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 […]
mobility
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, […]
Better Estimates, Smarter Development: Caltrans Adopts TTI’s New Smart-Growth Trip-Generation Tool
The traditional data used to estimate the transportation impact of urban development are not appropriate for smart growth or infill development, according to a study conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). (Infill development refers to building on vacant land within a developed area.) As a result […]
The Campus As a Classroom: TTI Creates Opportunities for Texas A&M Engineering Students
In March 2016, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) embarked on the Campus Transportation Technology Initiative (CTTI). Supported by Texas A&M University and funded by President Michael K. Young, the project’s vision is to bring transportation innovation to campus to improve safety, mobility and quality of life. TTI Senior Research Scientist Bob Brydia leads the […]
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 […]
Using Big Data to Improve Traffic Counts
For years, Gene Hicks thought there had to be a better way to count the number of vehicles traveling his state’s roadways. As director of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT’s) Traffic Forecasting and Analysis Section, Hicks oversees the tedious task of laying out road tubes at approximately 33,000 sites (about 12,000 each year) to […]
TTI, Houston TranStar® Partnership Celebrate 25 Years of Traffic and Emergency Management Service
TTI research and technical support pivotal to development and success over the years Approaching its quarter-century birthday, the Houston TranStar Transportation Management and Emergency Operations Center (TranStar) has saved Harris County area motorists more than $5.4 billion in reduced traveler delay and fuel costs since 1997, when benefits were first assessed. The multi-agency effort uses […]
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 […]
TTI Researchers Use Data Visualization to Create Interactive Congestion Strategy Website
In 2016, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Associate Transportation Researcher Phil Lasley came to James Moughon, TTI software applications developer, looking for a way to make the congestion-mitigation strategy website, developed for TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center, more user friendly. At the time, the website listed more than 100 congestion-mitigation strategies using static graphics, but […]
Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Mobility for Texas A&M’s Mobility Challenged?
This summer, researchers, faculty and students at Texas A&M University explored innovative new ways to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve campus transportation for mobility-challenged riders on campus. As part of its Campus Transportation Technology Initiative, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) worked with IBM and the Texas A&M University College of Engineering to explore […]
The Texas 100: Texas Leads the Way in Data-Driven Performance Measures
In 2009, researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) began compiling its Texas 100 Most Congested Highways list as part of an interagency contract with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Over the past nine years, the list has helped TxDOT identify and begin to address the most congested highways in the state. It’s […]
TTI’s Traveler Information System Helps Keep I-35 Drivers Safer, Better Informed
In Texas, I-35 stretches some 500 miles, from the Rio Grande to the Red River. Much of I-35 was once known as the Chisholm Trail, and 50 percent of the state’s population — that’s nearly 14 million people — live within 50 miles of I-35 today. No wonder Texans refer to the interstate as Main […]
TTI Wants Your Input on Proposed Bush-Wellborn Intersection Reconstruction
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) want to know what you think about a proposed reconstruction project to improve the intersection of George Bush Drive (FM 2347) and Wellborn Road (FM 2154) in College Station, Texas. The survey is anonymous and takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. […]
TTI-Texas A&M Engineering Collaborations Enhance Educational Opportunities
A transportation revolution is about to take place, the likes of which we’ve not seen since the invention of the internal combustion engine. Connected and automated vehicles (CV/AVs) hold the promise of vastly improving safety, mobility and the economy. We’re on the cusp of this transformation, and The Texas A&M University System’s engineering community is […]
Texas A&M, TTI, TEES Partner in Campus Transportation Technology Initiative
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) are partnering under a contract with Texas A&M University to develop a smarter campus transportation ecosystem. Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young created the Campus Transportation Technology Initiative (CTTI) to bring private-sector transportation innovation into the real-world environment of a […]
TTI Selected for $10.75 Million Federal Contract to Evaluate Connected Vehicle Projects
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has been selected by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to evaluate connected vehicle projects in southern Wyoming, New York City, and Tampa, Fla. The multiyear federal contract is for $10.75 million. Vehicle challenges and opportunities have driven the need for the pilot tests and evaluations. Roadway congestion in the […]
TTI-Led Team Develops New Guidebook for States Implementing Intercity Passenger Rail
The world seems to be moving faster. Our transportation system, however, seems to be slowing down. Expanding economies place increasing demands on our current transportation system. While economic growth is good, increased freight and commuter traffic is filling roadways that, when built 50 years ago, seemed luxurious in their emptiness. Given this reality, how can […]
TTI Earns Federal Technology Contract That May Top $10 Million
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute has been awarded a multi-year federal contract worth up to $10.75 million to evaluate connected vehicle pilot tests in several U.S. cities. TTI will conduct the evaluations for the U.S. Department of Transportation, for connected projects in southern Wyoming, New York City, and Tampa, Florida. Connected vehicles are those that […]
The Future of Freight: Troubleshooting Texas’ Shipping Strategies and Technologies
Growth is a good thing. In economic terms, it can mean increased opportunity for businesses and more choices for consumers. But economic growth also means more demands on — and often more congestion for — our transportation system. Sometimes, the rate of economic expansion can outpace the capacity of our transportation infrastructure. In its 2013 […]
The Freight Shuttle System: Clearing the Air on Sustainable Freight Movement
Doing more with less: that’s the mantra of transportation agencies everywhere these days. We need to achieve greater mobility on our roadways, but we can’t afford to build our way out of congestion. We need to clean the air around urban areas to improve public health, but policies enforcing clean air are difficult to pass […]