Surface Transportation Infrastructure Research Articles

Longitudinal Multiple Presence of Trucks on Continuous Bridge Spans

In designing and evaluating roadway bridges in the surface transportation infrastructure, truck load is a major variable to account for. For daily operation, truck load also is a primary factor. Trucks on continuous spans were studied, with a focus on their behavior of longitudinal multiple presence in the same lane(s). Current US specifications include provisions for how to account for such multiple presence, and these provisions have evolved over the years. However, the basis for the provisions and their changes have not been well documented. An unprecedentedly large number of high-quality in-motion truck weight data were gathered in eight states across the US and used to investigate trucks’ longitudinal multiple presence behavior. A new approach to analyzing each platoon of trucks recorded in traffic was developed for this purpose. Each random platoon’s total load effect was identified, covering every truck in the platoon, to obtain reliable statistics of the maximum load effects. Results show that longitudinal multiple presence increases with truck volume and span length. Relevant current AASHTO provisions therefore were found to be conservative or overconservative. Accordingly, it was concluded that lower longitudinal multiple presence factor values for evaluation and design are more justifiable. These results may be used by bridge owners and engineers for realistic load rating and design, for more-uniform structural safety and cost effectiveness. This is consistent with the top two goals of the AASHTO Committee on Bridges and Structures’ strategic plan for extending bridge service life and assessing bridge condition.

Effect of Lignin Type as an Additive on Rheology and Adhesion Properties of Asphalt Binder

Utilization of alternative asphalt binders and additives from renewable sources, given the scale and the impact of the asphalt pavement industry, is an important step toward a sustainable future for the surface transportation infrastructure. Among several sources available for harvesting sustainable construction materials, bio-based materials from agricultural feedstock are known to be one of the most reliable, renewable, environmentally friendly, and economically feasible solutions to achieve this goal. Lignin, one of the most abundant materials in nature, is the byproduct of several industries, specifically pulp processing and biofuel production facilities. Given its physical properties, the use of lignin as a partial replacement for petroleum-based asphalt binder has been studied and proven promising. However, lignin’s properties vary depending on its source and processing techniques. Therefore, incorporating lignin in asphalt binders can result in different mechanical properties, depending on its type and chemical composition. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of three different lignin types, when used as an asphalt binder modifier, on the rheological properties of the asphalt binder, aging characteristics, and its adhesion to different aggregates. This study’s findings showed that, when incorporated in an asphalt binder at the same amount, different lignin types have significantly different effects on asphalt binder blends’ rheological, aging, and adhesion properties. Different rheological, aging, and adhesion properties of the binders result in different mechanical characteristics in asphalt mixes containing lignin-modified asphalt binders.

Lunar landing necessary building blocks and good practices for a sustainable development of human lunar activities

After almost 50 years from the last step on the Moon in 1972, Space Agencies and companies from all over the World are evaluating once again the need, potential, and benefits of human settlements on the Moon and beyond. Several spacecraft, landers, and rovers have already made their way on Earth’s only natural satellite, and more will come in the coming years, followed by or in parallel with human missions, with all the related challenges and issues to overcome. At first, Human activities will target specific locations on the lunar surface, mainly driven by scientific objectives. For these missions, the landing site will necessarily be close to the target areas until a surface transport infrastructure is put in place, such as a system of transport rovers or a rail network. As the interest and involvement of public and private actors grow, and depending on their mission objectives, we will see either massive landings with multiple spacecraft involved or specific pinpointed landings with relatively small assets, to perform local analyses without the need to bring a full settlement to the location. Therefore, it is fundamental to see which resources/terrain characteristics will act as an attractor for intensive human activities with multiple landings that will need traffic management regulations. One of the objectives of our research is to analyze those potential attractors and identify key factors that would make specific locations of the Moon more suitable for landing (e.g. surface characteristics, distance from points of interest). Once defined, the following objective is to evaluate what features and services a landing site should have in order to support exploration or exploitation missions and become an efficient spaceport. In parallel, as mentioned above, all these activities on and around the Moon’s surface need to be regulated and coordinated to avoid a “far west” scenario, with the related potential hazards that could affect the lunar environment, human settlements, and facilities. The last objective of our project is to evaluate and propose ideas on how future missions could be regulated, taking into account that the Moon is a different celestial body that, at the current moment, is not under any national or international significant traffic management regulation. The present abstract is submitted under the auspices of Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) Technical Unit Research for a Thriving Lunar Ecosystem (TURTLE).

