Pooling the talented resources of multiple programs located in multiple locations to support a single effort sounds ideal in theory, but is not always easy. The support and outreach program of the Travel Model Improvement Program (TMIP) at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) pulls it off, though, and is a great example of internal collaboration.

TMIP is a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) program that aims to improve the state of the art in travel demand forecasting. TMIP helps planning agencies improve the computer models and forecasting techniques used to inform decision makers on how growth in population and employment, development patterns and investments in transportation infrastructure are likely to affect travel, congestion, air quality and quality of life. With the help of different programs within TTI, the Center for Professional Development supports the outreach activities of TMIP that include:

A quarterly newsletter (top) and website (bottom) are two of the products produced by TTI for TMIP's outreach efforts.

• A website with current events and information about the TMIP program that is maintained by the Interactive Media group and Events Management and Planning.A document information clearinghouse supported by Library Services.A newsletter (TMIP Connection) published 3-4 times a year with a readership of over 1,200 practitioners from around the world.
• Attending several major conferences a year to distribute information about TMIP. The booth is staffed by the Washington D.C. TMIP liaison and TTI Associate Research Specialist Penelope Weinberger.
• Summarizing comments received on the e-mail discussion list and documenting peer-exchanges at agencies throughout the country by the researchers in the Travel Forecasting Program.

“Careful planning makes collaboration work,” says Weinberger. “Knowing who your teaming partners are and what their capabilities are, as opposed to chancing upon them, makes for more effective and better collaboration.”

TTI also helped create and moderate an active e-mail discussion list with nearly 900 subscribers. This discussion list is a resource for professionals to ask questions and share information throughout the country and might eventually move to a blog-type format. The first TMIP webinar is also scheduled for the end of June.

Gary Thomas, director of the Center for Professional Development at TTI and project manager for the outreach activities for TMIP, acknowledges that pulling together so many different programs for one effort has its challenges, but overall the operation runs smoothly.

“Our customer doesn’t see the different departments at TTI,” says Thomas. “They just see TTI as a whole. So it’s really important that we collaborate with each other very well. We have to be able to present a product to a client that looks like it came out of one office, and I think we do a great job of accomplishing that goal.”

PRCI is an international, nonprofit corporation made up of pipeline companies, manufacturers and service companies that fund pipeline research deemed vital to the industry. As the research arm of the pipeline industry, PRCI focuses on finding near-term reliable solutions to pipeline problems, especially those involving issues of safety in design and operation. At a time when rising energy prices are a worldwide concern, the significance of PRCI’s work has never been greater.

“Our focus—and funding—are toward the research itself,” explains Scott Thetford, PRCI’s director of pipeline programs, “but we often need support services to make that research useful. When we sought a partner to fill that need, TTI was at the top of the list.”

TTI’s expertise in the area of pipeline research recently helped it secure a federal grant to support start-up operations for its National Pipeline Safety and Operations Research Center. Pipelines are sometimes overlooked as an area of transportation research, and the center—a partnership with New Mexico State University—represents TTI’s commitment to broadening its knowledge base in that area. Partnering with PRCI gives TTI prospects for research, and those opportunities will benefit our nation and the world as they lead to more efficient, safer and longer-lasting pipelines.

What led PRCI to TTI’s door was the wide range of support services offered by the Institute. TTI’s project management, network support and communications expertise are helping PRCI manage its research program and implement its findings. This allows PRCI to focus on carrying out the research itself, while TTI supports ancillary activities—like managing the corporate website, transferring technology through print and other media and assisting with the day-to-day requirements of project management.

As the two organizations settle into a close partnership, both are keenly aware of the significant opportunities one offers the other. “It’s truly a symbiotic relationship,” observes Steve Roop, director of TTI’s National Pipeline Safety and Operations Research Center. Associate Research Scientist Les Olson, TTI’s liaison with PRCI, adds, “We provide support services for their research needs, and they provide research opportunities for our center.” Recently, in fact, New Mexico State submitted a research proposal, which is currently under consideration by PRCI.

