Highway Transportation Research Articles

Qualification of Soft Costs of the US Federal Guidance When Considering Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in NEPA Reviews

A notice by the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) was published on December 14, 2014 regarding the revised “Draft Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in NEPA Reviews”. The review of this 2014 draft guidance suggested increased analysis, work, review and approvals required by the State Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) working with and on behalf of local public agencies (LPAs) in order to authorize and obligate roadway projects funded with federal-aid money. All federal-aid-funded roadway projects require a NEPA analysis to be done on the action (project) and an environmental clearance document to be obtained prior to finalizing the design. The 2014 draft guidance may complicate an already lengthy and often critical path activity for roadway projects requiring NEPA documentation.

Study on Highway Transportation Route Selection of Heavy and Oversize Cargo

<p class="p16"> This paper discussed the main limiting factors that affects the transportion route selection of heavy and oversize cargo and established the cost and time dual objective linear model on the basis of these limiting factors. By establishing the multi-attribute utility function, this dual objective linear model was transformed into the single objective model under the principle of maximizing the multi-attribute utility function value.The optimal route was obtained by using the Dijkstra shortest path algorithm in the model solution.</p>

Technical challenges of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles deployment in smart electric grid

Recent transportation system faces major renovation on the way to electrification with the combination of recently developed smart electric grid for attaining carbon-free and sustainable future. In this wake, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are gaining establishment as an environment friendly alternative to traditional vehicle and playing a crucial role in improving the overall fuel efficiency. Discontinuous renewable energy resources can be combined efficiently to the electric grid by the higher participation of PHEVs in the roads. Formation of appropriate charging infrastructures alongside optimum charging regulation is essential for further achievement in highway transportation system. This paper reports technological challenges of PHEVs adoption in the smart electric grid system and proposes future guidelines for researchers in the domain of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

Resurrecting Driver Workload Metrics: A Multivariate Approach

This paper presents new, multivariate analyses of data collected during the Driver Workload Metrics (DWM) project. In a cooperative effort with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the DWM project had several goals including the development of performance metrics and test procedures to assess visual, manual, and cognitive aspects of driver workload. Workload was defined as the competition in driver resources (perceptual, cognitive, or physical) between the driving task and a concurrent secondary task, occurring over that task's duration. It was hypothesized that, depending on the type of secondary task performed while driving, measured workload and the correlated quality of driving should either remain the same or decline, but would manifest in degraded measures of lane keeping, longitudinal control, or eye glance behavior. However, the original DWM project had an unrealized goal, i.e. to apply Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) methods, in an attempt to uncover the underlying unobserved structure within the project's relatively large set of variables. It is this hidden multi-dimensional structure that must be examined to empirically comprehend the concept of driver workload. DWM kinematic vehicle data, driving performance, and eye glance data were analyzed using Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis (MLFA). These analyses found that task-induced workload affected driving performance and was multi-dimensional in nature. Visual-manual tasks exhibited fundamentally different performance profiles than auditory-vocal tasks or just driving. Furthermore, when secondary statistical analyses of the normalized factor scores were done using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) the results found highly statistically significant workload differences in age groups, task type, and at times, gender.

Research on the Carbon Footprint Drawing Method for Highway Freight Enterprises

In order to cope with global climate change and the increasing pressure of energy saving and emissions reduction, this study chooses highway freight transport which is the crucial part of carbon emissions in transportation section as the research object. After analyzing the resent researches and applications of carbon footprint drawing methods in domestic and foreign countries, this study draws the drawing boundary and builds the drawing method of carbon footprint for highway freight enterprises, according to the characteristics of them. Then this study analyses the effects of routing selection as a transportation organization strategy from the view of carbon footprint by using the actual operation data and energy consumption data from a highway freight enterprise.

