Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware test 3-11 of the Texas Department of Transportation Portable Concrete Traffic Barriers with sign support assembly (open access)

Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware test 3-11 of the Texas Department of Transportation Portable Concrete Traffic Barriers with sign support assembly

This report presents the details of the design developed for mounting the traffic control sign support on top a portable concrete traffic barrier (PCTB), description of the full scale crash test performed on the design, and an assessment and evaluation of the performance of the PCTB with the sign support mounted on top according to specifications of "Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware" (MASH). The PCTB mounted sign support assembly anchored to the top of the TxDOT Type 2 PCTB tested for this project performed acceptably for MASH test 3-11.
Date: January 2011
Creator: Williams, William F. & Menges, Wanda L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware test 3-11 on the Texas T101 bridge rail (open access)

Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware test 3-11 on the Texas T101 bridge rail

Report on a study examining the impact performance of T101 bridge rails with pickup trucks. The study determined the T101 bridge rail did not meet Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware evaluation criteria for test 3-11 and the vehicle overturned after losing contact with the barrier.
Date: March 2011
Creator: Bligh, Roger P. & Menges, Wanda L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
MASH test 3-37 of the TxDOT 31-inch w-beam downstream anchor terminal (open access)

MASH test 3-37 of the TxDOT 31-inch w-beam downstream anchor terminal

Report discussing the findings of a study exploring issues related to roadside safety devices. It includes background information, system details, test requirements and evaluation criteria, crash test procedures, crash test results, and conclusions.
Date: October 2011
Creator: Bligh, Roger P.; Menges, Wanda L. & Arrington, Dusty R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Microsurfacing in Texas (open access)

Microsurfacing in Texas

This report describes the current state of practice of microsurfacing in Texas and compares it to best practices extracted from existing literature. A survey of DOT personnel, contractors and emulsion suppliers in Texas provides insight into the most crucial factors contributing to the success or failure of a microsurfacing. From the results of the survey, literature reviews, case studies and site visits, the research team analyzed material selection and mix design methods, construction practices, equipment practices and performance measures for microsurfacings.
Date: August 2011
Creator: Broughton, Benjamin & Lee, Soon-Jae
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mobility and economic effects of system investments in Texas: 2010 to 2020 (open access)

Mobility and economic effects of system investments in Texas: 2010 to 2020

"The report summarizes estimates of the consequences of current funding levels and a range of greater and lesser funding amounts. The report describes the population, travel, system extent and expenditure data and analyses used to develop the mobility and economic effect analyses. An associated study by the Center for Transportation Research analyzed pavement maintenance spending and condition. Both the mobility and pavement studies were used as part of the March 2011 Texas 2030 Committee report."
Date: August 2011
Creator: Lomaz, Tim
System: The Portal to Texas History
Modern traffic control devices to improve safety at rural intersections (open access)

Modern traffic control devices to improve safety at rural intersections

"The goal of this project was to obtain a better understanding of modern TCD capabilities. Researchers conducted the following tasks literature review, crash data examination, TxDOT district survey, laboratory survey, field study, and development of principles for selecting TCDs."
Date: September 2011
Creator: Fitzpatrick, Kay; Chrysler, Susan T.; Sunkari, Srivivasa R.; Cooper, Joel; Park, Byung-Jung & Higgins, Laura
System: The Portal to Texas History
Non-vital advance rail preemption of signalized intersections near highway-rail grade crossings (open access)

Non-vital advance rail preemption of signalized intersections near highway-rail grade crossings

Technical report examining two strategies were investigated to ensure pedestrian clearance time in intersections near highway-rail grade crossings. The first utilizes a lower-level preemption sequence to guarantee full pedestrian clearance to a terminating phase before the traffic signal starts the preemption sequence. The second strategy uses the pedestrian-omit feature to prevent the controller from activating the pedestrian interval if there is not sufficient time in advance of the start of the preemption sequence to provide full pedestrian clearance.
Date: June 2007
Creator: Balke, Kevin N.; Engelbrecht, Roelof Johannes & Ruback, Leonard G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Operational Performance Management of Priced Facilities (open access)

Operational Performance Management of Priced Facilities

"This study provides a framework in which operating decisions for priced facilities can be made and can guide the changes in operational strategies for a facility over time" (p. i).
Date: March 2011
Creator: Goodin, Ginger; Burris, Mark; Lomax, Timothy J.; Geiselbrecht, Tina & Brydia, Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Overlay Tester : A Sensitivity Study to Improve Repeatability and Minimize Variability in the Test Results (open access)

The Overlay Tester : A Sensitivity Study to Improve Repeatability and Minimize Variability in the Test Results

