Transportation Intelligence

Volume 1 Number 6

October 2003

Safety
Making Intersections Safer: A Toolbox of Engineering Countermeasures to Reduce Red-Light Running
This informational report identifies engineering features in intersections that should be considered to discourage red-light running. While it focusses on engineering countermeasures, it also discusses enforcement issues. (Institute of Transportation Engineers, 2003)

Pavements
Voids Add Value to Pervious Concrete
Pervious or permeable portland cement concrete pavement, when combined with a correctly designed subbase or catchment area, can reduce road spray and hydroplaning, while removing roadway pollution such as latent oils, greases, and other pollutants from the stormwater stream. This is why it is gaining attention in parts of the United States. (Better Roads, August 2003, p. 22-29.)

Environment
Living with Noise
Highway noise can damage the quality of life in residential areas. Land use planning, house design, and mitigation features such as noise barriers can improve the situation. It is often more effective to avoid a noise problem than to try to fix it later. (Public Roads, July/August 2003, p. 22-25)

Structures
Long-Term Effectiveness of Cathodic Protection Systems on Highway Structures Cathodic protection is a technology used to mitigate corrosion of metals embedded in concrete. This study presents the findings of tests on 20 highway structures (19 bridges and one tunnel) in the United States and Canada. (FHWA Report FHWA-RD-01-096, 2003, 96 p.) Monitoring of a Soil-Nailed Wall at Topsham-Brunswick Bypass Study Soil nail walls have been used as retaining structures since the early 1970s. However, designers have been reluctant to experiment with soil nailing in areas with cold climate and frost-susceptible soils. This report documents the performance of a soil nail wall project in Brunswick, Maine. (Maine Department of Transportation Research Report ME 95-05, July 2003, 177 p.)(Request this item from TIS) FHWA and FTA Roll Out Nationwide Tunnel Management System The Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have jointly released the Highway and Rail Transit Tunnel Inspection Manual and Highway and Rail Transit Tunnel Maintenance and Rehabilitation Manual as part of their new Tunnel Management System. (Focus, June 2003, p. 3) Back to Top

Structures

Long-Term Effectiveness of Cathodic Protection Systems on Highway Structures
Cathodic protection is a technology used to mitigate corrosion of metals embedded in concrete. This study presents the findings of tests on 20 highway structures (19 bridges and one tunnel) in the United States and Canada. (FHWA Report FHWA-RD-01-096, 2003, 96 p.)

Monitoring of a Soil-Nailed Wall at Topsham-Brunswick Bypass Study
Soil nail walls have been used as retaining structures since the early 1970s. However, designers have been reluctant to experiment with soil nailing in areas with cold climate and frost-susceptible soils. This report documents the performance of a soil nail wall project in Brunswick, Maine. (Maine Department of Transportation Research Report ME 95-05, July 2003, 177 p.)(Request this item from TIS)

FHWA and FTA Roll Out Nationwide Tunnel Management System
The Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have jointly released the Highway and Rail Transit Tunnel Inspection Manual and Highway and Rail Transit Tunnel Maintenance and Rehabilitation Manual as part of their new Tunnel Management System. (Focus, June 2003, p. 3)

Pavements

Long-Life Concrete Pavements Deliver Quality and Durability
Highway agencies are working to improve quality and durability of concrete pavements by using technologies that range from building extended life, continuously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP) to employing precast, prestressed concrete panels. (Focus, June 2003, p. 1-2, 7).

Use of the Asphalt Pavement Analyzer and Repeated Simple Shear Test at Constant Height to Augment Superpave Volumetric Mix Design
The asphalt pavement analyzer (APA) and repeated simple shear test at constant height (RSST-CH) were studied for their usefulness as accelerated pavement testing (APT) tools. This study compared performance data under full-scale trafficking collected for several replacement sections at WesTrack with test results for mixtures fabricated in the laboratory using WesTrack materials. (Journal of Transportation Engineering, September/October 2003, p. 522-530.).(Request this item from TIS)

Flexible Roads - Results of VicRoads Pavement Performance Monitoring Program
In the late 1990s the Victorian State Road Authority (VicRoads) restarted its Strategic Pavement Monitoring Program with the principal objective of reporting general trends in pavement conditions , using roughness, rutting, pavement deflection and visual condition as indicators of performance. (Asphalt Review, June 2003, p. i-v Conference Supplement)(Request this item from TIS)