Risk and resilience assessment of bridges under mainshock and aftershocks incorporating uncertainties

The non-functionality of bridges after the occurrence of a sudden hazard can significantly impact highway transportation systems and affect the recovery process. Seismic risk assessment is particularly important for the rapid decision making process associated with structures under mainshock and aftershock sequences. In this paper, a framework for probabilistic seismic performance assessment of highway bridges subjected to mainshock and aftershocks is presented. The seismic ground motion intensity, seismic vulnerability analysis of bridges, and consequences evaluation under mainshock and aftershock sequences are considered herein along with their associated uncertainties. The recovery functions associated with different damage states are integrated within the proposed functionality assessment procedure. Additionally, the probabilistic direct loss, indirect loss, and resilience of bridges under seismic hazard are investigated. The assessment of probabilistic risk and resilience of highway bridges under mainshock and aftershock sequences can aid in implementing risk mitigation strategies and equip decision makers with a better understanding of structural performance under seismic hazard.

Highway flood disaster risk evaluation and management in China

Flood disaster has become one of the most damaging natural disasters for the highway transportation all around the world, especially its destructive effects on highway infrastructures. In order to better understand the ruinous influence of flood disaster on highway transportation in China, this paper proposes an alternative evaluation index of highway flood disaster risk from three aspects, namely the disaster-causing factors, disaster-inducing environment, and disaster-bearing subjects. This paper also puts forward some targeted suggestions for the risk management, including two aspects: physical protection measurement and organization and management measurement. Moreover, this paper develops a highway flood disaster risk management system by using the ArcGIS technology.

Highway freight transportation disruptions under an extreme environmental event: the case of Hurricane Katrina

A safe, resilient, and sustainable transportation system for efficient freight flow is critically important to a nation’s economy. A major disruption to the transportation system due to extreme natural or human disasters can significantly affect the freight movement in the system. The purpose of this research was to develop a general framework to study disruptions to freight flows under an extreme event and apply the framework to retro-analyze the impact of 2005 Hurricane Katrina to the freight movement on the US highway network using a geographical information system, assignment models, and performance measures. Freight movement dynamics prior to and after the disaster are analyzed using aggregated measures such as vehicle mile traveled and vehicle time traveled for different types of roads in urban and rural areas in the USA. This research shows that when a disaster occurs to a part of the highway transportation network, the freight flow changes are not only local, but also regional and national, indicating that applying solely distance-based methods to modeling flow disruption effects may not capture the whole picture. The research provides some insights for pre‐ and post‐disaster decision makings that help lead to a resilient freight highway transportation system.

The Influence on the Consumption Level of Tibetans

Transportation is the accelerator in the development of regional economy. Since the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, central government has invested heavily to Tibet on the construction of civil aviation, highway and rail transportation network system, which promotes the circulation of people and goods between Tibet and outside world. Tibet’s economy has developed fast after the improvement of transportation, and people’s living standard has also been raised vastly. By researching in the history and current situation of people’s consumption level and transportation condition in Tibet, the thesis established in Tibet road transport for urban residents and farmers and herdsmen affect the level of consumption and other economic models. Results show that Tibet road transport impact to the influence of the urban residents consumption level is greater than the impact on the farmers and herdsmen consumption level, and the main factors influencing the road freight volume by empirical analysis conclusion.

Modeling business interruption impacts due to disrupted highway network of Shifang by the Wenchuan earthquake

A highway network plays an important role in sustaining business operations in a regional economy. However, in the event of catastrophic earthquakes, a highway network is very vulnerable to suffering physical damage as a result of the violent ground shaking. The failure of the highway network leads directly to business interruption impacts on the highway transportation sector, which subsequently sets off a ripple effect on other sectors due to economic interdependency. This article was aimed to estimate the business interruption impact on Shifang’s economic system triggered by the disrupted highway network resulting from the Wenchuan earthquake. A regional computable general equilibrium model is applied to simulate the business interruption impact. Moreover, a specific aspect of economic resilience has been incorporated into the model to explore its contribution toward reducing business interruption losses. The study results indicate that business interruption losses without a resilience factor total approximately CNY 1.08 billion, 47.37 % of the direct economic losses attributed to Shifang’s disrupted highway network as a result of the Wenchuan earthquake. When economic resilience is included in the model, the potential business interruption losses are reduced by 88 % through restraint of the negative aspects of business interruption impacts.

