Full-depth reclamation (FDR) is a rehabilitation technique that has been around for several years. The process involves pulverizing the existing roadway materials, mixing it with a stabilizing agent and using it to form a foundation layer for the new roadway. FDR provides structural benefit to the new roadway, conserves raw materials and quickly returns the facility to service. However, the process can be difficult to get just right.

”The Bryan and Lubbock Districts [of the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT] have been leaders in using FDR. Both have recycled many miles of roadway,” says Tom Scullion, manager of the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Flexible Pavements Program. “More of the districts are getting involved, and it’s really accelerating, but some districts have little experience with FDR. TxDOT wanted a comprehensive study and guidelines on how to test, design and construct FDR projects.

‘The first task in using FDR is conducting nondestructive tests on the FDR candidates. Usually this process is accomplished by using ground-penetrating radar and falling weight deflectometers. These tests measure uniformity and overall existing strengths. Next, designers take samples of the existing materials and test them in order to select the optimal type and amount of stabilizer to use. This includes both strength and moisture susceptibility testing. Then, during the construction phase, everything needs to be done correctly — using the right amount of stabilizer, mixing it correctly, spreading the mixture uniformly and verifying that the result meets the design.

“When people run into problems with FDR, it’s usually because the existing roadways are so variable,” Scullion says. “You’re trying to make this into a uniform support structure, so upfront testing and performance-related design tests are critical.

“The Bryan District, for example, has been designing pavements using FDR since the 1990s and has done over 1,000 miles of roadway.

“It’s a good process that allows us to construct economically,” says Darlene Goehl, the project director and the pavement and materials engineer in the TxDOT Bryan District. “We test the existing roadway to determine how good the material is. We’ll probably recycle it no matter its condition, but the tests tell us how to design the total pavement structure and where we include that existing material.

“Another issue researchers are examining is the different stabilizers that are available. Most districts use lime or cement, but some districts want to use fly ash, asphalt emulsions and other materials.

Environmental concerns also play a part in the design process. Engineers attempt to minimize the amount of dust blowing around during construction. Slurry (materials mixed with water) is now used, and researchers are working with manufacturers of slurry equipment to determine the best way to apply the materials.

“The final part of the study is following up and getting feedback,” says Scullion. “We’re going to test projects that were done recently to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and then see how we can improve the whole design process.”

The study will produce guidelines, training sessions and demonstration projects. Researchers will work closely with TxDOT districts on FDR, offering input and getting feedback in return.

As the United States works to improve its infrastructure, initiatives like FDR will prove critical. Not only is it a “green” process that benefits the environment, it is also an efficient, cost-effective re-use of roadway materials.

“‘Doing more with less’ could be this technique’s slogan,” says Scullion. “As we refine FDR with feedback from practitioners, we should end up with a rehabilitation technique that can benefit Texas and the nation for years to come.”

Full-depth reclamation (FDR) allows departments of transportation to recycle old roads with potholes into new, smooth roadways.

Rep. Chet Edwards explains his Bryan/College Station Mobility Initiative during a news conference on Jan. 30.

“Managed Lanes Handbook Training: Year 2 Report of Activities,” by Beverly Kuhn, 5-4160-01-2, March 23, 2009.

“Implementing GPS into PAVE-IR,” by Stephen Sebesta, 5-4577-03-1, March 17, 2009.

“Improvements to Video Imaging Detection for Dilemma Zone Protection,” by Dan Middleton, 0-5774-1, March 17, 2009.

“Potential Policies and Incentives to Encourage Movement of Containerized Freight on Texas Inland Waterways,” by Jim Kruse, 0-5937-1, March 17, 2009.

“Speeds in School Zones,” by Kay Fitzpatrick, 0-5470-1, March 17, 2009.

“Development of Frontage Road Yield Treatment Analysis Tool (FRYTAT) Database Software,” by Kwaku Obeng-Boampong, 0-4986-2, March 16, 2009.

“Deploying Weigh-In-Motion Installations on Asphalt Concrete Pavements,” by Emmanuel Fernando, 0-5551-1, March 9, 2009.

“Establishing Advisory Speeds on Non Direct-Connect Ramps: Technical Report,” by Steve Venglar, 0-6035-1, March 4, 2009.

“Evaluation of Traffic Control Devices: Fifth-Year Activities,” by Gene Hawkins, 0-4701-5, March 2, 2009.

“Evaluation of Binder Aging and Its Influence in Aging of Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete: Literature Review and Experimental,” by Charles Glover, 0-6009-1, February 20, 2009.

