Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Species Distribution Model For Swift Fox In Nebraska, Lucia Corral Hurtado

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

14-05 Development Of Decision Support Tools To Assess Pedestrian And Bicycle Safety: Development Of Safety Performance Functions, Valerian Kwigizile, Jun-Seok Oh, Ron Van Houten, Keneth Morgan Kwayu

Transportation Research Center Reports

While a number of studies have developed Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) for motorized traffic, there has been a very limited focus on developing SPFs for non-motorized traffic. Lack of exposure measures for pedestrians and bicyclists has been cited often as the obstacle to developing reliable SPFs. This project aimed at developing statewide SPFs for bicyclists and pedestrians at urban intersections. The SPFs developed can be used as a decision supporting tool for planners and practitioners in prioritizing areas for safety improvements. In order to capture crash patterns despite, a carefully designed sampling approach was implemented and improvements on other aspects …

Investigation Of Self-Organizing Traffic Signal Control With Graphical Signal Performance Measures, Christopher M. Day, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Adaptive signal control is the subject of an increasing amount of research, as well as development and implementation. Most existing adaptive control systems achieve coordination by applying system control as a constraining layer on top of local control. Some researchers have suggested that, with the right local-control logic, coordination might be achieved as an dynamically emergent phenomenon without the need for a management layer. This paper explores the potential of a self-organizing signal control algorithm using a variety of performance measures. First, the initially reported algorithm performance is reproduced in an idealized environment; next, the algorithm is applied in a …

Scalable Dashboard For Identifying Split Failures And Heuristic For Reallocating Split Times, Howell Li, Lucy Richardson, Christopher M. Day, James Howard, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The three fundamental parameters of a traffic signal system are split, cycle, and offset. This paper describes the use of high-resolution data (a) to identify time periods during which split parameters may be insufficient and (b) to help practitioners identify opportunities for reallocating split time. A case study of seven corridors with 47 intersections is presented. A drill-down approach was developed to identify movements that could be improved by a reallocation of split times. A heuristic that can reallocate up to 5 seconds of underutilized green time on a competing phase was applied to those corridors. …

Detector-Free Optimization Of Traffic Signal Offsets With Connected Vehicle Data, Cristopher Day, Howell Li, Lucy Richardson, James Howard, Tom Platte, Jim Sturdevant, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

It has recently been shown that signal offset optimization is feasible using vehicle trajectory data at low levels of market penetration. This study performs offset optimization on two corridors using this type ofdata. Six weeks oftrajectory splines were processed for two corridors including 25 signalized intersections, in order to create vehicle arrival profiles, using a proposed procedure called "virtual detection." After processing and filtering the data, penetration rates between 0.09-0.80% were observed, varying by approach. The arrival profiles were statistically compared against those measured with physical detectors, with the majority of the approaches showing statistically significant goodness-of-fit at a 90% …

Thin Film Concrete Coatings, Bobby W. Meade, Danny Wells, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KTC researchers obtained eight types of concrete coatings to assess their performance and resistance to chloride penetration. Researchers evaluated eight of the systems in the field and seven in the laboratory. In the field, coatings were applied to a bridge pier that had suffered degradation and chloride contamination. This site will undergo long term monitoring in order to thoroughly evaluate the coating systems. Adhesion of all products in both field and laboratory application was sufficient to provide a durable coating, and ranged from approximately 500 psi to 1,600 psi. Researchers also tested color and gloss changes, which are early indicators …

Bridge End Settlement Evaluation And Prediction, Jiwen Zhang, Timothy R. Taylor, Roy E. Sturgill

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A bridge approach is usually built to provide a smooth and safe transition for vehicles from the roadway pavement to the bridge structure. However, differential settlement between the roadway pavement that rests on embankment fill and the bridge abutment built on more rigid foundation often creates a bump in the roadway. Previous work examined this issue at a microscopic level and presented new methods for eliminating or minimizing the effects at specific locations.

This research studies the problem at a macroscopic level by determining methods to predict settlement severity; this assists designers in developing remediation plans during project development to …

Chloride Contamination Remediation On Steel Bridges, Bobby W. Meade, Christopher Goff, Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Researchers evaluated 32 steel surface preparation methods to determine how effectively they remove chloride from corroded chloride-contaminated steel panels. Wet methods proved more effective than dry methods. The three most effective wet methods injected mineral slag abrasives in a water stream and resulted in less than 1% chlorides remaining. Most dry surface preparation methods left significantly more chloride contamination after surface preparation. The three most effective dry methods used multiple blast cleaning cycles. These methods approached the effectiveness of the best wet methods, with 1.6 to 2.0% chlorides remaining. The least effective surface preparation was a single abrasive blast cleaning …

Modeling Factors Contributing To Injury And Fatality Of Run-Off-Road Crashes In Ohio, Deogratias Eustace, Omar Eid Almutairi, Peter W. Hovey

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

The main objective of this study was to determine the factors that contribute significantly to the levels of injury severity when run-off-road (ROR) crashes occur. This study used a 5-year crash data for years 2008 - 2012 from the state of Ohio. The decision tree model in conjunction with generalized ordered logit model was used to investigate characteristics of injury and fatality of run-off-road crashes in Ohio.

