for motorists on the minor road, and a pedestrian signal with actuation for pedestrians and/or bicyclists on the minor road. Although prevalent in Canada, this type of intersection control is not typically found in the United States because the MUTCD explicitly prohibits its use. Half-signal use is limited mostly to two …

Scene Projection By Non-Linear Transforms To A Geo-Referenced Map For Situational Awareness, Kevin C. Krucki, Vijayan K. Asari

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

There are many transportation and surveillance cameras currently in use in major cities that are close to the ground and show scenes from a perspective point of view. It can be difficult to follow an object of interest across multiple cameras if many of these cameras are in the same area due to the different orientations of these cameras. This is especially true when compared to wide area aerial surveillance (WAAS).

To correct this problem, this research provides a method to non-linearly transform current camera perspective views into real world coordinates that can be placed on a map. Using a …

Assessment Program For Kentucky Traffic Records, Lenahan O'Connell, Eric R. Green, Reginald R. Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

During 2013, the Kentucky Transportation Center identified 117 potential performance metrics for the ten databases in the Kentucky Traffic Records System. This report summarizes the findings of three main tasks completed in 2014: (1) assessment of the utility of each metric and/or the availability of data; (2) collection of data on the metrics deemed useful with available data; and (3) assessment the possibility of incorporating a number of the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) elements into the CRASH database. Interviews with liaisons for each database reduced the number of metrics from 117 to 51. The reason for rejecting the …

Evaluating The Constructability Of Nudeck Precast Concrete Deck Panels For Kearney Bypass Project, George Morcous, Afshin Hatami, Micheal Assad

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The first generation of precast concrete deck system, NUDECK, was implemented on the Skyline Bridge, Omaha, NE in 2004. The second generation of NUDECK system was developed to further simplify the system and improve its constructability and durability. The new generation consists of full-width full-depth precast concrete deck panels that are 12 ft long to minimize the number of deck panels and transverse joints, and consequently accelerate bridge construction. It also uses covered individual pockets and bundled shear connectors at 4 ft spacing to simplify panel and girder production and eliminate the need for deck overlay. Precast deck panels are …

Assessment Of Flood Protection Strategies For Combined Critical Infrastructure Failure And Hurricane/Storm Surge Events In The Meadowlands Area, Nisharg Dipakkumar Dalwadi

Theses

As a result of a wide-reaching comprehensive post-Sandy NJIT project entitled "Flood Mitigation Engineering Resource Center (FMERC)", a detailed investigation of alternative measures for flood mitigation in the Meadowlands area was completed in June 2014. The project involved the assessment of flood impacts, and the evaluation of a range of structural and non-structural capital improvement measures, maintenance, operations and regulatory measures, and broad system design and redundancy measures.

The basic objective of this thesis is to develop an innovative procedure for the enumeration and simulation of probability-weighted combined events, e.g., Oradell dam failure under various scenarios (sunny day, water level, …

Webinar: Exploring Pedestrian Responsive Traffic Signal Timing Strategies In Urban Areas, Sirisha Murthy Kothuri

TREC Webinar Series

The role of walking in the development of healthy, livable communities is being increasingly recognized. In urban areas, intersections are often viewed as a deterrent to walking, as their operation primarily favors automobiles, leading to large and unnecessary delays for pedestrians. There is currently very limited research on accommodating and/or prioritizing pedestrians at signalized intersections in the North American context. Pedestrians are often considered as a deterrent to efficient vehicular traffic flow and therefore active efforts to include them in operational decisions at intersections have been lagging. This research aims to fill that gap by understanding factors that influence pedestrian …

Feasibility Analysis Of Phase Transition Signals Based On E-Bike Rider Behavior, Sheng Dong, Jibiao Zhou, Li Zhao, Keshuang Tang, Renfa Yang

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This article evaluates the feasibility of two scenarios of phase transition signals, that is, the flashing green together with red–yellow light and the green countdown together with red countdown, at signalized intersections in terms of e-bike rider behavior. An evaluation framework is first proposed. During the phase transition, the stop-go and start-up behavioral parameters are collected at four intersections in Shanghai, China. Sensitivity analysis is then performed to identify the most significant factors that influence the occurrence of traffic conflicts during the phase transition. Based on the above analysis results, case studies were finally done to look into safety performance …

