Sharp, who became the 14th chancellor of the A&M System on Aug. 15, spent the afternoon learning firsthand about numerous aspects of TTI including its history, accomplishments and ongoing projects. He toured the Visibility Research Laboratory and viewed presentations about TTI’s legislative studies, the I-35 Expansion Project, the Roadside Safety and Physical Security Program, and — in what evoked a lot of enthusiasm from the chancellor — the Institute’s development of the Freight Shuttle System.

After the afternoon gathering, Sharp admitted to TTI staff that he had a high opinion of the Institute even before the meeting. “This is an amazing place. It’s more impressive than I ever thought it was before.”

TTI Assistant Agency Director Steve Roop discusses the Freight Shuttle System, a TTI technical innovation that promises to revolutionize freight movement in Texas.

TxDOT Deputy Director and Chief Engineer John Barton talks with Tom Duffy from Chancellor Sharp’s transition team.

Attending the meeting with Chancellor John Sharp are (from left to right) Tom Duffy, a member of the chancellor’s transition team; TxDOT’s John Barton; Sharp; Dennis Christiansen; Trinity Highway Products President Gregg Mitchell; and Chairman of the TTI Advisory Council David Cain.

Chancellor John Sharp (center) tours TTI’s Visibility Research Laboratory as part of his inaugural visit to the Institute.

TTI Agency Director Dennis Christiansen briefs A&M System Chancellor Sharp on TTI.

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Inside This Issue:

• Making the Most of a Fixer-Upper
• TTI at TRB
• Alcohol Studies Center Transfers to TTI
• Looking Out for Pedestrians
• Energy Developments and Our Roadways: Impacts and Strategies
• A Blueprint for Sustainability
• Freight Shuttle System Promises the Next Historic Milestone in Freight Movement
• Fighting Congestion with Technology: The New Frontier
• Looking into the Retroreflective Glass
• High Crash Rates Among Hispanics and Military Prompt Study
• A&M System Chancellor Visits TTI
• Institute News
• TTI Publications

Fry

With a focus on improving railway safety and enhancing the performance of the nation’s rail system, the Texas A&M Board of Regents has approved establishing the Center for Railway Research (CRR) as a part of TTI.

“Having this center is a very positive step in our plans to increase the breadth and volume of initiatives that we pursue with our partners and sponsors in railway research. It will certainly position the university and TTI to become a more impactful leader in railway research,” says TTI Associate Research Engineer Gary Fry, who will direct the center. Fry is also an associate professor in Texas A&M’s Zachry Department of Civil Engineering.

“The Center for Railway Research will also be dedicated to education and information sharing through formal initiatives,” Fry said. As part of this, CRR will actively recruit students to enter railway transportation fields.

CRR will focus its research on the physical infrastructure associated with the rail industry, including the mechanical systems of trains, tracks and bridges. Safety and performance through innovation will be priorities for the center, which has a goal of creating longer-lasting and more efficient components and systems.

GM Executive Briefs TTI on Emissions-Free, Safe Cars

GM’s Nady Boules looks into the future as he presents General Motors’ advanced vehicle and transportation research at the George Bush Presidential Library.

Envisioning a world with all-electric cars that don’t crash, Nady Boules, the director of General Motors’ (GM’s) Electrical and Controls Integration Lab, met with TTI employees and two Texas A&M University engineering departments Jan. 31 prior to a presentation he gave that evening at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library.

Boules told those attending his presentation — entitled General Motors Advanced Vehicle and Transportation Research — the cars of the future will be “energized by electricity and hydrogen, powered by internal motors, controlled electronically and should be connected.” Boules’ 90-minute presentation envisioned a new fleet of cars that are completely safe and have zero emissions.

Boules told his audience that the growing population, especially around major cities, is a threat to life and safety because of automobile air pollution and crashes. Boules anticipates a time when all vehicles will be equipped with a series of onboard computers that create a 360-degree sensing capability around the vehicle’s perimeter. Onboard radar systems, steering cameras and ultrasonic devices will be connected with other vehicles’ systems to improve safety and facilitate mobility.

