Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Poisson’S Ratio Of Asphalt Concrete, Elvis Alexander Castillo Camarena

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poisson´s ratio can be defined as the negative ratio of strains perpendicular to the load direction to the strains parallel to the loading direction. If elastic or viscoelastic models are used, Poisson´s ratio, together with elastic modulus, is a main input used to predict distresses in flexible pavement structures such as rutting and cracking. In asphalt concrete, Poisson’s ratio is commonly measured using two different testing configurations: indirect tension (IDT) and uniaxial. However, results from these two testing configuration can potentially have differences. Design methodologies such as the Mechanistic Empirical Design Guide (MEPDG, now PavementME) have been shown to be …

2016 Maintenance Customer Survey, R. Clark Graves, David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Center, with the assistance of the University of Kentucky’s Survey Research Center, administered a telephone survey to 1,221 licensed drivers throughout the state to gauge their opinion of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) maintenance activities. Survey respondents were distributed throughout KYTC’s 12 highway districts. The survey focused on five areas of highway maintenance: roadside features, pavement surfaces, shoulders, drainage and signs/markings. Respondents indicated they were most satisfied with the current maintenance of signs, guardrail, and striping. Pavement surfaces and potholes, and shoulders and roadway drainage, received the lowest rankings — given that the driving public is very …

Multimodal Transportation Planning Curriculum For Urban Planning Programs, Kristine M. Williams, Tia Claridge, Alexandria Carroll

TREC Final Reports

Integrated multimodal transportation and land use planning is critical to advancing mode choice, public health and safety, and livability objectives. Communities across the U.S. are seeking to redefine their planning process accordingly. In response, university graduate urban planning and engineering programs are beginning to address multimodal planning and sustainable transportation, but most do not yet offer a robust curriculum on these topics. To help address this need, the University of South Florida (USF), Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) developed a curriculum for a course on multimodal transportation planning and its role in advancing livability and related objectives. The course …

Advanced Gis: Smart Transportation, Christopher Bone, Ken Kato, Jacob Bartruff, Marc Schlossberg

TREC Final Reports

As sensors have become cheaper and more common, they have found an increasingly important role in transportation. However, curriculum to prepare students who will be working with these technologies as developers and planners has not developed at the same rate. The goal of this project was to develop a college course focused around sensors and smart transportation to be offered to undergrad and graduate students at the University of Oregon. The class focused on the practical application and the theoretical consequences of these developments. The class was offered in the spring term of 2015 to a group of undergraduate and …

Measuring Relative Humidity In Concrete Pavements As A Method To Assess Asr Mitigation Measures, Remington G. Reed

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete is partly facilitated by available moisture within the concrete. In order to better understand this facilitation and to develop processes for ASR mitigation methods, it is necessary to establish a means of monitoring internal relative humidity (RH) within the concrete. Current procedures for measuring RH are time consuming; requiring several hours of equilibration time and specific external conditions to yield accurate results. In order to better understand RH monitoring, laboratory tests were conducted using commercially available RH probes and different controlled environments. Probes were carefully monitored and calibrated in controlled environments, and laboratory tests on …

Traffic Sign Management: Data Integration And Analysis Methods For Mobile Lidar And Digital Photolog Big Data, Majid Khalilikhah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traffic signs often convey critical information to drivers. However, traffic signs are only effective when clearly visible and legible. This study aims to determine the effects of various damage and deterioration forms on sign retroreflectivity, identify the most important factors affecting traffic sign visual condition, predict traffic sign vandalism that obstructs critical messages to drivers, and identify important environmental factors contributing to the temporary obstruction of the sign messages. To do so, two data sets are used. A sample data of over 1,700 signs was manually collected in the field, and the background retroreflectivity of each sign was measured using …

14-02 Developing Public Health Performance Measures To Capture The Effects Of Transportation Facilities On Multiple Public Health Outcomes, Colleen Casey, Stephen Mattingly, Jianling Li, James Williams

Transportation Research Center Reports

Increasingly, federal transportation and public health agencies are working together to identify transportation investments that improve public health. Investments in transportation infrastructure represent one method to utilize transportation to improve public health outcomes. The ideal transportation investment is one that not only provides safe access for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders, but it also promotes more utilitarian or recreational trips for walking and biking in an environment of safe air quality. However, public health objectives can be at conflict when designing transportation infrastructure to support active commuting. For example, infrastructure investments may be made that promote physical activity through …

Optimizing Chemical & Rheological Properties Of Rejuvenated Bitumen, Dominic Nguyen, Hamzeh Haghshenas Fatmehsari, Santosh Kommidi, Yong-Rak Kim

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

Bitumen has long been a material used in the construction of roadways, yet new pavement only consists of low fractions of recycled materials due to poor compatibility of aged bitumen and new materials. Thus, rejuvenators, chemical additives, have been used in an attempt to re-balance the chemical composition and restore the physical properties of aged bitumen back to its virgin state. A fundamental understanding of how one particular rejuvenator, soybean oil, revitalizes bitumen was investigated using a multi-scale approach.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine the changes in chemical properties of pure and rejuvenated virgin and aged samples. …

