Federal Road Research Articles

Cost-effectiveness of federal CDBG-DR Road Home Program mitigation assistance in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the State of Louisiana received federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) assistance, administered by the Louisiana Office of Community Development (OCD) as the Road Home Program, to provide homeowners with the required matching funds for elevating damaged homes under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). This research evaluates the cost-effectiveness of the Road Home Program elevation mitigation assistance for a case study of homes in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, using benefit–cost analysis (BCA) based on average annual loss (AAL) prediction. We use multiple return period flood depths from FEMA RiskMAP non-regulatory flood depth and calculate flood risk reduction as the difference between pre- and post-elevation AAL. We compute benefit–cost ratio (BCR) and net benefit–cost ratio (NBCR) of the elevation mitigation investment across multiple time horizons, considering several funding scenarios. Then, we determine optimal first-floor height (FFH) by foundation type and 100-year flood depth. The analysis reveals that elevating existing homes by either 3 feet above the ground or to the base flood elevation (BFE; 100-year flood elevation), whichever is higher, reduces the median AAL by 98%. This elevation generates a BCR of 1.5 and 1.7 over a 30-year mortgage and a 70-year building lifetime, respectively, if the benefit is allocated proportionately. These results enhance understanding of cost-effectiveness of federal elevation mitigation investments, benefits of elevating homes above the minimum requirements, and most effective elevated heights for homes.

Factors for traffic accident-prone section formation on federal roads

Introduction. Road safety is one of the state targets. One of the indicators of the state of road traffic accidents in state programs is the number of traffic accident-prone section. Reducing their number will lead to a significant increase in the level of security. This is due to the fact that a large number of accidents, deaths and injuries are concentrated in these sections. Therefore, the task of determining the factors of the formation of traffic accidentprone section is relevant.Materials and methods. The study is based on data on accidents that occurred on the federal motorways of the Altai Territory in the period from 2018 to 2021. The procedure for performing the work included three stages. At the first stage, traffic accident-prone section was identified based on the data for 2021. At the second stage, the features of accidents in these sections in previous years were determined. At the third stage, the main factors of accident formation were determined by analyzing the layout of traffic management tools, video material on roads (road shooting).Results. A comprehensive analysis of traffic accident-prone section of federal roads in the Altai Territory allowed to identify a number of typical conditions that contribute to the formation of increased accident risk. Among them: a significant change in the speed limit, proximity to the city, the presence of a large number of conflict points, road works.The scope of the study / the possibility of subsequent use of the results of scientific work. The results of the work can be used in the work on the comprehensive study of the factors of occurrence of traffic accident-prone section on federal motorways, modelling various road conditions and environmental conditions on the degree of accident of a road section.Practical importance. Knowledge about the main factors and conditions of the formation of traffic accidentprone section will allow responsible services to reduce the degree of danger of similar sections by preventing the simultaneous action of all selected conditions.Originality. For the first time, the study identifies and substantiates specific conditions that collectively contribute to the formation of traffic accident-prone section on federal roads.

EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF ROAD PAVEMENTS IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA USING THE DELPHI METHOD

Asphalt pavements constitute a high portion of Nigeria's roadways, which have high traffic volumes. The potential deterioration in the long-term performance of these pavements due to climate change has not been given much research attention. To this extent, the present study evaluated the pavement susceptibility of Federal roads in Edo state of South-South Nigeria. The study employed the Delphi technique to examine expert opinions. The standard deviation of the answers to two rounds of questionnaires was used to evaluate the consensus reached by the 10-person Delphi panel. The result showed that one of the four federal roads analyzed in the study was classified as having a high susceptibility, two were classified as having a medium susceptibility, and the remaining road was classified as having a low susceptibility. This research demonstrates that the Delphi technique, which incorporates both objective and subjective assessments, can comprehensively evaluate road pavements' vulnerability to climate change. Therefore, the government should employ adaptive maintenance plans for the roads' varying degrees of susceptibility.