Making The Case For Crew-Centered Design (Ccd) In Merchant Shipping, Aditi Kataria, Gesa Praetorius, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs, Michael Baldauf

Conference Papers

Since 2003, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has emphasised the need to address and integrate ergonomics knowledge in a concerted manner. However, there is little guidance on the application of this knowledge in the design of merchant vessels. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the paper identifies the need for crew-centered design (CCD), highlighting the importance of using concepts derived from Human-Centred Design (HCD) to be able to design work spaces and operational procedures that facilitate the work of the crew on board. Drawing upon results obtained from accident analysis (utilising the Technique for the Retrospective and predictive Analysis of Cognitive …

2015 Annual Report Transportation Research Center For Livable Communities, Western Michigan University, University Of Texas Arlington, Wayne State University, Utah State University, Tennessee State University

Transportation Research Center Reports

Table of Contents

• Messages from the Director and Representatives
• TRCLC Mission and Objectives
• Center Personnel
• Research Investigators
• Consortia
• Our Research
• List of Research Projects
• Highlighted Projects
• Technology Transfer and Outreach Activities
• Student Awards
• Upcoming Events

Attachment Of A Combination Bridge Rail To Concrete Parapet Utilizing Epoxy Adhesive Anchors, Robert W. Bielenberg, John D. Reid, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Austin J. Haase, Ronald K. Faller

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IaDOT) was interested in investigating the use of epoxy adhesive anchorages

for the attachment of posts used in the BR27C combination bridge rail system. Alternative anchorage concepts were developed using a modified version of the ACI 318-11 procedures for embedded anchor design. Four design concepts were developed for review by IaDOT, including: (1) a four-bolt square anchorage, (2) a four-bolt spread anchorage, (3) a two- bolt centered anchorage, and (4) a two-bolt offset anchorage. IaDOT representatives selected the four-bolt spread anchorage and the two-bolt offset anchorage as the preferred designs for evaluation. In addition to …

Determining Travel Behaviour In Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Ahmed M. Mohammed, Hussain Dhafir Hussain, Ali Dawod Salman, Riza Rahmat, Nazri Burhan

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city in the Petaling district of Selangor, over the past few years it has witnessed a dramatic growth in terms of population size and geographical importance. This has led to constant congestions throughout the city. A significant reduction in the annual cost of road accidents, congestion, energy consumption and pollution in the city can be obtained by implementing a modal shift from private vehicles to public transport. Urban transportation problems are highlighted in this study as well the factors that influence the use of private and public transportation. A survey was carried out on users …

Traffic Conflict Analysis Under Fog Conditions Using Computer Simulation, Binya Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The weather condition is a crucial influence factor on road safety issues. Fog is one of the most noticeable weather conditions, which has a significant impact on traffic safety. Such condition reduces the road's visibility and consequently can affect drivers' vision, perception, and judgments. The statistical data shows that many crashes are directly or indirectly caused by the low-visibility weather condition. Hence, it is necessary for road traffic engineers to study the relationship of road traffic accidents and their influence factors. Among these factors, the traffic volume and the speed limits in poor visibility areas are the primary reasons that …

Evaluating Travelers Experience With Highway Advisory Radio (Har) And Citizens Band Radio Advisory System (Cbras) On Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Toll Roadways And Florida Interstate Highways, Nabil Muhaisen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to evaluate travelers' experience with Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) and Citizens' Band Radio Advisory System (CBRAS) technologies on both Florida Interstate Highway system (FIH) and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) toll roads. To achieve this goal, two different survey tools were used. The first tool is a random digit dialing phone survey known as CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing). The second tool is a field survey that intercepts travelers at the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) service plazas and the Florida Interstate Highway (FIH) rest areas. HAR and CBRAS are traditional components of the Advanced Traveler …

A Microsimulation Of Novel Intersection Designs, Aman Kinfemichael Woldetinsae

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

The focus of this project is to see how a turbo roundabout and a protected intersection designs behave when they are applied on two study sites in Portland, OR. PTV VISSM is used to model, analyze and compare the performances of these designs with the existing intersection. In addition, the best features of the protected intersection and the turbo roundabout were combined to create a new intersection design that is safer for the bicyclists and also performs better than the existing intersection.

