Users' Manual and Guides for the M-E Traffic Database (T-DSS)

This user's manual aids users to understand and use the mechanistic-empirical (M-E) traffic data storage system (the T-DSS). The T-DSS is a Microsoft Access data storage system containing the essential outcomes of the project 0-6940 entitled "Develop System to Render Mechanistic-Empirical Traffic Data for Pavement Design." As a supporting material, this user's manual presents and describes the following points: 1. Overall structure and data organization frame in the T-DSS. 2. Data stored in the T-DSS, including units, values, and specific comments useful to users. 3. The T-DSS interfaces including the layout formats. 4. Tables under each interface to ease data retrieval from T-DSS. The data and attachment files in the T-DSS can also be exported or downloaded for use in M-E pavement design. Especially, the manual emphasizes the retrieval of inputs data needed for M-E models and the related software, including the flexible pavement design system (FPS), the Texas mechanistic-empirical (Taxmen), the Texas asphalt concrete overlay design and analysis system (TxACOL), the AASHTOWare Pavement M-E Design, and the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (M-E PDG). 5. Guidance on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) vehicle classification and the FHWA weight classification for different categories of axles including single, tandem, tridem, and quadrem. 6. A map of the Texas weigh-in-motion (WIM) location and a summary of the geographic coordinates of the WIM sites as reported in the T-DSS.