Our Aging Infrastructure The nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. The highways, railroads, pipelines, wastewater systems, bridges, ports and inland waterways essential to America’s economy are suffering from a combination of spiraling demand, benign neglect and advancing age. See related story. *Source: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2017. http://infrastructurereportcard.org
Volume 53, Number 3
Helping Agencies Manage Infrastructure Renewal: TTI’s Asset Management Group
As in 2013, ASCE once again rated America’s infrastructure a D+ in its latest 2017 assessment. Although several categories, such as ports and rail, achieved modest improvements, others declined. And six core categories that many think of when they think of infrastructure itself — including bridges, roads and aviation — remained unchanged from four years […]
TTI Demonstrates New Tech Aimed at Mitigating Wrong-Way Driving Crashes
On Aug. 17, reporters and transportation agency representatives gathered under a tent near a repurposed runway at The Texas A&M University System’s RELLIS Campus. They watched as Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Research Engineer Melisa Finley — known for her innovative studies on wrong-way drivers — led a first-of-its-kind and successful connected-vehicle demonstration funded by […]
Texas A&M’s Infrastructure Renewal Symposium Brings Together Industry Experts, Leaders to Discuss Critical Issues
OPTIMISM about future transportation funding and new efforts to modify regulatory restrictions were prominent themes of Texas A&M University’s National Symposium on the Barriers and Opportunities for Infrastructure Renewal, held at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center Sept. 18. Members of the Trump Administration and other high-level state and federal officials, as well as private-sector stakeholders, […]
Accelerated Construction Can Cut Red Tape, Save Time Following Extreme Weather Events
Damaged roads and devastated homes. Chemical plant explosions in Crosby, Texas. The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies much of the East Coast with fuel. The shockwaves from extreme weather events like Hurricane Harvey can last for years. Getting damaged infrastructure back online is key to public safety, as well as the nation’s economy, […]
Texas State Transportation Innovation Council Recommends TTI Project for Statewide Implementation Funding
In June, the Texas State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) met for the third time since its inception in 2016. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) co-hosted the Austin event, with 110 transportation personnel attending. The STIC brings stakeholders together semiannually to facilitate more rapid deployment and implementation of new technologies, […]
The Texas 100: Texas Leads the Way in Data-Driven Performance Measures
In 2009, researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) began compiling its Texas 100 Most Congested Highways list as part of an interagency contract with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Over the past nine years, the list has helped TxDOT identify and begin to address the most congested highways in the state. It’s […]
New Delivery Methods, New Transportation Challenges in the Era of E-Commerce
Our transportation system will need to change in order to accommodate the dramatic growth in e-commerce, a research project by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) reveals. In numbers that have grown and will likely rise, Americans are going online to buy everything from shoes to avocados — with many of their purchases delivered the […]
TTI News
TTI, Aruba Partner to Improve Bus Riding Experience On July 20, TTI and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, announced an exploratory transportation project to optimize traffic flows for bus ridership and use data analytics to improve navigation at Texas A&M University through Aruba Wireless and Data Analytics. Texas A&M is one of the largest […]
Upcoming Conference
2017 ITS Texas Annual Meeting The Intelligent Transportation Society of Texas (ITS Texas) annual meeting brings together engineers, planners, government and industry for three days of informative training, technical sessions and presentations. November 8–10, 2017 Hilton Houston North Houston, Texas A highlight of this November’s meeting: ITS Texas is sponsoring a cybersecurity-based training class aimed […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: Accessibility May Be the Future’s Most Precious Transportation Commodity
Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Texas Gulf Coast was widespread and overwhelming. Thousands of survivors lost their homes and possessions. But everyone I saw interviewed was thankful for what they still had, especially their lives and loved ones. If extreme weather events can have a silver lining, perhaps it’s to help us realize what really […]