“If we can get to cars that do not crash, we can create radically different, lower-mass, higher-efficiency vehicles. If you have a lightweight shell, energy consumption will be less,” he said.

Boules was invited to speak by TTI Agency Director Dennis Christiansen. Both are members of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America Board of Directors. “Because of the commitment of General Motors in turning science fiction into reality, we have a sense of what our world will look like,” Christiansen said of the presentation. “This is a look forward and makes us realize the scope of the dramatic changes we are likely to see in our lifetime.”

TTI to Continue Leading Regional Center

Burke

TTI is the recipient of a $3.5 million federal grant that extends operations of the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC) another year. The funding announcement was made in January by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

As a result of the funding, transportation programs at Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Southern University, Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans will address a wide range of vital transportation research and curriculum issues. SWUTC is one of 10 regional consortia that are part of a nationwide UTC program that includes a total of 121 universities. In all, $77 million will be awarded for this year’s program, which includes 10 regional UTCs plus 12 Tier 1 centers.

“Winning this grant award is great news for our researchers, faculty members and students,” says SWUTC Director Dock Burke, who is also a Texas A&M University System regents fellow and senior research scientist at TTI. “The one-year funding will allow us to enhance SWUTC’s education, research and technology-transfer efforts that have been so vital in solving transportation-related problems in our region and educating the professional cadre that will lead the transportation sector of the future.” Burke has been involved in SWUTC since its inception in 1988 and has been director since 1992.

Voigt, Brydia Recognized at ITS Texas Meeting

Brydia

Voigt

Tony Voigt, program manager for TTI’s Research and Implementation Office in Houston, Texas, was elected to a two-year term to the ITS Texas Board of Directors, and TTI Research Scientist Bob Brydia was thanked for his six years of service to the organization during its Annual Meeting in San Marcos Nov. 9–11, 2011.

Houston TranStar and the City of Houston were honored for their technology application of TTI’s travel-time monitoring system, Anonymous Wireless Address Matching. The patent-pending technology is a traffic-monitoring system consisting of Bluetooth®-enabled sensors placed along I-45 from Houston to Dallas and at 50 locations within a 62-square-mile area of West Houston. It allows TranStar to monitor the 200-mile stretch of highway, which is a major evacuation route, and a densely populated arterial network in Houston.

Brydia, who has held numerous positions on the ITS Texas board including president, says the organization’s mission is sharing knowledge on industry innovation, technologies and deployments, as well as providing education opportunities for professionals and students that will be the next generation.

TxDOT Executive Director Visits TTI

TxDOT’s new executive director, Phil Wilson, visited TTI on Feb. 7 to learn more about the Institute’s research and partnership with TxDOT.

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Executive Director Phil Wilson, who was appointed to his position last October, made his first official visit to TTI on Feb. 7. He shared information about TxDOT’s priorities and heard an update on TTI and some of the research projects underway between the two agencies.

Wilson discussed three of his immediate focus areas for TxDOT: 1) improvements in project planning and forecasting, including ensuring the agency incorporates up-to-date technology in this area; 2) taking best practices and technologies to the marketplace, especially those that TTI and TxDOT work on together; and 3) effectively telling the Texas transportation story, including explaining the most misunderstood aspects of transportation and educating the public about how transportation is funded.

In addition to receiving an overview of the Institute, Wilson learned more about recent TxDOT/TTI collaborative initiatives, including the I-35 Mobility and Traveler Information System project, the Freight Shuttle System, and the Mobility Investment Priorities Study (specified in Rider 42 of the state budget).

“Rider 42 is a key priority project that is going very well,” Wilson said. “In every speech I give, I talk about it.”  He also praised TTI for the agency’s leadership role in developing and implementing “innovative ideas to help TxDOT get better.”

