3.3B Total freight tons transported* $3T Total worth of freight shipped* 313,000 Roadway centerline miles* 600B Truck trips annually ~39.6B Data points sorted annually via algorithm to assess freight fluidity and better understand truck parking *The Economic Role of Freight in Texas – Executive Summary published by the Texas Department of Transportation (April 2021).
Texas Transportation Researcher
95th Annual Transportation Short Course Highlights Research Excellence, Need for Continued Diligence
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) hosted the first-ever hybrid Transportation Short Course Oct. 11–13 both virtually and on the Texas A&M University campus. This year’s event marked 95 years of commitment by TTI and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to present the latest research innovations from the department’s research program to practitioners around […]
TTI, TxDOT Win National Safety Award: “Safer by Design” Tool Aims to Save Lives on Texas Rural Roadways
The Roadway Safety Foundation honored the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a 2021 National Roadway Safety Award Oct. 6. The foundation lauded the TxDOT-sponsored, TTI-developed “Safer by Design” tool for use by roadway designers to assess the safety characteristics of rural highway design. Nearly 4,000 people died […]
Big Data Saves DOTs Time, Resources for Truck Parking Analysis
Truck drivers cover hundreds of miles a day carrying goods from distribution centers to store shelves. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires truckers to take regular breaks and stop driving altogether once they pass a certain time behind the wheel. That means they must park their trucks and rest somewhere, and that can be […]
TTI Develops Guidebook for Implementing Freight Fluidity in Texas
The efficient movement of goods is vital to the Texas economy, whatever the mode of transportation — via airports, highways, railways or waterways. Any disruption in the supply chain that prevents goods from moving efficiently can add not only to the costs of producing and shipping goods, but also to the variability and pricing of […]
Shipping Stranglehold: Pandemic Hampered Business Operations and Supply Chains in Texas
The COVID-19 pandemic rattled industries and crippled supply chains worldwide. The results were also evident in the Lone Star State, as research by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) illustrates. Institute experts conducted research studying the impacts of COVID-19 at the Texas–Mexico border and found that the effects of the viral outbreak were felt almost […]
Looked Good on Paper — But Blockchain Technology Is Revolutionizing Data Management, Security
As part of a classroom assignment at Harvard Business School in 1978, Dan Bricklin created the prototype for spreadsheet software. Not only did it make paper-based account ledgers with handwritten figures obsolete, but Steve Jobs credited Bricklin’s invention — dubbed VisiCalc (short for visible calculator) — with the success of the Apple IIe, the personal computer […]
TTI Hosts First In-Person Advisory Council Meeting Since 2019
For the first time since 2019, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Advisory Council held its annual meeting in person Nov. 1–2 at the Barn at Circle T Ranch in Westlake, Texas. TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree and council chair and former Texas State Sen. David Cain welcomed the approximately 50 individuals attending, including council […]
TTI News
Kirk Watson Inducted into Texas Transportation Hall of Honor Kirk P. Watson, a champion of transportation investment for Austin and the state of Texas for more than two decades, was inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor Nov. 4. Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp welcomed some 100 guests including numerous VIPs from […]
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. Strong as Their Weakest Link What the pandemic taught us about supply chains. Episode 22 Supply chains everywhere were […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: More Reliable, More Resilient — A Supply Chain Is Only as Strong as Its Weakest (Data) Link
We’re in the middle of a global supply chain crisis. A shortage of supplies and workers, especially truck drivers, has combined with a post-pandemic surge in demand to create bottlenecks. Add to that the impact of COVID-19 mitigation strategies (some of which are still in force) on goods movement, particularly across national borders. According to […]
When Transportation Becomes Personal
Volume 57, Number 3 (2021) Adobe PDF version Inside This Issue: Urban Mobility Report 2021 – Congestion was Flattened in 2020: COVID-19 Made Traffic Congestion Disappear but Not for Long A Tale of Two Problems: 2021 Virtual Traffic Safety Conference Addresses COVID-19’s Impact on Traffic Safety Fatalities In the Fight: TTI, Team Study How Transportation […]
Urban Mobility Report 2021 – Congestion was Flattened in 2020: COVID-19 Made Traffic Congestion Disappear but Not for Long
A Tale of Two Problems: 2021 Virtual Traffic Safety Conference Addresses COVID-19’s Impact on Traffic Safety Fatalities
For the second year in a row, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) hosted the virtual Traffic Safety Conference, held July 14–16, 2021. Supported by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the event focused on high-priority safety issues and innovative solutions to end the streak of daily fatal crashes in Texas. This year’s conference also […]
In the Fight: TTI, Team Study How Transportation Professionals Can Help End Human Trafficking
John Habermann, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) research engineer, recently coauthored the article “The Contribution of State and Local DOTs to Disrupting Human Trafficking” in the June 2021 issue of the ITE Journal published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The publication reaches nearly 16,000 subscribers. The article defines human trafficking as the “recruitment, harboring, […]
Now You See It; Now You Don’t: The Traffic Hiatus from COVID-19 Was Historic…and Brief
America’s worst public health crisis in a century flattened roadway congestion to levels not seen in 40 years, but the respite was short lived, according to the 2021 Urban Mobility Report (UMR) from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). In the pandemic shutdown of spring 2020, daily commuter traffic dropped by almost half compared to […]
TTI’s Mukhopadhyay Develops Test Methods for Cracking-Resistant Concrete
Alkali–silica reactions (ASRs) cause cracking issues in precast concrete bridge structures. In collaboration with Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Assistant Research Scientist Kai-Wei Liu, TTI Senior Research Scientist Anol Mukhopadhyay developed two ASR test methods now accepted as American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards, as well as a four-step process for […]
Learning Something New at the 2021 Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference
With 384 attendees this year, the fifth annual 2021 Texas Child Passenger Safety Conference helped child passenger safety technicians (CPSTs) stay informed on the latest research and best practices aimed at keeping our most precious cargo safe when traveling. The conference also provided participants with continuing education credits for CPST recertification. Sponsored by the Texas […]
TTI News
Dixon Awarded 2021 ITE Safety Council Ricker Award TTI Senior Research Engineer Karen Dixon is the 2021 recipient of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Safety Council Edmund R. Ricker Individual Award. Named for Edmund R. Ricker, president of ITE in 1967 and author of numerous traffic safety books and research papers, the award recognizes […]
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 Captives Become Cargo How transportation professionals can disrupt human trafficking. Episode 13 An efficient transportation network is central […]