Civil Engineering Commons^™

Bim Assessment For State Departments Of Transportation, Francisco Israel Guillen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been used by the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry to enhance the efficiency and quality of work across various stages, including planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance (OM) of projects. Despite widespread adoption in vertical construction, BIM implementation in infrastructure projects is still falling behind. This disparity can be attributed to several factors, including the complexity and scale of infrastructure projects and varying levels of BIM adoption and integration within organizations. Efforts to standardize BIM practices and enhance the digital capabilities of infrastructure projects are essential to bridge this gap and ensure the …

Smart Highway Construction Site Monitoring Using Artificial Intelligence, Mehran Mazari, Yahaira Nava-Gonzalez, Ly Jacky N. Nhiayi, Mohamad H. Saleh

Mineta Transportation Institute

Construction is a large sector of the economy and plays a significant role in creating economic growth and national development,and construction of transportation infrastructure is critical. This project developed a method to detect, classify, monitor, and track objects during the construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructure by using artificial intelligence and a deep learning approach. This study evaluated the performance of AI and deep learning algorithms to compare their performance in detecting and classifying the equipment in various construction scenes. Our goal was to find the optimized balance between the model capabilities in object detection and memory processing requirements. …

An Investigation Into The Effect Of Performance Engineered Mixture (Pem) Design On The Workability And Strength Of Concrete Pavement Mixtures, Alexander Cook

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) currently requires a minimum cement content of 564 pounds of cement per cubic yard of concrete. This minimum cement requirement can be reduced through the utilization of optimized gradation of aggregates within concrete mixtures as well as the addition of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash. The study presented in this paper aims to demonstrate how the use of the Tarantula Curve can be used to design concrete mixtures with reduced cement contents while maintaining sufficient workability for concrete mixtures to be used for slipform paving. Fresh workability was measured using the …

Prediction Of Cost And Schedule Changes In Transportation Projects Through Historical Bid And Change Order Document Analysis – Using Oklahoma Dot Project Cases., Rabin Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Construction bid documents encompass project specifications, drawings, schedules, and other critical details and are the foundation for project bidding and execution. Accurate bid documents are essential to ensure project bids are competitive, realistic, and aligned with requirements. However, bid documents are susceptible to risks from various sources. Failure to identify and rectify these risks can result in inaccurate cost estimates and higher bids. Therefore, identifying and resolving risks within bidding or contract documents are of utmost importance. While prior research has shed light on potential risk factors within the bid documents, a noticeable gap remains in the literature regarding identifying …

Investigating Rural Traffic Dynamics: A Traffic Study On E 2nd Street Intersection’S Behavior And Safety, Ma Anjelika Rose T. Pineda

2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Traffic studies guide engineers in designing road networks to ensure smooth traffic flow and public safety. Such studies assess the need for traffic control devices to manage vehicle flow safely and efficiently. This is crucial at intersections which pose high risks of collision and congestion. A traffic analysis at the intersection of Island Grove and E 2nd Street on the FM-4 roadway in Cleburne, TX was conducted to evaluate the sufficiency of the current traffic control device. TxDOT warrants and standards and a field study were utilized and performed to justify the substitution for a traffic signal at the intersection. …

Streamlining Public Engagement In Transportation Projects Using Text Analytics, Alireza Shamshiri

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Infrastructure projects impact a broad range of stakeholders, particularly local communities, whose engagement is critical for successful outcomes. Despite the importance of public engagement in these projects, traditional methods of capturing and analyzing public opinion often fail to fully represent the diverse, genuine perspectives involved. This has led to conflicts between community members and project sponsors. On the other hand, despite advancements in text analytics, including natural language processing (NLP) and its subfields such as topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and neural networks, their functionalities and effectiveness in analyzing public opinion in the domain of infrastructure projects have not been fully …

Digitalization Of Railway Transportation Through Ai-Powered Services: Digital Twin Trains, Salih Sarp, Murat Kuzlu, Vukica Jovanovic, Zekeriya Polat, Ozgur Guler

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Digitalization is a key concept that transformed the various industries through technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Twin (DT). Although innovations provided by the advancement of digitalization have paved the way for more efficient operations and products for transportation, the rail transportation sector struggles to keep up with the rest of the transportation industry, since trains are designed to last for decades, and the insufficient infrastructure investment leads to multiple railroad derailments across the globe. Therefore, the primary aim is to transform current railway systems into human-centric, adaptable, sustainable and future-proof networks, aligning with Industry …