Other TxDOT staff traveling to TTI with Wilson were John Barton, deputy executive director and chief engineer; Jerry Haddican, senior state legislative representative; Scott Haywood, chief of staff; Catherine Heil, Bryan District engineer; and Russell Zapalac, chief planning and project officer. Colin Parrish, transportation advisor in the Office of the Governor, also came to TTI with the group.

Turnbull Named National Associate

Turnbull

TTI Executive Associate Agency Director Katie Turnbull has been named a national associate of the National Research Council (NRC). The selection is based on her volunteer service with the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

Turnbull joins 28 others in the 2011 Class of National Associates. The program began in 2001 “to recognize extraordinary contributions made by individuals to the [NRC] through their service on committees and panels of the NRC and the Institute of Medicine without compensation.” Turnbull and others were singled out for their past service. The designation means a lifetime membership in the program.

Over her career Turnbull has served in numerous capacities in TRB activities. She served as chair of the following: HOV Systems Committee, the Policy and Organization Group, the Planning and Environment Group and the Planning, Policy, and Process Section. Turnbull is currently the chair of the Technical Activities Council. She has also assisted in planning numerous conferences and has served on project panels.

As part of the honor, Turnbull has access to the Members Center at the National Academy of Sciences Building on Constitution Avenue.

“It is an honor to be recognized for your volunteer activities, and it’s really special to be included with the very qualified individuals who make up the 2011 Class of National Associates,” she said.

Norboge to Author Eno Paper

Norboge

TTI Assistant Transportation Researcher Nick Norboge was selected by the Eno board of directors to author the annual William P. Eno paper, to be presented June 8 at the 2012 Leadership Development Conference in Washington, D.C.

His economic analysis paper will focus on establishing a methodology that develops a process for determining the economic impacts associated with transportation improvements. Norboge will be awarded a $1,000 stipend.

Walden Picked for Leadership Texas

Walden

Melissa Walden, program manager for TTI’s Planning and Evaluation Group, has been selected for the 2012 class of Leadership Texas — the longest-running women’s leadership enhancement program in the nation.

Walden was chosen following a competitive application process that identifies women from all backgrounds and professions who have demonstrated leadership qualities.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me and TTI,” Walden says. “I’ve known many people who have been fortunate enough to have graduated from the program. They all come away from the year-long class inspired about ways to help tackle the numerous issues facing our state.”

As part of the program, class members interact with state and national experts and travel across Texas for five on-site visits — learning about various topics in those regions by touring major businesses, educational institutions and cultural centers. According to its website, “participants increase their understanding of the challenges and opportunities that leaders face in both the private and public sectors.”

Rail Conference Examines Safety Issues

Thanks to 180 participants from across the country, organizers with TTI say the 2011 National Highway–Rail Grade-Crossing Safety Training Conference, held in Galveston Nov. 6–9, was a success.

Held every other year, the grade-crossing safety conference examines the current issues in the highway and railroad industries, and serves as an information- sharing and education program. Among the issues discussed during breakout sessions were:

• safety and treatment enhancements at pedestrian crossings;
• shared-use corridors;
• safety plans from various states; and
• human factors safety training program development, or crew resource management training, in the railroad industry.

This year’s winner of the Hoy Richards Career Achievement Award was presented posthumously to Anya Carroll, a former civil engineer and research scientist at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Carroll was a tireless leader in the effort to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries as a result of collisions between trains and roadway users. Carroll died in August.

New Members Join TTI Advisory Council

Wilson

Ramirez

Mitchell

Allaway

TTI recently welcomed four new members to its Advisory Council, a 40-member group of high-level transportation professionals from across Texas and from every sector of the transportation world. The council provides a tremendous service to the Institute by providing advice on transportation issues and trends, and supporting TTI research programs and initiatives. The new members are:

• Bill Allaway, senior advisor to the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA) and president of the TTARA Research Foundation in Austin, Texas;
• Gregg Mitchell, president of Trinity Highway Products, LLC, in Dallas, Texas;
• Rene Ramirez, founder and owner of Pathfinder consulting firm, which specializes in government relations, economic development and community outreach, in McAllen, Texas; and
• Phil Wilson, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in Austin, Texas.

