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 […]
Archives for 2015
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 […]
TTI Publications
Research Videos Access the research topics listed below via the URLs shown. TTI Creates New Methodology for Multimodal Assessment: https://vimeo.com/134130572 Researching Critical Solutions to Critical Border Issues: https://vimeo.com/130477644 TTI Enhances Its Proving Ground with New Research Facilities: https://vimeo.com/131557369 Assessing the Effectiveness of Wrong-Way Driving Countermeasures: https://vimeo.com/127093778 Connected Cars, Smarter Roads, Safer Texas: https://vimeo.com/97270483 TTI’s Air […]
TTI Presents at GIS in Transit Conference
A three-day conference is under way in Washington, D.C, this week. The 9th National GIS in Transit Conference is jointly organized by the National Center for Transit Research, Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) and the Transportation Research Board to showcase how agencies of all sizes and budgets are managing geographic information systems (GIS) […]
Traffic Gridlock Sets New Records for Traveler Misery
Action Needed to Reduce Traffic Congestion’s Impact on Drivers, Businesses and Local Economies America’s traffic congestion recession is over. Just as the U.S. economy has regained nearly all of the 9 million jobs lost during the downturn, a new report produced by INRIX and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) shows that traffic congestion has […]
Carlson Receives Eldon J. Yoder Memorial Award
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (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, PA, on July 12–15. Carlson won the award for the research paper “Can Traffic Signs Be too Bright […]
Be Safe. Drive Smart. TxDOT Back to School Driving Tips
The end of summer means millions of Texas children will soon return to school. TxDOT reminds drivers to be extra cautious as school zones become more active and be aware of school bus safety. Last year, 625 vehicle crashes occurred in school zones in Texas, resulting in two deaths and 112 serious injuries. August and […]
Researchers Study Traffic Make Up on Texas’ I-35 & SH 130
In the Austin area, more than 220,000 vehicles travel on I-35 on a daily basis. In contrast, SH 130, the tolled bypass around Austin only carries 40,000 vehicles daily. Why do more vehicles choose the I-35 route? What would make travelers, particularly big trucks, more likely to use SH 130? Associate Research Scientist Tina Geiselbrecht […]
TTI Creates New Methodology for Multimodal Assessment
Helping El Paso Manage Growing Pains By 2030, the Office of the State Demographer projects Texas’ population will rise from 25.2 million in 2010 to 33.9 million in 2030. And that growth is not just happening in cities like Austin, Dallas or Houston. It’s happening statewide in urban areas of all sizes. In the El […]
Stevens Honored with National Young Engineer of the Year Award
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Research Engineer Charles Stevens has been named the 2015 Young Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Stevens accepted the award during the organization’s annual meeting in Seattle, Washington on July 17. According to NSPE, “the Young Engineer of the Year Award recognizes young members […]
A Dynamic Way of Forecasting Traffic
Travel forecasting affects transportation professionals on a number of levels, from planners and stakeholders to decision-makers and members of the general public. Currently, forecasting is assessed with trip-based travel demand models. However, these models are considered static, since the process of collecting the information doesn’t take into account actual travel demand in a system around […]
Research Explores Online Communities to Help Build Effective Transportation Policy
Online communities are virtual gathering places where members interact with other members and administrators of that community through the Internet. As technology has progressed, online communities have evolved to now include features such as surveying, crowd sourcing, voting on or prioritizing concepts or ideas, and participating in live chat sessions. Many online communities are considered […]
New TTI Overview Publication Released
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is pleased to announce the release of its new overview publication. This 22-page, full-color publication represents a sampling of the Institute’s signature research projects; discusses the Institute’s research focus areas and office locations; and features its facilities and staff. “We are happy to share this document, which provides a […]
More Analysis Follows 2014 Texas Transportation Poll, Provides Insight Into Public Sentiment
As a follow-up to the 2014 Texas Transportation Poll conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), researchers have conducted additional analysis that provides more insight into public sentiment on transportation issues in Texas. Researchers found that Texans most frequently identified the following issues as being important to them:congestion, gas prices, construction, public transportation, road maintenance, […]