The analysis is conducted for five different volume scenarios for both the study sites. The results of the …

Accounting For The Short Term Substitution Effects Of Walking And Cycling In Sustainable Transportation, Daniel P. Piatkowski, Kevin J. Krizek, Susan L. Handy

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The environmental benefits of bicycling and walking depend on the degree to which their use substitutes for car driving. Assuming that every walking and bicycling trip replaces a driving trip is likely to produce overestimates of the potential for such modes to reduce vehicle travel and city-scale greenhouse gas emissions. Measuring this ‘‘substitution effect’’ is not straightforward. There are many dimensions of the substitution effect, including trip type, substituting mode, extent, time horizon, and activity patterns. Previously used approaches to measure substitution include indirect inference and direct questioning. This study piloted an intercept survey using the direct questioning approach at …

Integrated Freight Network Model: A Gis-Based Platform For Transportation Analyses, Ted H. Grossardt, John Ripy, Benjamin L. Blandford, Michael Shouse

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The models currently used to examine the behavior transportation systems are usually modespecific. That is, they focus on a single mode (i.e. railways, highways, or waterways). The lack of integration limits the usefulness of models to analyze the intermodal movement of freight. This project developed a GIS-based model of the three primary surface modes as well as intermodal connections. The resulting Integrated Freight Network Model (IFNM) accommodates highly detailed about shipping costs, transfer costs, traffic volumes (including non-freight auto traffic), and network interconnectivity properties. As a proof of concept, the research team conducted an exploratory analysis that asked what the …

Comparing Mode Shares For Non-Residential Destinations In Urban And Suburban Environments, Tasnia Subrin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

To ensure facility for multimodal transportation is one of the most important concerns in today's transportation sector, with initiatives being taken to make multimodal transportation popular. The built environment variables have a strong relationship with transportation mode choice, but whether that relationship holds true in urban and suburban neighborhoods in the same manner has not been considered. Using data for three non-residential land uses, this research explores whether the built environment variables in suburban areas influences mode share like it does in urban areas. We used survey data conducted at the establishments regarding respondents' travel characteristics from a previous study, …

Kentucky Traffic Collision Facts 2014, Kentucky Transportation Center, Kentucky State Police

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KENTUCKY’S TRAFFIC COLLISION FACTS report for 2014 is based on collision reports submitted to the Kentucky State Police Records Branch. As required by Kentucky Revised Statutes 189.635, “every law enforcement agency whose officers investigate a vehicle accident of which a report must be made…shall file a report of the accident…within ten days after investigation of the accident upon forms supplied by the bureau.” The stated purpose of this requirement is to utilize data on traffic collisions for such purposes as will improve the traffic safety program in the Commonwealth. Data contained in this report are based solely on the observations …

Cable-To-Post Attachments For A Non-Proprietary High-Tension Cable Barrier – Phase Ii, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Robert W. Bielenberg, Brandt M. Humphrey, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The research objectives reported herein were based on further development of cable-to-post attachment hardware for use in the non-proprietary high-tension cable barrier system. Specifically, this project aimed to develop and evaluate alternative attachment designs for the bolted, tabbed bracket and evaluate the use of a larger diameter, keeper rod for use in the top cable attachment.

From a group of over 25 alternative attachment concepts, two tabbed bracket designs were selected for evaluation through dynamic component testing: 1) the lateral shear plate attachment and 2) the drop-in shear plate attachment. The drop-in shear plate concept did not perform as intended, …

Performance Characteristics Of Polyethylene Terephthalate (Pet) Modified Asphalt, Matthew D. Earnest

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic is utilized primarily in food and beverage packaging. Although a portion of waste PET is recycled, the majority of the waste is buried in landfills. Therefore, the use of ground PET particles in asphalt may provide an environmentally friendly solution for the disposal of large quantities of PET waste. This study evaluated the performance of PET as an asphalt modifier with both asphalt binder and asphalt mixture testing. The binder testing was conducted on wet process blends produced with a high shear mixer at PET contents of 5, 10, and 15 percent by weight of the …

Exploring A Toll Auction Mechanism Enabled By Vehicle-To-Infrastructure Technology, Andrew J. Collins, Erika Frydenlund, R. Michael Robinson, Mecit Cetin