“It may sound like a cliché, but you always want to dance with the prettiest girl at the ball,” observes Thetford. “TTI’s reputation for excellence, research expertise, and support capabilities certainly caught our eye. We look forward to conducting many years of innovative research together.”

The congestion problem on Austin's MoPac Expressway is shown in this aerial photo.

Austin, Texas, widely dubbed the “Live Music Capital of the World” has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years that transformed the town into a thriving and vibrant center of tourism, culture, higher-learning and technology. But accompanying Austin’s booming growth are gridlock and congestion throughout its roadway system.

Loop 1, the MoPac Expressway, is far from immune to the problem. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is working to ease congestion woes along this major north-south corridor with the assistance of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), Austin’s Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), a team of consultants led by DMJM Harris and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) through a Value Pricing Pilot Program grant.

After holding public open houses in April and beginning the environmental portion of roadway planning, TxDOT is considering adding a managed lane on each side of Loop 1. Rather than converting an existing lane, new managed lanes would be constructed along an 11-mile stretch of MoPac.

Managed lanes are typically created in congested corridors to provide travel options by setting aside lanes for high occupancy vehicles (HOV), including transit, trucks and toll-paying vehicles, depending on the solution needed for a specific roadway.

Map of MoPac in Austin. Courtesy of TxDOT

TTI Research Engineer Ginger Goodin heads a team of TTI researchers who are contributing expertise to the Loop 1 managed lanes project on a host of topics, including geometric design, safety, signing, public outreach, operations planning, simulation modeling and traffic and revenue analysis.

TTI’s team is providing research input on specific questions, such as:

• How wide should the new managed lanes and adjacent shoulders be?
• How should the access points be designed?
• How much space should be allocated to general purpose traffic and managed lanes traffic?
• What are effective methods for enforcing the managed lanes?
• How can freeway operations, incident management, pricing and enforcement be effectively integrated for Loop 1?
• What is the best way to communicate sometimes complex toll pricing information and lane instructions to drivers?
• What is the most reliable method for estimating revenue?
• What are effective ways of communicating the proposed use of managed lanes to the public?

“The Loop 1 project has been strengthened from the beginning because all of the right team members have been at the table,” says Goodin. “What makes this project different from a typical freeway project is that managed lanes are still a relatively new concept, so TTI is providing research expertise at just about every step of the process. We have researched numerous aspects of managed lanes and are using what we have learned to contribute to an actual project in development.”

TTI On the Project

• Kevin Balke
• Mark Burris
• Jodi Carson
• Susan Chrysler
• Tina Collier
• Scott Cooner
• Kay Fitzpatrick
• Ginger Goodin
• Phillip Reeder
• Leonard Ruback
• Shawn Turner
• David Ungemah
• Steve Venglar

A new look for the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse will be unveiled in October 2007.

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is part of a broad consortium awarded a grant by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to develop and conduct work zone safety training. “The advantage of partnering through the consortium is that each of the organizations can leverage its strength in making the educational efforts successful,” says Scott Schneider, director of occupational safety and health for Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA), which is affiliated with the Laborer’s International Union of North America (LIUNA). LHSFNA is the lead partner for the consortium. Other partners include the Laborers-AGC Training Fund, American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), CNA Insurance, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and the National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA).

“Bringing all these players to the table represents a major effort by FHWA to make work zones safer for motorists and highway workers alike,” explains Jerry Ullman, manager of TTI’s Work Zone and Dynamic Message Sign Program.

The principal goals of the project are to develop guidelines and conduct safety training for highway workers, contractors and transportation agency personnel. Specific details about the consortium and the work zone safety program in general are available on the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse website (see http://www.workzonesafety.org/fhwa_wz_grant).

TTI is providing expertise in work zone traffic control research and development, helping to ensure that the guidelines and training materials being created are based on objective data and real-world experiences of work zone personnel. Ullman and his team will help incorporate the refined guidelines into existing materials as well as help develop new materials, such as an interactive CD-ROM aimed at work zone supervisory personnel.

