Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Research Scientist Juan Carlos Villa published International Trade and Transportation Infrastructure Development: Experiences in North America and Europe (1st edition) Apr. 24, 2020, on Elsevier’s publisher platform. Villa is a co-author with Maria Boile, director of the Hellenic Institute of Transport, part of the Center for Research and Technology Hellas, […]
infrastructure
America’s Infrastructure Score* in 2021: C–
*Statistics taken from ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. “It’s vital — especially now, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when our economy needs all the help it can get — that Congress pass a bill aimed at rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. Doing so will create many new jobs and continue to improve […]
Just Scratching the Surface: Electrical Resistivity Tomography Offers Nondestructive Solution to Drilling, Trenching
With roadway construction projects such as bridge construction, time and money are both at a premium. Mistakes may not only set the timeline back but stretch already strained budgets as well. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is becoming a popular method to study the subsurface of a construction project area in a nondestructive way. ERT scans […]
Creative Strategies in Nondestructive Testing and Smart Coring Save Time, Resources
Tailoring construction and repair solutions to unique problems along a discrete part of the roadway — instead of applying a one-size-fits-all method — is gaining popularity as a pavement design/rehabilitation method for entire corridors. It’s just one innovation that Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers are using to help the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) […]
Recipe in the Making: The TxDOT Balanced Mix Design Project Is Developing a New System for Mix Design of Asphalt Mixtures
Using recycled materials on roadways has been standard procedure in construction for several decades. The challenge lies in having a practical mix design process — think of it like a recipe, selecting the right ingredients and proportions — that agencies responsible for highway infrastructure can rely on for guidance. The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) […]
IDEAL-CT — Simple, Reliable, Efficient, Repeatable, Cost Effective
State departments of transportation (DOTs) nationwide have long dealt with the problem of asphalt pavement cracking — the primary type of distress that creates the need for pavement rehabilitation. Many cracking tests have been developed, but no single test has been simple, reliable, efficient, repeatable and cost effective — until now. Over the past four […]
I-35 Traveler Information System Helps Waco Fire Department Navigate Routes, Improve Response Times
In 2008, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) began its massive My35 Reconstruction Project to improve mobility and safety along 100 miles of I-35 in Central Texas. While most of the project is complete, Project 4B in Waco is currently underway, providing travelers improved traffic control, updated access roads and better interstate access locally. Since […]
From Space Travel to Roadway Safety: LiDAR Helps Identify Pavement Sections Prone to Hydroplaning
A technology once focused on aerospace applications half a century ago is finding new utility to improve the safety of driving surfaces in Texas thanks to evolving research at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The effort employs LiDAR — or light detection and ranging — which calculates distances by transmitting a laser beam to […]
The Last Stop with Greg Winfree: Harsher Weather? Build Better. Resiliency Should Be a Priority for Infrastructure Funding
In February, Texas suffered a brutal storm that made international news — an arctic blast knocked most of the state’s power grid offline and plunged millions of residents into darkness. The luckier folks only suffered rolling blackouts and had plenty of water. Others slept in their cars with the motor — and heater — running. […]
Newcomb Presents at Virtual Town Hall for Texas Representative Terry Wilson
TTI Senior Research Engineer and Materials & Pavements Division Head David Newcomb delivered a presentation at Texas Representative Terry Wilson’s Virtual Town Hall on September 30, 2020. The discussion centered on the impact of increased truck traffic due to the Aggregate Production Operations Industry in surrounding communities. “Representative Wilson’s office reached out to TTI prior […]
Safer by Design: New TTI Tool Prioritizes Roadway Safety from the Get-Go
MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE — that’s the old carpenter’s adage aimed at improving quality and reducing error. A new tool created by researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) can help engineers achieve similar efficiencies when designing roadways while saving lives and reducing injuries. Typically, roadway designs are largely dictated by engineering decisions driven […]
TTI Tests New Standard for Innovative TL-2 Short Radius Guardrail Treatment
Geometric challenges, special conditions and restrictions often make it difficult to accommodate an effective and compliant curved guardrail, particularly at intersections on low-speed roadways. Working with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), engineering experts in the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Roadside Safety and Physical Security Division have developed a short radius guardrail system. The […]
TTI Develops New MASH-Compliant Barrier Design, Foundation System to Shield Older Bridges during 18-Wheeler Crashes
A large, anxious crowd was gathered for a full-scale crash test on a hot July day in 2019. Although a rare event, using 18-wheelers to crash-test guardrails, bridge railings and, in this case, a concrete barrier, is always memorable. And if the test (conducted at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute [TTI] Proving Grounds on The […]
Paving the Way: TTI Pavement Research Provides Economic, Environmental Benefits
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has a varied and productive history of applied research for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. These projects provide excellent value by solving the myriad of problems facing transportation professionals. Two recent projects in the pavement area, Short-Term Laboratory Conditioning of Asphalt Mixtures and The Effects of Recycling Agents […]
Winfree Emphasizes Timing as Key to the Future of Transportation in GRIDSMART’s #talkITS Magazine Article
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Agency Director Greg Winfree explores the outer reaches of tomorrow’s transportation system — along with the tools and resources needed to get there — in a recent #talkITS magazine article. His article, “Timing is Everything: Technology, education, and tomorrow’s transportation workforce,” was published in the Fall 2019 issue of the […]
Is That Road Made of Recycled Asphalt? If It’s Done Right, You Will Never Know
Recycled pavement saves money and the environment. By Amy Epps Martin and Edith Arambula Ask just about anybody to name the most recycled material in America, and you’re likely to get some predictable responses: Aluminum cans. Plastic bottles. Glass bottles. Paper. Each guess is logical. And each one is wrong. That’s because 99% of reclaimed […]
TTI Researcher Arambula Featured in Asphalt Pavement Article
TTI Associate Research Engineer Edith Arambula’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program project on evaluating the use of recycling agents was recently featured in an article for Asphalt Pavement. Taking RAP to the Max examines the barriers that prevent the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), which is stockpiled throughout the country, and what can be […]
Infrastructure Week 2019–#BuildForTomorrow
May 13-20 is the 7th annual Infrastructure Week. This year’s message emphasizes that America’s future will be shaped by the infrastructure choices we make today. So let’s #BuildForTomorrow. The Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR), located on the RELLIS Campus, is a state-of-the-art research center that is the leading source for developing transformative infrastructure solutions. The […]
At a Glance — Dollars and Sense: The Texas Rural Transportation Network
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What We’re Thinking: Why Maintaining a Lone Desert Highway Matters to Us All
By Katie Turnbull This article was originally published in Dallas News, Dec. 26, 2018. For all the contrasts that distinguish urban and rural Texans, one thing that unites us all is the need for reliable transportation. Exactly what that reliable transportation looks like depends on where we choose to live. Regardless of that choice, certain […]
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