“Synthesis on Construction Unit Cost Development: Technical Report,” by Stuart Anderson, 0-6023-1, February 16, 2009.

“Incorporating Safety into the Highway Design Process: Fifth-Year Report,” by Jim Bonneson, 0-4703-6, February 13, 2009.

“Development of a Precast Bridge Deck Overhang System for the Rock Creek Bridge,” by David Trejo, 0-6100-2, February 11, 2009.

“Operations-Oriented Performance Measures for Freeway Management Systems: Final Report,” by Bob Brydia, 0-5292-2, February 11, 2009.

“PAVECHECK: Integrating Deflection and GPR for Network Condition Surveys,” by Wenting Liu, 5-4495-01-2, February 10, 2009.

“Evaluation of Ways and Procedures to Reduce Construction Cost and Increase Competition,” by Ivan Damnjanovic, 0-6011-1, February 2, 2009.

“Studies to Improve the Management of Regulatory Speed Limits in Texas Work Zones,” by Melisa Finley, 0-5561-1, January 12, 2009.

“Characterization of Self-Consolidating Concrete for Design of Precast, Prestressed Bridge Girders,” by David Trejo, 0-5134-2, January 7, 2009.

Project Summary Reports and Products

“Regional Transit Coordination Guidebook,” by Carol Lewis, 0-5345-P1, March 16, 2009.

“60-Minute Hands-on Training Module,” by Kay Fitzpatrick, 0-5470-P1, March 12, 2009.

“Traffic Signal Operations Handbook,” by Jim Bonneson, 0-5629-P1, March 12, 2009.

“Guidebook: Potential Policies and Incentives to Encourage Movement of Containerized Freight on Texas Waterways,” by Jim Kruse, 0-5937-P1, March 11, 2009.

“Laboratory and Field Procedures Used to Characterize Materials,” by Fujie Zhou, 0-5798-P1, February 13, 2009.

“PAVECHECK: Training Material: Updated User’s Manual Including GPS,” by Wenting Liu, 5-4495-01-P2, February 13, 2009.

“Transfer Functions for Various Distress Types,” by Fujie Zhou, 0-5798-P2, February 9, 2009.

“Traffic Signal Operations Workshop: Course Notes and PowerPoint Presentation,” by Jim Bonneson, 0-5629-P2, February 4, 2009.

TTI Publications

A full catalog of TTI publications and other products is online at http://tti.tamu.edu/publications. You can find the publications by searching for either the title or publication number listed here. Most of these publications are available as free downloads in portable document format (PDF).

Printed, bound versions of these reports are also available through the URL above.

TTI Director Dennis Christiansen (right) presents John Horsley with the 2008 TTI Director's Research Champion Award.

The Director’s Research Champion Award recognizes individuals at the national level who have been strong and effective advocates for transportation research. Horsley received the 2008 award for his leadership in advancing transportation research. From 1993 to 1999 he served at the U.S. Department of Transportation. As Associate Deputy Secretary, he was an advocate for intermodal policies, quality of life initiatives, and liaison to State and Local Governments, U.S. Congress, and transportation constituencies.

A native of the Northwest, Horsley was elected to five terms as County Commissioner in Kitsap County, a community just west of Seattle. He is a graduate of Harvard, an Army veteran, a former Peace Corps volunteer and Congressional aide, and did graduate study at Georgetown. He is Past President of the National Association of Counties and was founding Chairman of the Rebuild America Coalition.

2009 Texas Transportation Forum

On January 5, some 1,200 transportation professionals gathered in Austin, Texas, for the Fourth Annual Texas Transportation Forum. Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Amadeo Saenz told the crowd that finding adequate funding for transportation will be TxDOT‘s priority in the coming year. He referred to the recent findings of the 2030 Committee that showed Texas will need to spend $315 billion to maintain the current quality of highways over the next 22 years.

Several of the forum speakers said it was time that Texas approved an increase in the fuel tax, or at least tied it to inflation. Since the early 1990s, the Texas Legislature has turned down similar proposals. Keynote speaker T. Boone Pickens, founder of BP Capital, detailed his now-famous plan to reduce our dependency on foreign oil with the help of wind power and natural gas.

TxDOT, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), the Associated General Contractors and the Texas Good Roads Transportation Association co-hosted the forum. The Fifth Annual Texas Transportation Forum will be held January 6-8, 2010, in Austin, Texas.

Work Zone Clearinghouse spreads safety worldwide

Receiving an International Road Federation award for their group's work on the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse are (from left to right) Morris Oliver of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Brad Sant of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Joe Toole of FHWA, Research Librarian Hong Yu and Director Dennis Christiansen of TTI.

