Transportation Commons^™

From Disaster To Resilience: Developing Smart Settlements In The Himalayas, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s catastrophic 26 August 2026 Bhote Koshi–Trishuli flood should be understood not only as a humanitarian tragedy but also as a potentially major turning point in updating national settlement and reconstruction policy. Engineers and scientists have described the floods as a glacier–bedrock collapse that triggered an ice-rock avalanche and debris flow. As per the live updates on September 7, 2026, the total death toll was 1,355, and 4,996 people were missing (The Hindu, 2026). Indian and Nepali rescuers worked urgently to locate and rescue people buried under hydropower tunnels, buildings, mud, and landslide debris.

UN News reported on September 3, …

Dynamic Flood Risk Assessment For Transportation Infrastructure In Fresno, Ca, Yushin Ahn, Fayzul Pasha

Mineta Transportation Institute

Urban roadway flooding in flat metropolitan environments often shows up as small areas of standing water rather than large, flowing floods. In low-gradient urban environments, subtle micro-topographic features—such as pavement crowns, curbs, and localized depressions—often control where surface water accumulates following rainfall. Accurately identifying these localized ponding areas is important for roadway flood screening and infrastructure management. This study develops a LiDAR-based depression mapping framework to identify roadway segments susceptible to surface ponding in flat urban environments. High-resolution airborne LiDAR datasets were used to generate detailed elevation maps (down to less than a foot in resolution) from ground-classified point clouds …

Functionality Risk Assessment And Risk-Based Management For Critical Infrastructure Systems, Anteneh Zewdu Deriba

Dissertations and Theses

Critical infrastructure systems such as transportation networks serve as the lifelines of modern society, supporting economic activity and ensuring access to critical services. Their disruption under extreme events can produce consequences extending far beyond physical damage to individual assets. In transportation networks for instance, failures of critical assets such as bridges and tunnels can reduce accessibility of communities, limit freight capabilities for commerce, and increase travel distance and travel time of road users. These consequences associated with the system functionality loss are tied not only to the physical vulnerability and failure of individual assets, but also to the system configuration …

Quantitative Assessment Of Cybersecurity Risk Variability Across Transportation Modes, Paulo Carreon

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Transportation systems are increasingly dependent on digital technologies, networked communications, and cyber-physical integration, making cybersecurity an important issue for operational continuity, resilience, and safety. Although cybersecurity risks in transportation are widely recognized, much of the existing research remains mode-specific and lacks a standardized quantitative framework for comparing risk across transportation systems. This study develops a quantitative, incident-based approach for assessing cybersecurity risk variability across four major transportation modes: Aviation, Maritime, Rail, and Road. The study is based on a manually constructed dataset of 189 publicly reported transportation cybersecurity incidents collected from 2000 to 2025. Each incident was coded into structured …

Factors Affecting Pedestrian-Vehicle Conflicts: An Empirical Analysis, Christo D. Jamo

Honors Scholar Theses

The number of pedestrian deaths increased by 78% between 2009 and 2023, while other motor vehicle crash deaths increased by 13% in the same period [1]. To identify potential pedestrian safety measures, this study analyzed the effects of location-based demographics, pedestrian phasing type, and other physical infrastructure and behavior variables on the probability of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts at signalized intersections, which is a surrogate measure of crash risk. Data were collected from 55 intersections in Connecticut, and the pedestrian-vehicle interactions were classified by severity based on the Swedish Traffic Conflict Technique: undisturbed passage, potential conflict, minor conflict, or serious conflict. Because …

Does What Happens In Vegas Increase Pedestrian Safety? A Longitudinal Study On The Effectiveness Of Pedestrian Bridges, Jalen Paulos, Jalen Paulos, Joaquin Del Mundo, Brock Wentz

