Every element of Texas transportation will be discussed during the 87th Annual Short Course as nearly 2,000 transportation professionals gather on the Texas A&M University campus Oct. 15-16. Breakout sessions will examine the latest research on topics like roadway design, maintenance and pavement management, rail, work zone safety and speed limits, just to name a […]
87th Annual Transportation Short Course Highlights TTI-TxDOT Partnership
Zachry Department of Civil Engineering to Hold its Twenty-First Buchanan Lecture
Texas A&M University, Zachry Department of Civil Engineering will hold its Twenty-first Buchanan Lecture on the 22 of November 2013 at the College Station Hilton at 2:00p.m. in the Brazos Amphitheater. The 2013 Buchanan Lecturer is Dr. Andrew Whittle, the Edmund K. Turner Professor, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts […]
TTI Featured on Discovery Canada
Recently, Discovery Channel Daily Planet Tech Correspondent Lucas Cochran visited the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI) Proving Grounds to film a Future Tech segment on portable barriers. Portable barriers have the potential to save state DOTs time and money, as they can be manufactured off-site and quickly installed. TTI Senior Research Specialist Matt Robinson was […]
Fatal Crash Risk For Teens With Passengers Rising, Even as Traffic Deaths Show 10-Year Decline
New research suggests that novice teenage drivers (age 15-17) are about eight times more likely than young adult drivers (age 18-24) to have a fatal crash if teenage passengers are in the motor vehicle. Moreover, that teen passenger risk has grown greater over the past decade, even as total numbers of crash deaths have dropped […]
TTI Hosts Infrastructure Maintenance Symposium
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute recently hosted DBi Services’ 9th annual Infrastructure Maintenance Symposium. The symposium was held August 27–28 and showcased the latest developments and technologies in the fields of infrastructure maintenance, operations and management. The two-day symposium featured educational breakout sessions on topics that focused on the current state-of-the-practice in transportation infrastructure maintenance. […]
TTI Helps METRO Hear from Riders, Including Those with Disabilities
The number of people with disabilities requesting transportation assistance from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s (METRO’s) METROLift services has grown significantly in recent years. This increase has prompted the transit agency to consider a change in its paratransit policies and practices to balance quality of service with financial sustainability. Researchers with the Texas […]
New SEC Lab Making it Rain
The expanded Sediment Erosion Control (SEC) Laboratory officially opened its sprayers on September 4 marking the completion of a year-long construction project that more than doubles the capabilities of the research facility. The grand opening was celebrated with a two-day event that also featured a sediment and erosion control workshop. During her remarks, Texas A&M […]
Briaud Presents Louis Menard Lecture in Paris, France
It was serendipitous that Jean-Louis Briaud, Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Program manager at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, found himself presenting the prestigious Louis Menard Lecture in Paris, France, September 2. The annual lecture is part of the International Conference of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Forty years ago, as a young civil engineering lecturer at […]
Texas Cities, Counties Invest in New Pavements Developed by TTI
Thin pavements expected to last longer, save money If thin is in, then the new pavements being developed by researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are all that, and then some. Instead of the traditional two-inch overlays that are typical for road rehabilitation, TTI researchers have […]
Are Pylons Practical? TTI Recommends Implementation Guidelines
They are known by different names and are cheaper to install and more portable than concrete barriers. But over the last few years, agencies responsible for roadway maintenance have discovered a costly problem when it comes to plastic pylons. Also called delineators, channelizing devices or tubular markers, these traffic control devices offer an initial cost savings […]
Vehicle-Into-Building Crashes Research Featured on Local Newscast
Vehicle-into-building crashes happen more frequently than you might think. And they occur most often when a driver is entering or leaving a parking space facing a building. Experts at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Storefront Safety Council say preliminary research indicates that 70 percent of such collisions involve crashing into a convenience […]
TTI’s New Public Engagement Planning Program
Public scrutiny and accountability are at an all-time high for agencies charged with maintaining our transportation system. Through public-engagement planning and public-opinion research services, TTI’s Public Engagement Planning (PEP) Program was formed to help sponsors better understand their customers’ concerns. “If you can create a product—or build a roadway—with customer input from the beginning, you’re […]
Get a Grip
New Fine PFC Offsets Bleeding, Flushing on Roadways Lufkin had a problem. The highway interchange at US 59 and Loop 287 is one of the busiest in the area. Trucks wanting to avoid Lufkin traffic exited US 59 to Loop 287. The volume of traffic, the weight of the vehicles, and the speeds when exiting […]
Share the Road, Texas–TTI Kicks Off Bicycle Safety and Awareness Campaign on Texas A&M Campus
As cities and towns across Texas increase their bicycle facilities by not only adding bike lanes but adding bike share programs in downtown areas, it has become more important than ever for Texans to be aware of cyclists on the road. In certain areas of Texas, bicycles are one of the chosen modes of transportation, […]
Parking Is a Full-Time Job
Testing Standards Can Help Prevent Low-Speed Crashes into Buildings Convenience stores are so-named because there’s one on every corner. You dash in, get what you need, and dash out. But the next time you run by for a quart of milk, you might want to be more careful when parking. Vehicle-into-building crashes happen more frequently […]
Briaud Gives Prestigious Osterberg Memorial Lecture
Protecting U.S. embassies against terrorist attacks was the subject of this year’s Osterberg Memorial Lecture presented by Jean-Louis Briaud. Manager of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Program, Briaud also holds the Spencer J. Buchanan Chair in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University. Known worldwide for his engineering […]
Young Professionals in Transportation Leading the Charge in Houston
The next generation of transportation professionals has a challenging future ahead of them dealing with a wide range of issues from public policy to financing the roadways. This makes sharing information among colleagues important, and a young transportation professionals group in Houston is leading the way. This past year, young professionals from the Texas A&M […]
TTI Sponsors Fifth Annual MBUF Symposium
Calling the fuel tax “a dying source of revenue,” those attending the recent Symposium on Mileage-based User Fees (MBUFs) in Nashville, Tennessee, examined technology’s role in changing how we pay for road projects. It was the fifth MBUF symposium sponsored by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and was held this year in conjunction with […]
Lomax Moderates Transportation Solutions Panel at Houston LINK Forum
Houston is hot, but also cool. According to Forbes magazine, the nation’s fifth largest metro area is the “coolest” city to live in the United States. With nearly 175,000 new jobs added between 2007 and 2012, it’s easy to see why leaders from other urban areas might want to see for themselves just what is […]
NHTSA Administrator Tells TTI: Technology Can Help Create Safer Roads
In his first visit to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), David Strickland, administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), claimed that “we are on the precipice of being able to say that cars can’t crash.” Strickland, who delivered the honorary lecture for the G. Sadler Bridges Conference Room dedication June 17, detailed […]