Effective October 1, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer David Newcomb has been appointed head of the Institute’s Materials and Pavement Division. Newcomb replaces Andrew Wimsatt, who’s retiring from the position to lead a TTI effort to coordinate and expand the infrastructure assessment and management duties across the Institute. During Wimsatt’s tenure, the […]
Archives for September 2015
Houston Area Drivers–Send Us Your Feedback!
The U.S. Department of Transportation is studying the experiences of regular drivers in the Houston area and is seeking your feedback! The study will involve an initial survey, a series of mini-surveys completed on your smartphone over one month, and a final survey. To participate in this study you must: Have a valid U.S. driver’s […]
Researchers Examine Potential Use of Variable Speed Limits in Texas
With help from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), state officials in Texas explored the use of variable speed limits (VSLs), an effort that could lead to more efficient highway operations and a decrease in collisions. Based on legislation passed in 2013, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) funded the VSL pilot study, using signs […]
TEES and TTI Announce Center for Infrastructure Renewal to Address Aging Roadways, Structures, Pipelines and Power Grid
The State of Texas has appropriated billions of dollars over the next biennium to address the state’s aging transportation infrastructure. Recognizing the need for better solutions to meet this challenge, the Texas Legislature appropriated $5 million for debt service for a joint venture between two state agencies, the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and […]
Call for Nominations: 2016 Texas Transportation Hall of Honor
The Texas Transportation Hall of Honor board is accepting nominations for 2016 inductees until November 15, 2015. Each individual selected for the Hall of Honor is recognized at an induction ceremony and with a plaque on permanent display in the Hall of Honor located at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute in the Texas A&M University […]
Texas Freight Survey Assesses How Well the Transportation System is Serving Businesses
Researchers at TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center recently completed the Texas Freight Pilot Survey, in which more than 500 respondents were presented with 12 transportation-related factors and were asked to rank how well the current transportation system is performing across four transportation infrastructures: highways, rail, ports, and border crossings. Results from the first-time survey identified “infrastructure […]
Award Winning Destination Aggieland App: New and Improved
The free Destination Aggieland mobile app, originally developed in 2014, has been updated and expanded for 2015. The app was created as part of the Kyle Field Transportation Plan commissioned by Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp to help fans get to and from the game as safely as possible, while also improving the […]
TTI Researchers Provide Testimony to Legislative Leaders on System Funding Needs
Transportation policy leaders in the Texas State Capitol met on September 10 to discuss future funding needs for the state’s transportation system. Ginger Goodin, Director of TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center, and Brianne Glover, Assistant Research Scientist with the Infrastructure Investment Analysis Program, testified before the House Transportation Committee, Subcommittee on Long-term Infrastructure Planning. Their testimony featured estimates of […]
Scullion Receives Recognition Award from TxDOT
Citing his expertise, innovation and quality of research, managers within the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have honored Tom Scullion of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) with a new award from the department: Researcher Award of Excellence. Scullion, a senior research engineer and manager of TTI’s Flexible Pavement Program, is renowned for his work […]
TTI and TxDOT: Teaming for Texas
Volume 51, Number 3 (2015) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: TTI and TxDOT: A Partnership of Vision, Expertise and Excellence for Texas TTI and TxDOT: Where State of the Art Meets State of the Practice TTI Creates New Methodology for Multimodal Assessment Seal Coats: Sharing Lessons Learned, Testing New Methods Troubleshooting Issues Before They’re […]
TTI and TxDOT: A Partnership of Vision, Expertise and Excellence for Texas
In 1948, the Texas Highway Department formed a unique relationship with the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. Led by the department’s vision for improving the Texas transportation system, Texas A&M’s engineering faculty became the go-to problem solvers for Texans. Two years later, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) was born. The Texas Department of […]
TTI and TxDOT: Where State of the Art Meets State of the Practice
Over the past 60 years, drivers have seen countless changes on Texas roadways — not only in how they’re used by drivers but in how they’re built and maintained. Yet one thing remains constant: the partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). These two agencies work together […]
TTI Creates New Methodology for Multimodal Assessment
Helping El Paso Manage Growing Pains The Office of the State Demographer projects Texas’ population will rise from 25.2 million in 2010 to 33.9 million in 2030. That’s a 35 percent increase in the state’s population, and the growth isn’t just happening in cities like Austin, Dallas or Houston — it’s happening statewide. In El […]
Seal Coats: Sharing Lessons Learned, Testing New Methods
Training Courses Teach TxDOT Personnel Best Practices in Seal-Coat Projects The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) maintains more than 79,000 miles of farm-to-market, ranch-to-market, state, U.S. and interstate highways. That’s more roadway than any other state. As resources are stretched thin, maintaining the roadways is a challenge. Seal coats — also known as chip seals […]
Troubleshooting Issues Before They’re Problems: TTI Partners with TxDOT on Seven Innovative Research Projects
In 2014, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) supplemented its Cooperative Research Program with an Innovative Projects program aimed at proactively addressing issues before they become problems. TxDOT’s Research and Technology Implementation Office (RTI) is overseeing 13 forward-thinking research efforts aimed at creating a safer, more efficient Texas transportation system. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute […]
The TTI-TxDOT Team Is Working to Increase Safety for Texans
Improving transportation safety for Texans is a goal long shared by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). In 2015, three projects are continuing that tradition of making the roadways in the Lone Star State safer for everyone. TTI Develops Assessment Methodology for Rural Texas Armed with a new […]
Interagency Cooperation: Working Together for Texans
Relieving Traffic Congestion, Facilitating Evacuations for Houston Thanks in part to a decades-long relationship developed and strengthened through an interagency agreement (IAC) between the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) Houston District and Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers, 1,000 miles of Houston roadways are monitored by a low-cost traffic data collection system. The system collects […]
Putting Research into Practice: Technology Transfer Supports Implementation
A robust technology transfer (T2) program helps get cutting-edge research into the hands of practitioners who just need to know what to do and how to do it — without the methodology behind the findings. In order to improve and transform the transportation system, those making decisions about exactly what improvements are necessary must receive […]
TTI Advisory Council
Advancing the Vision The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Advisory Council is comprised of a small group of high-level transportation professionals from across Texas and every sector of the transportation world. The council, which meets annually, offers a tremendous service to the Institute by advising on transportation issues and trends and supporting TTI’s research programs […]
TTI News
Carlson Receives Eldon J. Yoder Memorial Award TTI Senior Research Engineer Paul Carlson was recently awarded the Transportation Research Board Eldon J. Yoder Memorial Award. The award was presented during the 11th International Conference on Low-Volume Roads in Pittsburgh, Penn., held July 12–15. Carlson won the award for the research paper “Can Traffic Signs Be […]