Asphalt Pavement Preservation Using Rejuvenating Fog Seals, Ammanuiel A. Kebede

Open Access Theses

Fog seal is a type of treatment that uses a diluted asphalt emulsion to seal and protect an existing asphalt surface from a variety of distresses. Fog seal is sprayed on top of an asphalt pavement surface to improve and protect it from further cracking and raveling. Rejuvenator is also a type of treatment that penetrates into the asphalt pavement and restores its original viscoelastic properties. Similarly, like fog seal, rejuvenators can be sprayed on top of an asphalt pavement surface. The use of rejuvenators has grown rapidly in the past decade. However, little is known about the actual effectiveness …

Dynamic Green Split Optimization In Intersection Signal Design For Urban Street Network, Peng Jiao

Open Access Theses

In the past few decades, auto travel demand in the United States has significantly increased, but roadway capacity unfortunately has not expanded as quickly, which has led to severe levels of highway traffic congestion in many areas. In theory, the problem of congestion addressed through demand management and roadway expansion. However, system expansion in urban areas is difficult due to the extremely high cost of land; therefore, maximizing the existing capacity therefore often is considered the most realistic option. In urban areas, most of the traffic congestion and delays typically occur at signalized intersections. This thesis aims to prove the …

Disseminating The Sustainable City Year Program (Scyp) Education Model, Nico Larco, Marc Schlossberg

TREC Final Reports

The University of Oregon has developed a catalytic learning model that simultaneously meets the needs of both the next generation’s transportation workforce and cities looking for innovative and catalytic ways to advance a new era of transportation goals. Named the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP), the model links local community priorities (as expressed through local plans and city council goals) with courses from a range of disciplines at a nearby university. The UO program engages 500+ multidisciplinary students annually in providing 60,000+ hours of work to city-identified projects using the existing administrative systems of both universities and local communities.

This …

Cable-To-Post Attachments For Use In Non-Proprietary High-Tension Cable Median Barrier – Phase Ii, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Robert W. Bielenberg, Jessica L. Lingenfelter, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this study was to reevaluate and improve the existing cable-to-post attachment hardware that is utilized in the non-proprietary cable barrier being developed at MwRSF. The study focused on redesigning the bolted, tabbed bracket (V10) to eliminate the bolt, reduce the number of components per bracket, eliminate the need for tools during installation, and reduce the number of small parts. Three attachment concepts were selected for evaluation through dynamic testing: (1) the key plate attachment; (2) the wire lock pin attachment; and (3) the pinned back attachment. Each attachment prototype was subjected to two vertical and two lateral …

Analysis Of A University Bike-Sharing Program And Lessons Learned, Margaret Mcnamara, Jijo K. Mathew

Purdue Road School

Purdue University initiated a bike-sharing program in August 2015 with 13 locations and 50 bikes. The first 14 weeks of the program saw 15,259 rentals for a total of 22,677 hours. The Purdue sustainable transportation staff partnered with Purdue traffic engineering students to monitor usage trends to identify future investment opportunities and changes to the bike sharing contract. In this session we will present the series of analytics performance measures, management dashboards, and changes initiated as a result of this partnership.

Full Depth Reclamation Of Aviation Pavement, Michael W. Buening

Purdue Road School

Full depth reclamation (FDR) has been utilized multiple times in recent years for airport and roadway pavement rehabilitation. The presentation will review FDR and its use as a treatment for aviation pavements.

Effective Roadway Management Of Septic Systems & Wells, Michael M. Gavelek, Denise H. Wright, Matthew Witt

Purdue Road School

Roadway construction in rural & urban fringe regions impacts properties that utilize septic systems & wells. Due to their fundamental difference from centralized utilities, they can fall through the cracks & create critical path problems & unforeseen costs. Decentralized water & wastewater experts will present engineering fundamentals, construction techniques & costs, regulations & regulatory process, and tips to effectively manage the replacement & protection of septic systems & wells.

Indot Signing - Recent Developments For Attraction Signs, Joseph Bruno

Purdue Road School

Summary of INDOT's policy on attraction signing and tips for addressing attraction signs in design plan development for INDOT road projects. Presented at Purdue University Road School on March 9, 2016.

Fhwa Compliance:Results And Responses For 2015/ 2016, Jay Dumontelle, Eryn Fletcher

Purdue Road School

This presentation discuss the results from the FHWA's 2015 Compliance Assessment Program and explains how these results are being used to direct the FHWA's activities in 2016.

Traffic Ticker, Margaret Mcnamara

Purdue Road School

The Traffic Ticker is a web-based tool developed for use by INDOT to monitor interstate conditions in real-time. Based in crowdsourced probe vehicle data, it is linked to a variety of other tools to provide powerful monitoring and after action review capability. The advantages of this tool are demonstrated in case studies spanning winter operations, interstate crashes, and the I-65 N detour route in August 2015.

