Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Examining The Impact Of Customer Rfp Characteristics On Award Compliance, Laasya Ravipati

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the context of intermodal transportation, understanding the dynamics of award compliance holds significant importance for operational efficiency and strategic decision-making. Award compliance refers to the percentage of awarded freight volume that is realized, indicating the extent to which contractual agreements are fulfilled. This analysis delves into the intricate relationship between customer characteristics and award compliance, aiming to provide valuable insights into the variability and predictability of compliance rates. By analyzing Request for Pricing (RFP) data and primary awarded freight volumes, the study seeks to address the need for more accurate volume estimations, crucial for sales planning, revenue projections, and …

Modeling Pedestrian And Bicyclist Crash Exposure With Location-Based Service Data, Yunwoo Nam, Jason Hawkins, Don Butler, Nicholas Aldridge, Mohammad Elayan, Kwant Il (Jason) Yoo

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The rising popularity of non-motorized transportation has brought about safety risks. The inclusion of accurate traffic volume information is one of the key elements to produce robust outcomes when researching safety. The project investigates and enhances transportation safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, emphasizing the integration of Location-Based Services (LBS) data, particularly StreetLight data, to analyze traffic volume and associated risks. The calibration process demonstrates the significance of traffic volume as a key variable influencing prediction accuracy across pedestrian, bicyclist, and vehicle models. The crash analysis reveals a strong correlation between crash counts and traffic activity, with noteworthy findings emerging at …

A Dedicated Lane Analysis For Supply Chain Resilience In The U.S.-Mexico Border: Cost-Comparison And Simulation Models, Carlo A. Zorola Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Supply chains have been actively developing and implementing strategies to enhance resilience in response to various disruptive events like the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, geopolitical tensions, and climate change. These strategies aim to address demand and supply imbalances, logistical challenges, and policy restrictions encountered in transborder commerce. One area significantly impacted by such disruptions is cross-border trade between the US and Mexico. Understanding these strategies is crucial for achieving supply chain resilience, defined as the ability of a supply chain to quickly adapt to sudden disruptions without affecting the flow of goods. In both the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders …

Final Design Of Legion Hall Revitalization In Potter, Nebraska, Madison Brennfoerder

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This project was conducted to renovate and revitalize the Legion Hall community center in the Village of Potter located in western Nebraska north of the Interstate. The work completed for this project can be separated into five disciplines: Hydrologic & Hydraulic Design, Geotechnical Analysis, Structural Analysis, Environmental Analysis, and Transportation Design. Legion Hall is a historical building within The Village of Potter which was built in 1917. The Village of Potter has recently acquired the rights to the hall and is seeking to revitalize the historical community center to increase tourism in the village.

Culvert Design And Roadway Restoration Of Cavett Road At Damon Creek, Kevin Harvey

Honors College Theses

Cavett Road is a small, two lane rural road located in Kirksey, Kentucky. This road faces the issue of flooding during light-to-moderate rain, posing risk to those who use the road, especially those living along Cavett Road. This flooding is also capable of washing away the surface of Cavett Road and the adjacent banks and soil wall of the creek, creating a risk of erosion and soil subsidence. To reduce the risk of flooding and erosion and improve roadway function, this project outlines a potential solution using newly-installed reinforced concrete box culverts and soil fill above them to improve the …

Impervious Surfaces From High Resolution Aerial Imagery: Cities In Fresno County, Yushin Ahn, Richard Poythress

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study investigates impervious surfaces — areas covered by materials with restricted water permeability, such as pavement, sidewalks, and parking lots—due to their crucial role in influencing water dynamics within urban landscapes. The impermeability of these surfaces disrupts natural water absorption processes, resulting in adverse environmental consequences such as increased flooding, erosion, and water pollution. The research employs impervious surface analysis, a method involving the mapping and analysis of these surfaces within specified study areas, including cities, counties, and census tracts. Remote sensing techniques, specifically satellites and aerial imagery, are commonly utilized for the identification and classification of impervious surfaces. …

Dynamics Of Link Importance Across Flood Disaster Phases And Flood Impacts On Operation Of An Industry, Navin Bhatta

