Cities and regions across Texas are partnering with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Transportation Research (CTR), and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to form the Texas Automated Vehicle (AV) Proving Ground Partnership. The statewide partnership will put Texas on the path to becoming the nation’s first “Smart […]
Archives for December 2016
TTI Awarded Millions for Safety, Air Quality, Waterway Transportation Research
Institute to Lead New Center Dedicated to Transportation Emissions and Public Health The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) will lead or assist three new centers awarded up to $50 million as part of a competitive grant program established by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). A total of 32 University Transportation Centers (UTCs) were established […]
Winfree Appointed to Lead Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Board of Regents Selects Senior USDOT Official Following an extensive national search, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has appointed former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation Gregory D. Winfree, J.D., as Agency Director for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Winfree, who until recently served as Assistant Secretary, Office of […]
Eisenhower Inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor
Dwight David Eisenhower 34th President of the United States, General in the U.S. Army, Father of the Interstate Highway System and Texas native, was inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor on December 6. The ceremony took place at the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison, Texas, on the porch of the home […]
TTI, EPA Team Up with Transportation Services to Analyze Texas A&M Transit Fleet Performance
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recently kicked off a project to study the drive cycles of the Texas A&M University fleet buses that serve the campus and surrounding areas. The agencies are working together through a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). “Texas A&M Transportation […]
Texas Legislators Hear TTI Testimony on Autonomous Vehicle, Safety Issues
Members of the Texas House Transportation Committee on December 7 heard updates on research related to two of the Committee’s priority interest areas. Ginger Goodin, Director of TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center, briefed members on the topic of autonomous vehicles in the context of policy and regulation. Robert Wunderlich, Director of TTI’s Center for Transportation […]
2016 Texas Transportation Poll Results Released
Researchers at TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center recently completed the 2016 Texas Transportation Poll. The study examines the travel behaviors and opinions of more than 4,000 Texans, and its results say a lot about what Texans think about daily transportation choices, challenges, funding, and solutions. For more information, visit the Policy Center website.
New Director, New Opportunities
Volume 52, Number 4 (2016) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Handing Over the Reins: A Final Word, A Fond Farewell Follow the Leader: Two-Truck Automated Platoon Test Is a Winner Survey Says: More Texans Turning to Phone Apps, Websites to Avoid Traffic TTI Investigates Traffic Safety Impacts of Marijuana Use Spike in Pedestrian/Bicyclist Deaths […]
Handing Over the Reins: A Final Word, A Fond Farewell
This is my final issue of the Texas Transportation Researcher as agency director of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you who have followed and supported the Institute over many years. The most enjoyable part of being TTI’s director has been having the opportunity to […]
Follow the Leader: Two-Truck Automated Platoon Test Is a Winner
Can an automated, commercial two-truck platoon be deployed on specific corridors in Texas in the next five to ten years? Thanks to a successful test by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the agencies are one big step closer to answering that question. […]
Survey Says: More Texans Turning to Phone Apps, Websites to Avoid Traffic
Texans are relying more on information from smartphones and websites to make routine travel decisions than they did two years ago, according to new research from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Conducted this summer, the survey found that 70 percent of respondents had recently used a smartphone app for navigation or route guidance, up […]
TTI Investigates Traffic Safety Impacts of Marijuana Use
As part of a new Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) project, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers are looking into Texans’ attitudes on marijuana use and analyzing the traffic safety impacts in states that have legalized, decriminalized or made marijuana available for medical purposes. Several U.S. states have relaxed their marijuana laws, and during the […]
Spike in Pedestrian/Bicyclist Deaths Prompts Year-Long Study by TxDOT
A sharp increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities in Texas has prompted researchers with the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to examine what factors contributed to the 550 deaths in 2015 — nearly a 13 percent increase from the year before. In fact, since 2010, pedestrian fatalities have […]
Winfree Appointed to Lead Texas A&M Transportation Institute
On December 12, 2016, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents appointed former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Gregory D. Winfree, J.D., as agency director for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Winfree began his new role on December 15, replacing Dennis L. Christiansen, P.E., Ph.D., who stepped down after […]
TTI Provides Guidance for Maintaining Pavements at General Aviation Airports
All airports have one thing in common: pavement, and a lot of it. In fact, in many cases, maintaining runways represents the largest expenditure at an airport. It’s critical that airport management inspect and maintain its pavements in a timely fashion for safety reasons and to avoid costly, full-pavement rehabilitation projects. Researchers at the Texas […]
A Platform for Change: TTI Provides FHWA a New Way to Test CV/AV Technologies
Self-driving cars. Seamless communication between vehicles and the roadside. The ability to multitask while driving from point A to point B reliably, safely and on time. It all sounds a bit like the George Jetson future we were promised in the 1960s, minus the flying cars. The difference is that the connected vehicle/automated vehicle (CV/AV) […]
TTI Selected for $10.75 Million Federal Contract to Evaluate Connected Vehicle Projects
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has been selected by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to evaluate connected vehicle projects in southern Wyoming, New York City, and Tampa, Fla. The multiyear federal contract is for $10.75 million. Vehicle challenges and opportunities have driven the need for the pilot tests and evaluations. Roadway congestion in the […]
Visionary Leader: Christiansen’s Vision Led TTI to New Opportunities, Steady Growth
When The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents selected Dr. Dennis Christiansen as the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) fifth agency director in late 2006, the board tapped a seasoned leader, with 35 years of experience in advancing the national and international reputation of TTI already under his belt. In the subsequent 10 years […]
TTI-Led Team Develops New Guidebook for States Implementing Intercity Passenger Rail
The world seems to be moving faster. Our transportation system, however, seems to be slowing down. Expanding economies place increasing demands on our current transportation system. While economic growth is good, increased freight and commuter traffic is filling roadways that, when built 50 years ago, seemed luxurious in their emptiness. Given this reality, how can […]
TTI Participates in Groundbreaking for New State-of-the-Art Center for Infrastructure Renewal
Roadways and bridges are aging at a faster rate than they can be repaired. The U.S. power grid is more than 130 years old and vulnerable to natural disasters and terror attacks. And the safety and security of our nation’s oil, gas, water and wastewater pipeline systems is an increasing concern. Modernizing infrastructure will require […]