Getting the best knowledge available in the hands (and heads) of those individuals who can most positively impact safety in work zones is of paramount importance. Organizations like LIUNA can work with private contractors to get the guidelines in the hands of those that need them most, namely the organizations and personnel who do the work. Meanwhile, associations like AASHTO and ARTBA can work with state departments of transportation to adapt the guidelines to their procedures. Covering both the private and public aspects of work zone construction will help ensure that the word gets out.

“TTI’s expertise will play an integral role in creating guidelines that are both useful and implementable,” says Schneider.

The worst of situations brought out the best in collaborative research efforts for a group of agencies dedicated to making our nation safer. Since 2004, Sandia National Laboratories and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) have collaborated on projects for several federal agencies including the United States Department of Energy, Technical Support Working Group (a consortium of federal agencies), the United States Department of State, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Most recently, TTI and Sandia Labs have teamed up to successfully test security barriers aimed at securing our nation’s borders.

A full-scale crash test of a security fence barrier at TTI's Proving Grounds.

In 2004, a vehicle barrier was being considered for deployment at one of the national laboratory sites. The manufacturer hoped that the barrier would stop a heavy-weight, high-speed vehicle. This claim had not been verified by testing, however “That’s when we initially came into contact with TTI. We did a nationwide search of groups that were qualified to do the level of testing that we required,” says Mark McAllaster, principal member of the technical staff at Sandia Labs. “That work needed to be done quickly, economically, and with a high level of confidence in the testing data.”

Since that initial test, TTI has conducted all five of the high-weight, high-speed vehicle barrier tests completed in the U.S. Currently working alongside DHS, Boeing and Sandia National Labs in an effort to further secure the nation’s border, TTI is helping to conduct a series of crash tests at its Riverside facility on various types of vehicle barriers and fencing for potential placement along miles of high-traffic, high-risk border areas.

“During an eight-week period, six commercial barriers and three government selected barriers were to be identified, built, tested, and the data reported,” says McAllaster. “It’s a very aggressive schedule.”

TTI Research Engineer Roger Bligh and TTI Assistant Agency Director Dean Alberson are co-principal investigators on this project. Alberson is spearheading the effort to draft uniform standards for fences through ASTM International (formerly American Society for Testing and Materials).

The results of the crash tests will help determine which types of fences will be used at diverse locations along the Mexico-U.S. border. “TTI has a stellar reputation for crash testing,” says Richard Young, the Fence Lab project manager for DHS. “The Institute has the facility and the know-how to accomplish this very important work.”

“This has been an excellent, cooperative relationship,” adds McAllaster. “The agencies have a very effective and efficient relationship. It has been a high performing and successful testing program.”

In honor of his first TTI Day as Director of the Institute, Dennis Christiansen wore the shirt given to him several months earlier by plaid-adoring, outgoing director Herb Richardson at his retirement party. “This is the first time this shirt has been worn,” Christiansen announced, prompting laughs from the nearly 400 employees who were able to attend the thirteenth annual event.

Although the atmosphere was jovial, there were some thoughtful discussions about TTI’s status and the efforts underway to make it stronger. In his “state of TTI” address, Christiansen emphasized that the results of the employee survey put TTI at the top of other state agencies.

The keynote speaker, Texas A&M University System Chancellor Mike McKinney, congratulated TTI for its Half Pint Library Book Drive. Employees raised $1,047 and a total of 475 books that were distributed to Half Pint Libraries in each city where TTI maintains an office.

The Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program was recognized with the second annual TTI Team Award, named in honor of Richardson.

TTI Day Award Winners

• Kwaku Obeng-Boampong—New Researcher Award
• Shawn Turner—Researcher Award
• Jim Benson—Senior Researcher Award
• Gerry Harrison—Division Technical Support Award
• Cynthia Lowery—Division Administrative Support Award
• Clyde Hance—Administrative Technical Support Award
• Karen Smith—Administrative Professional Staff Award
• Tanya Swisher—Administrative Support Staff Award
• Greg Richmond—Charles J. “Jack” Keese Career Achievement for Agency Support
• Tim Lomax—Charley V. Wootan Career Achievement for Research