Design, Operations, And Safety Of High-Speed Approach Rural Roundabouts, David A. Church, James Tobaben

Purdue Road School

High-speed approach rural roundabouts have been found to reduce overall crashes by 71% and injury crashes by 87% and have become an effective tool used by public agencies to improve safety and capacity at rural intersections. In this presentation we will discuss critical design features for effective implementation, including alignment on approach, deflection, splitter islands, lighting, signing, curbing, diameter, design vehicle, and landscaping. Before-and-after results involving safety, operations, and public acceptance will be highlighted at specific US roundabouts.

Ada And Title Vi: Remaining Eligible For Funding, Cathy Gross

Purdue Road School

Learn how to effectively implement ADA and Title VI nondiscrimination and accessibility requirements in your community to become and remain compliant and eligible for federal funds. In this session we will present changes to the law and requirements effective in 2015 and beyond. You will learn what resources are available to get and keep your community on track and find out how several Indiana communities are making strides in ADA and Title VI compliance.

Americans With Disabilities Act And Curb Ramps, Katherine Smutzer

Purdue Road School

INDOT is in the process of adopting the Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) for pedestrian access route design within public right of way. Updates to the Indiana Design Manual and Standard Drawings will be presented and discussed, including revisions anticipated in 2016 to the curb ramp standard drawings and pedestrian signal placement standards. This presentation will include information from the INDOT standards section and INDOT ADA committee.

Wildcat Bridge - I-65 Artesion Well/Geotechnical/Structural, Anne Rearick, Jeremy Hunter, Silas Nichols, Mir Zaheer

Purdue Road School

In this session we will discuss the emergency design and repair of the I-65 bridge over Wildcat Creek in Tippecanoe County during the summer of 2015 that closed I-65 northbound.

The Lesser Known Side Of Highway Safety, Rick Drumm

Purdue Road School

Most highway professionals are aware of the main concepts of highway safety. But there are many other concepts, odd statistics, and unique countermeasures that are not well publicized and that we might consider brilliant—or silly. As a host of ideas are presented, you will be challenged to consider how to improve highway safety on your roads, and maybe share some of your own ideas.

Good Safety Program: Straight Ahead, Rick Drumm

Purdue Road School

AASHTO and FHWA conducted a joint scan tour in the fall of 2015 to document what makes a good safety program. A wealth of information on safety programs was pulled together in one effort and coalesced in one document. Topics to be presented that were discussed on this seven-state tour include data collection/analysis, funding, systemic safety improvements, types of projects and initiatives, project development and delivery, cooperation with safety partners, and measuring safety.

Storm Damage - Sr-57 June 2008, Dale Sedler, Mark Bailey

Purdue Road School

A review of the impact of the White River leaving its watershed and destroying a box culvert under SR-57 in Greene County, IN. Includes discussion about impact of illegal levee, and photos and discussion on contraction scour.

Storm Damage - Murphy's Law, Dale Sedler, Mark Bailey

Purdue Road School

Examination of a disastrous event that required 4 coinciding occurrences happening that individually would likely have resulted in minor or no damage.

Storm Damage - Floating Culverts, Dale Sedler, Mark Bailey

Purdue Road School

A review of buoyancy issues culverts experience due to blockage. Includes discussion of blockage due to floating debris and issues with multiple culverts. Provides information on characteristics that help to determine if a culvert has "floated."

Moving Beyond Functional Classifications: Street Typologies As A Systemic Approach To Complete Streets, Nick Batta

Purdue Road School

Rain Gardens for Roads: Installation & Maintenance Tips—Rain gardens and bio-swales provide an effective means of addressing water quality and quantity issues along roadways, if properly designed and installed. If not properly installed, they can create flooding, unsafe driving conditions, and ugly eyesores. We will examine how to successfully incorporate rain gardens into roadways, including design and long-term maintenance considerations, and present lessons learned from construction and upkeep of rain gardens in municipal installations.

Needs Driven Design Solutions In Railroad Projects, Tom Rueshhoff, Derek Tichy, Justin Cronin, Matthew J. Spiel

Purdue Road School

This presentation highlights state, federal, and railroad stakeholder coordination in a public-private partnership.

The Indiana Gateway Project is a $71.4 million construction project underway in northwestern Indiana. This project will help Norfolk Southern and Amtrak address the single most delay-prone intercity rail passenger corridor in the country.

The White River Freight Railroad Bridge Replacement by Indiana Railroad is a $14M project which replaced the 115-year old bridge with a 1,271-foot long bridge in Greene County, IN.

The presentation also provides a brief summary of the project management oversight role HNTB Corporation assumed in both project teams as a consultant for …

Indot High Friction Surface Treatment Special Provision, Joseph Bruno

Purdue Road School

INDOT special provision on high friction surface treatments and related background material. Presented at Purdue University Road School on March 8, 2016.