By Allan Rutter You could be forgiven for not knowing who Harley Staggers was. After all, the name sounds like a character in an Elmore Leonard novel. But the next time you stop at a gas station or drive on streets and highways to get there, just know that this West Virginian made those activities […]
freight
Truck Drivers Are Essential Workers, Too
By Allan Rutter When the Oxford Dictionary chooses its word of the year for 2020, “essential” will be a strong contender, as the label for these service providers we couldn’t function without during the COVID-19 pandemic: First responders, nurses, doctors, and other hospital workers. Grocery store stockers, cashiers, and baggers. And of course, truck drivers. […]
Looking to the Future with the Texas Connected Freight Corridors Project
Imagine yourself driving a truck along I-35 filled with perishable goods. You rely on your eyes to predict what you might encounter on the road ahead, though you can’t always see every hazard. Advanced transportation technologies can make the difference, noticing (and reacting to) things the human eye can’t. Mobility, safety, reliability, security — all […]
On a Typical Day, Texas Drivers Face Longest Delays on Houston, Austin Freeways
Fueled by the state’s steady growth and healthy economy in 2018, Houston’s West Loop this year is set to repeat its rank as the most gridlocked corridor in the state. Interstate 35 in central Austin comes in a close second, with the Southwest and Eastex Freeways in Houston and the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas […]
Oil Exports Top Imports For the First Time, Adding to Texas Transportation Challenges
By Allan Rutter In the last week of November 2018, daily exports of U.S. oil, gasoline and other products exceeded imports for the first time in nearly 70 years, thanks in large part to energy-rich Texas. But despite appearances, the boom of the state’s oil and gas production will not halt the flow of oil […]
TTI, Texas A&M Provide High-Tech Border Security Through New DHS Center of Excellence
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD) a 10-year grant to lead its new Center of Excellence for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is part of the interagency Texas A&M team. “Texas A&M looks […]
The Port Community of Veracruz Launches a Blockchain Initiative to Improve Port Operations
dexFreight Inc. and Texas A&M Transportation Institute will run the project An innovative application of blockchain technology will be put to the test at the Port Community of Veracruz, Mexico by a team of researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and dexFreight, a Florida-based blockchain and logistics startup. The project will help define […]
A Lesson in Economics, Featuring Seaports and Your Stuff
By Jim Kruse The next time you’re trying to understand the global economy — the next time that hearing about tariffs and trade deficits makes you want to tune out — just remember that much of the study of economics boils down to just two things: seaports and your stuff. That’s because you use a […]
TTI Helps Nebraska Town with Life- and Time-Saving Rail-Monitoring System
With decades of experience helping cities establish rail-monitoring systems for the safety and convenience of their citizens, Leonard Ruback added Fremont, Nebraska, to his portfolio when that city’s system went on line in May. Ruback is a senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Ruback’s work developing rail-monitoring systems began more than […]
TTI Research Looks at What Makes Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes More Severe
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) looked at nearly 2,800 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes from 2011 through 2014 in 20 counties across the state of Texas. Half of the counties had high levels of oilfield activity. The researchers used statistical tools to identify the top factors associated with more severe crashes. The Federal Motor […]
Reaching the Worldwide Marketplace — TTI’s Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research Solves Cross-Border Transportation Problems
For the international economy to thrive, economic development can’t stop at national borders. Facilitating growth requires moving goods efficiently from one country to another, which in turn requires a vital, robust transportation system. In 2006, the Texas Legislature established the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research (CIITR). Through applied research, […]
TTI’s Center for Ports and Waterways Helps Sponsors Navigate Economic Opportunity
The Texas Marine Transportation System includes 1,000 harbor channels; 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways; and 3,700 terminals handling passenger and cargo movements. And it connects with 152,000 miles of rail, 460,000 miles of pipelines, and 45,000 miles of interstate highways. With 11 deepwater seaports as international gateways and more than 1,000 miles […]
We Need Automatic Braking on Trains, but It’s Going to Take a Lot of Hard Work
Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Gregory Winfree, J.D., and Allan Rutter weigh in on rail safety A number of high-profile passenger rail crashes have captured public attention recently. Although their circumstances may differ, the tragedies are a grim reminder that train safety belongs high on our list of transportation policy priorities. A long-distance train from New […]
Taking Border Performance to the Next Level
by Sushant Sharma In the transportation research business, we use the term “performance measurement” when we measure how a certain aspect of our transportation system is operating. For example, through crash reporting we can tell you with certainty how safe a road is operating, or, through commute times, how well traffic is flowing. Safety and […]
TTI’s Center for Railway Research
Tracking the Future for the Rail Industry With 140,000 miles of rail track in the United States, a lot can go wrong. From studying metal fatigue and railway buckling to mitigating track bed deterioration and worn-out, rotted crossties, the Center for Railway Research (CRR) at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) helps the rail industry […]
A Partnership in Progress: TTI, USDOT Celebrate a Half Century of Research Innovations
For the past 50 years, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has provided assistance to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to make the nation’s transportation system safer, more efficient and more resilient. Across the DOT’s spectrum of modal agencies—air, highways, motor carriers, rail, transit, maritime, traffic safety, and pipeline and hazardous materials—TTI expertise has […]
Innovative Data Applications Improve Border Planning, Air Quality
Using GPS Devices to Get Better Emissions Estimates The World Trade Bridge crossing in the Laredo–Nuevo Laredo region is the most used Texas-Mexico port of entry (POE). The crossing’s popularity helps explain the location’s relatively high vehicle emissions, caused by high truck volumes and slow speeds as traffic makes its way across the bridge. A […]
Economic Benefits of Proposed El Paso Cross-border Freight Shuttle Highlighted in U.S. Treasury Department Infrastructure Study
A proposed cross-border Freight Shuttle System using autonomous, electrically powered shuttles to move cargo in 53-foot-long truck trailers on elevated guideways was named in a U.S. Treasury Department study to a list of 40 infrastructure projects across the United States that would provide significant economic benefit if completed.
Freight Shuttle System Listed as Project of Major Economic Significance
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s autonomous Freight Shuttle System (FSS) was recently listed as one of 40 proposed U.S. transportation and water infrastructure project of major economic significance in a study published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The study, authored over the past year by a team of third-party, independent infrastructure experts, highlights […]
TTI Awarded Millions for Safety, Air Quality, Waterway Transportation Research
Institute to Lead New Center Dedicated to Transportation Emissions and Public Health The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) will lead or assist three new centers awarded up to $50 million as part of a competitive grant program established by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). A total of 32 University Transportation Centers (UTCs) were established […]