Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Statewide Wireless Communications Project, Volume 2: Inductive Loop Detection Of Bicycles And Inductive Loop Signature Processing For Travel Time Estimation, J. V. Krogmeier, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Technical Reports

The Statewide Wireless Communications Project was an umbrella project intended to support various INDOT activities in the area of wireless communications. As these activities were conducted independently the report for the project is organized into three volumes. Volume 1 contains the results of satellite and cellular communications field testing undertaken in support of INDOT’s SiteManager application. Volume 1 also contains the results of an evaluation of spread spectrum radios for long-range communications. Volume 2 contains the results of detection zone evaluation for loop detection of bicycles and the results of testing algorithms for travel time estimation using vehicle re-identification based …

Statewide Wireless Communications Project, Volume 1: Communication Field Tests For Satellite, Cellular, And Spread Spectrum Radio, J. V. Krogmeier, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Technical Reports

The Statewide Wireless Communications Project was an umbrella project intended to support various INDOT activities in the area of wireless communications. As these activities were conducted independently the report for the project is organized into three volumes. Volume 1 contains the results of satellite and cellular communications field testing undertaken in support of INDOT’s SiteManager application. Volume 1 also contains the results of an evaluation of spread spectrum radios for long-range communications. Volume 2 contains the results of detection zone evaluation for loop detection of bicycles and the results of testing algorithms for travel time estimation using vehicle re-identification based …

Statewide Wireless Communications Project, Volume 3: Data Collection And Signal Processing For Improvement Of Road Profiling And Proof Of Concept Of A Vehicle-Infrastructure Based Road Surface Monitoring Application, J. V. Krogmeier, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Technical Reports

The Statewide Wireless Communications Project was an umbrella project intended to support various INDOT activities in the area of wireless communications. As these activities were conducted independently the report for the project is organized into three volumes. Volume 1 contains the results of satellite and cellular communications field testing undertaken in support of INDOT’s SiteManager application. Volume 1 also contains the results of an evaluation of spread spectrum radios for long-range communications. Volume 2 contains the results of detection zone evaluation for loop detection of bicycles and the results of testing algorithms for travel time estimation using vehicle re-identification based …

Knowledge-Based System To Support Site Investigation For Safety Improvement, Andrew P. Tarko, Andrew Kwasniak, Jorge Ramos

JTRP Technical Reports

Specialists in transportation and other areas of engineering are trying to improve road safety. The most difficult part is determining the road features, driver behaviors, and vehicular failures that unduly increase the risk of crash. To help INDOT safety investigation teams, a previous research project developed a prototype Road Safety Investigation Tool (RSIT) for two-way stop-controlled intersections. The research summarized here has evaluated the prototype RSIT and has developed a new version RSIT2 that has incorporated the findings of the evaluation.

The evaluation of the RSIT prototype confirmed usefulness of the proposed methodology. The tool has been applied to two …

Limit States And Load And Resistance Design Of Slopes And Retaining Structures, Dongwook Kim, Rodrigo Salgado

JTRP Technical Reports

Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) methods for slopes and MSE walls were developed based on probability theory. The complexity in developing LRFD for slopes and MSE walls results from the fact that (1) the representation of spatial variability of soil parameters of slopes using Gaussian random field is computationally demanding and (2) LRFD of MSE walls requires examination of multiple ultimate limit states for both external and internal stability checks.

For each design case, a rational framework is developed accounting for different levels of target probability of failure (or target reliability index) based on the importance of the structure. …

Alternatives To Fuel Tax: A State Level Perspective, Jungeun (Jen) Oh, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

Under the current fuel-tax-based highway financing system, the funding gap between highway needs and revenue available is expected to grow as vehicle fuel economy improves and use of alternative fuels increases. Consequently, the highway financing mechanism needs to be restructured or a different financing strategy undertaken. Previous research provided examples of successful implementation of pricing schemes in terms of design of pricing scheme, technology issues, legal and institutional issues, and public acceptability. Synthesizing this information, a methodological framework was established for evaluation of alternative user charging schemes. Based on the assessment of the current and projected highway revenue and the …

Post-Construction Evaluation Of Lime-Treated Soils, Chulmin Jung, Antonio Bobet

JTRP Technical Reports

Lime is used to treat weak subgrade soils during construction of highways. A small amount of lime (4 to 7%) is used to rapidly dehydrate and modify fine grained soils. The modification process improves workability and compactability of the soils. Although the lime modification process is primarily aimed at construction expediency, additional effects such as long-term improvement of stiffness and/or strength by pozzolanic and carbonation cementation reactions are expected. Lime treatment has been employed in Indiana over several decades, but the long-term performance of lime-treated soils has not been well quantified and no field tests have been done on roads …