Statistical Modelling of Road Traffic Accidents: Pattern and Trend in Kogi State, Nigeria

Road traffic accident (RTA) is defined as unplanned car crash that causes injuries, fatalities, and property damage. In order to better understand the pattern and trend of road traffic accident in Kogi state, Nigeria, we statistically modeled RTA data collected from Federal Road Safety Corps, Lokoja from January 2017 to December 2021. The data consisted of monthly RTA types and outcomes. The RTA types considered were fatal, serious and minor while the RTA outcomes were death, injury and no injury. Time series modeling was adopted for modeling and predicting the accident rates while Pearson correlation was used to determine the degree of relationship between RTA types and outcomes. Results showed that there were steady fluctuations in the patterns of RTA types and outcomes between February and October while there were upward trend in RTA from November to January. The augmented Dickey-Fuller test showed that RTA series was stationary and out of 10 candidate models obtained using ACF and PACF plots, the best model suitable for forecasting RTA rate was found to be ARIMA(1,0,1) using mean absolute deviation (MAD) and mean square error (MSE) selection criteria. In order to estimate the parameters of the model, the Shapiro-Wilk test was conducted on the RTA values and its residuals to confirm normality. Since p < 0.05 in both cases, they were both found to be non-normal, then the least absolute deviation (LAD) estimator was used for estimation. This gives rise to Yt = 29.0574 + 0.492151Xt-1 + 0.99994et-1 + εt as the best fitted model, which was found to be statistically significant at α=0.05. The estimated model was used to forecast RTA for 30months with 95percent confidence level and result showed that the forecast were good and there will continually be occurrence of RTA nearly every month and there will be higher RTA rates between November and January. The result of the Pearson correlation showed that fatal accident were 71percent more likely associated to death while serious accident were 61percent more likely associated to injury.

Urban Taxi Slogans: The People's Arts

Urban Taxi Slogans: The People's Arts

Multicriteria Decision Model for Road Construction Project

Construction of roads plays an important role in linking one area to another, and also acts as a substance for the local economy. However, the limitation of study on the project performance towards the road infrastructure construction project requires more precise attention. Thus, it requires distinct responsiveness from contractors to evaluate and cope with the risks. This study aims to identify the project execution risk factors involved in the road construction project, reference to a current case study from a federal government project Public Work Department (PWD) on the East Coast of Malaysia: Upgrading 14.7 kilometre (km) federal road from the Pekan town to Sungai Miang. This study will begin with the identification of the project execution risk factors, utilizing an extensive review of the literature. Next, the gathered risk factors will go through a pilot phase validation interview with road construction experts from the public work department (PWD) and also construction practitioners that are involved directly in the project case study. Findings found seven (7) main project execution risk factors involved in the road construction project, which include resource risk, land acquisition issue, project management issue, technical risk, service utility issue, unforeseen ground condition, and force majeure risk. Among the seven (7) factors twenty-one (21) project execution risk sub-factors, were further explored that are crucial to the project. The main contribution of this study is the final multi-criteria decision model obtained from literature searching cross-referenced to the real case study that may be beneficial to the road construction project team specifically.

Assessment of business competitive advantage in the government procurement market

The article presents an analysis of the company's competitiveness engaged in road construction works in the federal highways construction segment, including a company's market analysis with its dynamics and limitations, as well as a study of the market concentration level using the market concentration coefficient and the market concentration index, the competitor companies characteristics, used methods for assessing the competitiveness level (complex and differential methods) and the assessment results. The object of the study is the company stock corporation "Road-building company "AVTOBAN", which has been operating in the road construction market for more than 20 years in the federal highways construction segment and occupies one of the leading places in terms of performed labor volume. The study's purpose is to analyze the competitiveness of a company operating in the government procurement market in the road construction field, including market dynamics and characteristics, its limitations, and the concentration level. The authors have identified specific features and factors of the road construction market in Russia (the construction segment of federal highways) under the conditions of the government procurement system; based on the analysis results of the company competitiveness under study, conclusions were formulated on the current level of its competitiveness and the direction of its development. Research objectives: • to conduct a general analysis of the road construction market in Russia (segment of the construction of the federal highway); • identify specific features and factors of this market in the context of government procurement; • analyze the company competitiveness under study in this market using a comprehensive and differential assessment method and formulate the main conclusions on the current level of competitiveness and the direction of its development. The paper raises research questions such as: • what are the features of the road construction market in Russia (segment of the construction of federal roads), functioning in the government procurement system; • what are the specific features and factors of the road construction market in Russia (segment of the construction of federal highways) that affect the level of competitiveness of business conducted in the government procurement system.