School of Medicine Research Poster Showcase

Urban populations continue to rise and the frequency that pedestrians are exposed to vehicular traffic continues to increase. The result is an increase in automobile versus pedestrian collisions. This study aims to determine the efficacy of pedestrian bridges in reducing the rates of automobile-pedestrian collisions. Data for all automobile versus pedestrian collisions and injuries from July of 1997 through December of 2023 at four distinct intersections along Las Vegas Boulevard were retrieved from the Nevada Department of Transportation. These sites were chosen because of their historically high rates of automobile versus pedestrian incidents and the construction of pedestrian bridges at …

Exploring The Stress-Strain Relationship Of Lightweight Concrete To Enhance The Lifecycle Performance Of Transportation Highways And Bridges, Fariborz M. Tehrani

Mineta Transportation Institute

Concrete is the primary construction material of bridges, roads, and other transportation infrastructure across the United States, but conventional normal-weight concrete (NWC) is heavy, prone to cracking, and expensive to maintain over time. This study examines the mechanical properties, durability, and lifecycle performance of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWC) and internally cured concrete (ICC) as alternatives in transportation infrastructure applications. Through laboratory testing, computer modeling, and lifecycle analysis, the research evaluates how these materials perform in terms of strength, flexibility, durability, cost, and environmental impact. The results show that LWC and ICC can meet required strength levels while being lighter and …

What Holds High-Speed Rail Back: Lessons From Global Systems And California’S Experience, Deepak K. Sharma, Rajnish Lekhi, Scott Parr

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report examines benefits and challenges of integrating California High-Speed Rail (CHSR) with other rail systems and reviews California legislation impacting HSR’s contracting and financing alternatives. The research compares CHSR with high-speed rail systems around the world to identify similarities and differences in costs, speeds, ridership, and operating conditions. It also reviews Japan’s Land Readjustment Act as a model for value capture and land assembly and explores international experiences on rail integration, along with U.S. cases from the East Coast and Los Angeles. A review of California’s transportation legislation highlights how laws for highways and bridges differ from those for …

Equity Evaluation Of Residents’ Transit+Walk Accessibility To Sacramento Healthcare Facilities, Masoud Ghodrat Abadi, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Aaron Pickett, Stephanie Nemet, Soheil Sharifi

Mineta Transportation Institute

Access to healthcare is a key component of public health equity, yet many U.S. communities remain dependent on private vehicles for medical travel. This study introduces an integrated framework, the Transit+Walk Score (TWS), to evaluate how effectively residents of Sacramento, California, can reach healthcare facilities via public transit and how safely, comfortably, and conveniently they can walk from transit stops to those facilities. The research aims to inform planners, transit agencies, and policy makers in designing equitable and multimodal transportation systems. The research team combined geospatial network modeling and field-based walkability audits to assess 123 healthcare facilities across Sacramento, with …

History Of The Interstate System In Indiana, Steven Wuertz

Purdue Road School

A brief history of the Interstate System in Indiana and across the Nation— 1956–2026: 70 years of the Interstate System

Understanding Mobility Limitations And Public Transportation Accessibility For People With Disabilities, Jada Meria Stringer

ETDs from 2020-2029

Mobility for people with disabilities (PWDs) depends on both the availability of transportation and public services and the accessibility of these systems. The presence of public transportation systems does not ensure usability. Vehicles, infrastructure, and the built environment must be designed to accommodate diverse physical, sensory, cognitive, and other needs. PWDs must also be able to navigate public buildings and surrounding spaces safely and comfortably. This thesis examines mobility limitations for PWDs in India and the United States, focusing on accessibility along the full mobility chain. A review of existing literature provides context on accessibility policies, design standards, and the …

Enhancing Traffic State Estimation At Bottlenecks Through Improved Demand Modeling: A Greenshields-Grounded Approach, Yuyan Annie Pan, Xianbiao Hu, Qing Tang, Yanyan Chen, Xuesong (Simon) Zhou

