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: […]
Volume 46, Number 1
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. […]