The Flying Car—Challenges and Strategies Toward Future Adoption

In recent years, our surface transportation infrastructure is suffering from overuse, extreme traffic congestion, and roadway disrepair. Instead of following the traditional infrastructure expansion policy, current transportation research focuses on developing innovative and novel solutions to the aforementioned issues. Current pathways to overcoming these issues include the gradual transition towards a number of emerging transportation technologies, such as, autonomous motor vehicles for human transport, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) and drone technologies for surveillance, and package deliveries. However, as a long-term solution, transportation scientists are also investigating the once-seemingly futuristic notion of flying car technology - a convergent form of ground/air vehicle transportation, and assessing associated regulations. In this paper, an extensive review of current literature is conducted to explore the technological capabilities of flying cars – each requiring appropriate regulations and governance – to become fully sustainable. Specifically, issues pertinent to training, safety, environment, navigation, infrastructure, logistics/sustainability, and cybersecurity and human factors are explored. This paper concludes with a preliminary quantitative analysis exploring the public perceptions associated with flying cars – including anticipated benefits, concerns, and willingness to both hire and acquire the technology once available to consumers. Insights offered by this data will help inform next-generation policies and standards associated with the gradual advancement of flying cars.

Reconsidering the Challenges of Earmarked Taxes for Highways

A prominent theme in US federal infrastructure policy is the near-term insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the dedicated financing stream for highways and public transit. The HTF is projected to exhaust its reserves by 2022 and require more than $170 billion in cumulative general revenue transfers by 2029, leading to widespread funding uncertainty for nationally-significant surface transportation infrastructure and a dramatic increase in the national debt. This paper examines three countries - Japan, England, and Australia - that chose to eliminate earmarked taxes for highways and examines whether their infrastructure benefited as a result. International outcomes were mixed as to whether federal investments in highways and road quality remained robust following the intervention. But such a solution, with stringent safeguards, could provide an answer to the HTF solvency issue in upcoming surface transportation reauthorization legislation.

Understanding project cancellation risks in U.S. P3 surface transportation infrastructure

Public private partnership (P3) projects can face many internal and external risks affecting their development and implementation. As a result, this research explores the understudied risk factors underlying the U.S.’ cancelled, deferred, and terminated (CDT) P3 projects. A database of CDT projects is developed. Of the projects identified as the U.S. surface transportation P3 population, 46% (31 out of 68) experienced cancellation, deferment or early contract termination. The research then applied a risk typology and a multi-case study method to the troubled cases to identify common risk factors. Data collection focused primarily on the identification of political (public and political voice, bureaucratic complexity) and economic risk factors. The most frequently identified factors across the 31 cancelled, deferred, or terminated cases include political opposition, local opposition, and inadequate demand projections. Since the paper studies the entire U.S. surface transportation P3 project population, the results serve to inform public agencies and private sector actors of possible friction points meriting consideration during P3 procurement planning.

Why the Dot's Role in Funding and Regulating Transportation Should Be Reduced

We analyze the role of the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in regulating transportation safety and funding surface transportation infrastructure. These two aspects of DOT policy are important in light of recent trends and problems with our transportation system. Government officials and transportation experts have expressed growing concern about deteriorating surface transportation infrastructure. Transportation safety regulation, which continues to increase, disproportionately burdens low-income Americans and small businesses. This paper synthesizes and updates the literature from past debates about the costs and incentive effects of safety regulation. A counterfactual analysis using historical evidence and economic research on safety regulation indicates that without regulation, the private sector would provide many safety features in response to market incentives. Economic research also shows that when the DOT mandates safety features, people must then spend less on other things they value more. Similarly, we demonstrate, based on economic theory and evidence, that existing policies for funding transportation infrastructure contribute to investment decisions that do not accurately reflect the traveling public's preferences. Evidence from other studies suggests that these policies also create excess demand for highway space in many cities and excess supply of mass transit service. To promote a more efficient and equitable transportation system, the role of the DOT in funding surface transportation should be reduced and the role of state and local governments and private firms should be increased. The DOT should also reduce its role in regulating transportation safety so that travelers and shippers have more freedom to choose the level of safety they desire.

Improving the Efficiency and Equity of Highway Funding and Management: The Role of Vmt Charges

Congestion problems that are becoming more serious, along with deteriorating roads and bridges, raise questions about the viability of the existing system for funding roads and highways in the United States. Using economic theory and evidence from the literature, this paper explores the role that vehicle mile charges could play in reforming highway funding and management. It discusses the advantages of such a system in comparison to the status quo as well as obstacles that might prevent the adoption or implementation of a system of charges for vehicle miles traveled. It also discusses options for addressing drivers' privacy concerns. Replacing fuel taxes with a comprehensive system of vehicle mile charges, especially if accompanied by a greater role for private firms in owning or managing roads, is a promising approach for achieving a more efficient and equitable solution for funding surface transportation infrastructure.