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Accurate estimation of traffic state under oversaturated conditions is fundamental to a wide range of transportation applications. While intuitive, volume-to-capacity (q/qc) ratio-based link performance functions (LPF) are challenged by the U-shaped pattern of real-world speed-flow plots, which contradict the monotonic assumptions of link performance models such as the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) function, particularly when q/q_c ≥ 1. This study addresses this critical gap by proposing an enhanced demand estimation method grounded in the Greenshields model, incorporating a real-time inflow correction factor to more accurately capture traffic demand at bottlenecks. In parallel, a modified LPF is introduced, replacing …

Interpretable Machine Learning For Bridge-Pier Scour Prediction And Flood Resilience, Adil Khan, Dalya Ismael

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Bridge-pier scour is a leading cause of flood-induced bridge failure, yet practice still lacks transparent, physics-informed tools that link data-driven prediction with design guidance. This study develops an interpretable, physics-aware machine-learning framework to predict equilibrium scour depth and translate those predictions into actionable strategies for flood-resilient infrastructure. Using the 2014 U.S. Geological Survey Pier-Scour Database (569 laboratory cases), five models: Gradient Boosting, AdaBoost (Tree), XGBoost, Gaussian Process (RBF kernel), and Kernel Ridge (polynomial), were trained and evaluated with K-fold cross-validation. Model performance was evaluated using R², RMSE, and MAE. Gradient Boosting performed best, achieving training and testing R² of 0.99 …

An Integrated Multivariate Econometric Modeling Framework For Risky Driving Behavior Related Crashes: Evaluating Crash Risk And Severity Across Zones, Pabitra Kumar Roy

Dissertations and Theses

Rapid advancements in crash modeling have yet to fully integrate multiple behavior-driven crash types and their severity outcomes within a single, scalable framework, specially in a way that captures the sequential nature of these behaviors where one risky action may amplify another. This study proposed an integrated multivariate econometric framework to jointly model crash frequency and severity outcomes for three major behaviorally driven crash types: alcohol-related, distraction-related, and aggressive-driving-related crashes. Specifically, using Oregon's 2022 census block group-level crash data, we propose an Integrated Multivariate Negative Binomial – Generalized Ordered Probit Fractional Split (IMNB–GOPFS) model to analyze these dimensions simultaneously while …

A Comparative Analysis Of Complete Streets And Multimodal Transport Approaches: Implications For Sustainable Urban Mobility In Lincoln, And Global Contexts, Oliva Richard Kilyenyi

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

Movement of people and goods in urban areas through different modes of transportation including walking, cycling, public transit and by autos is termed as urban mobility. Urban mobility presents significant environmental, social, and economic challenges for cities worldwide as they grapple with the impacts of conventional transportation systems, particularly in North America context where car-centric planning approaches has dominated urban developments since 1950s. Car-centric dominance is 80% in North American Metropolitan areas (Manaugh et al., 2015). The impacts of these conventional systems include greenhouse gas emission emissions contributing approximately 24% of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, air pollution …

Development Of An Access Charge Framework For High-Speed Rail Incorporating Rail Replacement Costs And Dynamic Train Characteristics, Nitesh Kumar Yadav

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis develops a framework to determine track access charges for shared high-speed rail corridors, with a focus on rail replacement cost driven by train-induced loads. The method explicitly accounts for both static loads, resulting from axle weights, and dynamic loads that arise from train speed and track geometry, particularly curvature. Train characteristics such as axle load, operating speed, frequency of service, and number of wheels are integrated with track parameters, including curve radius, to calculate the total vertical load. These loads are used to estimate the cumulative tonnage threshold for rail replacement and the resulting service life of the …

Constructing A State: Canals And The Transformation Of The Economy, Politics, And Finance In Nineteenth-Century New York, Youwei Xing

All Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays in economic history, unified by a focus on one of America's earliest transportation infrastructures, the canal system, in nineteenth-century New York. Each chapter explores a different aspect of the state's transformation: its economy, politics, and finance, each of which helped construct New York as the Empire State.