Human capacity development and Performance: A focus on the Abia sector command of Nigeria federal road safety corps, 2010-2020

This study examined the impact of human capacity development on staff performance in the Federal Road Safety Corps, Abia State Sector Command. Anchored on human capital theory and qualitative and quantitative date generated through documentary and survey methods, the study observed that the regular training and re-training FRSC periodically conducts for its Officers and Marshals enhanced the capacity of the Command to enforce road safety regulations as evident in increased compliance to road safety regulations by road users. The study thus posits that human capacity development enhanced staff performance in the Federal Road Safety Corps, Abia State Sector Command, between 2010 and 2020. Among others, the study recommends increased awareness campaign among commercial drivers to ensure continued compliance with road safety regulations. Keywords: Human capacity training, development, staff performance, organizational growth, road safety management

МЕТОДИКА ОЦЕНКИ ТУРИСТСКО-РЕКРЕАЦИОННОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА РОДНИКОВ РЕГИОНА

Springs are an important object in human economic activity and a place of attraction for regular and random visitors. The tourist and recreational potential of springs in Russia is poorly exploited, and only at individual sites. This research provides a methodology for determining the tourist and recreational potential of springs in regions, which can be helpful in choosing the most promising springs for the purposes of tourism. The study was based on field research at 202 springs of the Republic of Mordovia carried out in 2021. The authors identified 25 criteria combined into 5 blocks: natural attractiveness, cultural and educational attractiveness, infrastructure, landscaping, sanitary and ecological condition. The criteria are rated and given 3–5 points, and the blocks of criteria up to 10 points. The significance of the criteria in the blocks is different and varies from 0.1 to 0.3. The most important criteria are landscape composition and diversity, remoteness from large settlements, federal and regional roads, captage arrangement, physical and chemical properties of the water. For each criterion, description and ranking by characteristic properties are provided. The results of the general assessment of springs are ranked by the sum of points from low to very high tourist and recreational attractiveness. The paper provides detailed examples of the evaluation of springs according to the proposed methodology.

Computerization of FRSC (Federal Road Safety Corps) Database for Road Traffic Accidents and Infractions

This project aimed at designing a computerized web-based road traffic accident and infraction database system for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) which will enable FRSC to get summarized traffic accident and infraction information at various level easily and quickly. The collection, management and dissemination of road traffic accident and infraction related events have represented a serious issue to road safety officers and all stakeholders alike due to the absence of a central repository from which all accident and infraction data can be stored and managed. Where accessible, these data available in the paper-based form and this represents a bottleneck in updating the available data. The purpose of the system is to design a computerized system that will collect, record, disseminate and manage road traffic accident and infraction information for the FRSC. The system is achieved using structured system analysis and design methodology. The software that is used to design the system is Adobe Dreamweaver and XAMPP local server, the programming language that was used comprise of Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML), JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) and Hypertext Pre-Processor (PHP). The website was tested using on a local web server “XAMPP” and Structured Query Language is used for the Database design. The system has different subsystem to meet its core functionalities. An administration subsystem authenticates administrators and road safety officers to login to the system and executes their defined task. The accident and infraction report subsystem allow the officer to enter and submit road traffic accident and infraction details using a simple to use web-based interface.

Workers’ Participation in Decision Processes and the Performance of Public Sector: The Case of Federal Road Safety Corps Anambra State Command, 2011 - 202

Workers’ Participation in Decision Processes and the Performance of Public Sector: The Case of Federal Road Safety Corps Anambra State Command, 2011 - 202

Spatial Accessibility of Emergency Facilities to Road Accident Victims in Federal Capital City

This paper studied the spatial accessibility of emergency facilities to road accident victims in Federal Capital City to determine the sufficiency of existing emergency health care facilities and rescue facilities in servicing accident victims. This is useful for developing means of saving the lives of accident victims in the Federal Fapital City (FCC). The data used comprised of Nigerian Sat II 2013 multispectral imagery (5 m multispectral and 2.5 m Panchromatic) of FCC obtained from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA), coordinates of seventy (70) accident black spots, five (5) zebra points and sixteen (16) emergency health care facilities obtained from Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). ArcGIS 10.0 software was used to display, visualize, identify and extract features from the imagery, and create maps from different layers of the spatial data, choose colors and symbols, create buffer zones, analyze spatial relationships, and design map layouts. Purposeful sampling method was adopted to administer 99 questionnaires to accident victims in the hospitals within the FCC. The spatial data were used to determine the time of rescue, type of rescue and coverage time of rescue operation. The statistical data were used to assess the spatio-temporal distribution of accidents and determine the level of response by the rescue teams. The results show that accident victims have adequate access to health facilities but inadequate access to zebra points, and passers-by have more effective accident response than the government action agencies. Specific points for the creation of additional zebra points were identified through buffering, and the creation of sustainable Good Samaritan programs and training for community persons in first aid were suggested. Meanwhile, further research to determine the impact of time of rescue, type of rescue and category of hospital on the accident victims was suggested.