Determinants of Antibiotic Consumption - Development of a Model using Partial Least Squares Regression based on Data from India

Antibiotic resistance, a consequence of antibiotic use, is a threat to health, with severe consequences for resource constrained settings. If determinants for human antibiotic use in India, a lower middle income country, with one of the highest antibiotic consumption in the world could be understood, interventions could be developed, having implications for similar settings. Year wise data for India, for potential determinants and antibiotic consumption, was sourced from publicly available databases for the years 2000–2010. Data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares regression and correlation between determinants and antibiotic consumption was evaluated, formulating ‘Predictors’ and ‘Prediction models’. The ‘prediction model’ with the statistically most significant predictors (root mean square errors of prediction for train set-377.0 and test set-297.0) formulated from a combination of Health infrastructure + Surface transport infrastructure (HISTI), predicted antibiotic consumption within 95% confidence interval and estimated an antibiotic consumption of 11.6 standard units/person (14.37 billion standard units totally; standard units = number of doses sold in the country; a dose being a pill, capsule, or ampoule) for India for 2014. The HISTI model may become useful in predicting antibiotic consumption for countries/regions having circumstances and data similar to India, but without resources to measure actual data of antibiotic consumption.

The U.S. Federal Gasoline Tax: Time for a Change?

Although the federal gasoline tax played multiple roles in financing surface transportation infrastructure in the United States, experts did not agree on the tax's purpose. Some argued that it was essentially a fee for users of the nation's federally supported highways. Others suggested that it should play a more prominent role in environmental, energy, and transportation policy by correcting for driving-related externalities. Still others suggested that it should be used to reduce the federal budget deficit. Finally, the tax itself had remained at the same level since 1993, and with the Highway Trust Fund virtually insolvent, many experts believed it was time for an increase. The case presents a background on the U.S. federal gasoline tax, an overview of the market for gasoline in the United States, and survey of gasoline taxes in U.S. states as well as several other countries around the world.The case can be used to discuss the incidence of the gasoline tax, as well as its role as a Pigouvian tax to deal with negative externalities related to gasoline consumption and driving. There is sufficient data in the case to enable students to analyze the incidence of the federal gasoline tax and to determine the socially efficient level of the tax in light of externalities related to gasoline consumption and driving.

Improving Funding and Management of Surface Transportation Infrastructure

Although spending on infrastructure does not, in itself, stimulate the economy, infrastructure investments can contribute to economic growth, since infrastructure is part of the economy’s capital stock. Investments in infrastructure can also benefit the economy by alleviating the problems that poor infrastructure causes. The extent to which infrastructure investment contributes to growth, however, depends on the net benefits of the projects chosen. This paper focuses on how to manage and pay for investment in, and maintenance of, transportation infrastructure in a way that maximizes the net benefits from its use and contributes to economic growth. In this regard, we conclude that federal spending is not the best approach. Instead, a better path to making needed infrastructure improvements is to reduce the role of the federal government (including the funding and management of projects) and to increase reliance on state and local governments, user fees, and private firms.

Green Airport Design Evaluation (GrADE) – Methods and Tools Improving Infrastructure Planning