Top L-R: Jim Benson, Cynthia Lowery, Tanya Swisher, Karen Smith, Greg Richmond, Dennis Christiansen Bottom L-R: Cut-out Tim Lomax, Kwaku Obeng-Boampong, Shawn Turner, Clyde Hance, Gerry Harrison

First Keese-Wootan Fellowship Awarded

The first Keese-Wootan Transportation Fellowships were awarded at TTI Day on May 2, 2007. “The Keese-Wootan Transportation Fellowship was established to honor two long-time directors of the Institute,” stated TTI Director Dennis Christiansen. “Jack Keese served as Director from 1962 to 1976, and Charley Wootan headed the Institute from 1976 to 1992. Both were nationally recognized transportation researchers and both were active in numerous local, state, and national organizations.”

“The fellowships recognize and reward TTI employees who are full-time or part-time graduate students at Texas A&M University,” noted Katie Turnbull, agency associate director and chair of the Keese-Wootan Transportation Fellowship Committee. “Having had the opportunity to work with and know both Jack and Charley makes helping implement the fellowship very rewarding. They both set very high standards for research excellence and integrity at TTI.

Mrs. Doxie Wootan, wife of the late Charley Wootan, and Mrs. Jan Amyx, Jack Keese’s daughter, were on hand to present the first fellowships to Cameron Williams, Rachel Stensrud, and Ben Sperry, all Masters Students in the Texas A&M University Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and TTI Graduate Research Assistants. Cameron Williams received a $1,500 fellowship, while Rachel Stensrud and Ben Sperry were awarded $750 fellowships.

“These fellowships mean a great deal to me and our family,” noted Doxie Wootan. “Charley came from a large family, and education was very important to him. Charley would be very pleased that these fellowships are helping young people advance their education and their careers.”

“It was a pleasure to participate on the selection committee and to present the awards today,” stated Jan Amyx. “It was great to learn about the talented young people who are getting their start in transportation and to see the huge group that makes up the TTI family today. My dad would have been so thrilled with the honor.”

L-R: Katie Turnbull, Jan Amyx, Ben Sperry, Rachel Stensrud, Cameron Williams, Doxie Wootan, Dennis Christiansen

Behrens to Retire from TxDOT

Behrens

After 37 years with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the last six years as its executive director, Michael Behrens has announced his retirement effective August 31. The announcement was made in a letter to Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson.

Behrens, a Texas A&M University civil engineering graduate, noted the changes he has seen at the agency during his career. “The name of the Department itself went from the Texas Highway Department to the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation to TxDOT. When I started, plans were still being drawn by hand, calculations made with mechanical calculators and measurements done using tapes and surveying chains,” Behrens wrote.

Despite the changes, Behrens said the dedication and commitment of the employees to “getting the task done, day in and day out” has not changed.

TTI Director Emeritus Herb Richardson worked closely with Behrens as they both headed up their respective agencies. “Mike has provided innovative, dedicated and ethical leadership to TxDOT during a time of tremendous change in the transportation enterprise in our state,” Richardson said. “He has been a stalwart supporter of university-affiliated transportation research in Texas, and I wish him well.” Behrens was one of the speakers at Richardson’s retirement ceremony last fall.

“I will always be an advocate for the Department and the need for providing adequate transportation infrastructure for this state. I will continue to inform and educate. Thank you for allowing me to serve the state of Texas in this position,” Behrens wrote.

Trejo Receives Barclay Fellow Award

David Trejo, TTI division head for constructed facilities and Texas A&M University associate professor in the Construction, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Division, has been named a Charles H. Barclay ’45 Fellow.

The honor was presented to Trejo during the spring meeting of the engineering faculty on May 3. Colleagues describe Trejo as “energetic, enthusiastic and innovative and a leading researcher in the field of corrosion of metals and service-life prediction for construction materials.” Trejo has conducted more than $3 million in research for the Texas Department of Transportation alone. He has twice been awarded an Eisenhower Faculty Fellowship and twice a NASA Summer Fellowship.