Practical guide for debris flow and hillslope debris flow protection nets and its application in case studies

Debris flows and hillslope debris flows endanger people and infrastructures. Technical protection measures are important elements in addition to spatial planning (adapted use of space like hazard maps) and organizational measures (warning systems, emergency plan, evacuation). Additional to other rigid protection measures flexible debris flow nets and hillslope debris flow nets were developed in 2008, and 2010 respectively. Such flexible barriers consist of an interception surface of netting spanned between horizontal support ropes including energy devices and posts for large span width. Since then, they are available on the market worldwide. Many projects were successfully installed and already filled by debris flow events. After more than ten years of experience and demonstrating that these measures work against debris flow and hillslope debris flow, they are fully accepted as possible measures for integral protection against debris flow. To provide planners and engineers the experience and know-how of these flexible protection nets, a practical guide was initiated by the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Two case studies with planned and installed flexible nets, in one case for a debris flow and in the other case for a hillslope debris flow, are presented.

The Spatial Patterns of Road Traffic Crash Black Spots and Emergency Facilities in Federal Capital City

This study aimed at determining the spatial patterns of Road Traffic Crash (RTC) black spots, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) zebra points and emergency health care facilities in Federal Capital City (FCC). The aim was to provide stakeholders with information that will aid their understanding of accident prone locations and accessible rescue possibilities for accident victims on the roads in FCT. GPS Map 76S Mark (GARMIN) was used to locate and pick coordinates of data in the study area. A total of 16 possible emergency health care facilities, seventy (70) RTC black spots and Five Zebra point locations were obtained from FRSC. ArcGIS 10.0 was used to compute the data by plotting the coordinates to produce maps of the spatial relationship and to carry out Nearest Neighbour Analysis (NNA). The result was further used to determine the spatial patterns of RTC black spots as well as patterns of the emergency facilities. Generally, the result shows that the spatial trend is turning towards dispersion. However, there is less than 1% likelihood that the dispersed patterns could be the result of random chance. It was recommended that, the Federal Road Safety Commission should be staffed with trained professionals that can be responsible for accident data surveillance and analysis using geospatial techniques.

Road transport infrastructure of republic of Karelia automobile roads: assessment of the state and development trends

This study was conducted as part of the possibility consideration of forming a production and construction cluster in the Republic of Karelia. The paper presents the analysis results of the Republic of Karelia transport infrastructure state. Special attention is paid to the road transport infrastructure state and the territory provision with automobile roads and traffic flows maintenance services analysis. The article presents graphic materials, compiled by the authors characterizing the road surface type of public roads and transport provision level in the context of the region municipalities. Methods of economic and mathematical modeling, retrospective and statistical analysis are used in the study. Data from the Federal and Territorial State Statistics Service, the Federal Road Agency (Rosavtodor), as well as data from reports of local self-government bodies of the districts of the Republic of Karelia was used as information base of the study. The study provides statistical data overview for the period from 1998 to 2021. The data for the period from 2017 to 2021 and the indicators of 2021 are analyzed in more detail. The assessment of the region's road transport infrastructure state in the context of its use for the formation of a production and construction cluster was carried out.

Network Analysis of Road Traffic Crash and Rescue Operations in Federal Capital City

Abuja is witnessing an upsurge of victims from Road Traffic Crash (RTC) which is mostly due to the attendant rapid increase in the volume of vehicles, traffic jams, bad driving, over speeding, insufficient road signs and bad conditions of vehicles that ply the roads. The problem is compounded by a lack of early emergency response. Geographic Information System (GIS) based travel time model was applied in the street network analysis to identify RTC black spots that are outside the close reach of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) rescue points/health facilities in Federal Capital City (FCC). Five minutes, Ten minutes and Fifteen minutes travel times were used as the impedance factor. Remote Sensing and GIS techniques were used to carry out network analysis. This was achieved by conducting the closest facility operation in the ArcGIS network analyst extension using the time of travel from each FRSC zebra point location to the RTC black spot zones/health facility. The results were presented on road network maps and bar graphs. The areas where quick response and medical facilities are insufficient were identified. It was concluded that the available health centres can sufficiently service RTC black spots in FCC, but the FRSC zebra points are insufficient which renders rescue operations inefficient and thereby exposes RTC victims to more danger. In order to ensure that there is sufficient coverage for response times, it was suggested that additional zebra points be created.