“This global award is a great honor for TTI and all of the other groups involved in this endeavor,” says Jerry Ullman, manager of TTI‘s Work Zone Program. “We have all come together to make a real difference in making work zones safer.” (An estimated 1,000 people are killed and 45,000 injured in U.S. roadway work zones each year.)

The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse is the largest online resource for roadway construction safety. The clearinghouse is a joint effort of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the Federal Highway Administration and TTI. Since it went online in 1998, the clearinghouse has assisted half a million users from every state and 27 countries.

Visitors to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse website “can find a wealth of information about crash data, laws and regulations, safety standards, research publications, training courses and safety products’just about anything related to work zone safety,” says Research Librarian Hong Yu, who maintains the website. “If they cannot find what they are looking for on our website, they can always contact us for help.”

Button retires, can’t say goodbye

TTI Senior Research Fellow Joe Button and his family at a reception ceremony in his honor.

Former bosses, colleagues and people who worked for Button took turns at the podium but were a bit redundant in their descriptions of the man for whom they hold enormous respect — using words like “dependable,” “professional,” “devoted” and “reputable.”

“You have to look a long time to find someone more sincere,” said Assistant Agency Director Gene Buth, who was first to hire Button for TTI 40 years ago at the Riverside Campus. Buth was not surprised about Button’s accomplishments. “He became one of the world’s leading experts in pavements.”

Earlier this year, Button was the recipient of the TTI/Trinity Industries Charley V. Wootan Career Achievement for Research Award, which was announced at TTI Day.

Despite his retirement, Button has decided four decades is not enough. He will continue working at TTI — on a part-time basis.

Tim Lomax honored by A&M System Board of Regents

Chairman of the Texas A&M Board of Regents Bill Jones (left) and Vice Chairman John White (right) pose with Tim Lomax and his wife, Jeannine, after Lomax was honored with the Regents Fellow Service Award.

The Regents Fellow Service Award is reserved for those A&M System employees “who have provided exemplary professional service to society that has created large and lasting benefits to Texas and beyond.”

“I am extremely honored to receive this award,” Lomax said. “I’m not usually speechless, but how does one person accept an award that is a reflection of a team effort? My wife and son, researchers in the Mobility Analysis Program and many other colleagues at TTI have created an incredible environment. It’s easy to provide ‘exemplary service’ when you collaborate with creative, hard-working people on interesting projects for sponsors who appreciate our ideas—I am only a small part of that process.”

The Regents Fellow Service Award was established in 1998. So far, 66 agency professionals have been named Regent Fellows including four others from TTI: Hayes Ross, Gene Buth, Dock Burke and Dennis Christiansen.

“I am in great company,” Lomax observed.

At a dinner in their honor, Regents Fellows received a $9,000 stipend, a commemorative medallion and a certificate.

SWUTC celebrates milestone, shared accomplishments

Since its beginning in 1988, the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC) has grown into one of the most highly respected University Transportation Centers (UTC) in the U.S. DOT-sponsored program. Dock Burke, SWUTC director, is quick to identify the institutional sources of the center’s accomplishments.

“There are two main reasons why SWUTC has flourished since October of 1988,” Burke notes, “and those are our strong and continuous support from TTI [SWUTC is headquartered within the Institute] and the robust collegial relationship with our consortium partners: Texas A&M University; The University of Texas at Austin and its Center for Transportation Research; and Texas Southern University and its Center for Transportation Training and Research.”

Established “to advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through the mechanisms of education, research and technology transfer,” SWUTC is one of 10 regional UTCs around the country founded with federal grants that must be matched on the state level.

In 1992, the Texas Legislature approved TTI‘s request for matching funds from the State of Texas. “That one act did more to stabilize our funding base than anything else,” Burke says. More recently, TxDOT has become an active partner in the research project evaluation and selection process.

“With the 20-year anniversary of SWUTC upon us, it’s time to reflect and re-emphasize the unique qualities of the UTC program. Our consortium colleagues on the teaching and research faculties provide the core energy for our enterprise. The students’ educational experiences are greatly enhanced by their SWUTC activities.”

When tailors measure cloth twice before cutting, they’re maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste by first calculating carefully. In the transportation planning arena, that’s what sustainability is all about.

“Sustainable transportation” means different things to different people. In its recent project for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) defined it as “the provision of safe, effective and efficient access and mobility into the future while considering economic, social and environmental needs.” These needs are often called the “three pillars” of sustainability.