"This report presents a comprehensive sensitivity evaluation of the critical steps of the Overlay Tester (OT) test procedure in an attempt to optimize the OT repeatability and minimize variability in the test results."
Date: February 2012
Creator: Walubita, Lubinda F.; Faruk, Abu N.; Das, Gautam; Tanvir, Hossain A.; Zhang, Jun & Scullion, Tom
System: The Portal to Texas History
Peer grouping and performance measurement to improve rural and urban transit in Texas (open access)

Peer grouping and performance measurement to improve rural and urban transit in Texas

"Rural and small urban transit systems in Texas will become even more important with predicted changes in population trends. Rural demographic trends indicate growth in the number of persons age 65 and over coupled with a decrease in population density. Small urban area trends indicate substantial population growth and broadened geographic boundaries, yet resources to provide rural and small urban transit are limited. Therefore, transit managers find it is increasingly important to maximize service efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this research was to identify peer groups, performance benchmarks, and strategies used by successful transit providers to achieve high performance. The research project identifies peer groups based on the transit environment within which each agency operates, so that agencies can be compared to other operators who face similar environments. Peer group effectiveness and efficiency performance are examined within and between rural and urban peer groups, and high performers are identified for case studies. Through the case studies, key attributes are identified for achieving high operating efficiency and/or effectiveness. Performance strategies are categorized to provide transit providers with transferrable information to improve performance and increase the return on transit investment."
Date: September 2010
Creator: Arndt, Jeffrey C.; Edrington, Suzie; Sandidge, Matthew; Quadrifoglio, Luca & Perkins, Judy
System: The Portal to Texas History
Performance comparison of various seal coat grades used in Texas (open access)

Performance comparison of various seal coat grades used in Texas

This report documents research efforts to provide comparative quantitative performance information for various grades of seal coat aggregate available in the Texas Department of Transportation standard specifications. Length of service before replacement and level of noise generated at the tire-pavement interface were the primary focuses of the relative performance evaluations. The additional service life possible from seal coats with larger aggregate and higher asphalt application rates is compared to the additional cost generally associated with these larger aggregate seal coats. The comparative performance information combined with knowledge gathered from numerous department field engineers resulted in the development of guidelines for optimal seal coat grade selection.
Date: July 2012
Creator: Krugler, Paul E.; Wirth, John E.; Estakhri, Cindy K.; Freeman, Thomas J.; Wikander, John P. & Wimsatt, Andrew J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Performance Measures for Public Transit Mobility Management (open access)

Performance Measures for Public Transit Mobility Management

Report that looks at the state of mobility management practice throughout Texas, as well as national best practices in mobility management. Additionally, this research provides an overview of the varying roles of state departments of transportation in public transit mobility management efforts. The research also presents applied mobility management for agencies seeking to implement mobility management programs as well as a menu of performance measures that can be utilized based on the type and level of program implemented.
Date: December 2011
Creator: Sen, Lalita; Majumdar, Sarmistha R.; Highsmith, Meredith; Cherrington, Linda K. & Gilliland, Cynthia A. Weatherby
System: The Portal to Texas History
Performance monitoring pavements with thermal segregation in Texas (open access)

Performance monitoring pavements with thermal segregation in Texas

This report investigated the performance of asphalt surface mixtures that exhibited thermal segregation during construction from 2004 to 2009. The results do not show that thermally segregated locations will fail within three to seven years but they do show that instances of thermal segregation may continue to be anomalous locations in the layer that could lead to failures in the pavement structure.
Date: April 2012
Creator: Sebesta, Stephen & Scullion, Tom
System: The Portal to Texas History
Planning tools to assess the real estate leveraging potential for roadways and transit: technical report (open access)

Planning tools to assess the real estate leveraging potential for roadways and transit: technical report

Report on research examining the implementation of Senate Bill 1266, which provides for alternative funding methods for transportation projects and presenting recommended amendments to address the bill's shortcomings.
Date: January 2011
Creator: Vadali, Sharada; Bujanda, Arturo; Li, Yingfeng; Kuhn, Beverly; Zhang, Ming; Aldrete, Rafael M. et al.
System: The Portal to Texas History
A portable toolbox to monitor and evaluate signal operations (open access)

A portable toolbox to monitor and evaluate signal operations

Report regarding a portable computer that interfaces with traffic signal cabinets, monitors and logs events that occur within the cabinet, and then analyzes the log files and creates easy to read reports.
Date: September 2011
Creator: Sunkari, Srinivasa R.; Charara, Hassan A. & Songchitruksa, Praprut
System: The Portal to Texas History
Positive Feedback:  Exploring Current Approaches in Iterative Travel Demand Model Implementation (open access)

Positive Feedback: Exploring Current Approaches in Iterative Travel Demand Model Implementation