The decision tree modeling was used for exploratory data analysis identified eight factors that explain a large amount of the variation in the response variable, injury severity. These predictor variables include road condition, …

Webinar: Transit Signal Priority Evaluation And Performance Measures, Miguel Figliozzi

TREC Webinar Series

Transit signal priority (TSP) can reduce transit delay at signalized intersections by making phasing adjustments. TSP is a relatively inexpensive tool to provide faster and more reliable transit service. This webinar addresses TSP real-word performance measures as well as data integration and evaluation challenges. Results of the TSP evaluation in an arterial corridor in Portland, Oregon indicate that a timely and effective TSP system requires a high degree of sophistication, monitoring, and maintenance. TSP timing is crucial to reduce transit delay.

Key takeaways include: performance measures, methodology, analysis of early green and red extension pros and cons, novel real-world results.

Efficient Domain Decomposition Algorithms And Applications In Transportation And Structural Engineering, Paul W. Johnson Iii

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Domain decomposition is a divide-and-conquer strategy. In the first part of this dissertation, a new/simple/efficient domain decomposition partitioning algorithm is proposed to break a large domain into smaller sub-domains, in such a way as to minimize the number of system boundary nodes and to balance the work load for each sub-domain. This new domain decomposition algorithm is based on the network’s shortest path solution. Numerical results indicate that the new Shortest Distance Decomposition Algorithm outperformed the most widely used METIS algorithm in 21 out of 27 tested (transportation) examples. In the second part of this dissertation, another new/simple and highly …

14-06 Development Of Safety Performance Functions And Other Decision Support Tools To Assess Pedestrian And Bicycle Safety, Timothy J. Gates, Peter T. Savolainen, Steven Stapleton, Trevor Kirsch, Santosh Miraskar

Transportation Research Center Reports

A field study was performed at 40 uncontrolled midblock crosswalks and 26 signalized intersections on low-speed roadways selected from the areas surrounding three major urban college campuses across lower Michigan. An array of existing traffic control devices existed at the study sites, including various crosswalk marking strategies, along with additional treatments, such as pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs), rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs) and single in-street R1-6 signs. The sites also collectively included a diverse set of roadway and traffic characteristics, including crossing widths, number of lanes, and median presence, along with vehicular, pedestrian, and bicyclist volumes. Three primary evaluations were performed …

Development Of A Transition Between An Energy-Absorbing Concrete Barrier And A Rigid Concrete Butress, Tyler L. Schmidt, Ronald K. Faller, Jennifer D. Schmidt, John D. Reid, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott Rosenbaugh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

From 2010 to 2015, MwRSF researchers developed the RESTORE barrier, which is a restorable MASH TL-4 median barrier with a steel and concrete rail supported by elastomer posts and steel skids. The research effort reported herein describes the initial development of a transition from the RESTORE barrier to a rigid TL-4 concrete buttress.

The previously-developed RESTORE barrier LS-DYNA model was validated against three full-scale vehicle crash tests. Several design concepts were generated through a series of brainstorming efforts. The primary transition concept consisted of a pin and loop connection between the RESTORE barrier and rigid concrete buttress, which was designed …

15-04 Travel Behavior Of Blind Individuals Before And After Receiving Orientation And Mobility Training, Dae Shik Kim, C. Scott Smith, Elyse Connors

Transportation Research Center Reports

In this pilot study, we devised, tested, and refined a protocol for evaluating the travel behavior of blind individuals. Preliminary analyses of our pilot study data suggest that our new method involving Global Positioning Systems (GPS), accelerometers, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), will enable us to collect objective, quantitative, and valid measures of blind individuals’ travel behavior and Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training’s effectiveness. Preliminary analysis results from a small sample of blind travelers describe the individuals’ trip distances, trip frequencies, trip destinations, trip modes, travel times, whether assisted or not, and perceived ability to get around. With the completion …

Environmental Efficiency Assessment Of U.S. Transport Sector: A Slack-Based Data Envelopment Analysis Approach, Yong Shin Park, Siew Hoon Lim, Gokhan Egilmez, Joseph Szmerekovsky