By measuring and applying these principles, a more sustainable — or safer, more effective — transportation system can be established. It’s easy enough to dream of sustainability, but without specific performance measures, it’s much more difficult to quantify and implement its principles.

“The three pillars are tied together by many cross-cutting issues, including how they affect and are affected by the development of our transportation system,” explains Joe Zietsman, director of TTI’s Center for Air Quality Studies. “What we’ve done is to figure out how we can measure these pillars of sustainability using data that’s already available.”

Zietsman’s team used TxDOT’s own strategic goals as a framework for defining how the pillars interact. With these goals in mind, the team developed sustainability objectives, created 13 sustainable transportation performance measures and a methodology for benchmarking them, and derived a method for combining those measures in one index for comparative purposes. This whole process was coded into a user-friendly Microsoft Excel®-based calculator.

Since the performance measures and their underlying methodology are uniform, researchers can compare different corridors and different sections of the same corridor in terms of their relative sustainability. A comparison can also be made over time between baseline and future conditions. This output can then be used by TxDOT to enhance the relative sustainability of their transportation corridor projects while ensuring the efficacy of their strategic goals.

“The 13 measures can help TxDOT see a more realistic portrait of the transportation system by simultaneously considering all three dimensions of sustainable transportation,” says Zietsman.

Researchers refined the methodology by evaluating case studies involving transportation corridors in San Antonio, Houston and Amarillo. That field work proved the flexibility and effectiveness of TTI’s approach in rural, urban and suburban environments.

Bill Knowles, TxDOT’s project coordinator, notes, “TTI’s research on this project provided a valuable planning method that is both practical and easy to use. The project findings are now being rolled out as an implementation project through a series of workshops in Texas’ largest metropolitan areas.”

As the United States looks to improve its transportation infrastructure, proactive planning tools like these will prove vital to getting the most from its transportation dollar.

SUSTAINABILITY: A concept, not a technology

“Sustainability” is an idea comprising multiple goals that need to be related to one another and quantified. Unlike an innovative technology — like a new kind of crash barrier on the roadside — it’s a concept, not a piece of equipment. And sometimes that makes it difficult to understand.

Through this project, TTI researchers made the abstract more concrete by identifying objectives and performance measures organized around TxDOT’s five goals: reducing congestion, enhancing safety, expanding economic opportunity, increasing the value of transportation assets and improving air quality.

Using their spreadsheet in a case study in San Antonio, the TTI team projected that the overall sustainability of the corridor got worse over time despite proposed capacity enhancements. In this example, the calculator gave TxDOT specific information about why sustainability actually got worse along the corridor. It also helped them understand how their strategic goals were affected by those results and where the problem occurred along the corridor.

“Using data that’s readily accessible, our analysis tool gave us important information on how TxDOT can improve the sustainability of the test corridors,rdquo; says Zietsman. “Using the calculator, TxDOT can proactively identify remedies that will actually make a difference before ever beginning a project.”

Location of study corridor for US-281 Case Study. It stretches from IH-410 in downtown San Antonio in the south to the Comal/Bexar county line in the north.

Study section of US-281 near downtown San Antonio.

Traffic Volumes for Base Case and Future Case Scenarios: US-281

Link	Length (miles)	Daily Volume (2005)	Number of lanes (2005)	Daily Volume (2025)	Number of lanes (2025)
1	3.89	101,364	6	156,129	6
2	5.22	77,314	6	169,629	6
3	3.97	36,884	4	102,067	6
4	1.85	33,887	4	75,261	6

Dennis Christiansen

The U.S. DOT is funding congestion reduction strategies at multiple sites throughout the country through the competitive Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and the Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD). Both programs are part of the U.S. DOT’s Congestion Initiative.

The selected sites—which include the metropolitan areas of Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Atlanta—are implementing a wide range of innovative strategies. Examples of projects include high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, a priced dynamic shoulder lane, new and expanded park-and-ride facilities, dual downtown bus lanes, real-time transit information and lane guidance for shoulder running buses. Other strategies include variable pricing on existing freeways, active traffic management systems, variable priced on-street and off-street parking, improved regional 511 traveler information systems and telecommuting and flexible work arrangements.

The U.S. DOT also selected a national evaluation contractor through a competitive procurement process to assess the effectiveness of the various UPA/CRD strategies. The Battelle Memorial Institute team, which includes TTI, was selected to conduct the national evaluation.

“The national evaluation is assessing the impacts of the UPA/CRD projects in a comprehensive and systematic manner, as well as the specific impacts of technology, tolling and transit elements,” notes Shelley Row, director of the U.S. DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), ITS Joint Programs Office. “The evaluation results will benefit other metropolitan areas interested in deploying similar strategies and will support future federal policy and program development related to mobility and congestion and the role of pricing, transit and intelligent transportation systems.”

