With long-lasting and pivotal contributions to the improvement of transportation in the Lone Star State and beyond, two Texans were inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor during a ceremony held in Austin. On November 21, Marquis G. Goode, Jr., a 40-year employee of the Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation, […]
Texas Transportation Researcher
Warm mix is HOT!: Paving the way cleaner, faster and cheaper in Texas
What began in Europe is now the hottest thing in asphalt in Texas and the U.S. There are many ways to get there, but the goal is the same: to lower the temperature of asphalt by 35 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit prior to application. “When we started the warm mix research project, I thought we’d […]
Caring for concrete
It’s easy enough to fix a pothole, but how easy is it to actually prevent them from appearing at all? Given the number of cracks and potholes that plague Texas roadways, there is no question about the value that a successful preventive maintenance could have in delaying more serious problems. Various methods exist to identify […]
Improving our Infrastructure
Volume 45, Number 1 (2009) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue Editorial A different perspective Planning Edwards announces Mobility Initiative at TTI TTI Contributes to 2030 Committee’s Texas Transportation Needs Report Measuring twice, cutting once: Integrating sustainability into transportation planning Evaluating the 4Ts Construction Black top served hot: TTI research helps lengthen road life Recycling […]
Varying seal-coat asphalt rates across the roadway
As the winter months wind down, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) district offices throughout the state will complete planning for the hectic summer seal-coat season. Best applied when the weather is warm, seal coats are by far the most popular preventative maintenance treatment used in Texas. A recently completed research project, sponsored by TxDOT and […]
Streamlining the construction process: TTI researchers find ways to cut costs
State departments of transportation (DOTs) throughout the country are battling the same worsening problems: a lack of funds for road construction and soaring prices for materials like steel and concrete. When funds are available, these rising costs have DOTs scrambling for dollar-stretching ideas. “Construction costs have almost doubled between 1998 and 2006,” says Ivan Damnjanovic […]
Black top served hot: TTI research helps lengthen road life
Potholes in the road cause more problems than commuters just spilling their coffee. Potholes are also a safety hazard and an expensive burden to the taxpayers footing the bill for repairs. Thermal segregation, one major cause of potholes, occurs in isolated, low-density areas when the temperature differs greatly during placement of the new overlay. Hot-mix […]
Available reports and products
Technical Reports “GIS Models for Analyzing Intercity Commute Patterns: A Case Study of the Austin-San Antonio Corridor in Texas,” by Benjamin Zhan, 0-5345-2, Nov. 18, 2008. “A Review of Performance Models and Test Procedures with Recommendations for Use in the Texas M-E Design Program,” by Fujie Zhou, 0-5798-1, Oct. 23, 2008. “Traffic Control Strategies for […]
Awards and more
Briaud seeks top job of international society Next year, TTI Research Engineer Jean-Louis Briaud will learn if he will become president of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). Briaud, a Texas A&M University Zachry Department of Civil Engineering professor and holder of the Spencer J. Buchanan Chair in Civil Engineering, has […]
School zones as safety zones
Helping motorists reduce speeds near schools SCHOOL SPEED LIMIT 20. That’s one sign we’re all likely to pay attention to. But those who don’t may potentially put children at risk. Some may think that making school speed zones longer is the answer. Or maybe it’s flashing lights or a lower speed limit. To find the […]
Safer routes, healthier kids
A generation ago, the typical morning routine for school-aged children involved eating a hearty breakfast around the table, and then bounding out the door with books in tow to either walk or ride a bike to school. Along the way other children in the neighborhood joined in, transforming the walk into a lively neighborhood promenade. […]
Texas Safe Communities
National results begin at home You’re driving down your neighborhood street, maybe past an elementary school where parents are picking up their kids. You’re conscientious and slow down, even beyond the school zone speed limit. And you notice the dangers — children crossing the street between parked cars, several drivers competing for one parking space […]
Pay Attention!
Enhancing Visibility to Improve Safety on Houston’s “Red Line” Visitors to downtown Houston, Texas, have probably seen Houston METRO’s “Red Line.” It’s a 7.5-mile stretch of light rail transit (LRT) that links the Central Business District with Midtown, the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park. What visitors might not have noticed is […]
Tracking trends: Planning for air solutions, not pollution
As the old saying goes, you shouldn’t compare apples to oranges. But sometimes evaluating them together can yield interesting information about fruit in general — as long as there’s a valid way to accurately assess the two relative to one another. Each of Texas’ 254 counties is different from the others, from highways to air […]
Walk, bike and be counted
Automated sensors are watching out for you Take a walk down most busy urban streets and you’ll see any number of traffic devices to help keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe — pavement markings, crossing signals and warning signs. What you don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes. Several traffic safety devices need sensors […]
2008 Traffic Safety Conference showcases gains, needs
The inaugural gathering of traffic safety professionals, policymakers and practitioners was a rousing success, according to John Mounce, director of the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for Transportation Safety. Mounce moderated the conference. The 2008 Traffic Safety Conference was held in Houston, Texas, Nov. 17-19, 2008. TTI hosted the event in conjunction with the Texas […]
TTI-TxDOT partnership highlighted at Short Course
The historic relationship between Texas Transportation Institute and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was the focus of Agency Director Dennis Christiansen’s remarks to the 82nd Annual Transportation Short Course, Oct. 14-15, held at Texas A&M University. “The universities in this state take great pride in the relationship we have with TxDOT,” Christiansen, the Short […]
Charles J. Keese inducted into Texas Transportation Hall of Honor
Charles J. “Jack” Keese was inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor on Oct. 22. Keese served as the first full-time director of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) from 1962 to 1976. Friends and family joined TTI staff to celebrate Keese’s contributions to transportation at the Gibb Gilchrist Building in the Texas A&M University […]
Houston versus the hurricane
There’s no way to be 100 percent ready for the unpredictable power of a hurricane. But three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, one thing is certain — this time, Texans were better prepared. The 2005 disaster Rita caused in southeast Texas was only amplified by the chaos of evacuation. Tens of thousands of Houstonians […]
Moving toward a CULTURE OF SAFETY
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for citizens from 4 to 34 years of age. Even though progress has been made in the reduction of traffic fatalities in this and other age groups, many in the traffic safety community believe that we may have reached the point of diminishing return in terms […]