Nearly all regions of the state have benefited economically from unprecedented energy production over the last 10 years. However, significant road repair needs resulting from the energy boom are estimated to be $2 billion each year for the next 20 years, based on the findings of a Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) study performed for the […]
TTI Study Estimates Roadway Damage of the Texas Energy Boom
2013 Nominations Underway for Texas Transportation Hall of Honor
The Texas Transportation Hall of Honor board is accepting nominations for 2013 inductees until October 1, 2012. Each individual selected for the Hall of Honor is recognized at an induction ceremony and with a plaque on permanent display in the Hall of Honor located at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute in the Texas A&M University […]
National Seat Check Saturday
Bev Kellner has a daunting task: teaching parents how to properly buckle up their children in a child safety seat. Sounds easy enough, but considering that most of the more than 19,000 kids in car seats she’s checked over the last 14 years have been buckled improperly or not at all, she won’t be out […]
New Name, Same TTI
In August The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved changing the names of all seven A&M System agencies to include “A&M” in the agency names effective September 1. As a result, the Texas Transportation Institute was renamed the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, but retains its acronym, TTI. “A&M” has been added to TTI’s […]
Hawkins Honored with Educator Award
Dr. Gene Hawkins, associate professor in the Texas A&M Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, is the recipient of a prestigious educator award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Hawkins, who is also a research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), received the 2012 Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award at the […]
Motorcycle Fatalities Focus of Safety Experts
Sixteen percent of all vehicle fatalities in Texas involve motorcyclists, according to David Strickland, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A recently licensed motorcyclist himself, Strickland was a speaker during the opening session of the 4th annual Traffic Safety Conference in San Antonio this summer. “I love motorcyclists and I love motorcycling, […]
TTI Researchers Attend Workshop on Future of Road Vehicle Automation
Within the last year there has been an upsurge of activity related to road vehicle automation, notably vehicular development activities from automobile manufacturers, Google, and research underway throughout the world. Recently, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers Ginger Goodin and Ed Seymour attended a three-day workshop to share the state of the practice and participate […]
Adding Highway Shoulders, Width, Reduce Crash Numbers and Save Lives
AUSTIN — Texas highways are safer now thanks to hundreds of projects completed in the last few years to add shoulders, width on more than 1,000 miles of rural, two-lane highways. An analysis of 189 Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) road projects around the state shows that wider pavements make highways safer and result in […]
Off the Field, Texas A&M Transportation Institute and University of Florida Team Up
When it comes to safety, Texas A&M University and The University of Florida are on the same team. Football, however, is a different story. Even among avid football fans, the 1976 Sun Bowl was a distant memory in 2004. And for three University of Florida civil engineers, the last Gator-Aggie match-up was never even on […]
TTI’s Katie Turnbull Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Internationally known transportation leader Dr. Katie Turnbull has been honored with a lifetime achievement award by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF). Turnbull, executive associate director for the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), received the Ethel Birchland Lifetime Achievement Award July 26 in Lansdowne, Virginia. Turnbull received the award through ARTBA’s […]
High School Students Experience Life as Engineers during Tour of TTI, A&M
Cesar Martinez grew up near the Boeing and Lockheed Martin facilities in Houston. It gave him an appreciation for aircraft and inspired in him a dream for what he might one day become: an aeronautical engineer. Martinez and 50 other Houston-area high school students arrived on the Texas A&M University campus July 22 for a […]
Extreme Heat Leads to Pavement Failures
Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer and Regents Fellow Tom Scullion is no stranger to pavement failure investigations. Scullion has been involved with pavement research for over 35 years and is often called upon to offer his expertise in finding causes and providing solutions to pavement failures throughout the country and the world. (see […]
Norboge Presents Paper at Eno Center for Transportation
In a time of increased scrutiny about where transportation dollars are spent, the need for sound economic analysis in transportation planning is greater than ever. Nick Norboge, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) assistant transportation researcher and fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, recently presented a paper that examines how economic analysis can help states make […]
Road User Fee Idea Slowly Gaining Momentum
Attendance for the most recent mileage-based user fee (MBUF) conference nearly doubled from last year, signaling growing interest in what many proponents admit could be years, if not decades, before implementation. MBUFs, also known as vehicle-miles-traveled fees, are viewed as a promising approach to replace the current way transportation projects are funded. Instead of relying […]
TTI Included in White House Meeting Focused on Reaching Women
Thanks to a recent meeting with a newly formed group designed to attract women (and raise awareness of women’s contributions) to the transportation industry, White House staff members have become familiar with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). Chaired by TTI Director of External Initiatives Melissa Tooley, the Women Leaders in Transportation Design and Construction Council […]
Geiselbrecht Receives IAP2 Certification
Texas Transportation Institute Assistant Research Scientist Tina Geiselbrecht has successfully completed 40 hours of instruction by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2), receiving the IAP2 Certification in Public Participation. Geiselbrecht’s work centers on public opinion research and public outreach. In assessing public opinion about planned transportation projects, she has conducted numerous stakeholder interviews, focus […]
Body Snatchers and Slugs Part of Carpooling Culture
It’s a U.S. phenomenon that’s happening in just three cities. Tens of thousands of people congregating in crowded parking lots. In some circles they call themselves either “body snatchers” or “slugs,” and their motive is simple: they want to save time and money. It’s called casual carpooling. It occurs in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and […]
Applying TTI Research in the Dominican Republic
Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer Tom Scullion recently visited road builders in the Dominican Republic (DR) to help them upgrade their transportation network. This small island nation is upgrading its infrastructure by building their equivalent of the United States Interstate Highway System. The upgrade is over a billion dollar effort. One of the […]
Safer Roads, More Work Highlighted at TTI Safety Conference
With the theme of improving safety on highways in Texas and across the nation, the leader of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the retiring state legislator known as “Senator Safety” were featured speakers for the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) 4th annual Statewide Traffic Safety Conference, June 4-6, in San Antonio. David Strickland, […]
“Senator Safety” Honored at Annual TTI Safety Conference
State Senator Steve Ogden was recently honored jointly by the three state agencies most involved in realizing his vision for enhancing roadway safety in Texas. The recognition came in response to Ogden’s keynote address at the annual Texas Traffic Safety Conference in San Antonio on June 5. “Mention the name ‘Senator Safety’ to just about […]