Developing Asphalt Mix Design Specifications Based On Apa And Ideal-Ct Testing, Jonathan Stonestreet

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Some asphalt mixes, following the Superpave mix design procedure, have been reported to be too stiff, making cracking a prevalent form of pavement distress. Additionally, cracking has been reported to be the main form of distress of asphalt pavements in the State of Arkansas. These facts have heightened state agencies’ interest in better performing asphalt pavements, with Arkansas resolving to explore performance-based balanced mix designs (BMD), not yet explored in the state. The primary objective of this document is to present the completed study of balanced mix designs, based on the rutting and cracking potential of asphalt pavement mixtures through …

Developing A Geospatial Web Application For Transportation Geotechnical Asset Management, Ayoub Mohammadi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Spatial data has become an increasingly important tool in geotechnical engineering, allowing for managing and analyzing large amounts of spatial data. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing applications that can be accessed by geotechnical engineers from anywhere with an internet connection. This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in transportation earth structure management. It also highlights the potential benefits of these applications for geotechnical engineers, including open-source applications, database management, and user interface design. It identifies areas for future research and development. The research also discusses the various types …

Columbus, Nebraska: Southern Housing Development Design Proposal, Ryan Weyers, Caiden Dynek, Alex Papa, Brexton Robertson, Kaden Perala

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The following paper proposes the design and creation of a new housing development in the city of Columbus, Nebraska in a lot to the south of the city and directly north of the Columbus wastewater treatment plant. The goal of this proposal is to provide readers with confidence that our company is the most qualified to complete the project and will create the safest, most comfortable, most efficient, and most cost-effective final design. This proposal seeks to offer a solution to the lack of affordable housing for the growing workforce in Columbus. In order to arrive at this solution, each …

Impacts Of Diagonal Crosswalk Misuse, Elizabeth Francis

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A diagonal crosswalk paired with an all-red phase traffic signal is an effective approach to manage intersections with high pedestrian volume. This allows pedestrians to cross both north-south and east-west bound roads at the same time. However, ineffective diagonal crosswalk marking, and lack of signs reduces the use of diagonal crosswalks which in turn results in jaywalking, often in unsafe capacities. The objective of this study is to determine the impacts of pedestrian-caused delay and safety impacts due to the misuse of a diagonal crosswalk. To better understand the impacts, a camera-based data collection was conducted during a four-hour period …

An Analysis Of The Effect Of Temperature On Asphalt Paving In South Dakota, S M Rahat Rashedi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Temperature is an important parameter to consider for asphalt paving since this work is generally susceptible to weather due to outdoor construction. The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) developed working day weather charts in 1998 to address the expected adverse weather days. This thesis investigated the effect of temperature on adverse weather days for asphalt paving and compared them to the value reported in the 1998 SDDOT study. Moreover, the thesis also examined how closely the maximum temperature data from project sites' weekly progress reports (WPR) matched the data from the closest weather stations. When the maximum temperature (TMAX) …

Effect Of Varying Amounts Of Sandstone On The Performance Of Asphalt Mixtures In Arkansas, David Murphy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are many different species and subspecies of aggregate used across the state of Arkansas, and the rest the country. However, it cannot be presumed that the amount and type of these aggregates will be compatible with the commonly used asphalt binder of an area; this can lead to performance issues and premature pavement damage. It has been suspected in Arkansas that an excessive amount of sandstone in asphalt mixtures may be a culprit of some of these premature pavement damage issues, especially regarding the moisture susceptibility of a pavement. This study aimed to analyze the performance effects of using …

Measuring Accessibility For Pedestrians, Bicyclists, And Transit Riders To Grocery Stores In The Excelsior/Outer Mission Neighborhoods Of San Francisco, Alexandra Lee-Gardner

Master's Theses

Grocery stores are an important amenity in neighborhoods and access to grocery stores is important for health and well-being. While grocery store accessibility is a popular topic of research, studies measuring access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders are extremely rare. When a new store opened in the Excelsior/Outer Mission districts of San Francisco on a street lacking basic infrastructure for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, the importance of this study became apparent. The Excelsior/Outer Mission neighborhood has a shocking number of collisions (over 1,100 between 2015 and 2019), elevated levels of walking, biking, and transit ridership, and minimal safe …

Transformational Leadership And The Adoption Of Sustainability And Asset Management Practices In Ground Transportation Organizations, Mohammad M. Bushahri