Rosowsky Honored By Tufts University

Rosowsky

Tufts University awarded David Rosowsky, head of the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and holder of the A.P. and Florence Wiley Chair, an Outstanding Career Achievement Award for Tufts Graduate Alumni. Rosowsky was one of two recipients honored as graduate alumni who have excelled professionally.

“I have a very close relationship with Tufts University,” said Rosowsky, who stays involved with his alma mater in several unofficial capacities including serving as an external reviewer for Tufts School of Engineering. “I was privileged to attend Tufts University.”

Rosowsky received the award at the Tufts graduate awards ceremony in April and said he was very grateful for the recognition.

Tufts University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department also recognized Rosowsky for his success when it presented him with its inaugural Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2005.

Rosowsky has also been a professor at Oregon State University where he held the Richardson Chair in Wood Engineering and Mechanics before joining the Texas A&M faculty in 2004.

Teens in the Driver Seat Program Receives ITE Award

Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI) “Teens in the Driver Seat” (TDS) Program was recently selected as the 2007 recipient of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Transportation Achievement Award for Safety. This award recognizes significant and outstanding transportation achievements by entities concerned with transportation.

The TDS Program is led by TTI Division Head Russell Henk and Research Specialist Bernie Fette, who continue to expand the initiative in Texas and beyond. “We’re very blessed to have TTI Administration and Texas Department of Transportation Commissioner Hope Andrade as champions of our efforts,” says Henk. “There is no way we could have accomplished what we have in the last year without their generous support.”

TTI Director Dennis Christiansen will be accepting a plaque on behalf of the TDS Program team at the Honoree’s Dinner held at the start of the ITE annual meeting in August in Pittsburgh.

Harris Honored with SCA Award

Harris

Texas Transportation Institute Associate Research Scientist Pat Harris of the Materials and Pavements Division has been honored for his work on the George Bush Turnpike/Hwy 183 intersection near Irving. The Slag Cement Association presented Harris with the Best Use of Slag Cement for Innovation award at the association’s annual meeting in Atlanta March 21.

Harris’s research on the project involves the use of slag cement as a way of stabilizing sulfate-rich subgrade soil, which prevents problems with the asphalt or concrete pavement. “So far, the slag cement is holding up well. We will soon analyze samples from the site for reevaluation,” Harris said.

The Hall of Honor is located in the main conference room in Texas Transportation Institute’s Gibb Gilchrist building in the Texas A&M Research Park in College Station. The Hall is overseen by a five-member board comprised of senior transportation professionals with knowledge of the historical development of the transportation system in the state. Each individual inducted into the Hall of Honor is recognized by a plaque on permanent display.

J.C. Dingwall

J.C. Dingwall

J.C. Dingwall came to work for the Texas Highway Department in 1928 in Abilene. He would finish his career with the Department by serving as State Highway Engineer from 1968 until his retirement in 1973.

Dingwall left the Department during the Second World War to work with the Army Corps of Engineers building airfields around the world. In 1947 he rejoined the Highway Department and directed construction of the Gulf Freeway, the first urban expressway built in Texas. Dingwall moved to Austin in 1950 to head the Road Design Division.

In 1954, Mr. Dingwall was asked to become Engineer-Manager for the Texas Turnpike Authority, charged with building the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike. The entire project, including design, ROW acquisition and construction was completed in three years. The bonds were retired 17 years ahead of schedule.

Mr. Dingwall returned to the Highway Department in 1958 as Assistant State Highway Engineer. Greer handpicked Dingwall to head the Department in 1968. Under Dingwall the Department had as many as 20,500 employees, as the push to complete the interstate highway system continued. J.C. Dingwall served as President of AASHTO in 1972.

Ernest E. Howard

Ernest E. Howard

When Ernest Howard (UT 1900) began his career with the Kansas City bridge design firm of Waddell & Hedrick, he also embarked on a career that would help revolutionize transportation in America and leave a legacy of technical excellence and innovation. Never losing his connection to Texas, he designed many bridges in the state, including the landmark Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin. In 1914, Mr. Howard became a partner in the firm Harrington, Howard & Ash; in 1940, the firm became Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff (HNTB). Today, HNTB Corporation ranks among the top transportation infrastructure firms in Texas and the nation.

