A week-long visit to Namibia by the leaders of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) in October continued a longtime working relationship with that country but lays the groundwork for relationships with numerous other African countries. Agency Director Greg Winfree, Assistant Director Joe Zietsman and Associate Research Engineer Tara Ramani met with the country’s Roads […]
infrastructure
Finding a Better Way to Reason With Hurricane Season
By Jolanda Prozzi The current tropical storm season has barely begun, and we’re still recovering from the last one, mindful of a few sobering realities: Weather and climate disaster events — which include hurricanes and other major flooding — are becoming more frequent. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. suffered 203 […]
At a Glance — On the Road Again in Texas: TxDOT’s Projected Costs and Potential Savings with Accelerated Construction
1 Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). “Texas Transportation Asset Management Plan” (forthcoming). 2 TxDOT. Unified Transportation Program. (2019). http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/tpp/utp/2019/utp-2019.pdf. Accessed October 4, 2018. 3 TxDOT. Accelerated Construction Guidelines. (2018). http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/cst/regional-workshops/accelerated-construction-guidelines.pdf. Accessed October 4, 2018.
What We’re Thinking: It’s High Time for a Discussion on Infrastructure
By Greg Winfree and Zachry Grasley This article was originally published in The Hill, August 20, 2018. This year, we mark 11 years since the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring 145 more. For anyone not living there, or otherwise not personally affected by that tragedy, […]
Faster, Safer, Less Expensive Road Construction Through Utility Engineering
The practice of burying or placing utility lines without adequate documentation has caused large-scale problems across the country. It’s also helped create a new program devoted entirely to the issue. The Utility Engineering Program, formed last year at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to capitalize on the Institute’s two decades of leading-edge research and […]
Double Time — Accelerated Construction Strategies Enable a Quicker Pace Toward Project Completion
ENCOUNTERING the same construction zones day after day, month after month, it’s only natural for travelers to ask “Why does this have to take so long?” Thanks to a growing reliance on creative thinking, it no longer does. That thinking is at the root of accelerated construction, an effort launched in Texas in 1998 and […]
Cheap, Fast, Good: Cold, In-Place Recycling Can Deliver All Three
The old adage, “Cheap, Fast, Good: Pick Any Two,” applies to most things. Defying this commonly held belief, rehabilitating a roadway with cold-in-place recycling (CIR) can actually be faster and cheaper than traditional methods and still yield outstanding results. CIR is a single operation. An existing deteriorated hot-mix asphalt (HMA) layer is recycled and treated, […]
It’s High Time For a Discussion on Infrastructure
By Gregory Winfree and Zachary Grasley In August, we mark 11 years since the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring 145 more. For anyone not living there, or otherwise not personally affected by that tragedy, the anniversary will likely pass without a single thought as to […]
TTI Helps Develop Innovative Flood Warning System for Houston
Flooding has plagued Houston roadways for decades, but now, thanks to a first-of-its-kind warning system initiated by Houston TranStar and developed by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), motorists will be warned in real time about locations where roadway flooding is likely occurring. “Houston was ground zero for Hurricane Harvey last year, and the world […]
TTI’s Ling and Lytton Awarded Best Paper by International Association
A National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project describing a new mechanical-based method for testing aged asphalt led to international recognition for two Texas A&M Transportation Institute employees: Postdoctoral Researcher Meng Ling and TTI Research Engineer Robert Lytton. “An Inverse Approach to Determine Complex Modulus Gradient of Field-aged Asphalt Mixtures” was named a 2017 Best […]
At a Glance — By the Numbers: The Center for Infrastructure Renewal
Located at The Texas A&M University System’s RELLIS Campus See related story. *The Center for Infrastructure Renewal is a shared facility of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
Texas A&M’s Center for Infrastructure Renewal Cuts the Ribbon on Infrastructure Innovations for State, Nation
Credited with acquiring the legislative funding needed for The Texas A&M University System’s Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR), Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was the special guest for the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Texas A&M’s RELLIS Campus April 11. The 138,000-square-foot, multidisciplinary research center boasts state-of-the-art research facilities and laboratories aimed at making infrastructure […]
3M Investment at A&M, TTI Will Advance Connected and Automated Vehicle Technology
First major industry partnership at the RELLIS Campus On Tuesday, May 8, 3M Company announced a $1.6 million investment in The Texas A&M University System’s evolving RELLIS Campus. The funding will be used to build a simulated rain range to support research by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and Texas A&M University in connected […]
CIR Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Highlights Expected Infrastructure Innovations for State, Nation
Credited with acquiring the legislative funding needed for The Texas A&M University System’s Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR), Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was the special guest for the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony held on the RELLIS Campus April 11. The 138,000-square-foot, multidisciplinary research center boasts state-of-the-art research facilities and laboratories aimed at making infrastructure smarter, […]
Bubble, Bubble. Toil. No Trouble. TTI Researchers Investigate Mysterious Pavement Behaviors Following Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas was unprecedented in many ways, including rainfall amounts, property damage and human misery. There was also unprecedented disruption and damage to Texas roadways. About a mile of SH 6 in Harris County, from Clay Road to I-10, was covered with up to 7 feet of water for 14 days. Multiple […]
Building on a Foundation of Shared Trust, Vision: TTI and Texas A&M’s Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Look Toward the Future
In 1950, Texas A&M College already enjoyed a 40-year reputation for innovative road materials research. That, combined with the college’s land-grant mission of public service, made it a natural home for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The shared connection between academic learning and applied research was embodied in TTI’s first director, Fred Benson, who […]
Texas A&M National Infrastructure Symposium Summaries Released
The need for efforts to relieve regulatory restrictions, prepare for automated and connected vehicles, and educate the public about how infrastructure is funded were a few of the key themes of the National Symposium on the Barriers and Opportunities for Infrastructure Renewal, held on the Texas A&M University campus at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center […]
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 […]
Seeing the Road in a Different LIDAR
When we think of a roadway, most of us think of the asphalt or concrete we’re riding on, not the ditches lining the roads or how efficiently water flows off those roads following a rainstorm. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has come up with an automated way of determining whether those ditches are doing […]
Restoring Our Infrastructure: Resilient. Reliable. Sustainable.
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has partnered with the Texas Department of Transportation for nearly 70 years to enhance the safety, mobility and reliability of the state’s transportation system. The trust and seamless interaction we’ve developed as partners were never more important than during Hurricane Harvey, when TTI personnel continuously updated Houston’s traffic management […]