“We are working with representatives from the local agencies and the U.S. DOT in developing and conducting the evaluation,” notes Katie Turnbull, TTI executive associate director and lead on the Minnesota UPA site evaluation. “The team approach is critical to successfully evaluating the influence of these innovative programs.”

Other TTI researchers are serving as technical experts, providing assistance across all sites. Kevin Balke, research engineer, is the technology expert and David Ungemah, associate research scientist, is the tolling expert.

“Some projects, such as the HOT lanes in Miami and the Transit Advantage bus bypass lane in Minnesota, are in operation,” states Row. “Most of the projects will be implemented in late 2009, 2010 and early 2011. The national evaluation will provide preliminary results after the projects come online, as well as a comprehensive final assessment.”

In attendance were Julie Straus, wife of Speaker of the House Joe Straus; Sen. Steve Ogden’s wife, Beverly; and Michelle Dunnam, wife of Rep. Jim Dunnam of the House Transportation Committee. Chancellor Mike McKinney and his wife, Lou Ann, invited the ladies for a firsthand, inside look at The Texas A&M University System.

Following a detonation demonstration at TEEX‘s Disaster City, the group visited the Texas A&M University Riverside Campus and witnessed the crash test of a 2007 Chevrolet pickup truck into a standard steel guard rail at 62.5 mph. The test was a technological failure for the guard rail but succeeded in generating over 20 minutes of questions for Lance Bullard, head of TTI‘s Safety and Structural Systems Division.

The ladies were then treated to a luncheon at the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center, a performance by the Texas A&M University Singing Cadets and a video presentation about The Texas A&M University System. Also participating in the lunch were the mayors of Bryan and College Station and other local and System officials.

After lunch the ladies returned to TTI‘s Gibb Gilchrist building, where they received an overview presentation about the Institute. They also heard from Assistant Agency Director Steve Roop, who talked about his newly proposed elevated design for a Texas Universal Freight Shuttle System, and Assistant Agency Director Dean Alberson.

At the close of their visit, The Honorable Ben White, mayor of College Station, briefed the ladies on the Bryan/College Station Mobility Initiative, and they took a tour of the TransLink® Laboratory Research Center, which will be the headquarters for the initiative.

“We are very pleased and honored that the chancellor provided TTI this important opportunity to tell our story to this distinguished group of ladies,” said Agency Director Dennis Christiansen. “Numerous TTI staff members helped make the event a great success.”

TTI Director Dennis Christiansen, Lou Ann McKinney (second from left) and Mike McKinney (third from right) and others discuss the crash test.

Lance Bullard, head of TTI's Safety and Structural Systems Division, briefs the group on the crash test they are about to see.

Chancellor Mike McKinney (second from left) observes the demolished guardrail following the crash test along with members of the Senate and Legislative Ladies Clubs and TTI staff.

On November 21, Marquis G. Goode, Jr., a 40-year employee of the Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT) and Louis L. Heil, the former CEO and current chairman of the board of McDonald Transit Associates in Fort Worth, were honored during induction ceremonies at the Greer Building in Austin.

“This is by far the most significant and most meaningful recognition I’ve had in my life,” Heil told the crowd gathered at the event. “I accept this award with a great deal of humility and with a huge amount of gratitude.” Heil was instrumental in bringing public transportation to Fort Worth and supervised the initiation of new public transit systems throughout the United States. Having joined the company as its vice president in 1972, he served as CEO for McDonald Transit Associates for 23 years.

Louis L. Heil, the former CEO and current chairman of the board of McDonald Transit Associates, and family members.

Goode, who retired from the Texas Highway Department in 1986 after managing the fastest period of growth in road construction in the department’s history, also addressed the crowd in Austin. “Here in Texas, the people in transportation have all worked together. So, thanks to all of you and the part you played in the plaque that has been given to me today.” As engineer-director for the department, Goode initiated a recruiting and training program that opened doors for women and minorities.

Marquis G. Goode, Jr., a 40-year employee of TxDOT, is joined by his family members as he holds his Hall of Honor induction plaque.

“Our state is blessed to have an outstanding transportation system that has helped to attract economic growth and offered Texans a high quality of life,” Dennis Christiansen, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) director and chair of the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor, said at the ceremony. “The individuals we are recognizing today clearly deserve this honor.”

The Texas Transportation Hall of Honor was established in 2000 by TTI. Inductees are honored with a plaque that bears their likenesses and is on permanent display in College Station.