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Sustainable transportation in the U.S. is essential for long-term economic growth and mobility, and environmental preservation. Using a non-radial slack-based measurement data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) model and state-level data, this study assesses the environmental efficiency of the transportation sector in the U.S. from years 2004 to 2012. In addition to environmental efficiency, carbon efficiency and potential carbon reduction were estimated for the 50 U.S. states. The findings of this study reveal that U.S. transportation sector was environmentally inefficient; U.S. states had an average transportation environmental efficiency score below 0.64. Therefore the states could substantially reduce carbon emissions to improve the …

The Economic Boom, Bust And Transport Inequity In Suburban Dublin, Ireland, Sarah Rock, Aoife Ahern, Brian Caulfield

Articles

This paper examines the existence and extent of transport inequity and disadvantage in new suburbs in Dublin, built during the Celtic Tiger period and as experienced during the recession. Findings are presented from a household postal survey from three case study areas built between 2001 and 2008. The case study areas are typical 'middle class' suburbs, and were constructed at a time when Ireland was experiencing unprecedented economic growth. The subsequent recession left many of these areas in significant negative equity, and householders with very limited housing mobility. Results from the survey point to considerable problems that are impacting on …

Public Transport Accessibility Levels For Ahmedabad, India, Jay S. Shah, Bhargav Adhvaryu

Journal of Public Transportation

Public transport plays an important role in a city’s economy and its social equity. It is also instrumental in reducing automobile dependence and traffic congestion. Several factors must come together to achieve well-functioning public transport systems. One major factor is the level of accessibility offered by the public transport system. To better understand and consequentially enhance accessibility, we must be able to measure it and map it, which is the key aim of this paper.

The methodology in this study, which was originally developed by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and later adopted by Transport for London (TfL) …

Public Transport Crowding Valuation: Evidence From College Students In Guangzhou, Jianrong Liu, Huiying Wen

Journal of Public Transportation

Overcrowding has grown to be an increasingly important issue for public transit in Guangzhou, China. To capture traveler benefits of reduced crowding from improved public transport, it is necessary to identify the relevant importance of crowding to travelers. This paper analyzes the disutility of crowding in metro car and bus transit with discrete choice models. Based on the stated preference survey data from college students in Guangzhou, the results show that there is non-negligible impact of crowding on passenger travel. The relationship between the disutility of crowding and standee density is not linear; that is, the disutility increases at a …

Cross-Elasticities In Frequencies And Ridership For Urban Local Routes, Joseph Totten, David Levinson

Journal of Public Transportation

Observational data from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region’s Metro Transit were analyzed to determine the effects of service levels on ridership levels at different intervals. The research compares changes in service levels and ridership in several service intervals and includes elasticities and cross elasticities, or the influence that these service levels have on different service intervals’ ridership. These cross-elasticities were found to have little effect during the week; however, weekend ridership was found to be influenced by rush-hour and overnight frequencies.

Effects Of Speed, Curves, And Driver Behavior On Passive Securement Systems On Large Transit Buses, Andrea Mather, Katharine Hunter-Zaworski

Journal of Public Transportation

Wheeled mobility devices that are not secured properly on large transit vehicles pose risks to all passengers. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the effects of horizontal and vertical curves, speed, and driver behavior on the safety and security of people using wheeled mobility devices in rear-facing passive containment systems on large transit buses. Testing included the use of manual wheelchairs and lightweight scooters on an articulated low-floor transit bus. The project conclusions were derived from data produced by accelerometers placed on the bus as well as visual observations of wheeled mobility device movement. The …

Evaluation Of Horizontal Equity Under A Distance-Based Transit Fare Structure, Milad Bandegani, Meisam Akbarzadeh

Journal of Public Transportation

Horizontal equity requires equal distribution of investment/benefit/costs among equal members of society. In other words, a transit passenger should pay as much as he/she uses. This study evaluated the measure of fulfillment of this rule in a case study, developed a distance-based fare structure, and shows that justice is better served by switching to the proposed structure. Fare elasticity of demand and probability distribution of transit passenger trip lengths were investigated through a field survey. Although mainly used in the measurement of inequality in income or wealth, the Gini index and the recovery ratio (revenue to cost for each transit …

Modeling Transit Users Stop Choice Behavior: Do Travelers Strategize?, Mohammad Nurul Hassan, Taha Hossein Rashidi, S. Travis Waller, Neema Nassir, Mark Hickman