All Theses

Transportation damage and disruptions will become increasingly common as the frequency of floods increases due to climate change. Given the size and cost of the transportation network construction, communities' mitigation measures should be supported by evaluations that cover both normal and disaster management phases. This thesis examines the criticality of road segments in the normal, flood response, and recovery phases, considering the effects on emergency services, healthcare, industry, education, recreation, and transit and analyses that whether a flood disrupts the operational trips of a company in Anderson County, South Carolina. A 100-year event and a 500-year flood event provides context …

Estimation Of Benefits From Pedestrian And Bicycle Improvements, Dionysios Tzamakos, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, William Staats, Teng Wang, Reginald Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Delivering safe mobility for all users of the transportation system is a key priority of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). Because many system users rely on pedestrian and bicycle facilities, it is critical for KYTC to balance pedestrian and bicycle facility accommodations with those for motorized users. Currently, the Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) — the Cabinet’s systematic approach to scoring and prioritizing proposed roadway projects — awards up to five points (out of a possible total of 100) for pedestrian and bicycle projects. But the agency lacks a robust method for estimating the benefits of pedestrian and …

Addressing Multimodal Transportation Needs Through Complete Streets Implementation, Eirini Stavropoulou, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, William Staats, Teng Wang, Reginald Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Since the early 2000s, over 1,600 transportation agencies in the United States have adopted Complete Streets policies. Recently, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) published its Complete Streets, Roads, and Highways Manual, which aims to implement a safe and equitable transportation system throughout the state, as well as a Complete Streets policy. The manual and policy offer guidance on integrating Complete Streets principles into road design, however, KYTC currently lacks tools or methods to evaluate how well specific projects address Complete Streets goals. This is problematic because systematic assessments are needed to effectively prioritize projects and allocate scarce funding. Based …

Developing Guidelines For The Use Of Lightweight Materials In Culvert Preservation, Charlie Sun, Kean H. Ashurst Jr.

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This study addresses challenges that arise during highway embankment construction on road widening projects when additional fill is placed above existing culverts. Researchers conducted reduced-scale model laboratory tests to simulate culvert behavior under different loading conditions and to determine how well lightweight materials (LWMs) perform when subjected to changing loads. Testing showed that proximity of LWM to the culvert’s top surface strongly influences the magnitude of strain reductions or increases. Placing LWMs with relatively low elastic modulus closer to the culvert’s top surface led to reduced culvert ceiling strain and increased culvert wall strain. LWMs with relatively high elastic modulus …

A 2-D Numerical Model For Evaluating Daylight Penetration In Short Tunnels For Enhanced Driver Safety, Joachim James

Master's Theses

It is commonly assumed that daylight will adequately penetrate short tunnels, leading to the misconception that artificial lighting is unnecessary during the daytime. Past studies revealed higher frequency of crashes in short tunnels and despite that there is lack of national guidelines warranting artificial lighting for short tunnels. Inadequately lit tunnels pose safety risks, while excessive lighting can be costly. Hence, it becomes crucial to investigate the extent of daylight penetration in short tunnels and identify disappearance zones within these tunnels. This research can help determine the necessity of artificial lighting, and which specific areas of the tunnel require lighting. …

Proposed Charlotte To Atlanta High-Speed Passenger Rail Line: An Economic, Infrastructural, And Developmental Analysis In The Upstate Of South Carolina, Ian C. Macurda, Kimberly Whitehead

SC Upstate Research Symposium

This research paper is an in-depth analysis of the high-speed passenger rail line proposed between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA and its impact on the economy, infrastructure, and future development of the Upstate of South Carolina. Currently, passenger rail service between Charlotte and Atlanta is offered on Amtrak at late hours throughout the night on its long-distance passenger rail line The Crescent from New York City, NY to New Orleans, LA. The train is often delayed and is operating at a deficit for Amtrak, like most of their long-distance routes. Traffic on Interstate 85 through the Upstate is another issue …

Assessment Of Engineering Performance And Environmental Impacts Of High Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (Rap) Asphalt Mixtures In Flexible Pavements, Ibrahim A.I.E. Elnaml