The first chapter studies the economic impact of canals on economic modernization from three aspects: sectoral transition, urbanization, and banking development. Contrary to much of the modern literature finds transportation infrastructure leads to decentralization, I find the opposite-evidence of centralization. Specially: (1) canal towns experienced a transition …

Resilience Of Interdependent Transportation And Healthcare Systems: A Simulation-Driven Framework Incorporating Social Equity And Facility Optimization, S. Yasaman Ahmadi

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The overarching goal of this dissertation is to develop an integrated, simulation-driven framework to assess and enhance the resilience of interdependent transportation and healthcare systems before, during, and after natural hazards. By examining how spatial disruptions, social vulnerability, operational constraints, and infrastructure interdependencies affect access to and functionality of hospitals, this research offers a multifaceted evaluation of system performance under stress. This dissertation examines the impact of natural hazards, particularly floods, on the interdependent transportation and healthcare systems. The proposed approach combines and advances GIS-based network analysis, graph-theoretical modeling, and discrete-event simulation to evaluate system performance under different scenarios. The …

Application Of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (Dfos) For Monitoring Asphalt Pavement Strains Under Accelerated Loading Conditions, Sebastian Morales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents a study on the application of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) technology for detecting pavement's strain response with high spatial resolution. Using a Rayleigh-based optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) system, DFOS sensors were calibrated and embedded in full-scale asphalt slabs subjected to accelerated loading using a Model Mobile Load Simulator 3 (MMLS3). Calibration of the DFOS sensors was conducted using a three-point bending flexural test with known load conditions and reference strain gauges to validate theoretical and numerical models. The results demonstrate DFOS's capability to detect pavement response under static and dynamic loading, as well as changes …

Stop Design: Rethinking The Approach To Public Transit's Architecture, Elizabeth M. Nielsen

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Public spaces are the foundation of our social health and wellbeing, but are often designed without considering the needs of the public, creating spaces that people do not feel encouraged to use. Just as public space design as a whole often falls short of serving the public, the same can be said for a subset of public space design, public transit stops. While they are public spaces created for the purpose of waiting, their design rarely reflects this.

Well-designed public transit stops are capable of both maintaining existing ridership and drawing in new riders. Most commonly, this design occurs at …

Charging Infrastructure Needs For Electric Trucks In Texas, Katerina Jilkova

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the design of a methodology for determining the optimal location of charging stations for heavy-duty electric trucks. The work focuses primarily on long-distance trips that require charging the truck battery outside cities, where the range of charging stations is not extensive. In addition to design the algorithm, the thesis also focuses on implementing the algorithm on a specific case - the implementation of charging stations in the I-10 Freeway corridor between El Paso and San Antonio. The output of the work is not only a description of the procedure, but also an application to a real …

A Numerical Analysis Tool To Evaluate Pavements Integrated With Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer Technology, Hector Cruz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to gain market share in the U.S., the integration of dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) systems into pavements has emerged as a promising solution to address range anxiety and infrastructure limitations. However, the structural implications of embedding DWPT technology into roadways remain insufficiently explored. This dissertation presents the development and application of a numerical analysis tool to evaluate the mechanical performance of flexible pavements containing embedded charging units (CUs). A series of finite element models, validated with full-scale experimental data, were used to assess the influence of axle loading, material properties, layer configurations, bonding conditions, …

Improving Traffic Management During Special Events At The Sun Bowl Stadium, Marek Polak

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis focuses on improving traffic conditions around the Sun Bowl Stadium, especially during large public events. The goal is to propose effective solutions that enhance the use of public infrastructure during both event days and normal traffic conditions. To understand the current situation, two surveys were conducted during a football game - one monitoring parking lot occupancy and the other measuring traffic volumes using video recordings and pressure sensors. Based on the collected data, design changes were proposed for two key intersections: Sun Bowl Dr. with W. University Ave., and Sun Bowl Dr. with Glory Rd. The new designs …

Feasibility Of On-Demand Charging For Private Evs At The El Paso International Airport, Katerina Zizalova