Aviation plays a significant role in modern socio-economies, providing connectivity and accessibility, and facilitating commerce. Airports are critical nodes in the air transport system and of the territory connectivity as well. Along with the growth of airport infrastructures, airport-related business, commercial, residential and spatial development takes place in the airport surroundings connected by surface transport infrastructure. Airports no longer simply comprise aviation related functionalities (e.g. passenger, cargo, and aircraft handling facilities), they have evolved to include shopping and hotel complexes, conference facilities, as well as industrial zones, logistic centres and inter-modal public transport hubs. Concepts such as “aerotropolis”, “airport city”, “airport corridor”, “airport region”, and so on, have emerged to denote even more the dramatic structural and operational evolution on the airport site and in the immediate surroundings. These developments have spatial implications on various levels and scales.Europe faces a particular challenge in respect of its airport infrastructure network because of limited capacity that prevents aviation responding to demand when it arises and the difficulty of securing planning approval for airport infrastructure development. This is due to the dense urbanisation of the continent, the complex system of rules and planning regulations that have arisen as a result and opposition from local residents and their politicians to airport growth. The ability to deliver further airport growth and development into infrastructure design integrated with the urban planning will therefore be a major sustainability challenge for the future. A strategic and integrated approach to define the airport infrastructure design complying with the specific sustainability requirements is needed. The aim of the paper is to illustrate the results of a doctoral research focused on the development of a framework for the sustainability performance-based evaluation of airport project design and technological strategies to enhance the environmental capacity of the infrastructure during its life cycle.Environmental and operational capacity can be maximised through a long-term planning ensuring an effective environmental management that compensates for growth through the introduction of eco-efficient infrastructure, technological, and operating strategies. The proposed research defines specific methods and tools enabling both design project control and sustainability appraisal. The methodological approach follows a systematic process analysis, linked to modelling studies and the development of sustainability indicators that inform a site wide approach to the design of airport infrastructure.The objectives is achieved through the definition, analysis and assessment of the solutions for environmental capacity and sustainable airport-network development through in-depth study of the impacts arising from airport operations and infrastructure. The project aims at developing a framework for governance to manage and enhance the investments for the infrastructure development by cross-evaluating all the aspects affecting the project design decision process.The Green Airport Design Evaluation (GrADE) method and its respective tools will contribute in achieving the goal of sustainable development of airport infrastructure providing a methodological framework to measure and monitor environmental performance and creating new opportunities for the aviation regulatory organisations and airport owners to define business model and strategies to enhance sustainable airport infrastructure design within the regional transport network.

Dynamic Learning Process for Selecting Storm Protection Investments

Increasingly aggressive weather events, such as hurricane-driven storm surges, threaten surface transportation systems and motivate defensive actions, including hardening. Decisions about the design and scale of hardening investments are informed by meteorological records. Historically based probabilities of severe storms are used in practice to define expected values of the intensity of weather assaults (e.g., the 100-year storm) and then to select defenses. The prospects of climate change and rising sea level suggest that assuming weather events are stationary may present added risks to surface transportation infrastructure, particularly in coastal environments. This paper proposes a dynamic, learning-based investment strategy, similar to the concept of real options, that updates estimates of storm surges on the basis of experience and recommends incremental hardening investments when observed trends indicate that additional defense is warranted. Monte Carlo simulation is used to compare and evaluate static (expected value-based) and dynamic investment strategies in the context of storm intensity patterns that are ( a) known, ( b) incorrectly estimated, and ( c) nonstationary, with growing intensity. Results suggest that when the future is well described by past experience, the static, once-and-done decision strategy works well, but when the underlying storm generation process is unknown, or when it is changing (growing) in intensity, the learning-based dynamic strategy is especially advantageous. These results underscore the importance of flexibility in designing storm protection, of tracking weather events closely to detect emerging trends, and of data-driven decision strategies. This dynamic approach to decision making under uncertainty can be applied to other sources of uncertainty, for example, demand estimates.

Towards a more sustainable surface transport infrastructure: a case study of applying multi criteria analysis techniques to assess the sustainability of transport noise reducing devices

The surface transport infrastructure (i.e. road and rail) has seen increasing pressure in recent years to achieve better sustainability performance. Transport Noise Reducing Devices (NRDs) form a major part of the surface transport infrastructure system in mitigating undesirable surface noise pollution to impacted communities. Their sustainability is a growing interest for practitioners and policy makers in this area as NRDs projects now have to balance integrating and assessing social, environmental, and economic objectives besides meeting key technical requirements. This paper presents an account of the first study carried out to assess the absolute sustainability of NRDs via the application of multi criteria analysis (MCA) techniques. The general procedure, selection of criteria, data gathering, and the use of three MCA techniques, SAW (Simple Additive Weighting), PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organisation MeTHod for Enrichment Evaluations), and ELECTRE III (Elimination et Choice Translating Reality), to assess the absolute sustainability of two built and operating European NRDs projects (one in Spain, and one in Italy) is presented. The novel concept of defining an Optimal Hypothetic Ideal Solution (OHIS) to assess the sustainability of NRDs in absolute terms to achieve this end is also introduced and discussed. The presented case studies will thus provide a useful model for practitioners to adopt or amend to conduct their own assessments of NRDs' sustainability. The paper further concludes that the generation of index values by the three MCA techniques to denote the overall absolute sustainability of solutions is a useful feature for communicating the sustainability of NRDs across a broad range of stakeholders, and for conducting “what-if” analyses. The presented research could also support broader aims of developing harmonized sustainability standards for the NRDs industry to adopt and so forward the sustainability transport agenda.