Mr. Howard’s technical excellence and innovation have been recognized in many ways. In 1921, Mr. Howard received the American Society of Civil Engineers’ prestigious Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize. In 1949, President Harry Truman appointed him to assist the Special Commission on the Renovation of the White House. Since 1954, ASCE has annually awarded the Ernest E. Howard Award for significant contribution to the advancement of structural engineering. In 2004, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association named Mr. Howard one of the Top 100 Private Sector Transportation Construction Professionals of the 20th Century.

Marcus L. Yancey, Jr.

Marcus L. Yancey, Jr.

Marcus Yancey, Jr. (UT ’50) joined the Texas Highway Department in 1957. He would spend the remainder of his career with the Department, retiring in 1993.

In 1967, Dewitt Greer transferred Yancey to his personal staff. Five years later, Marc was named Assistant Engineer-Director, and in 1980 he became Deputy Executive Director.

Known as a person of high integrity, Mr. Yancey represented the Department’s interests during 16 legislative sessions under eight governors. Marc Yancey was an effective manager and public spokesman for the Department. His management skills were recognized when he was called upon to chair the Governor’s Task Force on Management by Objectives in 1979. His strong financial oversight skills led him to be twice appointed as chairman of the State Agency Coordinating Council, and he was twice elected to the board of the State Employees Retirement System.

Mr. Yancey chaired numerous AASHTO committees and was recognized as “Public Administrator of the Year” by the Austin Society of Public Administrators. Referring to Mr. Yancey, former Governor Briscoe noted: “Working with leaders such as Dewitt Greer, Marc was the key in building the best highway system to be found anywhere…”

“Extensive research has shown that differences in temperature in the hot-mix asphalt relate to segregation,” says Stephen Sebesta, assistant research scientist with TTI. “Segregation is non-uniformity in hot-mix asphalt pavement materials. Our infrared system finds these differences in temperature and can pinpoint where pavement failure could occur.”

The system, called Pave-IR, uses thermal imaging to provide real-time measurements of material surface temperature. The Pave-IR test system continuously performs these profiles, providing more coverage and better documentation of thermal uniformity as compared to the existing test method.

“The new method is a major milestone,” says Sebesta. “We can now test 100 percent of the material in place, gathering continuous data for each day’s placement.”

The partnership between TxDOT, TTI and the contractor is actually formalized in TxDOT Standard Specification Item 341. The construction contractor is required to perform a thermal profile for each sublot in accordance with Test Method Tex-244-F. TTI then works with the contractor to provide the Pave-IR hardware, software and training to collect the thermal profile data.

“The system is easy to use,” says Arthur Gomez, manager of quality control with Silva Contractors. “TTI shows us how to install and run it one time, and then we pick it up. We run a segregation profile showing the variations in temperature so that we can modify the paver speed or rolling pattern if necessary.”

The system uses a thermal imaging bar with 10 infrared sensors attached to the back of the paver. The Pave-IR software package collects and displays the thermal profile in real time as the paving train progresses. Data collection does not slow production or placement of the mat, which is important to both contractors and TxDOT.

TTI has used the new system on about 15 construction projects throughout its development and implementation. Currently TTI is assisting with two TxDOT projects in the Odessa District and one in the Houston District.

Steve Smith, the director of construction with the TxDOT Odessa District, notes that the system allows them to sample all of the material as it is being laid down, not just a random sample as in current practice. This helps both TxDOT and contractors ensure a good quality pavement.

“If we get temperature differentials, then we can check air voids and density to determine if there’s a problem,” says Smith. “Contractors can address any problems in the pavement before it goes on too long and all the pavement needs to be replaced.” Obviously, replacing an entire section of pavement can be costly.

For the future, TxDOT plans to work with TTI to refine and improve Pave-IR, perhaps with ground-penetrating radar integrated for easier data coordination. “Some paver manufacturers have also expressed interest in the system,” says Magdy Mikhail, TxDOT pavement engineer and project manager. “If they acquire rights, they could make it part of the pavers they produce, saving contractors some costs.”