Darrell W. Borchardt, P.E.

Borchardt, Darrell

Senior Research Engineer

Research and Implementation - Houston
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Texas A&M University System
701 N. Post Oak Rd., Suite 430
Houston, TX 77024
ph. (713) 686-2971 Ext. 15113 · fax (713) 686-5396
d-borchardt@tamu.edu

Short Biography

Mr. Borchardt is a Senior Research Engineer in the Houston office of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has 26 years experience in several areas of traffic and transportation engineering. He has served as staff engineer on research projects evaluating freeway operations, ramp metering systems, arterial street systems, and high occupancy vehicle lanes and has supervised staff members in several areas of traffic engineering, project development, geographical information systems, automatic vehicle identification/location systems, and information processing/management/dissemination. He has completed several reports and analyses on construction related road user costs; this experience was developed into a training course for TxDOT staff throughout the State. He is currently principal investigator of a research project which will determine updated capacities for various configurations of freeway work zones in Texas. Mr. Borchardt also provides expertise in terms of hurricane evacuation planning and documented traffic operations and motorist behavior resulting from the evacuation of the Houston region in September 2005.

His responsibilities in areas of traffic engineering have concentrated on freeway traffic management; including assisting in the deployment and evaluation of ramp metering systems installed along Houston freeways. The ramp metering evaluations were completed while working jointly with TxDOT personnel to determine metering rates, identify areas of concern, and to complete before and after studies of freeway operations of impacts of the ramp metering. He served as principal investigator of a project which developed and deployed a warning system for high-speed trucks on freeway to freeway connectors. His expertise in these systems was utilized in a subsequent study which developed dual advisory speed warning signs for freeway connector ramps. In addition, he provides expertise in the area of truck and freight operations and monitors the compliance of truck lane restrictions on Houston urban freeways.

Mr. Borchardt continues to work with staff at Houston TranStar in terms of monitoring the operation of the AVI system which serves as the tool for monitoring real-time traffic on Houston freeways. He has developed techniques to analyze the data from the system and completes annual studies which document trends in travel times and speeds within the Houston region. He also prepares monthly summary of activities for the Houston TranStar website.

Other areas of interest include pedestrian and vehicular operations/management for ferry systems, freight movement operations in ports, and special event traffic management/shuttle bus operations.

Education

  • M.Eng., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1982.
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1981, Cum Laude.
  • A.A., Engineering, Blinn College, 1979.

Experience

  • Senior Research Engineer, Research and Implementation - Houston, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, September 2006 - Present.
  • Research Engineer, Research and Implementation - Houston, Texas Transportation Institute, March 1997 - August 2006.
  • Program Manager, Research and Implementation - Houston, Texas Transportation Institute, June 1995 - January 2006.
  • Associate Research Engineer, Freeway Design and Operations Program, Texas Transportation Institute, January 1991 - February 1997.
  • Assistant Research Engineer, Freeway Design and Operations Program, Texas Transportation Institute, June 1987 - January 1991.
  • Engineering Research Associate, Freeway Design and Operations Program, Texas Transportation Institute, January 1983 - May 1987.
  • Research Assistant, Transport Operations Program, Texas Transportation Institute, January 1982 - December 1982.

Professional Registration

Registered Professional Engineer in Texas, Registration No. 62074.

Affiliations

  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).
  • Member, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Rodeo Express Committee.
  • Member, Chi Epsilon - The National Civil Engineering Honor Society.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Texas Section (TexITE).

Honors & Awards

TexITE Special Recognition Certificate, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Texas Section (TexITE), 1985.

Short Courses Developed

Techniques for Determining Construction Related Road User Costs. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Short Course. 1998 - 1999.

Selected Publications

P.J. Carlson, A.M. Pike, J.D. Miles, B.R. Ullman, D.W. Borchardt. Evaluation of Traffic Control Devices, Year 3. 9-1001-2. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. March 2012.

P.J. Carlson, A.M. Pike, J.D. Miles, B.R. Ullman, R. Stevens, D.W. Borchardt. Evaluation of Traffic Control Devices, Year 2. 9-1001-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. March 2011.

D.W. Borchardt, G. Pesti, D. Sun, L. Ding. Capacity and Road User Cost Analysis of Selected Freeway Work Zones in Texas. 0-5619-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. September 2009.