News Archives

U.S. Representative Chet Edwards was in College Station at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Aug. 27, announcing he has secured another $600,000 for a Transportation Management Center (TMC) that could become a model for other small to mid-size towns facing congestion and other traffic problems. Edwards made the announcement at TTI’s Translink® Laboratory, which might […]

Protecting and preserving water quality is one of the primary goals of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Texas Transportation Institute’s Environmental Management Program supports these agencies through research and testing, particularly in the area of erosion control. Ironically—due in part to record rainfall this summer—Texas […]

Production for a statewide motorcycle safety campaign is underway by the Texas Transportation Institute. The Texas Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety project is set to begin in September and will include billboards like the one shown to the right, a safety video, logo, website and materials urging riders to attend a DPS […]

A research project designed to make drivers safer in rainy, night-time conditions is in its final stage, with a report due out this year. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) project funded by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will determine what pavement marking systems perform best under adverse weather conditions. A 1,600 foot “rain tunnel” […]

The recent rains in Texas have forced many lakes and rivers to flood stage, highlighting the importance of the bridge research the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is conducting with funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Currently, 600 of the 40,000 bridges in Texas are on the ‘scour-critical list,’ which pinpoints those bridges that […]

David Trejo, TTI division head for constructed facilities and Texas A&M University associate professor in the Construction, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Division, has been named a Charles H. Barclay ’45 Fellow. The honor was presented to Trejo during the spring meeting of the engineering faculty on May 3. Colleagues describe Trejo as “energetic, enthusiastic and […]

TTI researchers have completed the first phase of a 3-year, $3 million project for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is designed to reduce the estimated 500 tons of nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere each day by emissions from idling trucks. The project, headed up by Associate Research Engineer Joe Zietsman, has resulted […]

TTI is working alongside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Boeing, and Sandia National Labs (SNL) in an effort to secure the nation’s border. TTI is helping to conduct a series of crash tests at its Riverside facility on various types of fencing that might be placed along miles of high-traffic, high-risk border areas. […]

Just weeks after they were donated by TTI employees, children’s books have been turned over to a Bryan-College Station area community center and a book donation agency. TTI Day staff members Susan Chrysler and Beverly Kuhn presented The Brazos Valley Community Action Agency, Inc. (BVCAA) and Reach Out and Read with some of the more […]

TTI is working with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on a new statewide motorcycle safety campaign set to kick off in September. The campaign seeks to promote motorcycle safety in several important ways. “We hope to increase motorists’ awareness of the growing presence of motorcycles and […]

With some international help, the Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) Program, the nation’s first peer-to-peer safety program for young drivers, is expanding. That announcement came Tuesday as state leaders and officials of the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization gathered to observe the first-ever Global Road Safety Week. Noting that car crashes […]

Researchers with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) have determined that Texas teenagers taught to drive by someone other than professional driver education instructors are more likely to be involved in serious traffic crashes. In fact, the study found that after supervisory and Graduated Driver License restrictions are removed, parent-taught drivers are nearly three times more […]

TTI hosted the Transportation Research Board’s Visibility Symposium April 17-18. The Symposium, held regularly since 1968, brings together researchers, practitioners, consultants, transportation agencies, and industry to present and review contemporary research on issues related to the visual communication of information within the general transportation infrastructure. Participants included attendees from five countries.

TTI’s Pecos Research and Testing Center was used the first week of March to determine vehicle emissions from light-duty passenger vehicles and 18-wheelers traveling upwards of 80 miles per hour. A research team from the Air Quality Studies program equipped the vehicles with its recently acquired Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) device to gather data […]

“Through the Texas Transportation Institute, we are doing great work in developing materials and safety devices for the transportation industry. This work is more far-reaching than most of the general public knows,” said newly appointed Texas A&M University System Chancellor Michael McKinney following a tour of the Institute March 6. The visit lasted through noon, […]

Texas A&M University System Chancellor Dr. Mike McKinney watches a full-scale crash test at TTI’s Riverside Campus facility as part of his tour of the Institute March 6.

TTI Research Engineer Jean-Louis Briaud received the prestigious Martin S. Kapp Foundation Engineering Award during ceremonies at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute conference in Denver. The Kapp Award is given on the basis of the best example of innovative or outstanding design or construction of foundations, earthworks, retaining structures, or underground construction. […]

Research Engineer Jean-Louis Briaud receives the ASCE 2006 Martin S.Kapp Foundation Engineering Award from John Anderson, president of the Geo-Institute of ASCE. The award was presented at the Geo-Denver conference in February.

Teens in the Driver Seat, TTI’s peer-to-peer safety program for young drivers, rolled out its biggest launch ever in Texas when students representing all seven high schools in Garland held a press conference on March 7th to announce their TDS program. For more information and photos of the event, visit www.t-driver.com.

TTI researchers have developed suggested procedures for agencies interested in improving pedestrian safety. The TTI team consisting of Kay Fitzpatrick, Shawn Turner, Marcus Brewer and numerous others has developed Guidelines for Pedestrian Crossing Treatments as part of a Transportation Research Board (TRB) project. In 2004, 4,641 pedestrians died in the U.S. and another 68,000 were […]