Dissertations - ALL

The unprecedented challenges the infrastructure domain has been facing for the past few decades are forcing the authorities and owners of relevant organizations, particularly within the ground transportation sector, to introduce more innovative measures and to mitigate risks by embracing and adopting sustainability and asset management practices. This study examined the relationship between transformational leadership and the embracing and adopting of sustainability and asset management practices in the U.S. ground transportation sector. Further, this study assessed the mediation effect of organizational innovation on the relationship between transformational leadership style and the leaders' perception in terms of adaptation of sustainability and …

Determining Earthquake Impacts On Arkansas' Roadway Network: An Application Of Hazus., Simon Rothwell

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Natural hazards are a dangerous and unpredictable aspect of life on earth. They can cause devastating damage to our surroundings that makes movement of people, goods, and emergency services difficult. There is a need to plan for these disasters to ensure that damages to our infrastructure and people are minimized. It can be difficult for planners to determine which parts of a roadway network are most vulnerable to a specific disaster and what their impact on the rest of the network may be. This thesis uses a nationally available natural disaster estimation tool developed by FEMA called “Hazus” (FEMA, 2020). …

Community Transportation Needs And Willingness To Use Shared Micromobility: A Case Study Of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Anthony Michael Kammerer

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Shared micromobility is utilized in “targeted service areas with the usage generally intended for short trips such as "first- and last-mile" connections to complete trips made via other modes, including transit” (Price et al., 2021). In the United States, this practice has especially taken off with the implementation of sharing-based systems. This is evidenced by ridership numbers in the United States growing from 84 million riders nationwide in 2018 to 136 million riders in 2019 (NACTO, 2020). Users often use their smart phone or another similar device to unlock the vehicle after paying a fee on the device through their …

Assessing The Impact Of Health Benefits And Carbon Footprint In Student Parking Decisions At A University Campus, Emiliano Ruiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the student parking location problem, traditionally, the parking permit cost, the last-mile travel time, and the ease of finding an available parking stall are the only decision criteria driving permit purchases. However, a studentâ??s choice of parking location has associated walking health benefits and sustainability impacts. These impacts are related to the walking distance from the parked vehicle to the final destination on campus, in addition to the location effect on the carbon footprint of a vehicle-trip taken to campus. As such, this Thesis examined a multi-criteria decision approach to a university studentâ??s choice of parking location. This approach …

Signal Processing And Data Analysis For Real-Time Intermodal Freight Classification Through A Multimodal Sensor System., Enrique J. Sanchez Headley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identifying freight patterns in transit is a common need among commercial and municipal entities. For example, the allocation of resources among Departments of Transportation is often predicated on an understanding of freight patterns along major highways. There exist multiple sensor systems to detect and count vehicles at areas of interest. Many of these sensors are limited in their ability to detect more specific features of vehicles in traffic or are unable to perform well in adverse weather conditions. Despite this limitation, to date there is little comparative analysis among Laser Imaging and Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors for freight detection …

Risk And Safety Associated With Hazardous Materials Transport In Rural And Native American Communities: A Case Study Of Thurston County, Nebraska, Sydney James

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural counties and Native American Reservations often lack the resources and planning to respond to a hazardous material release which can cause catastrophic results. Many rural counties and Native American Reservations do not have close access to a fire department or medical facility, which would increase response times during a time of crisis. Jurisdiction issues further complicate the matter since Native American Reservations are sovereign nations,.

Thurston County, home to two Native American Reservations, served as a case study to perform a safety analysis for vehicles transporting hazardous material. Stakeholders within the county from tribal, county, and state levels were …

Impact Of Covid-19 On City Streets, Mihir Sharma

Honors Scholar Theses

Covid-19 has had a severe impact on the urban fabric of many cities and caused disruption to the current way of living. This paper attempts to shed light on the impact that Covid-19 has had on the city streets and how city streets have adapted to the disruptions brought on by the virus. Furthermore the paper lays down recommendations that cities can use to make their streets healthier and safer

The Life Of A Roundabout In Colorado Springs, Alexis M. Yoder

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Colorado Springs is an up-and-coming area where many people have decided to move to for multiple opportunities. With more people, comes more traffic flow and unfortunately, more accidents. Throughout the state, there is a large attempt to lower accidents, especially at intersections. One type of intersection that can be of great benefit is the roundabout. In fact, Colorado was an early adapter of the roundabout in order to improve traffic flow and decrease fatal accident statistics. When designing a roundabout, although good intentions are planned, complications can still arise. In most scenarios, roundabouts are able to reduce the number of …

