TAC Research Bulletin

The TAC Research Bulletin highlights recently-published reports and articles from around the world with relevance to road transportation in Canada. Full text links are included, so you get more than just the abstract.

E.g., 03/19/2024
E.g., 03/19/2024
Monday, March 18, 2024 - 17:45
Polymer overlays consist of polymer resins and aggregates and are used on bridge decks to extend service life by providing waterproofing and chloride penetration resistance and restoring surface friction. High friction surface treatments (HFSTs) are a specific type of polymer overlay intended to provide long-term skid resistance by using aggregates with...
Monday, March 18, 2024 - 17:45
Traffic control devices, markings, signals, guardrail, computing systems, communications infrastructure, and other permanent and temporary devices will likely each be affected by the operation of connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technology. State departments of transportation (DOTs) need to identify gaps in knowledge and skills and prepare for the...
Monday, March 18, 2024 - 17:45
Surficial slope failures in highway fill embankments are shallow landslides that occur within the embankment fill, usually affecting only a portion of the slope’s height. These failures tend to occur after a vulnerable embankment slope is subjected to a triggering event. An embankment’s failure susceptibility generally depends on factors such as...
Monday, March 18, 2024 - 17:30
One tool utilized by some departments of transportation (DOTs) to improve safety performance is conducting road safety audits (RSAs), also known as “road safety assessments.” An RSA is a formal evaluation of the safety performance of an existing or future highway segment or intersection performed by an independent, multidisciplinary team. NCHRP...
Monday, March 18, 2024 - 17:30
The existing foundations of a bridge can sometimes be reused. This may occur when a completely new bridge is built but also in bridge or superstructure widening projects. Reuse of existing foundations not only eliminates the costs associated with demolishing and disposing of old foundations, but also reduces the costs of the design and construction of new...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:30
Intersection control evaluation (ICE) is fundamentally a process that provides the framework, steps, and tools and offers decision support for assessing trade-offs between different types of intersection forms and controls. NCHRP Research Report 1087: Guide for Intersection Control Evaluation, from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program,...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:15
This paper authored by CUR Senior Research Fellow, Frank Clayton, addresses why since the mid-2000s housing affordability in Ontario’s largest metropolitan area, Toronto, has deteriorated much more than in the province’s second-largest metropolitan area, Ottawa. There is a growing awareness that an inverse relationship exists between housing...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:15
In the past few years, the Systemic Road Safety (SRS) process was introduced by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to address some of the limitations of network screening based on the collision history of specific sites in a road network. The SRS process also considers the site's collision risk factors. Risk factors are those characteristics common...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:15
When, where, and how autonomous shuttles are deployed can have significant safety, economic, and policy impacts on their operation and performance. This research analyzes data related to 120 existing deployments of autonomous shuttles, looking at safety, operational, economic, and policy-related issues. Analysis shows that autonomous shuttles would be an...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:15
The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety impacts of increasing the speed limit from 55 mph to 60 mph on two-lane, two-way state highway road segments in Minnesota. An empirical Bayes (EB) before-after analysis was used to estimate crash modification factors (CMFs) for both segments and intersections. The segment analysis showed an 8 percent...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:15
This evaluation determined the change in crash frequency, type or severity associated with longitudinal sinusoidal rumble strips on rural two-lane undivided Minnesota roadways constructed between 2018 and 2022. Crash modification factors (CMFs) were estimated using cross-sectional analysis to compare crash experience of locations with sinusoidal rumble strips (...
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 15:00
As states and localities adopt a vision of zero traffic fatalities, greater attention is being given to communication, collaboration, leveraging resources, and applying a systemic approach to traffic safety which requires a change in culture among road users and traffic safety agencies. This change in culture is tied to education, engineering, enforcement, and...

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