“TTI is extremely fortunate to have these distinguished individuals join the Institute’s advisory board,” says TTI Agency Director Dennis Christiansen. “They each will provide unique knowledge and insight as we move forward to solve critical transportation problems to help promote continued economic development in Texas and the nation.”

Because data show that Hispanics have a disproportionate risk of dying or being injured in traffic crashes, CTS has begun a Latino Traffic Safety Initiative (LTSI) to study this complex problem in Texas and offer countermeasure approaches.

Nationally, the figures are alarming:

• Motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 1–34.
• Hispanic children ages 5–12 are 72 percent more likely to die in a motor-vehicle crash than non-Hispanic children, and they are less likely to wear a restraint device.
• Hispanics are more likely to drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, and are more likely to be driving without a valid license.

The LTSI will first examine the Texas crash and fatality data. Do our state’s Hispanic figures reflect national statistics? Eventually, the goal of the LTSI is to determine if language barriers, education levels, socio-economic status and other cultural differences play a role in the crashes.

“In just nine years, the Hispanic population is expected to outnumber the non-Hispanic population in Texas,” says CTS Senior Research Scientist Katie Womack. “The more we learn about the reasons for the lopsided crash statistics, the better head start we’ll have on making travel safer for what will soon be the majority population. Everyone will benefit as a result.”

Meanwhile, a March 2011 article in the military publication Medical Surveillance Monthly Report caught the attention of CTS researchers. In it, crash data over an 11-year period were examined.

Citing the study, the article, entitled “Motorcycle and Other Motor Vehicle Accident-Related Deaths, U.S. Armed Forces, 1999–2010,” states: “Motor vehicle accidents (MVA) are the leading cause of deaths of U.S. military members during peacetime. During the four years prior to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, one-third of all deaths of service members were caused by MVAs. Since the beginning of those operations, there have been nearly as many deaths of service members due to ‘transportation accidents’ as war related injuries.”

The article reported that more than 4,000 active-duty service members died in crashes during that period,with motorcycle deaths accounting for 24 percent of the fatalities.

“As the article points out, many of the crash victims are young, high-school-educated, single males — characteristics that could be associated with a higher risk of dying in crashes,” says Russell Henk, head of TTI’s Research and Implementation Division offices in El Paso and San Antonio. “We know motorcycle fatalities are overrepresented among our military service members — one of the key problem areas for which we hope to develop solutions.”

Henk, who is also the director of TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat program, says elements of the successful high-school-targeted driver safety program — especially its peer-to-peer approach — could be used with the younger members of the military to address the crash-rate problem.

In exploring the CTS military initiative, contacts have been made with the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University, Ft. Hood in Killeen, Ft. Bliss in El Paso and military officials in San Antonio.

Lines, signs and symbols painted on the pavement play a major role in providing drivers with needed information about how to navigate the roadway safely and legally. In order to ensure that drivers can see the markings at night, the paint is mixed with micro-sized glass spheres, making it retroreflect the light from vehicle headlamps to drivers’ eyes. But as this paint–glass bead mixture is applied to the road, degrades over time, and is reapplied, what effect does it have on the people handling it and on our environment? Researchers with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas A&M University Zachry Department of Civil Engineering (CE) recently began an effort to find an answer to this question.

Mixed with paint, microscopic glass beads like those seen here help enhance the retroreflective property of pavement markings.

The microscopic glass beads added to pavement paint most often start out as recycled glass feedstock, which can have high levels of arsenic and other heavy metals.

“In the past, arsenic had been used to purify glass. While we no longer purify glass this way, arsenic is still present in recycled glass that becomes the beads,” says Bryan Boulanger, assistant professor in CE. “Volume-wise, a lot of glass beads go down on the roads, and they are constantly being replaced.”