Evaluation of Girder Distribution Factor in PSC Girder Bridge with Curved Concrete Slab Based on AASHTO Specifications

The focus of this paper was on the development of a new girder distribution factor (GDF) for curved slab on straight girder bridges. To predict the behavior of prestressed concrete (PSC) girder bridges, finite element analyses considering a modeling strategy were conducted. A comparison was drawn between the finite element analyses and the results of a field test, to show the feasibility and application of finite element analyses. A total of 73 models were made, with different variables. A comparison was made between the GDFs in the current American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standard specification (2002), in the AASHTO LRFD standard specification (2007), and in the results of finite element analyses. Based on these analyses, GDFs in the AASHTO specifications were overestimated in most bridges, but underestimated in some bridges, especially bridges with curved slab. In this paper, a new GDF equation was proposed, using nonlinear regression analysis in the PSC girder bridge with curved slab, to rationally evaluate wheel load distribution. The proposed GDF equations are expected to provide a refined live load analysis for the PSC girder bridge with curved slab.

Topology Analysis for the Damaged Road Network Based MapX

Natural disasters often cause damages in different degrees to the road network, the topology analysis for the damaged road network has become more valuable and meaningful. In this paper, several key technologies to establish topological structures of the damaged road network based on MapX are discussed. On the base, an algorithm for finding the shortest path in the damaged road network is presented. At last, a brief conclusion as well as the expectation for the further study is made. This algorithm has been well applied in the Decision-making Analysis System for Highway Transportation, and the probation shows that it is faster and more flexible in the practical application.

Determination Method of Optimal Preventive Maintenance Measure of Based on Decision Matrix Principle

With the increasing of the large-size and overload of highway transport vehicles, the riding quality and the service life of pavement engineering are facing with a rigorous challenge. According to maintenance experiences from various countries in the world, adopting a reliable pavement preventive maintenance (PPM) measure is an effective method to keep the pavement with a good service level with the less expenditure of capital. The selection plan of the optimal measure is one of the critical aspects of the PPM technology. Whether a PPM measure is suitable or not is closely related to the PPM technical features, the pavement conditions and the traffic service levels. The purpose of the paper was to put forward the principle, method and procedure of the optimal PPM measure selection in terms of the specific features of asphalt pavements based on the decision matrix analysis and the equivalent annual cost method. The analysis results of a project level case demonstrates that the micro surfacing technology is the most suitable PPM measure to match the practical pavement conditions of the Puxing Road.

Comprehensive Assessment on Sustainable Development of Highway Transportation Capacity Based on Entropy Weight and TOPSIS

With the rapid development of the national economy of China, an increasing need for transportation facilities is becoming a serious challenge that the existing traffic system has to meet. Thus, the highway transportation capacity development level assessment has important significance in theory and in practice. In order to overcome the current defects of stronger subjectivity and experience in common assessment methods, the entropy weight and the TOPSIS method were introduced and employed to the comprehensive assessment of highway transportation capacity development. Shannon information entropy was applied to determine the weight value of each index in the comprehensive assessment model. After determining the index weight, the result of comprehensive assessment was obtained through the TOPSIS method. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method were shown by application in practice.

Highway Transportation’s Contribution Rate of Scientific and Technological Progress of China

In order to analyze the impact of the highway transportation’s contribution rate of scientific and technological progress in China on the economic development of the transportation ,reaching the target of establishing the Comprehensive Transportation , Intelligent Transportation, Green Transportation and Safe Transportation ,we adopt the combination of the Cobb-Douglas Function and the Solow Method of Remainder, with the coefficient of elasticity of funds and labor output , to acquire the highway’s contribution rate of scientific and technological progress of China. From that, we attain the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress from 2004 to 2012, and through the comparison with other fields, we draw a conclusion that the contribution rate of the highway transportation is higher than other fields, and we still should continually increase the science and technology input into the highway transportation to remain a good developing tendency.

