Dr. Dazhi Sun Associate Professor Director of Texas Transportation Institute Regional Division Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering Texas A&M University-Kingsville 1
Recent Transportation Projects More than 10 transportation research projects funded by TxDOT since 2006 with total budget of over 2.5 million dollars. The major collaborators include: The Center for Transportation Research (The University of Texas at Austin) Texas Transportation Institute (Texas A&M, College Station) 2
Research Areas: The research areas include: construction and maintenance (multiple construction and maintenance fields including geotechnical considerations, materials and pavements, construction management, work zone safety, environmental design, crash testing, computer simulation. ) traffic safety and human performance (safety, security, emergency evacuation (hurricane evacuation), accident characteristics, driver behavior, young and old driver safety, teen drivers, alcohol impact, night time low visibility, accident statistics, safety equipment, driving simulation) operations and traffic management (highway and street traffic operations and signal control, traffic congestion reduction, high occupancy vehicle lanes, toll roads, access control, speed control, work zone traffic control device) intelligent transportation systems (real time traveler information systems, on-board navigation system, demand responsive signal control, smart work zone, automatic speed detection and enforcement, red light running detection and enforcement, traffic and congestion detector, signal optimization and coordination, telecommunication, simulation) 3
New challenges from the explosion of drilling activities Road Damage from Drilling Trucks It takes about 1,200 trucks to drill a well. And then it takes another 300 trucks each year just to maintain it. The impact of all those trucks is equivalent of 8 million cars annually. Unfortunately, most rural roads and bridges were not designed or constructed to accommodate heavy loads. 4
New challenges from the explosion of drilling activities-cont. Damage from drilling trucks in the Eagle Ford Shale alone was recently estimated at $2 billion by TxDOT. It requires local governments to ramp up maintenance and repair efforts. However, counties do not have enough money to fix the roads. 5
New challenges from the explosion of drilling activities-cont. Increased accidents, deaths and injuries For example, between 2009 and 2011 in Karnes, LaSalle and Dimmit counties, crashes involving a commercial vehicle increased 470%, while total crashes increased 98%. Causes? Roads are busier than ever and deteriorating quickly. Fatigued drilling workers, driving home after a long shift, sometimes on unfamiliar roads. etc. 6
Transportation Possible Challenges Pavement & Roadside Damage base failure, cracks, bleeding, worn center and edge line, illegal driveway permits Bridge Damage-bridge hits Safety Issues-mud tracking, illegal turns, intersections and driveways with poor visibility Coordination Issues-coordination practices between TxDOT, energy companies and other stakeholders Funding allocation issues-increased maintenance and construction costs Possible Solutions Local Road Inventory and Management Traffic Counts and ITS devices Roadside Safety Features A Pool Funding to address the common challenges 7
What we can help with Issues that we can help solve include: Gather Updated Traffic Counts Data using TAMUK s Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor (RTMS) System Develop a Local Road Inventory and Management System using GIS and other data collection devices. Develop the Infrastructure Monitoring and Protection System using Weigh-in-Motion technologies Summer internship program to help survey, planning, design, and construction of roads. Etc. 8
Introduction of RTMS 9
What is RTMS? RTMS = Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor It is an advanced sensor for the detection and measurement of traffic at intersections and on roadways. This compact true-presence detector provides per-lane presence indication, as well as Volume, Occupancy, Vehicle Speed, and Classification information, in multiple lanes or detection zones simultaneously. 10
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RTMS Counting Station RTMS Sensor Counter Unit 13
RTMS Summary Ease of installation, minimizes schedule risks Multiple lane coverage with no road closures means dollars are saved Protocol options, minimize integration effort Proven, mainstream technology no maintenance 14
Intelligent Infrastructure Monitoring and Protection System using Weigh-in-Motion Using portable high-speed weigh-in-motion(hs-wim) technologies to collect the data of overloaded vehicles. Using the data to evaluate the fatigue damage of road and bridge in a short period, because overload causes exponential damages. Can be used for a pre-selection for road or bridge maintenance and repair. 15
An portable high-speed WIM system contains WIM sensor, trigger scanner, radar speed detector, surveillance camera and cabinet. 16
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Other possible projects Develop and maintain a geo-database of road network for the Eagle Ford Shale Play Counties using GIS including road condition rating. Predict timing of rehabilitation/rebuilding of bridges and roadways 18
Thank You! More details of these projects, you can refer to the poster presentations. 19