“I estimate that there are about 80 million pounds of glass beads used each year on U.S. highways,” says Paul Carlson, head of TTI’s Operations and Design Division. With such a large quantity in use, private producers and public officials began to wonder if the beads could leach heavy metals into the ground or affect human health.

So the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) tasked Boulanger and Carlson to find out the concentrations of heavy metals in the beads. After collecting samples from around the country and participating vendors, the beads were ground down to measure the metal contents and determine what chemical forms could leach out. Researchers also observed how the glass beads are handled in the workplace to see what risks there might be to the workers. Since the glass beads are approximately the size of small ball bearings, workers could inadvertently consume them through unwashed hands.

The statistics gathered were incorporated into a risk assessment model that will be used by decision makers at all levels of transportation. The model is currently being reviewed for impartiality and refined for accuracy. An analysis of small samples of glass beads shows only a weak relationship between the metal contents and the retroreflectivity level.

“Glass beads are a very integral part of highway safety. So when considering the risk associated with heavy-metal contents in the beads, decision makers have to balance that with the risk of not having the beads in the paint,” says Boulanger. More research is needed to determine the full impact on pavement marking retroreflectivity, if any, as well as to assess how removing metals from the glass beads will affect their efficacy.

Since the early 1980s, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has estimated congestion in hundreds of urban regions across the country. Published annually, the resulting Urban Mobility Report has been the most reliable source of congestion information available.

Although Institute researchers will continue publishing this report, the way they received their congestion data dramatically changed two years ago.

“Up until recently, congestion data were gathered from public sources,” Shawn Turner, head of TTI’s Mobility Division, explains. “Cities and state departments of transportation gathered that information themselves using sporadic traffic counters, a limited number of roadway sensors and a lot of estimations.”

Those methods seem primitive today compared to what is available from the private sector — real-time data thanks to global positioning system and Bluetooth® devices that are contained within many vehicles, cell phones and mobile devices. Traffic-monitoring companies receive data from the devices and can monitor actual speeds and travel times with ever-increasing accuracy on any major highway across the country — not just in urban areas. The data they collect are sold to auto manufacturers, fleet management companies, vehicle navigation firms and, now on a limited basis, government agencies.

TTI has just completed a report for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that examines this new technology — the growing number of companies that collect the data, how the data are collected, the products used in collecting the data, who’s buying the data and how much the data cost, how the data are being used, and the legal issues surrounding use of private-sector data by the public sector. Private Sector Data for Performance Management will act as FHWA’s guide in assisting states and the federal government in using this information to manage/reduce congestion.

“FHWA really wanted to know everything it could about these new, private data sources,” Turner says. “It has been charged with knowing what the congestion problems are and where they are, and recommending where the money should go to help fix it.” Turner adds that the next transportation authorization bill will likely require a much more detailed level of congestion data for performance monitoring.

In addition to TTI, the University of Maryland and attorneys from the law firm of Nossaman, LLP, helped with the report.

“It’s clear that the technology is changing dramatically, and there are numerous questions about its use and application. The report is a starting point for FHWA,” Turner says. “It’s an exciting time because it’s entirely possible that a newer technology will emerge that will make this data collection method obsolete within a few years.”

• Growing volumes of harmful truck emissions foul the air and threaten our health.
• Increasing amounts of cargo on an already-congested network mean costly delays for shippers and higher costs for consumers.
• Declining levels of transportation funding make it increasingly difficult to repair the roadway wear and tear caused by heavy trucks.

Most experts agree: the problem has become so severe that nothing short of a game-changing development can make a meaningful difference. Fortunately, that development may be on the horizon.

Picture a system in which transporters powered by electric motors carry trailers from trucks and containers from ships on an elevated track above existing highway right-of-way, safely separated from passenger traffic. Picture a system that produces less air pollution, less traffic congestion, less wear and tear on the roads, and less noise. Clearly, it’s a more sustainable scenario, one that would add an essential new link in the transport chain of a trucking industry suffering from a severe nationwide shortage of drivers.