Model and its Application of Passenger Travel Sharing Rate in Inter-City Comprehensive Passenger Traffic Channels

To predict the passenger travel sharing rate in the inter-city comprehensive passenger traffic channels, the passenger transport properties of the inter-city comprehensive passenger transport channels were combined, variables with different characteristics were introduced into utility function, the application of Logit model was improved, the comprehensive passenger transport channels of Guangzhou-Huizhou, Shenzhen-Huizhou, Dongguan-Huizhou were taken as examples to conduct the prediction applications of the passenger travel sharing in the railway passenger transportation, highway passenger transportation and non-commercial transportation. The results showed that the improved model could effectively carry out the passenger travel share prediction in inter-city comprehensive passenger transport channels.

Study on Ideas of Highway Transportation Hub Development in Ethnic Minority Areas

In April 2007, Ministry of Transport promulgated Planning of National Highway Transportation Hub, in which 196 cities were included in the city of national highway transportation hub, and those cities would gain financial support and policy support from Ministry of Transport and local Department of Transport. However, particularity of highway transportation hub development in ethnic minority areas was not took into account in the Planning of National Highway Transportation Hub, in accordance with features of economic and social development in ethnic minority areas, analysis of problems existing in the development of highway transportation hub and in conjunction with layout of Yanbian national highway transport hub, this paper discussed the ideas of highway transportation hub development in ethnic minority areas.

Freight Vehicles Regulatory Assistance System Based on Internet of Things

In order to guarantee the safety of the highway transportation and the durability of road use, reducing vehicle overloading transfinite damage to roads and dangerous driving influence on transportation security, curb corruption in traffic law enforcement, our team is based on vehicle networking technology, the video monitoring technology, RFID radio frequency technology, geographic information platform, information fusion technology, 3G network, the organic combination of GPS positioning technology, developed a freight vehicle supervision assistant system. System can not only achieve dynamic measuring weight, illegal vehicle information acquisition and processing, and also can realize illegal vehicle directional interception, dangerous driving warning and drivers complaint report law enforcement behavior, to reduce overload the accident happened at the same time, also reduce the waste of traffic administration human and financial resources, realize the driver and two-way supervision and law enforcement personnel, make the law enforcement process more fair, just and open, thus further improving the overall quality of traffic law enforcement.

The Influence of Bohai Strait Tunnel Project on Freight Transportation System in Bohai Economic Rim

This paper studied the influence of Bohai Strait Tunnel project on freight transportation system in Bohai Economic Rim by considering different transportation routes and modes. The model of modified Negative Exponent Network Flow Assignment was introduced in the paper. The market share of three transport routes in 2050, including Tonghua-Yantai, Chifeng-Yantai and Dalian-Yantai, was predicted. Results indicated that Bohai Strait Tunnel can shorten transportation distance and reduce transportation cost, and the two transportation modes of highway transportation and railway transportation through tunnel are economical and have larger market share better than that of the other transportation modes. It is very necessary to construct a transoceanic tunnel across the Bohai Strait.

Economic Analysis and Governance Countermeasure of Overload and Out-of-Gauge on the Highway

With the development of highway transport, the social harms caused by overload and out-of-gauge on the highway become prominent. Though it is banned for a long time, it continues to exist. The article conducts the research that the most fundamental reason for the overload and out-of-gauge is that the transport operators pursue to maximize benefits from the perspective of economy. Then such five countermeasures for solving the overload and out-of-gauge transport shall be put forward: changing the punishment mode of overload, reforming multi-sectoral administration pattern, taking the road of intensive development, strengthening transport vehicles market management and making full use of modern science and technology.