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Due to the critical role of asphalt pavements in national infrastructure development, there is a pressing need to investigate more sustainable materials and approaches. The use of natural aggregates and asphalt binders in asphalt pavement presents sustainability challenges due to the depletion of finite resources. Recycling Asphalt Pavement (RAP) offers a promising sustainable solution by substituting virgin aggregates and asphalt binders with recycled ones. However, increasing RAP contents in asphalt mixtures (>25%) can lead to premature cracking, insufficient durability, and limited longevity due to the presence of aged RAP-asphalt binder. To address these concerns, the application of novel recycling …

Assessment Of Improvement In Unpaved Roadway Performance Using 3d Geogrids Under Cyclic Loading, Munibhaskar Pagadala

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Geogrids have been used for decades to improve the performance in both paved and unpaved road construction. This research focuses on quantifying the performance and optimizing the design of unpaved roadways using the results from an extensive cyclic triaxial testing program. Twenty-seven cyclic triaxial tests were performed, consisting of unreinforced (control) and reinforced samples using two types of 3D geogrids: Grid1 and Grid2. The samples measured 150 mm in diameter and a height of 300 mm. The tests were run under different loading sequences ranging from 41 kPa to 55 psi (6 psi to 8 psi of confining stress and …

Toward Improved Shared Micromobility Implementation: A Data-Driven Approach To Overcome Challenges And Explore Next-Generation Acceptance, Myriam Zakhem

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Rapid transportation advancements over the last several years have resulted in new personal mobility modes, such as shared micromobility (e.g., e-scooters, bikes, and e-bikes). These short-term rental vehicles expand transportation mobility by offering affordable, convenient, and efficient options that are easy to access. The rapid expansion of dockless micromobility systems presents major opportunities and challenges for cities, leading some to ban these services within their jurisdiction. To enhance the effectiveness of dockless shared micromobility services, address challenges created by these services, and achieve better implementation performance, cities need efficacious strategies to tackle major challenges. This dissertation contributes to the body …

Reducing Vehicle Licensing And Titling Fraud, Mallory Brown, Andrew Martin, Jeeyen Koo, Jennifer Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This study reviews Kentucky’s vehicle licensing and registration program, evaluates methods of motor vehicle title fraud, examines current anti-fraud mechanisms in Kentucky, reports on vehicle titling and anti-fraud efforts in other states, assesses Ohio’s vehicle inspection program, and develops a proposal for a new Kentucky rebuilt title inspection program. Researchers developed the proposal based on historical Kentucky vehicle registration and titling data, a survey of other states, and other information provided by Kentucky’s Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing and other agency partners. Kentucky historical data revealed consistently high numbers of salvage title applications as well as spatial concentration in rebuilt …

Safety Evaluation Of Hawaii Dot Modified Type A-1 Flared Buried In Backslope Guardrail End Terminal, Sina Changizian

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) desired to evaluate the crashworthiness of a guardrail end terminal design in which the upstream guardrail anchorage was connected to a block partially buried in a cut slope, known as a “Buried in Backslope” or BIB design. The HDOT BIB system used an upper W-beam with 8-in. deep blockouts attached to W6x9 steel posts and a lower W-beam rubrail located 3 in. below the upper rail. The system used two horizontal flares: 7.4:1 near the upstream anchor block and a 13:1 flare through the ditch.

Critical impact points (CIPs) were identified and recommended for …

The Game Of Traffic Lights (Tgotl), Faith Chapman

Posters - 2024

“Computer Science can be applied to nearly ANY field.” In college, and high school especially, the phrase is just that—early comp. sci (CS) students don’t have realworld examples of how/where else they can use CS knowledge outside of CS focused jobs. For high school students, this a missed opportunity to plan for a career outside the obvious. One such career is in traffic lights.