Risk Assessment Of Various Median Treatments Of Rural Interstates, Natalie M. Villwock, Nicolas Paul Blond, Andrzej P. Tarko

JTRP Technical Reports

This report presents results of a comprehensive study that evaluates the safety impacts of alternative median treatments on rural freeways. Extensive data were obtained from Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. The studied median treatments include AASHTO-recommended treatments: depressed medians, depressed medians with high and lowtensioned cable barriers, and flush medians with concrete barriers. Other treatments used in the freeway design were also studied: medians with berms, sloped medians, and depressed medians with berms. Negative binomial models were developed to predict the frequency of crashes in three categories: single vehicle (SV), multiple vehicles same …

Automating Material Delivery Records, Joo Hyoung (Jay) Lee, Bob Mccullouch

JTRP Technical Reports

This project investigated methods on automating field data collection of materials. The method chosen and investigated was bar codes. The automated process requires material suppliers to produce delivery forms that can be recorded and tracked using bar codes. The report describes a system configuration that shows a conceptual process to electronically transfer materials information between the material supplier, trucking company, INDOT personnel and contractor. Other activities reported include survey results from other state transportation agencies, material suppliers, and concrete paving companies. Also, investigated was how to interface with SiteManager software. Recommendations described hardware options for using bar codes and industry …

Implementation Of Station Health Monitoring Procedures For Its Sensors, Volume 2: Implementation Report, Joseph M. Ernst, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Durability And Retro-Reflectivity Of Pavement Markings (Synthesis Study), Yi Jiang

JTRP Technical Reports

Waterborne paints are used to paint pavement markings (edgelines and centerlines) to provide guidance for motorists. The painted markings need to be repainted periodically as their retro-reflectivity deteriorates. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) repaints pavement markings at least annually. INDOT engineers would like to determine the feasibility of extending the time intervals of repainting pavement markings on at least some types of roadways. The purpose of this synthesis study is to accomplish the following: (1) to locate and assemble documented information on pavement marking durability; (2) to learn what criteria have been used in other states in measuring retro-reflectivity …

Deck Replacement - Use Of Extra Coating Thickness Epoxy-Coated Bars, J. A. Ramirez, Rachel Elizabeth Henkhaus

JTRP Technical Reports

The results of this study were implemented in the form of design recommendations for bond of epoxy-coated bars with thicker coatings up to 18 mils. The scope of the work included evaluation of AASHTO LRFD (2004) and ACI 318 design recommendedations for the development and splice length of extra epoxy-coating thinkness reinforcing bars in normal-weight concrete bridge decks and a proposed monitoring plan for a generic concrete bridge deck in Indiana where epoxy-coated bars with thicker coatings might be emeployed. The use of the current provisions for development and splice length of epoxy-coated bars in tension in both the AASHTO …

Acquisition And Analysis Of Earthwork Pay Quantity Verification Data, Sharvil Saurabh Shah, Makarand Hastak

JTRP Technical Reports

This research identifies technologies and methods that can be used by INDOT in earthwork data collection and earthwork quantity calculation process on large construction projects that could result in timely completion of the projects with less labor and resultant cost. In order to achieve the above stated objective, several tasks were performed, i.e., literature review, data collection, data analysis, and recommendations. INDOT engineers were interviewed to determine their current state of practice. Also, all the state DOTs, professional companies in Indiana and vendors of earthwork data collection equipment and software products were contacted through questionnaire surveys and personal interviews. Two …

Development Of A Decision Support System For Selection Of Trenchless Technologies To Minimize Impact Of Utility Construction On Roadways, Dulcy M. Abraham, Hyeon-Shik Baik, Sanjiv B. Gokhale

JTRP Technical Reports

The need to replace deteriorating underground utility infrastructure and to expand utility services, increases the need for utility conduits to intersect roadways. Open-trench method is currently the most widely used method for installation of underground pipelines and conduits of all sizes. However, open-cut construction has several shortcomings, chief amongst which are: health and safety concerns of workers, surface disturbance, disruption to vehicular/pedestrian traffic and reduction of pavement life. Today, other cost-effective alternatives exist to traditional open-trench construction. These methods are categorized as "Trenchless Technologies" as they require minimum trenching (excavation). While the benefits of trenchless technology are quite apparent when …

Indot Guidance Document For In-Situ Soil Flushing, Linda S. Lee, Xihong Zhai, Jaesun Lee

JTRP Technical Reports

Many of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) sites are contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents; these contaminants often occur in the form of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) or dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). Considerable effort has recently been focused on developing in-situ technologies for removing or destroying NAPL source zones, and several potentially viable methods have emerged including cosolvent-enhanced source zone removal. Most recently, site-specific remedial designs involving a combination of in-situ methods (often referred to as a treatment train) have been proposed for which data are still sparse. The primary goal of the laboratory experiments is …

