TTI Updates Pavement Design Software One of the best parts of a software upgrade is seeing the new features. Releasing next-generation software often requires a much-needed modernization of the hardware. Sometimes, though, it’s the other way around. Texas’ roadways — the state’s biggest collection of hardware —are being modernized, and that’s required the updating of […]
Archives for 2011
Assessing Customer Satisfaction
TTI Helps TxDOT Ask Texans the Right Questions Knowing how well you’re doing your job can be as easy as asking someone’s opinion. But when you’re a public agency, it can get a bit more complicated. In a joint effort, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Bush School of Government and Public Service recently […]
Valuing Research
TTI Assesses Loop 410 Improvements in San Antonio Accountability. Performance measures. “Bang for the buck.” We hear these terms a lot these days about our transportation system. Knowing how to maximize the return on our transportation dollar is vital at a time when budgets are shrinking but commuter needs continue to grow. In 1960, San […]
Awards and More
Freight Shuttle, New Guardrail Highlighted at Awards Luncheon Eight TTI employees were recognized at the Patent and Innovation Awards Luncheon May 6, which was held at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library. Steve Roop, Leslie Olson and Curtis Morgan were honored for their patent, described simply as a freight transportation […]
Available Reports and Products
Technical Reports Development of Performance-Based Evaluation Methods and Specifications for Roadside Maintenance, by Nasir Gharaibeh, 0-6387-1, February 11, 2011. Evaluating the Impact of Overweight Load Routing on Buried Utility Facilities, by Edgar Kraus, 0-6394-1, February 18, 2011. Realtime Monitoring of Bridge Scour Using Remote Monitoring Technology, by Jean-Louis Briaud, 0-6060-1, February 18, 2011. Development of […]
Bringing Balance to Transportation Finance
What It Takes Is Dollars and Sense Getting where you’re going costs money. Whether that’s bus fare, filling up your gas tank or keeping our transportation system operational, it all costs money. And it’s getting more expensive. How much we pay at the pump might be the most visible reminder that transportation isn’t free, but […]
Road Design Training in Kosovo
TTI Contributes to a Unique Public-Private Partnership Good roads are vital to progress, especially in newly established and developing countries. After more than a decade of war and political unrest, Kosovo emerged as the world’s newest independent state in early 2008. But the country’s roadway infrastructure was severely deteriorated and in need of reconstruction. To […]
TTI Helps Texas Legislators See into the Future
Investment Today, Return Tomorrow Funding transportation infrastructure is a lot like investing in education — expenditures today will yield substantial returns over time. With a gloomy economy and ever-increasing transportation needs in mind, Texas Transportation Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi reconvened the 2030 Committee to develop an updated analysis of the state’s transportation system. Released in […]
Providing a Viable Financing Option
TTI Helps Implement TRZs in Texas A nation’s progress depends in part on transporting goods and services over a safe, reliable road network. With the current state of the national economy, however, public funding for road construction and infrastructure maintenance is rapidly shrinking. This makes finding innovative financing methods even more critical. One such solution […]
It’s Bike to Work Week: Study Hopes to Improve Austin Biking
Researchers from The University of Texas and Texas A&M University are hoping volunteers with smart phones can help them gather better data for improving bicycle routes and services in the Austin area. Using CycleTracks, a free smart phone application available for iPhones and Android-based phones, researchers from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) and the UT […]
Seymour Receives Regents Fellow Designation
Ed Seymour, Texas Transportation Institute associate agency director, has been presented with a Regents Fellow Service Award, which is among the most prestigious honors bestowed by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The award was presented during ceremonies held March 24 by the Board of Regents. Seymour joins 75 other agency professionals singled […]
McCully Remembered for Texas Highway Beautification
Former Research Scientist Wayne McCully, who played a vital role in beautifying Texas highways — especially every spring — died recently after a long illness. He was 91 years old. McCully was the manager of the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Vegetation Management Program, a Texas A&M University faculty member in the Range Management Department and […]
Epps Part of NAPA’s Hot-Mix Hall of Fame
Jon Epps, executive associate director of the Texas Transportation Institute, was inducted into the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA’s) Hot-Mix Asphalt Hall of Fame at the 56th annual meeting of the association in Orlando, Fla., last month. The hall of fame was “established to recognize and honor individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions […]
RITA’s Appel Tours TTI and UTCs, Connects with Students
During Peter Appel’s recent visit to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC) and the University Transportation Center for Mobility™ (UTCM), it was easy to see what motivates the administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT). […]
Fight the Gas Pump: TTI Researcher Suggests “Eco-Driving”
For motorists across the country, it feels like history is repeating itself. Average gasoline prices are once again well over $3.00 a gallon. Back in 2007, fuel prices reached these levels, and hit over $4.00 in 2008. Some predictions have prices at the pump heading to $5.00. Commuters are likely once again contemplating changes in […]
Implementation: Where the Research Meets the Road
Volume 47, Number 1 (2011) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Editorial TTI Research: Making Things Better Planning Workshops Bring Local, State Planners Together Funding Tomorrow’s Transportation in Texas: Not a Question of If…a Question of How Rural Transportation Planning: It’s Not Just for Urban Areas Anymore Safety Enlightening Sign Time: TTI Helps Spread the […]
TTI Research: Making Things Better
Or, Why Transportation Research Is More Important Than Ever It’s hard to tighten your belt when you run out of holes in the leather. But when you can’t afford a new belt, you just have to work with what you’ve got. In a nutshell, that’s what the Texas Legislature is facing in the current budget […]
Workshops Bring Local, State Planners Together
Every one of us likes to drive safely and without undue delays. To keep our roads safe and efficient, operators must effectively manage the existing system while simultaneously planning for evolving transportation and land development needs. Corridor management (CM) involves land development, roadway design, access control and traffic operations along existing transportation corridors. In short, […]
Funding Tomorrow’s Transportation in Texas: Not a Question of If…a Question of How
We often take our transportation system for granted. Then something happens — an ice storm, for example — to remind us just how much we depend on that system. Without it, our mobility, our economy, our very lives can become paralyzed. Keeping existing system infrastructure operational and effectively planning future roadways are vital to meeting […]
Rural Transportation Planning: It’s Not Just for Urban Areas Anymore
It’s an unfortunate cliché these days: economic times are difficult. Federal, state and local budgets are shrinking. As communities look for ways to get more bang for their transportation buck, leveraging strengths across agencies becomes ever more important. Metropolitan planning organizations have coordinated local urban planning efforts with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for […]