The March 26 grand opening celebration for the state headquarters of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) not only highlighted the past accomplishments of the Institute’s last 60 years, but also the work that still needs doing. “Quite frankly, this new facility is clearly the envy of our peers,” TTI Agency Director Dennis Christiansen told the […]
Archives for March 2010
TTI Celebrates Opening of State Headquarters & Research Building
When the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) formally opens its new state headquarters Friday, those familiar with the agency will not be surprised to discover that a large part of the first floor is devoted to a working research lab. The TTI State Headquarters and Research Building not only provides the first official state headquarters in […]
TDS Impact Revealed in Garland News Conference
Safer driving habits by teenagers in Garland, Texas, have helped to sharply reduce fatal crashes in that community, according to a recent case study by researchers from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). The announcement was made at a recent news conference in Garland. The researchers attribute the improvements to a combination of two factors: the […]
Freight Shuttle Study Underway for Border Crossing Use
The results of a $650,000 feasibility study — made possible recently with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy — could determine the near-term role in border applications of the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Freight Shuttle, a revolutionary cargo movement concept developed by Assistant Agency Director Steve Roop. The study is examining the practicability of […]
TTI Research Facility Gets North American Exposure
Members of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and its Advisory Group on Sustainable Freight Transportation in North America were the first group to tour TTI’s new Environmental and Emissions Research Facility (EERF). The CEC was in College Station last month for a three-day workshop. Located at the Riverside Campus, the facility contains the largest […]
Available reports and products
Technical Reports “Assessment of a Traffic Monitoring System for a Major Traffic Generator to Improve Regional Planning: Technical Report,” by Todd Carlson, 0-5531-2, November 4, 2009. “Considerations for Rigid vs. Flexible Pavement Design When Allowed as Alternate Bids: Technical Report,” by Andrew Wimsatt, 0-6085-1, November 5, 2009. “Corrosion Performance Tests for Reinforcing Steel in Concrete: […]
Awards and more
Bligh, Little Join Elite A&M System Group TTI Research Engineer Roger Bligh and Senior Research Fellow Dallas Little were honored in December with two of the highest tributes awarded by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Bligh was named one of only 71 Regents Fellows by the A&M System Board of Regents as […]
TTI at TRB
When Assistant Professor and Assistant Research Engineer Dominique Lord received word that he had won a major award that would be presented at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 89th Annual Meeting, it was a big surprise. After all, he didn’t know he was in the running. Without his knowledge, Associate Professor and Research Engineer Gene […]
TTI Loses a Dear Friend: Bob Gallaway, 1916-2009
The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) lost one of its dearest friends on November 29, 2009, when Bob M. Gallaway passed away after an extended illness. Gallaway, a longtime supporter of TTI and professor emeritus at Texas A&M University, was 93. Although he eventually gained prominence as a respected mentor and beloved teacher of engineers for […]
Two New Transportation Research Centers Housed at TTI
Two new transportation research centers were approved by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents during a meeting in January. Both centers, housed at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), were established to improve the transportation system in Texas and across the country. The Center for Strategic Transportation Solutions (CSTS), created by the 81st Texas […]
Work Zone Up Ahead: Other States Call TTI for Work Zone Research
Traffic operations, such as improving the safety and efficiency of work zones, are coast-to-coast priorities. Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers journey outside the Lone Star State whenever — and wherever — duty calls. Three recent work zone projects have been part of TTI‘s effort to help sponsors nationwide. Intrusion Countermeasures Orange-and-white drums do not always […]
Teens in the Driver Seat Program Looks to Build on Milestone Year
The phrases “peer pressure” and “spreading like wildfire” tend to carry negative connotations, yet for the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI‘s) Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program, those phrases are signs of success. With funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Section 402 program and State Farm Insurance, the TDS program began in 2003 […]
Flying Cars? Not Quite Yet…: Funding the Future of Texas Transportation
In a classic line from the movie Back to the Future, as Doc Brown’s DeLorean flies off in search of a sequel, the eccentric scientist famously says, “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” But flying cars aren’t here yet, despite promises from actual scientists as far back as the 1950s. We still need roads. […]
Preserving Lessons from the Field
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has taken great efforts over the years to learn from pavements not performing as well as expected. But it is also possible to learn much from successes. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently conducted a research project to establish a process for TxDOT to use to learn from Texas […]
Innovative Modeling Method Discovered in El Paso
Dress rehearsals are a common element of life. Sports teams typically have walk-throughs, weddings have rehearsal dinners, and plays have dress rehearsals. These are standard practices that don’t change much but are quite valuable. Likewise, transportation agencies and professionals use modeling to simulate how changes to our transportation infrastructure will impact traffic flow. Where modeling […]
NOW: Taking It to the Streets: Collecting travel time data, speed with Bluetooth technology
You might be familiar with the name Bluetooth® as a way of wirelessly talking on your cell phone. More generally, it’s a personal area network that connects devices wirelessly over short distances. Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) are using Bluetooth technology for a host of applications involving traveler information, traffic management and planning […]
THEN: Application of Technology In Traffic Operations Research Goes Back to Earliest TTI Studies
(excerpt from “A Study of Freeway Traffic Operation” by Charles J. Keese, Charles Pinnell and William R. McCasland, 38th Annual Meeting, Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 5-9, 1959) In 1956, the Texas Transportation Institute initiated a research project for the Texas Highway Department to correlate freeway operational characteristics with design features.…The study was made […]
Tightening Your Beltway in Tough Times
Perhaps the single greatest challenge to transportation today is funding — funding to build, funding to operate, funding to maintain. Budgets are shrinking, but the driving population isn’t. One way to address these competing challenges is through innovation. Research and economic projections tell us that our future transportation needs far exceed our current funding levels. […]
Improving Our Transportation Operations
Volume 46, Number 1 (2010) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Editorial Tightening Your Beltway in Tough Times Technology and Innovation THEN: Application of Technology In Traffic Operations Research Goes Back to Earliest TTI Studies NOW: Taking It to the Streets: Collecting travel time data, speed with Bluetooth technology Innovative Modeling Method Discovered in El […]