In theory, the best way to maximize traffic flow along busy urban streets is to coordinate the series of traffic signals that drivers encounter. In practice, that’s far easier said than done. But with the completion of recent research supported by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), traffic engineers are a big step closer to […]
Texas Transportation Researcher
TTI Facilities Research Road Safety Devices, Technologies
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Visibility Research Laboratory and smart intersection explore how improvements in road markings, signals and equipment can keep road users safe. Through the Eyes of the Visibility Research Laboratory Researchers in TTI’s Visibility Research Laboratory evaluate retroreflective materials, lights, coatings and other technologies designed to provide nighttime visibility. The lab […]
Preventing Roadway Crashes before They Occur
Roadway departure crashes make up a significant number of the crashes on Texas roadways each year. In 2016 alone, Texas roads experienced 61,973 roadway departure crashes, most of which occurred on two-way two-lane (TWTL) highways (92 percent). These numbers — especially in a state that just saw its second-deadliest year on record for road fatalities […]
Proper Friction Equals Safer Roads
The correct amount of pavement friction is critical for motorist safety, especially during wet weather. The Wet Surface Crash Reduction Program guidelines from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Traffic Safety Division provide engineers with a framework for identifying existing pavement friction and the tools for specifying new pavement surfaces that will meet project-specific friction […]
TTI News
Tooley Honored with University of Arkansas College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award Melissa Tooley, TTI director of external initiatives, received a Distinguished Alumni award April 9 at the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Alumni Awards Banquet. The Department of Civil Engineering chose Tooley as its award recipient, one of the highest honors given to […]
Thinking Transportation Podcasts
Download, listen, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Every other week, we interview a TTI expert or special guest on a wide range of transportation topics and discuss how those topics impact the average person. When a Crash Is Not an Accident Staging roadside collisions to make them more survivable. Episode 31 Sometimes vehicle […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: Can’t You Read the Sign?
In 1971, the Five Man Electrical Band, a crew of Canadian rockers, released the song “Signs,” which vented the songwriter’s disdain for certain examples of visual forewarning that he encountered. In the chorus, the singer belts out, “Do this, don’t do that! Can’t you read the sign?” My colleagues and I at the Texas A&M […]
Protecting the Monarch Super Highway
Volume 58, Number 1 (2022) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Impact on the Texas Environment Joint Effort by TTI, Texas A&M AgriLife Helps to Protect Endangered Species From Road Projects The Future Is Now: The Evolution of Aviation in Urban Environments — Urban Air Mobility Advisory Committee Formed […]
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Impact on the Texas Environment
Tribune Article: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/09/biden-infrastructure-bill-texas/ White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TEXAS_Infrastructure-Investment-and-Jobs-Act-State-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Joint Effort by TTI, Texas A&M AgriLife Helps to Protect Endangered Species From Road Projects
Unintended encounters with cars and trucks are nearly always bad news for animals. But not only do creatures face dangers on existing roads, they’re often imperiled from the moment that road construction begins. Animals of all types and sizes need to move about their habitats to forage, breed and simply exist, and that movement can […]
The Future Is Now: The Evolution of Aviation in Urban Environments — Urban Air Mobility Advisory Committee Formed to Identify Policy
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones as they are commonly referred to, can carry out many impressive tasks, such as capturing stunning visual images, delivering packages, or carrying out complex military operations. While the use of UAVs is not new, their widespread use and seemingly unlimited potential in urban and rural areas have necessitated the […]
TTI, CARTEEH Supporting Transportation Electrification Efforts
The rapid appeal and growth of electric vehicles (EVs) over the last few decades are part of a fundamental shift in the constantly evolving transportation system. Stakeholders with interests in transportation, energy and emissions are finding they need to come together to plan for the future of the nation’s transportation system, including considering the idea […]
Environmental Research at TTI
The behavior of the brown pelican, the fascinating migration of monarch butterflies, and rangeland management are not usually associated with transportation research. But all that is changing. Over the last few years, researchers with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) have developed a portfolio of environmental projects never considered part of transportation research. TTI already […]
TTI Experts Receive Recognitions at 2022 TRB Annual Meeting
Approximately 60 Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers and staff participated in the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 101st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Jan. 9–13. Held in person for the first time since 2020, about 6,000 participants attended more than 400 workshops, lectern sessions, and poster sessions, as well as nearly 400 committee meetings, during […]
Before Warning Bells Ring — Hazmat, Train Derailment Emergency Planning for Schools
Hazardous materials (hazmat) travel daily by road, rail, pipeline, waterway and air through the Lone Star State. Most transport vehicles safely arrive with their cargo. It’s when things go wrong — such as a hazmat incident or train derailment near a school — that a well-informed, thorough safety plan can save student, teacher and staff […]
Crowdsourced Data Enhance Border Trip Insights in CIITR Report
Getting accurate, continuous travel information can be difficult for binational metropolitan regions like El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. As a result, international cross-border trips often go underrepresented in travel demand and behavior analysis studies. This can be caused by a number of factors, including time and budget limits and boundary issues associated with […]
TTI News
TTI, Texas A&M International University Formalize Partnership TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree and Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) President Pablo Arenaz recently signed a five-year memorandum of agreement (MOA) to facilitate cooperation between their respective institutions, particularly involving border logistical data. “The agreement comes after the local trade community in Laredo tasked [TAMIU’s Texas Center […]
Thinking Transportation Podcasts
Download, listen, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Every other week, we interview a TTI expert or special guest on a wide range of transportation topics and discuss how those topics impact the average person. Upsides and Downsides Transportation and public health share a complicated union. Episode 27 How we develop our transportation systems […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: Transition Takes Time — Internal Combustion Engines Aren’t Dinosaurs Just Yet
In this issue of the Texas Transportation Researcher, we’ve featured TTI experts conducting cutting-edge research designed to preserve and protect our environment. That includes helping pave the way for alternative-fueled vehicles, like electric cars. Electrified and fuel-celled propulsion are gaining significant momentum, but internal combustion engines (ICEs) aren’t an extinct species yet. It’s easy to […]
Big Data Big Dollars
Volume 57, Number 4 (2021) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Freight by the Numbers Everything’s Bigger in Texas 95th Annual Transportation Short Course Highlights Research Excellence, Need for Continued Diligence TTI, TxDOT Win National Safety Award: “Safer by Design” Tool Aims to Save Lives on Texas Rural Roadways Big Data Saves DOTs Time, Resources […]