VMASC Publications

High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes—an increasingly popular solution for congested roadway networks—give drivers the option to access express lanes. The cost of entry often varies with demand, although no standard method of optimizing these price points exists. Using the principles of a Vickrey auction that incentivizes true-value bids, this paper proposes a tolling system that uses vehicle-to-infrastructure technology to optimize toll operator revenue with HOT lane usage. In the scenario, a roadway network consists of a HOT lane and a general-purpose lane, each with identical physical properties. Drivers can access the HOT lane at the start of the facility or at …

Crash Frequency Analysis Of Left-Side Merging And Diverging Areas On Urban Freeway Segments: A Case Study Of I-75 Through Downtown Dayton, Ohio, Deogratias Eustace, Aline Aylo, Worku Y. Mergia

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes the effect of left- and right-side merging and diverging areas and other variables such as light condition, roadway pavement condition, drivers’ age and presence of construction work zones on the occurrence frequency of crashes. A 6.5-mile (10.5-km) section of I-75 that passes through downtown Dayton, Ohio was considered. The area of interest has a high traffic volume and consists of different geometric design challenges including closely spaced merging and diverging ramps. A four-year record of crash data (2005–2008) and a statistical modeling technique that assumes a negative binomial distribution on generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to …

Counting And Classification Of Highway Vehicles By Regression Analysis, Mingpei Liang, Xinyu Huang, Chung-Hao Chen, Alade Tokuta

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, we describe a novel algorithm that counts and classifies highway vehicles based on regression analysis. This algorithm requires no explicit segmentation or tracking of individual vehicles, which is usually an important part of many existing algorithms. Therefore, this algorithm is particularly useful when there are severe occlusions or vehicle resolution is low, in which extracted features are highly unreliable. There are mainly two contributions in our proposed algorithm. First, a warping method is developed to detect the foreground segments that contain unclassified vehicles. The common used modeling and tracking (e.g., Kalman filtering) of individual vehicles are not …

Timetable Management Technique In Railway Capacity Analysis: Development Of The Hybrid Optimization Of Train Schedules (Hots) Model, Hamed Pouryousef

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

There are two general approaches to improve the capacity in a rail corridor, either by applying new capital infrastructure investment or by improving the operation of the rail services. Techniques to evaluate the railway operation include modeling and optimization through the use of commercial timetable management and rail simulation tools. However, only a few of the existing tools include complete features of timetable management techniques (e.g. timetable compression) are equipped with an optimization model for rescheduling and timetable improvement and this is especially true when it comes to the U.S. rail environment that prevalently uses unstructured operation practices.

This dissertation …

Automatic Turning Movements Identification System: Intersection Error Analysis, Brandon Ross Orr, Joseph Thomas Lanni

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

To lessen congestion at intersections, traffic identification systems are placed at roadway intersections in order to collect vehicle data. These traffic identification systems include various types of detectors that can identify the presence of vehicles in real-time. However, these detectors can only detect their presence and not their turning movements. To fix this issue, The University of Akron has developed a program that can automatically identify vehicle turning movements and is called the Automatic Turning Movement Identification System, or ATMIS. ATMIS uses mathematical algorithms to compute the vehicle’s turning movements based on a sink and feed detector paring. During traffic …

Workshop Synthesis: Built Environment And Contextual Variables, Kelly Clifton, Pascal Perez

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This two-day workshop focused on the important issue of how to define, convey and understand the built environment context as it relates to transport decisions. The field has grown tremendously over the last few decades, fueled in part by the increasing availability of archived spatial data about the environment and geo-referencing activity and travel patterns. But there are persistent issues particularly with inconsistencies in data format or availability across locations that hamper efforts to advance our understanding across regions. Further, there are new challenges in how we communicate context to survey respondents, particularly in stated preference surveys. Much of the …

Empirical Evaluation Of Transit Signal Priority Through Fusion Of Heterogeneous Transit And Traffic Signal Data And Novel Performance Measures, Wei Feng, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Robert Bertini

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Transit signal priority (TSP) can reduce transit delay at signalized intersections by making phasing adjustments. TSP is a relatively inexpensive and easy to implement tool to make transit service faster and more reliable. TSP also sends a signal that a city or region encourages the growth of transit mode split. With the aim of assessing the performance of an existing TSP system, this study had access to a unique set of high-resolution bus and traffic signal data. Novel algorithms and performance measures to measure TSP performance are proposed. Results indicate that a timely and effective TSP system requires a high …