U.S. traffic can be better. Engineering has a subfield dedicated to improving traffic, and part of that entails studying ways to improve traffic lights’ efficacy. Someone with CS knowledge can program a traffic simulator for data …

Modeling Injury Severity Of Truck-Involved Crashes Under Covid-19 Regulatory Changes, William Mckenzie

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

At the start of the pandemic the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued declaration No. 2020-002 which included a long list of goods given temporary emergency relief (deregulation) from national statutes 49 CFR Parts 390-399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that oversee trucking. In particular, this granted emergency relief from Title 49 CFR § 395.3: maximum driving time for motor carriers or their drivers, regarded as hours-of-service (HOS), and subsequently further expanded to include short-haul trips, adverse driving conditions, break requirements, and sleeper berths. Regulations which play a crucial role in establishing the safe operation and management of …

Modeling The Impact Of Connected And Automated Vehicles On Driving Behaviors And Safety: A Driving Simulator Study, Abdalziz Alruwaili

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Connected vehicles (CVs), equipped with advanced sensors, can communicate safety messages to drivers. Automated vehicles (AVs), designed with the ability to automate safety critical control functions, will redefine the traditional role of drivers. This dissertation aims to investigate the impact of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) on driving behaviors and safety outcomes using data from driving simulator experiments. More specifically, the research objectives include:

1. Modeling the impacts of CVs on driving aggressiveness and situational awareness in highway crash scenarios.

2. Modeling the impacts of CV technologies on driving behaviors and safety outcomes in highway crash scenarios under diverse weather …

Advancing Data-Driven Decision Making For Transportation Safety: Emerging Trends, Statistical Modeling, And Causal Inference, Guocong Zhai

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Despite recent advances in data-driven decision-making for transportation safety, there remain potential biases in the decision-making for emerging trends (i.e., shared mobility, safe systems, vehicle electrification, and equity) in transportation. In that case, this dissertation aims to facilitate robust and equitable data-driven decision-making in transportation safety, addressing the potential biases: 1) spatial and inherent correlations across different types of crashes, 2) measurement error biases of exposures, 3) confounding biases, and 4) disparity biases in transportation safety.

To be more specific, four research objectives are demonstrated below. Chapter 3 assessed the safety performance of taxi and ride-hailing services by a multivariate …

Guidebook For Project Management, Jill Asher, Keith Caudill, Travis Thompson, Jeff Jasper, Chris Van Dyke, Samantha Wright, Bryan Gibson, Pam Clay-Young, Candice Wallace

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

For the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) Department of Highways, project development encompasses all the work activities needed to move a transportation project from concept and project initiation to construction letting. Developing projects efficiently requires the adoption of sound project management practices. Although KYTC has a long track record of executing complex projects, doing so is increasingly challenging due to staff attrition and the attendant loss of institutional knowledge. Today’s entry- and mid-level project managers have more responsibilities than ever but lack a trusted source of guidance to help them manage projects from development through completion. The objective of this study …

Modelling Techniques For Slab Track Systems, Mohamed Hafez Fahmy Aly, Islam Mahmoud Abou El-Naga, Ahmed Abdul Hay Soliman, Muhammad Ahmad Diab

Journal of Engineering Research

The railway slab track has replaced the ballast material in the classical ballasted track with reinforced concrete slab or asphalt layer to cope up with the increasing axle loads, train high-speeds, and to reduce overall maintenance cost. This paper aims to investigate the linear and nonlinear behavior of the most common slab track systems (BÖGL, Shinkansen, and RHEDA 2000) using American (AREMA) loads for different soil types to recommend the most suitable analysis type for each component of the slab track systems. Slab track Finite Element models have been built using Midas GTS NX software. The geometric model for each …

Use Of Waste Plastics In Asphalt Mixes: Addressing The Variability Of Source, Venkatsushanth Revelli, Anil Kumar Baditha

Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Symposium

Use of waste plastics in asphalt mixtures suffers from a serious problem of significant variability with global sources; preventing proper guidelines for field applications. The aim of this study is to address the variability in source of waste plastic and its impact on asphalt mixture design. The study was designed to provide a selection criterion to evaluate the suitability of waste polyethylene (PE) for asphalt pavements. PE obtained from five sources was used as a replacement for asphalt binder. Dry mixing of plastics with asphalt and aggregate was performed at the dosage levels of 3%, 6%, and 9%. The changes …

Performance Assessment Of Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials With Low To High Thermoregulation Range In Asphalt Binder, Anil Kumar Baditha, Ayyaz Fareed

Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Symposium

Asphalt pavements face significant challenges due to low temperature cracking and rutting caused by extreme temperature fluctuations and traffic loading. These issues result in higher maintenance costs and reduced service life of the pavements. To address this, researchers explored the use of Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (MPCMs) to induce thermoregulation in asphalt pavements. However, the existing research focused on high-temperature performance of binders, highlighting the need of research on evaluating the low-temperature performance. Therefore, the study aims to evaluate the impact of incorporating MPCMs on low to high temperature performance of binders. Three types of MPCMs were incorporated into asphalt …

Safety Investigation Of Crash Rates During Hurricane Evacuations, Amelia K. Lawson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This study aimed to investigate crash rates across four distinct periods—evacuation, re-entry, emergency, and non-emergency—during Hurricanes Matthew (2016), Irma (2017), and Michael (2018). A notable gap in existing research pertains to understanding crash rates during these critical phases of hurricane events. By addressing this gap, this research contributes to a deeper comprehension of evacuation transportation safety. The methodology employed ArcMap to construct an interactive map for data collection, encompassing key variables such as the number of crashes, traffic volumes, duration of each period under analysis, and roadway segment lengths for each hurricane. Evaluating the crash rate per million vehicular miles …

Study On Treatment Method Of Expansive Soil Embankment In Expressway Reconstruction And Extension, Wang Yuwei, Hu Yanli, Zhang Rui

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to fully utilize expansive soil as filler in highway reconstruction and expansion projects，this paper draws on the successful experience of using expansive soil directly in road construction.It proposes an embankment treatment scheme that involves the use of geogrid-reinforced expansive soil with edge wrapping，based on the reconstruction and expansion project of the Hefei to Dagudian section of the G 40 Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway.Through laboratory tests，the road performance and swelling characteristics of the expansive soil filler were investigated to determine the applicable scope and compaction control indices of the filler.Then，the feasibility of the embankment treatment scheme was demonstrated through the prediction …

Research On Construction Risk Of Desert Highway Subgrade Engineering Based On Sem, Wang Shouxu, Han Lingyun

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Highway construction in desert areas is of great significance to improving the nodes of transportation networks and developing the economy of remote areas.In order to effectively explore the construction risks of desert highway subgrade engineering，the five aspects of personnel risk，technical risk，material risk，mechanical risk，and environmental risk were analyzed，and 23 indicators affecting the construction risk of desert highway subgrade engineering were screened out by literature research method.Based on the effective data collected by questionnaire survey，a structural equation model （SEM ） of the construction risk of desert highway subgrade engineering was constructed，and the key influencing factors of the construction risk were analyzed.The results …

Lightweight Replacement Technology For Existing Soft Subgrade Based On Over‑Consolidated State, Huang Baotao, Zhang Mudan, Huang Xiangshuo, Fang Mingshan, Feng Jianxue, Huang Lizhen

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to solve the differential settlement of soft subgrade in coastal areas，based on the elastic deformation theory of overconsolidation stress ratio，the calculation and analysis of artificial overconsolidation stress ratio and the new technology of lightweight replacement were carried out to reduce the additional stress of vehicle load and structure weigh.The results show that the replacement thickness of the lightweight material with suitable density can make the additional stress at the bottom of the subgrade less than the deadweight stress of the original soft soil，and the additional stress is less than the initial flow stress of the soft soil.The resulting …

Analysis Of Stress And Drainage Characteristics Of Water Film Between Tire And Road Surface And Influence Of Groove Parameters, Sun Zhenhao, Chen Jun

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to study the stress characterist ics of water film on cement concrete road surface under the action of the tire and the influence of grooves，the finite element model of tire-water film-road surface was constructed using SolidWorks and Ansys Workbench.Based on computational fluid dynamics （CFD ） control equation and fluid-structure coupling theory，the flow law of water film on road surface under the action of the tire and the influence of water film thickness，driving speed，groove width，groove spacing，and groove direction on the hydrodynamic lift of tire were analyzed.The results show that the hydrodynamic lift of the tire increases with the increasing …