Journal of Public Transportation

Transit choice research focuses predominantly on mode choice and route choice, whereas very few studies on stop choice are conducted. To fill this gap, this research aimed to study transit stop choice behavior with a focus on how people strategize when making their choices. It is hypothesized that travelers treat stops differently based on various schemes (strategies); minimizing travel time, access time, and the number of transfers are the schemes considered in this study, and the effectiveness of several discrete choice model specifications was examined. The study found that path attributes and stop attributes have significant impacts on stop selection …

Modeling Bus Dwell Time And Time Lost Serving Stop In China, Chao Wang, Zhirui Ye, Yuan Wang, Yueru Xu, Wei Wang

Journal of Public Transportation

The primary objective of this study was to develop a quantitative approach to estimate bus dwell time and time lost serving stop, which included acceleration and deceleration time, dead time, and time for serving boarding and alighting passengers. A polynomial model incorporating kinematics of a particle was derived for estimating bus acceleration and deceleration time. In addition, descriptive statistics methods were used to analyze dead time. A case study was conducted to show the applicability of the proposed model with data collected from the seven most common types of bus stops in China. R-square and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) …

Transportation System Vulnerability And Resilience To Extreme Weather Events And Other Natural Hazards: Report For Pilot Project — Kytc District 1, Benjamin L. Blandford, Scott Schurman, Candice Y. Wallace, Sarah M. Mccormack

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This research’s objective is to assist the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) in its efforts to develop strategies to address natural hazard vulnerabilities and improve the resiliency of Kentucky’s transportation infrastructure. Recent federal legislation calls for state transportation agencies to develop a risk-based asset management plan for National Highway System (NHS) assets that includes consideration of natural hazards. Similarly, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) calls for state transportation agencies to identify potential vulnerabilities associated with extreme weather events and climate change, and to incorporate these findings into transportation planning, design, and maintenance practices.

The Feasibility Of Utilising Compressed Natural Gas As Part Of A Systematic Approach To Establishing The Necessary Groundwork For The Hydrogen Based Transport Economy, James Brunton, John Howlett, David Kennedy

Conference Papers

One key objective for vehicle manufacturers is to develop technology and infrastructure to facilitate the progression from combustion to conversion by the year 2050. In the short to medium term however, the combustion of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel, coupled with advanced transmission innovations and emission control technology that are governed by strict Euro VI regulations appears to be the main path forward for the transport sector and the environment. This paper presents the feasibility of utilising the developing compressed natural gas network capabilities as part of a systematic approach to establishing the necessary groundwork for a hydrogen …

Analysis Of Farm Vehicle Crashes And Safety Belt Usage, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green, Michael A. Fields

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The use of safety belts and child safety seats has been shown to be an effective means of reducing injuries to motor vehicle occupants involved in traffic crashes. There have been various methods used in efforts to increase safety belt and safety seat usage. Past efforts have included public information campaigns, local followed by statewide legislation, and enforcement of the legislation.

The objectives of the study were to collect data and review related Kentucky data to determine the following information:

• usage rate specifically for occupants of farm vehicles,
• the number of registered farm vehicles and their percentage of all registered …

Performance Of Advance Warning Systems In A Coordinated System, Li Zhao, Laurence R. Rilett, Ernest Tufuor, Waleed Khan, Christopher Lefrois

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Advance Warning System (AWS), developed by the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has proven to be effective at improving traffic safety at isolated signalized intersections. However, the effectiveness of the system has not been analyzed at signalized intersections operating in a coordinated mode. This project analyzed AWS on arterials where the signals operate in a coordinated mode. The test bed consisted of nine sites, which are located at five successive coordinated signalized intersections on Highway 281 in Grand Island, Nebraska. A non-intrusive data collection system was used to collect a continuous traffic stream of data up to 1200 ft …

Research On High-Rap Asphalt Mixtures With Rejuvenators And Wma Additives, Hamzeh Haghshenas, Hesanaddin Nabizadeh, Yong-Rak Kim, Kommidi Santosh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (2011-2015), Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman, Michael A. Fields

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 2011 through 2015. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Rates were calculated for various types of highways and for counties and cities. Difference criteria were used for exposure.

Portable Modular Conveyor, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The Portable Modular Conveyor-Material Placer (PMC) is a quick, easy, dependable and cost effective way to place materials in the limits of the confined grade or work area. This specialized piece of equipment was developed to place concrete in front of a concrete slip form-paving machine. The typical method of placing concrete requires a self-propelled belt placer, which is very expensive to purchase and mobilize to the jobsite. The PMC creates a significant cost savings in labor and equipment with the PMC. It is a direct replacement for conventional material placing equipment, including all in grade belt placing machines. As …