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 […]
Texas Transportation Researcher
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. […]
Improving Our Transportation Operations
Volume 46, Number 1 (2010) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Editorial Tightening Your Beltway in Tough Times Technology and Innovation THEN: Application of Technology In Traffic Operations Research Goes Back to Earliest TTI Studies NOW: Taking It to the Streets: Collecting travel time data, speed with Bluetooth technology Innovative Modeling Method Discovered in El […]
Available Reports and Products
Technical Reports “Analysis and Integration of Spatial Data for Transportation Planning,” by Stephen Sebesta, 0-6071-1, September 15, 2009. “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. “Capacity and Road User Cost Analysis of Selected Freeway Work Zones in Texas,” […]
Awards and More
Spiegelman Named Distinguished Professor Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Scientist Clifford Spiegelman has been appointed Distinguished Professor of Statistics at Texas A&M University’s College of Science. The title of Distinguished Professor is reserved for faculty who are recognized by their peers as being among the top 5 percent in their fields worldwide. Currently, there […]
Short Course Focuses on TxDOT Challenges, Changes
“We can do more” was the theme that emerged during the opening session of the 83rd Annual Transportation Short Course at Texas A&M University Oct. 13. The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT‘s) annual gathering attracted 2,000 participants. Short Course is co-sponsored by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) and this year celebrated the Institute’s 60-year relationship […]
Using Dirt to Clean Water: Bioretention Improves Runoff Quality
It’s every kid’s dream — that playing in dirt could make you cleaner than the dreaded bath time. But one Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) project is using soil and plants together to clean storm water runoff before it returns to the main water supply. As storm water washes down an embankment, it carries with it […]
Drive-In Environmental Research Chamber: New TTI testing facility expected to open new doors for research
At the Texas A&M University Riverside Campus in Bryan, Texas, workers have completed the finishing touches on another in a line of world-class testing centers offered by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to its sponsors. The Drive-In Environmental Research Chamber, which opens in January 2010, is the largest of its kind in the country. The […]
TTI and the Environment
Volume 45, Number 4 (2009) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Editorial It’s Not Easy Being Green—But It’s Worth the Effort Testing Facilities Drive-In Environmental Research Chamber: New TTI testing facility expected to open new doors for research Air Quality TTI MOVES Emissions Estimates Forward Enhancing Transportation in National Parks and Gateway Communities Green Institute […]
Drive Clean Across Texas — A Success Story
Think back roughly eight years ago — where were you? Some that were graduating high school are now out of college and in the work force, and fifth graders at that time are now in college. The Drive Clean Across Texas (DCAT) campaign was in its infancy then but now stands as an award-winning education […]
NOW: Testing 21st Century Sediment Control Devices
In 2010, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers will enter the second phase of a project for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Maintenance Division to develop an Approved Products List (APL) for sediment control devices. Sediment runoff from construction sites is now the number one pollutant of our waterways, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. […]
THEN: Best Practices for Growing Grasses on Right of Way Are Determined
(Excerpt from Texas Transportation Researcher, October 1967) Best cultural methods to give an ideal stand of grass for erosion control along the highway have been determined by Dr. Wayne McCully and Mr. William J. Bowmer in research of the Texas Transportation Institute sponsored by the Texas Highway Department with the Bureau of Public Roads. Establishing […]