Simulation and analysis of vehicular speed at defined locations

The aim of this study is to simulate and analyze vehicular speed at defined locations. A system that automatically monitors and reports vehicular speed at every coordinate in conformity to identified locations and informs vehicle owners or relevant authorities on dangerous speeding that could lead to accidents. Its input includes signals from the vehicle speedometer and GPS module that interprets the coordinates of locations. Several works had been done in this area which include tracking of vehicle speed by the owners or authority and speed reporting without information on the vehicle's actual location. This study is an enhancement to others as locations GPS were converted to names of towns, villages, or settlements along the Warri-Benin road before transmission to receivers. Data involving GPS coordinates and signal strength of selected three service providers were collated at designated and recognized locations along the road. Relevant models were developed for simulation on MATLAB 2019 environment for various levels of vehicular speed at the locations. The simulated results show a computed average speed of 200km/h, far above the maximum set speed limit of 100km/h by the Federal Road Safety Commission in 2014 for Nigeria roads that could lead to an accident. The detected speed was transmitted to receivers using the strongest available cellular network signal strength among chosen three service providers of AIRTEL, GLO, and MTN.

New Procedure to Calculate the Load on the Roadway

Presence of a developed transport and logistics system that provides year-round cargo and passenger transportation constitutes a necessary condition for intensive socio-economic development of any region.The only type of continuum transport capable of providing year-round transportation in natural and climatic conditions of the cryolithic zone, an integral part of which is the territory of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, is road transport.This is due to its compactness, mobility, ease of control and maintenance, as well as to a relatively low price, both for a single vehicle and for transportation services, which in turn predetermines its use for regional and intracity transportation within the permafrost zone.The only condition for effective use of road transport is provision of territories with year-round operated public roads, while their design and structure should correspond to the predicted load from vehicles and intensity of the traffic flow.The Government of the Russian Federation adopted the decision to build an automobile bridge across the Lena River near Yakutsk, which is scheduled to be put into operation in 2024.Accordingly, the problem of assessing the state of the city’s road network in terms of the possibility to process future traffic flows and road traffic organisation considering the design features of city roads, becomes relevant.Calculations of basic parameters of promising cargo and passenger flows were carried out with a new author’s methodology.An extended model served a basis for predictive assessment of the growth in relative intensity of transport flows and loads on the roads of Yakutsk after commissioning of the bridge across the Lena River. A variety of transport and logistics schemes for organising road traffic were considered. The condition and design features of the roads on the selected routes were assessed, and their transit capacity and maximum loads from transport flows that their structure could withstand were calculated.It has been established that the road infrastructure of Tuymaada valley is not able to ensure the transit of promising cargo flows that will arrive to the left bank of the Lena River across the bridge.It has been proved that the only possible solution to the vast majority of the emerging problems related to cargo traffic is construction of a federal ring road, which runs mainly outside the valley of the Lena River.

Modelo conceitual de critérios ambientais para contratação pública de obras rodoviárias federais

Abstract Green public procurements are important to reduce the organizations’ environmental impact. This study proposes a conceptual framework for adopting environmental criteria in the public procurement for federal roadworks. Content analysis of 153 bidding terms issued from 2006 to 2021 by the public agency in charge of managing Brazil’s federal road network was conducted. The results were compared to the standard list of criteria for Green Public Procurements defined by the European Union. By identifying and classifying the environmental criteria and by defining their related requirement levels, we were able to assess the level of compliance with the environmental criteria in our sample of bidding terms and propose a framework relating different environmental categories, roadwork classifications, environmental criteria, and their respective indicators. The findings reveal a low level of compliance with environmental criteria in our sample (around 19%), a value below what is found in the European context. Given current challenges in developing sustainable roadworks, the proposed model underscores the need to clearly define environmental criteria in bidding terms to foster both sustainable development and the continuous improvement of roadworks.

Safety gallery Kerenzerberg (CH) – Practical experiences with an innovative and emission‐free logistics concept

AbstractThe main lot of the Kerenzerberg safety gallery, a project of the Swiss Federal Roads Office (ASTRA), is currently under construction. In addition to the main works, the construction of a 5.2 km long safety gallery with a tunnel boring machine, the contract includes the excavation of 20 cross‐passages and 52 ventilation galleries. The Joint Venture KER450 that was awarded the contact chose to excavate these cross headings simultaneously to the main drive. To implement the logistics concept, which needs to be highly capable and flexible at the same time, the contractor decided on an innovative and emission‐free supply system known as Automated Service Vehicles (ASV). These fully electric, wheel‐bound vehicles allow an almost automatic operation and were recently developed and supplied by the company VirtuRail. The first experiences after approximately one year of operation are very positive and have proven to be a main factor in the successful realisation of a challenging logistics concept.