The Freight Shuttle System will make freight transportation safer, cleaner and more economical through innovations like raising the system itself up on guideways to take advantage of vertical space in existing rights-of-way.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not. It’s a system currently in development by Freight Shuttle International (FSI), applying technology developed at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) by Assistant Agency Director Steve Roop. Financed entirely from private sources and requiring no public funding, the system would provide low-cost, time-certain delivery of freight, and at the same time answer the state’s need for safe and efficient transportation.

The guideways carrying the freight could be built on existing right-of-way that would be leased by the state to FSI. The lease would produce new revenue for the state at a time when available public funding for highways is diminishing.

“The Freight Shuttle System is going to address three urgent needs we now have in freight movement,” Roop says. “It’s going to make it safer, cleaner and more economical.”

The system promises safety benefits by removing thousands of trucks from the highways, thereby reducing the chance of fatal crashes involving those trucks (one in nine traffic fatalities results from a collision involving a large truck). The system will also eliminate the pollution created by the exhaust from those trucks, and be more economical by sharply reducing the cost of moving goods.

“And the benefits don’t stop there,” Roop continues. “The system will create thousands of jobs, it will reduce highway congestion, and it will make millions in new revenue for the state — all without costing taxpayers a single dime.”

To become more sustainable, the freight transportation industry needs a game-changing development. And if plans in Texas come to pass, it’s a whole new game.

Sustainability — a popular, emerging concept — has become a key consideration in the delivery and operation of transportation infrastructure, and at all levels of government. Sustainability deals with meeting human needs in the present and future, while preserving and restoring the environment, fostering community health and vitality, promoting economic development and prosperity, and ensuring equity among population groups and over generations.

“At this time of fiscal constraint, the New York State Department of Transportation [NYSDOT] must make some tough choices. To guide our decisions, we have incorporated the ‘triple bottom line’ of economic competitiveness, social equity and environmental stewardship into our programming and investment guidance. NCHRP’s A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies provided NYSDOT with a much-needed methodology and comprehensive list to develop our sustainability performance measures.”
Debra Nelson,
NYSDOT assistant to the director of operations

“Sustainability is a way of looking at other costs that don’t always get considered in the decision-making process. Thinking about these costs should be broader than just the tangible dollars,” says Tara Ramani, assistant research scientist with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). “The question is less ‘how can we implement sustainable transportation?’ but really more ‘how can transportation support the principles of sustainability?’”

Ramani, along with the international team led by Joe Zietsman, head of TTI’s Environment and Air Quality Division, produced a sustainability guidebook that teaches transportation practitioners the principles of sustainability, how to develop goals and objectives based on sustainability, and how to apply performance measures for these goals.

A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies provides a generally applicable framework that transportation agencies can adapt and use, either in their existing performance measurement programs or as a part of a new sustainability initiative. The guidebook provides a practical approach to understanding sustainability, and identifying and applying sustainability-related performance measures. It discusses linkages to an agency’s mission and strategic plan, and the integration of these sustainability measures into other programs and agency business practices. The guidebook also contains a compendium of sustainability performance measures, with a menu of goals, objectives and performance measures that agencies can use as the basis for their performance measurement applications.

Part of the concept of sustainability involves choices: walking, biking, commuting. Making multiple modes work in harmony with environmental needs and economic realities — without losing the human factor from the equation — is the real challenge.

“Working with performance measures can be a daunting task due to the large number of possible measures, extensive data required and complexity involved in applying the measures,” Zietsman said. “Moreover, a first step in developing performance measures for sustainability is to understand what sustainability means, and how it applies to transportation networks, systems, facilities, projects and activities at different stages, scales and time frames.”

The guidebook incorporates real-world examples from departments of transportation and private industry in both the United States and Europe. It’s designed to be flexible so that any division in any agency can apply, refine and modify it based on the specific context for planning, programming, project development, construction, maintenance or operations. The framework can be used in many different ways, such as to evaluate progress, assess current conditions, forecast the future, make decisions or communicate with stakeholders.