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As electric vehicle adoption rate continues to grow globally and across the United States, it is desirable for airports to adapt to meet the needs of electric vehicle driving passengers. This thesis develops an implementation plan for an on-demand charging solution for the El Paso International Airport to address the current limitations in charging infrastructure. After analyzing the electric vehicle adoption trends, four charging solutions were studied: conventional fixed-point charging, fixed-point charging with added valet service, mobile charging service and wireless inductive charging. Using decision-making matrices implementing criteria such as operational suitability, scalability or costs, one charging solution was recommended …

Mash Crashworthiness Of Work Zone Devices And Breakaway Luminaire Poles, Mohammadreza Rajaee

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

This thesis presents a study on the crashworthiness of two commonly-used roadside safety devices: Type II barricades and luminaire poles supported by TB1-17 transformer bases. The first part focuses on designing and evaluating a non-proprietary, Type II barricade that meets MASH criteria. A validated LS-DYNA model, based on a previously-tested Type III barricade, was used to guide the design. The proposed Type II system was evaluated through simulation and confirmed with full-scale crash testing. The second part of the study investigates luminaire poles supported by the TB1-17 transformer base. A previously-developed LS-DYNA model was updated and validated using test No. …

Development Of Timber Bridge Railing And Approach Guardrail Transition, Aaron Lechtenberger

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

Timber bridges with transverse and longitudinal bridge decks are increasingly utilized across the United States. However, limited research exists to develop bridge railing systems for high-service-level roadways that meet current vehicular impact safety standards. In response to this gap, the United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service -Forest Products Laboratory (USDA-FS-FPL), in collaboration with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF), initiated a research program to develop, crash test, and evaluate higher-service-level bridge railings and approach guardrail transitions (AGTs) compliant with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).

This study continued …

Modeling The Impacts Of Disruptive Events On Driving Behaviors, Transportation Safety, And Equity: Advanced Statistical Insights From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Xiaomeng Dong

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims to understand how disruptive events —particularly the COVID-19 pandemic—affect driving behaviors, transportation safety and equity by leveraging advanced statistical modeling techniques and data from Virginia. This research pursues three overarching objectives. First, it employs multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) to uncover the complex interrelationships among risky driving behaviors, injury severity, and pandemic-related factors, delineating the mechanisms through which COVID-19 has impacted crash outcomes via changing risky driving behaviors. Second, it leverages hidden Markov models to trace shifts in safety states over the pre-, during-, and post-pandemic periods, determining whether and when safety conditions return to pre-pandemic norms. …

Evaluation Of Long-Term Performance Of Transportation Earthworks Prone To Weather-Driven Deterioration Under Changing Climate, Amr Morsy, Emma Varela

Mineta Transportation Institute

Embankments are key transportation infrastructure features providing essential support for long, linear stretches of transportation infrastructure, including highways and railways, in California and globally. Clay embankments are susceptible to weather-related deterioration processes that can gradually compromise their stability and, in some cases, lead to unexpected failures. Climate change, along with the associated shifts in weather patterns, is projected to adversely impact weather-related deterioration processes, leading to exacerbated failures and/or shorter service life. This study evaluated the impact of climate change on the rate of weather-driven deterioration of embankments in two locations in California: Los Angeles and Sacramento. Specifically, a multi-phase …

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. …

Assessing The Perceived Safety Of Cyclists With Virtual Reality, Vahid Balali

Mineta Transportation Institute

In 2022, 7,522 pedestrians and 1,084 bicyclists were killed and approximately 67,000 pedestrians and 46,195 bicyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes on public roadways in the United States, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The transportation industry is faced with a pressing need to bolster the safety of these vulnerable road users. This research develops models of design and environmental factors that influence bicyclists’ and pedestrians’ perception of safety using Virtual Reality (VR) technology and ultimately informs transportation infrastructure design to better accommodate nonmotorized travelers. The goal of the bicycle element of this research is to develop …