Deriving The Cost Impacts Of Indiana's Storm Water Rule 13 On Indot Maintenance Facility Operations, Lynn A. Corson

JTRP Technical Reports

The objectives of this research were: 1. To classify maintenance facilities by ten or fewer “typologies” (categories) to analyze storm water collection and drainage from the sites and to estimate the cost of installing or implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs), identified by INDOT, to prevent or reduce contamination of the drainage that migrates to waters of the state; 2. To prepare an Environmental Management System (EMS) modeled on the ISO 14001 Standard and “pilot” the EMS in an INDOT District; conduct EMS Awareness training for affected employees. The research included the conduct of on-site operations and environmental assessments at 50 …

Evaluating And Enhancing The Safety Of Nighttime Construction Projects, Dulcy M. Abraham, Julia Jensen Spadaccini, Beau Braxton Burgess, Lindsay Rae Miller, Vanessa Valentin

JTRP Technical Reports

The increased demand on the current highway system has caused transportation agencies to increase scheduling for nighttime work in order to alleviate daytime work zone congestion, especially during peak traffic hours. Although traffic congestion is reduced, safety in nighttime workzones remains a concern among both transportation agencies and contractors. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), approximately one-half of the fatalities that occurred in workzones nationwide occurred at night. These work zone statistics have received increased attention among agencies to evaluate planning and safety issues concerning the workers and the general public on nighttime workzones. Four separate, but interrelated research …

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 …

Safety Conscious Planning In Indiana: Predicting Safety Benefits In Corridor Studies, Volume 1: Research Report, Andrzej P. Tarko, Muhammad Asif Iqbal, Michal Adam Inerowicz, Hong Liang, Gopal Panicker

JTRP Technical Reports

INDOT units responsible for planning and pre-engineering analysis consider safety implications of studied alternative roadway and road network solutions to the extent allowed by the available tools. This project is meant to enhance the available tools of predicting crash frequencies in future road networks to improve the quality of safety consideration in intermediate and long-term road planning.

Safety Performance Functions are widely used to estimate and predict road safety at intersections and on segments. Evaluation of the performance of the functions developed for regions other than Indiana indicated that only full recalibration, which is in fact equivalent to developing own …

Economic Development Effects Of Indot Transportation Projects, Konstantina Gkritza, Samuel Labi, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

The evaluation of transportation projects has traditionally been carried out in the context of economic efficiency, in terms of savings in travel time, vehicle operating cost, and safety. The wider and longer-term effects on economic development (i.e., job, income and business growth) are a concern of transportation planners and decision-makers but have been often overlooked due to the lack of a reliable impact estimation methodology and/or data. Information on economic development impacts is valuable for understanding the total effect of projects and therefore, for a more balanced justification of proposed transportation infrastructure investments. This study extends the traditional transportation impact …

Critical Route Network For Earthquake Response And Dynamic Route Analysis, Srinivas Peeta, Georgios Kalafatas

JTRP Technical Reports

Earthquakes can significantly disrupt societal functioning, cause ecological damage, and lead to loss of human lives and property, warranting a coordinated and efficient response to mitigate their negative impacts. Preparedness against earthquakes entails a pre-disaster planning aspect and a post disaster operational aspect. In the JTRP study “Emergency Earthquake Routes for the State of Indiana; Part I: Criteria for Selection of Primary Routes: Transportation Aspects”, a multicommodity maximal covering network design formulation based optimization methodology was proposed to identify a critical routes sub-network for the Indiana component of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone in the INDOT Vincennes District. Addressed from …

Factors In Debris Accumulation At Bridge Piers, Dennis A. Lyn, Thomas J. Cooper, Charles Anthony Condon, Lu Gan

JTRP Technical Reports

Debris accumulation at bridge piers has been a significant problem at a number of bridge sites in Indiana, increasing risks of upstream flooding, scour, and stream instability. The current study aimed at identifying factors contributing to debris accumulation in order to formulate guidelines for the design of new bridges that would minimize their occurrence or impact. Three related approaches were taken: i) a systematic study of the available underwater bridge inspections reports, ii) a program of periodic visits and visual examination of bridge sites that were thought to be prone to debris accumulation, and iii) continued video monitoring of three …

Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall Abutments For Bridge Support, Ioannis Zevgolis, Philippe L. Bourdeau

JTRP Technical Reports

The research is an investigation on the possible use of MSE bridge abutments as direct support of bridges on Indiana highways. First, analysis was performed following conventional design methods, in order to assess the performance of MSE bridge abutments with respect to ultimate limit states, i.e. external and internal stability. In the second part of the study, finite element analysis was performed, in order to assess the performance of the structures with respect to serviceability limit states, i.e. immediate and consolidation settlements. In both parts, analysis was performed on case examples that reflect relatively typical situations. The main findings confirm …