“The guidebook provides a wealth of information and resources for departments of transportation to use to understand the concept of sustainability and apply performance measures for their sustainable transportation goals,” Zietsman said.

Published by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) in November 2011, the guidebook has been well received across the country. Zietsman plans on leading TRB webinars to help transportation officials learn how to use the guidebook.

“This guidebook should be of immediate use to those who are familiar with their own agency’s performance measurement program but need to provide useful information to agency leadership on how effectively their organization is meeting sustainability goals,” said Lori L. Sundstrom, a senior program officer with TRB. “The examples included illustrate how sustainability can be successfully added to an agency’s existing performance measurement system.”

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently completed a project to examine some of these impacts.

“The purpose of the project was to measure the impact of the increased level of energy-related activities on the Texas Departments of Transportation’s [TxDOT’s] right-of-way and infrastructure, develop recommendations to reduce and manage TxDOT’s exposure and risk resulting from these activities, and develop recommendations for potential changes to business practices,” says Cesar Quiroga, manager of TTI’s Research and Implementation Office in San Antonio, Texas.

“Pavement was a big part of the project for the researchers,” says TxDOT project director Dale Booth. “The researchers focused their efforts in Abilene, Lubbock and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. And they found quite a bit of distress in those areas related to those industries.”

The researchers focused on the infrastructure impact by heavy trucks and machinery moving in and out of oil and gas well sites, as well as wind farms. Some of the problems observed included the following:

• failures,
• surface ripples,
• tire tracks on unpaved shoulders,
• drainage problems at driveways,
• mud tracking,
• alligator cracking,
• shoulder patches,
• cracked seals and
• loss of surface.

The above series of photos shows various types of pavement failures observed during field visits.

The researchers also collected ground-penetrating radar and falling weight deflectometer data. Considering the increasing level of activity in connection with the Eagle Ford Formation in South Texas, the researchers also met with officials from the Laredo, San Antonio and Yoakum TxDOT districts.

“After we gathered the data, we conducted an evaluation of impacts of energy developments on the transportation infrastructure, including pavement impacts and remaining pavement life, roadside impacts, operational and safety impacts, and economic impacts. We also developed file geodatabases of relevant energy- and transportation-related datasets and provided TxDOT with recommendations on how to alleviate potential problems that may arise with energy-related activities,” says Quiroga.

The researchers used these geodatabases to generate a range of reports mapping the following:

• wind farms in relation to other energy developments as well as transportation datasets;
• wind farms, competitive renewable energy zones and transmission lines;
• pipelines in relation to oil and gas wells;
• permitted (and completed) oil and gas wells over time;
• permitted (but not completed) oil and gas wells;
• oversized/overweight routes in relation to energy developments;
• pavement statistics in relation to energy developments over time; and
• crash locations in relation to energy developments.

Key recommendations at the end of the research included the need to maintain the geodatabase of energy developments to help TxDOT forecast and manage future developments, the need to engage and coordinate with energy developers earlier in the process, and the need to strengthen certain protocols and requirements (e.g., those dealing with triaxial design checks, cross-sectional elements on rural two-lane highways, and driveway permits).

“As energy development continues in our state, especially in the gas-bearing shale formations that have become so busy in the last 10 years, having a statistical basis to show their impacts serves as a springboard for additional funding,” says Booth.

Booth also notes the importance of the geodatabase as a communications and predictor tool for TxDOT.

“As a communications tool, it is a visual way to predict well permits and well development in any area. When you run the program year to year, you can see ‘waves’ of wells progressing across the screen,” says Booth. “If you then show your audience the pavement distress and how that has progressed through the years, it paints a vivid picture of what energy developments in our state are doing to our transportation infrastructure. As a communications tool and predictor of future needs, the geodatabase is the centerpiece of this project.”