Regional Economic Output and Public Surface Transportation Infrastructure: A Spatial Granger Approach

This paper expands upon the classical Granger causality test with spatial dimensions to investigate the causal linkages between regional economic output and surface transportation infrastructure with a focus on the Northeast Corridor in the United States. To improve the validity of estimation, a panel data set of surface transportation infrastructure including highways, public intercity railways, and public transit, which are measured in real monetary value for the period 1991-2009, is adopted. Granger causality tests with integrations of various forms of spatial spillover interactions are analyzed in different spatial vector autoregressive models. The empirical results reveal that the spatial Granger causality test is able to capture a broader geographic scale of causality than the classical approach, but the causality

PERFORMANCE MODEL FOR ASPHALT CONCRETE PAVEMENT BASED ON THE FUZZY LOGIC APPROACH

Accurate pavement performance estimation is very important for the managing and maintaining of surface transportation infrastructure. In the present study, a new model for the prediction of present and future performance of flexible pavements is developed using the fuzzy logic approach. The database of the model is able to use numerical measurements and also linguistic statements. Many models developed in the literature neglect the parameters that have little bearing on performance. However, it is a well known fact that these parameters do have an effect on performance to some degree. Different parameters were considered in the model as accepted by the authorities, and as having little bearing on performance. For each parameter, a certain weight was appointed, and the parameters that affected performance were assigned greater weights while the others were assigned smaller weights. As a result, the current model in the fuzzy logic approach is more flexible than the current Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI) and Pavement Condition Index (PCI) models. The model is different from previous fuzzy logic based models. Two stages of the fuzzy logic approach were used in these models. Since this new methodology does not need any mechanical tests, the model can be adopted by the Pavement Management System (PMS) of developing countries.

Role of BCA in TIGER grant reviews: common errors and influence on the selection process.

Abstract As directed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) created the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant program for surface transportation infrastructure projects. Through 2013, there have been five rounds of the grant program. TIGER uses a multi-step competitive application process to award surface transportation funds. TIGER applications are initially screened by US DOT's staff of technical experts. For projects forwarded by the review team, US DOT economic experts then review the applicant's benefit-cost analysis (BCA) and attempt to determine the likelihood that the benefits exceeded costs (i.e. not the applicant's self-determination). The final awardees are then selected by a Review Team of Modal Administrators and DOT Office of the Secretary level officials. The purpose of this paper is to discuss many of the common errors in preparing, and issues in reviewing the applicant's BCA and in making a net benefit determination. A secondary purpose is to determine if the most deserving projects, based on an applicant's BCA and the likelihood that benefits exceeded costs, are more likely to receive grant funding. We do so for the second through the fifth rounds of the program.

Surface Transportation and Regional Output: A Spatial Panel Approach

This paper studies regional impact of three mature surface transportation infrastructures in the northeast corridor of the US: highways, public railways and public transit. Infrastructure stock is valued in real terms from 1991 to 2009. A spatial panel approach with fixed effects is adopted to test the hypothesis of spillovers by allowing for spatial heterogeneity. The result shows that surface transportation infrastructure in general does have a significant impact on regional output, most of which is from spillover effect; highways have an overwhelming influence through both local effects and spillover effects. The impacts from public railways and transit are not significant, but transit does show a positive though small spillover effect.

Public surface transportation and regional output: A spatial panel approach

AbstractThis paper studies regional impact of three mature public surface transportation infrastructures in the Northeast corridor of the US: highway, public railway and public transit. Infrastructure stock is valued in real terms from 1991 to 2009. A spatial panel approach with fixed effects is adopted to test the hypothesis of spillovers by allowing for spatial dependence. The result shows that public surface transportation infrastructure in general does have a significant impact on regional output, most of which is from spillover effect; highways have an overwhelming influence through both local effects and spillover effects. The impacts from public railway and public transit are not significant, but transit does show a positive though small spillover effect.

A Statistical Analysis of the Role of Benefit–Cost Analysis in Awarding TIGER Grants

As directed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) created the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant program for surface transportation infrastructure projects. TIGER used a multistep competitive application process to award surface transportation funds. TIGER applications were initially screened by U.S. DOT’s staff of technical and economic experts and the final awardees were selected by a Review Team of Modal Administrators and DOT Office of the secretary-level officials. The purpose of the research was to determine if the most deserving projects, based on an applicant’s benefit–cost analysis and the likelihood that benefits exceeded costs, were more likely to receive grant funding. We base the findings on pair-wise comparisons and on logistic regression models. Based on these analyses, we found that the outcome of the benefit–cost analysis (both quality and expected net benefits) was not a statistically significant factor.