Effective And Robust Coordination Of Traffic Signals On Arterial Streets, Volume 1, Research Report, Wei Li, Andrew P. Tarko

JTRP Technical Reports

Many transportation agencies use Synchro and SimTraffic software package to optimize signal coordination. In general, this software package effectively reduces the efforts of traffic systems engineers and improves the quality of the designed coordination. Nevertheless, the initial solutions given by the software packages usually require adjustment, at both the design and implementation stages. The major objective of this research, therefore, is to reduce the time and effort needed in solution tuning and thus to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of using Synchro/SimTraffic in arterial signal coordination design. The research outcome is expected to help traffic systems engineers reach reasonable …

A Prescriptive Analysis Of The Indiana Coal Transportation Infrastructure, Thomas F. Brady, Chad M. Pfitzer

JTRP Technical Reports

This report presents the findings of a scoping study of Indiana’s coal transportation infrastructure. Throughout the literature search and investigative phases of this project, it was clear that there exists growing awareness of the importance that transportation plays in the domestic coal industry. There is evidence that suggests transportation costs may be higher than the cost of mining coal. Numerous studies suggest that coal transportation can be developed and utilized for significant competitive economic advantage. The Powder River Basin area in Wyoming is a stellar example of how the combination of a large natural resource and careful transportation planning can …

A Study Of Effective Soil Compaction Control Of Granular Soils, Vincent P. Drnevich, Aaron C. Evans, Adam Buser Prochaska

JTRP Technical Reports

Although it is known that impact compaction tests are not appropriate for granular soils, these tests continue to be widely used. Excessive settlements frequently occur in granular soils where specified field compaction is based on Standard Proctor (ASTM D 698; AASHTO T 99) maximum dry unit weights. A laboratory test program evaluated alternative test methods for granular soil compaction control and showed that a Vibrating Hammer method (similar to British Standard BS 1377:1975, Test 14) has great promise for laboratory compaction of these soils. A One-Point Vibrating Hammer test on an oven-dry soil sample is able to provide the maximum …

Effective And Robust Coordination Of Traffic Signals On Arterial Streets, Volume 2, Guidelines Of Design, Wei Li, Andrew P. Tarko

JTRP Technical Reports

Many transportation agencies use Synchro and SimTraffic software package to optimize signal coordination. In general, this software package effectively reduces the efforts of traffic systems engineers and improves the quality of the designed coordination. Nevertheless, the initial solutions given by the software packages usually require adjustment, at both the design and implementation stages. The major objective of this research, therefore, is to reduce the time and effort needed in solution tuning and thus to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of using Synchro/SimTraffic in arterial signal coordination design. The research outcome is expected to help traffic systems engineers reach reasonable …

Long-Term Effects Of Super Heavy-Weight Vehicles On Bridges, Scott M. Wood, Necip Onder Akinci, Judy Liu, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

A permit truck which exceeds the predefined limit of 108 kips is defined as a superload in Indiana. This study was conducted to examine the long-term effects of superload trucks on the performance of typical slab-on-girder bridges and to assess the likelihood of causing immediate damage. Typical steel and prestressed concrete slab-on-girder type bridges were analyzed using both beam line analysis and detailed finite element models. Furthermore, one prestressed concrete bridge and one steel bridge were instrumented using more than 50 sensors each. Strains and deflections were measured during a live load test, and each bridge was monitored for more …

Synthesis Study: Heat Treatment And Its Effects On Rehabilitating Steel Bridges In Indiana, Matthew Lackowski, Amit Varma

JTRP Technical Reports

The literature review of prior heat straightening research indicated that significant research has been conducted on the development of: (i) heat straightening repair techniques and their field implementation, (ii) guidelines and recommendations for heat straightening repair, (iii) empirical procedures for estimating plastic rotations achieved during heat straightening, (iv) empirical procedures for predicting residual stresses caused by heat straightening, and (v) the effects of heat straightening on the structural properties of repaired bridges. Currently, there is a need for additional research on: (a) the fatigue performance of heat straightened beams, (ii) the effects of single and multiple heat straightening on the …

Safety Conscious Planning In Indiana: Predicting Safety Benefits In Corridor Studies, Volume 2: Pass And Inpass User Manual, Andrzej P. Tarko, Michal Adam Inerowicz, Hong Liang, Jorge L. Ramos

JTRP Technical Reports

the calculation of development and splice lengths. Forty-six glass FRP, carbon FRP, and steel reinforced concrete beams