Cement Stabilized Crushed Stone Base Course Strength And Stiffness Analysis, Andrew Deschenes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 70 – 80% of state departments of transportations (DOTs) utilize the 1993 AASTHO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures (1993 AASHTO) [1] for structural design of pavements. A growing portion of DOT’s are beginning to implement the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), referred to as AASHTOWare Pavement ME [2]. The 1993 AASHTO flexible guide applies empirically derived unitless strength values referred to as structural layer coefficients and structural numbers (SN) to pavement thickness and pavement types. The 1993 AASHTO rigid flexible guide utilizes the depth and strength of the concrete pavement, with the composite spring constant (kc), which is …

Use Of Geospatial Technique To Estimate Traffic Volume On South Carolina Roads, Ryan Andrew Devine

Theses and Dissertations

Data from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) indicates that there is an increase in the number of vehicles on already congested roadways. For a department of transportation (DOT) to keep up with this increased demand, it is necessary for them to continuously collect and monitor traffic volume on the roads they maintain. One of the most important parameters that DOTs collect and use for traffic engineering and transportation planning studies is annual average daily traffic (AADT). The DOTs are also required to collect and report AADTs to the Federal Highway Administration annually as part of the Highway Performance Monitoring System …

Is Transportation Planning Effective? A Critical Review Of Long-Range Regional Transportation Planning In The United States, Razieh Nadafianshahamabadi

Civil Engineering ETDs

The Federal-Aid Highway Act requires urban areas with a population greater than 50,000 to create Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to ensure that funding for transportation projects and programs are based on a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive planning process. A major responsibility of each MPO is the creation of a long-range transportation plan (LRTP) that addresses the transportation needs of a metropolitan region over the next twenty years or more. While long-range regional transportation planning goals have grown to include a wide range of concerns and technical methods for evaluating planning scenarios have advanced substantially over the past 50 years, there …

Boy Scouts Of America Concept Site Master Plan And Improvements, Anna Cole, Jacob Chekal, William Seeger, Shanon Al-Brady, Nicholas Cowles

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Our team, G1 Engineering, has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America to provide an update to their master plan for the Outdoor Education Center site located at 600 S. 120^th Street, Lincoln, NE. Our work included providing transportation solutions; drainage evaluations; investigation of geotechnical conditions; environmental evaluation and determination of permitting requirements; preparation of concept design plans for bridges, drainage, utilities, and overall site plan; and evaluation of structural elements included in the project.

Two streams cross the property presenting site access issues. Our team provided pedestrian, UTV, and emergency vehicle access bridges to address these issues. With …

Latent Choice Models To Account For Misclassification Errors In Discrete Transportation Data, Lacramioara Elena Balan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

One of the most fundamental tasks when it comes to analyzing data using statistical methods is to understand the relationship between the explanatory variables and the outcome. Misclassification of explanatory variables is a common risk when using statistical modeling techniques. In this dissertation, we define ‘misclassification,’ as a response that is reported or recorded in the wrong category; for example, a variable is registered as a one when it should have the value zero. Misclassification can easily happen in any data; for example, in an interview setting where the respondent misunderstands the question or the interviewer checks the wrong box. …

Mapping Of Bruise Of Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch During Loading And Transportation From Field To Mill, Andreas Wahyu Krisdiarto

Makara Journal of Technology

Fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) are used as raw materials for palm oil, and their transport from a field is a critical step to maintain their quality. Fruit integrity should be maintained so the mill can efficiently obtain palm oil with less than 5% free fatty acid content. Physical treatments for FFBs during loading to truck bins and transport may cause physical injuries. This research aimed to map fruit bruises. The map can be used as a basis in managing transport of FFBs. Physical injuries were assessed by bruise index (BI), which was calculated by measuring the bruise area and weight …

Introduction To Infrastructure - The Influence Of Natural Disasters On Infrastructure, Tri Tam Nguyen, Sean M. Raday, Daniel Leverick

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

In this paper, three major hurricanes in 2017 were examined to determine the damage these hurricanes have done to the infrastructure. Infrastructure has an important role in the nation’s sustained economic development. Infrastructure consists of two main types which are “hard” infrastructure and “soft” infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is the physical networks which include transportation, power, etc. while soft infrastructure is institutions and human capital. Inadequate and inefficient performance of “hard” or “soft” infrastructure would prevent economy from achieving full growth. In the past decades, a significant increase in the number of natural disasters has had great impact on infrastructure systems. …

The Need For Enhanced Physical Infrastructure In The United States, Tanvi Gandham

CMC Senior Theses

An examination of necessary infrastructure improvements in the United States.