Environment
Air Quality and Transportation In the US, emission reductions in the transportation sector account for up to 84% of total emissions reductions of the six criteria pollutants since 1970. Efforts continue in traffic congestion management and intermodal connections to sustain this trend. (Public Roads, July/August 2003, p. 40-43.) What stormwater managers should know about fluvial geomorphology Fluvial geomorphology is the science that describes how moving water shapes the land. To successfully manage streams for any purpose, engineers must understand how the streams will respond when they change the conditions around them. (APWA Reporter, August 2003, p. 31-32) Back to Top

Environment

Air Quality and Transportation
In the US, emission reductions in the transportation sector account for up to 84% of total emissions reductions of the six criteria pollutants since 1970. Efforts continue in traffic congestion management and intermodal connections to sustain this trend. (Public Roads, July/August 2003, p. 40-43.)

What stormwater managers should know about fluvial geomorphology
Fluvial geomorphology is the science that describes how moving water shapes the land. To successfully manage streams for any purpose, engineers must understand how the streams will respond when they change the conditions around them. (APWA Reporter, August 2003, p. 31-32)

Urban

Nashville's Strategic Plan for Sidewalks & Bikeways
The City of Nashville, Tennessee recently developed a strategic plan to inventory and then upgrade more than 700 miles of sidewalks and bikeways over the next 13 years. This process will maintain and expand the existing network of sidewalks and bikeways to make walking and cycling more attractive options for residents. (City of Nashville)

Urban public transport delivery in Australia: Issues and challenges in retaining and growing patronage
This paper focuses on the challenges involved in retaining and increasing patronage in the presence of the dominant automobile. The article focuses primarily on bus and rail services but recognizes the valuable role of ferries and taxis in the delivery of public transport. (Road and Transport Research, June 2003, p. 31-41)

Safety

Vehicle-Activated Signs - A Large-Scale Evaluation
The FHWA, AASHTO, and NCHRP scanned Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to investigate management and organization of comprehensive highway safety programs. (FHWA International Program Report FHWA-PL-03-006, April 2003, 68 p.)

NCHRP 500 - Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
TRB is now publishing guides for various collision situations under report NCHRP 500 - Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan. These guides are a result of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan that was developed by the AASHTO Standing Committee for Highway Traffic Safety in 1998 with the assistance of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Transportation Research Board Committee on Transportation Safety Management.
Volume 1 - Guide for Addressing Aggressive-Driving Collisions
Volume 2 - Guide for Addressing Collisions Involving Unlicensed Drivers and Drivers with Suspended or Revoked Licenses
Volume 3 - Guide for Addressing Collisions with Trees in Hazardous Locations
Volume 4 - Guide for Addressing Head-On Collisions
Volume 5 - Guide for Addressing Unsignalized Intersection Collisions
Volume 6 - Guide for Addressing Run-Off-Road Collisions

Red Light Running
The objectives of this study were to provide a better understanding of crashes in Australia involving red-light running, develop a method of collecting data on-site, and develop a better understanding of red light running driver behavior. (Australian Road Research Board Report ARR 356, August 2003, 60 p.).(Request this item from TIS)

Research

Speed-Flow Relations and Cost Functions for Congested Traffic
A dynamic 'car-following' extension of the conventional economic model of traffic congestion is presented. This predicts the average cost function for trips in stationary states to be significantly different from the conventional average cost function derived from the speed-flow function. (Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 03-064/3, August 2003.)

Visualising Trips and Travel Characteristics from GPS Data
This paper describes the use of the GPS devices in this type of survey, the paradigms used to convert the track points to coherent trips, examination and correction of the visualised travel, and methods used to prepare maps and other visual tools, which can be presented to subjects in a prompted recall survey. (Road and Transport Research, June 2003, p. 3-14)

Recent Reports

Maintenance

Guidelines For The Use Of Lithium To Mitigate Or Prevent ASR (Alkali-Silica Reaction): FHWA Office of R&D, Report FHWA-RD-03-047, January 2003.
Rigid Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation Guide: Government of Quebec, English translation June 2003, 137 p.(Request this item from TIS)
Rigid Pavement Distress Identification Manual: Government of Quebec, English translation April 2003, 81 p.(Request this item from TIS)

Planning

Design Exception Practices: NCHRP Synthesis of Practice 316, 2003, 91 p.