This report looked at the current Texas Department of Transportation Travel Demand Model (TxDOT TDM) and found that they do not include any impedance or accessibility measures in the trip generation step and found that the best approach is to feed back the output from the traffic assignment step to the trip distribution step.
Date: January 2012
Creator: Reeder, Phillip; Bhat, Chandra & Hall, Kevin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Positive feedback: exploring current approaches in iterative travel demand model implementation (open access)

Positive feedback: exploring current approaches in iterative travel demand model implementation

"This project researched current trends, practices, and tools in implementing a feedback approach for potential implementation in the TxDOT TDMs."
Date: October 2011
Creator: Reeder, Phillip; Bhat, Chandra; Lorenzini, Karen & Hall, Kevin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Prototype Design for a Predictive Model to Improve Evacuation Operations: Technical Report (open access)

Prototype Design for a Predictive Model to Improve Evacuation Operations: Technical Report

"This project focused primarily on the specific issue of developing a new technical tool to help TxDOT and other key operating agencies/stakeholders better predict when major elements of evacuation operations should be implemented."
Date: March 2011
Creator: Henk, Russell H.; Songchitruksa, Praprut; Venglar, Steven & Lim, Gino
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rapid Field Detection of Sulfate and Organic Content in Soils: Technical Report (open access)

Rapid Field Detection of Sulfate and Organic Content in Soils: Technical Report

Report regarding efforts to identify a technique to map the sulfate content of soil over a large area to a depth of 3 to 4 feet. Two devices are noted: an electromagnetic device called EM-38 and a soil conductivity device called VERIS 315.
Date: October 2010
Creator: Harvey, Omar; Sebesta, Stephen & Harris, Pat
System: The Portal to Texas History
Realtime monitoring of bridge scour using remote monitoring technology (open access)

Realtime monitoring of bridge scour using remote monitoring technology

Report on research performed on the application of instruments including accelerometers and tiltmeters to monitor bridge scour. The instrumentation on the two bridges does not show great hope of application of accelerometers to monitor bridge scour because of a lack of sufficient excitation from traffic. Tiltmeters can provide the integral behavior of the bridge, and therefore are very useful devices for scour monitoring. Guidelines and protocols for scour monitoring based on the US59 over Guadalupe River Bridge and the SH80 over San Antonio River Bridge are provided in the study.
Date: February 2011
Creator: Briaud, Jean-Louis; Hurlebaus, Stefan; Chang, Kuang-An; Yao, Congpu; Sharma, Hrishikesh; Yu, Ok-Youn et al.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Research and recommendations for a statewide sign retroreflectivity maintenance program (open access)

Research and recommendations for a statewide sign retroreflectivity maintenance program

"This report evaluated Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) current sign retroreflectivity maintenance practices, assessed their effectiveness, and recommended statewide sign retroreflectivity maintenance practices that could be easily and effectively implemented to ensure that TxDOT would be in compliance with the new Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) language related to minimum sign retroreflectivity."
Date: April 2012
Creator: Carlson, Paul J.; Higgins, Laura L. & Re, Jonathan M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Research on asset management for safety and operations (open access)

Research on asset management for safety and operations

"This report provided Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with guidance on developing a well-designed asset management system as a critical component of the agency's approach to providing for the mobility of its customers, preserving the infrastructure already in place, planning for future improvements of that infrastructure, and being responsive and accountable to the public regarding the investment of their tax dollars."
Date: August 2011
Creator: Jasek, Debbie; Carson, Jodi L.; Theiss, LuAnn; Songchitruksa, Praprut; Perkins, Judy; Yang, Yonggao et al.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rural planning organizations, their role in transportation planning and project development in Texas :  technical report (open access)

Rural planning organizations, their role in transportation planning and project development in Texas : technical report

Report containing research identifying and examining rural planning organizations, their structure and operation, and their role in transportation planning and programming.
Date: October 2010
Creator: Overman, John H.; Ellis, Patricia; Frawley, William; Taylor, Ryan; Geiselbrecht, Tina & Goodin, Ginger
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety and economic impacts of converting two-way frontage roads to one-way : methodology and findings (open access)

Safety and economic impacts of converting two-way frontage roads to one-way : methodology and findings

Report on research develop information to communicate the safety and economic impacts of converting frontage roads from two-way to one-way. Researchers studied five locations in Texas where frontage roads were converted from two-way operation to one-way operation and developed accident modification factors related to frontage road conversion segments that roadway designers can use to guide frontage road conversion project planning.
Date: January 2011
Creator: Eisele, William L.; Yager, Christine E.; Brewer, Marcus A.; Frawley, William E.; Park, Eun Sug; Lord, Dominique et al.
System: The Portal to Texas History