- Oregon DOT
Back
to School -- Keeping Track of the Kids
Children
who ride school buses in West Paterson Borough, N.J., will test a first-of-its-kind
monitoring system that electronically checks in students as they get
on the bus and tracks the vehicle along its route.
Buses
and individual children will carry equipment linking them to the monitoring
system. A global positioning system and a video monitoring camera on
the bus will track student pickups and scheduling, as well as the speed
of the vehicle. Meanwhile, children will carry electronic identification
cards, allowing school officials or police using computers to track
who has gotten on and off the bus.
Information
and video images picked up by the equipment will be transmitted from
buses to computer terminals via wireless cellular communications. Computer
terminals will be in either the district's administrative offices or
the police department.
Thoreb
North America, a company with headquarters in Sweden and offices in
West Caldwell, N.J., asked the Board of Education in February if it
would agree to test the system for one year without charge, beginning
in September. The system will be the first of its kind for public school
use in the United States; however, the system has been used in public
buses in Europe.
The
system will be installed in six buses owned by University Bus Co., with
which the district contracts to provide bus service to several hundred
borough children. At the end of the school year, if West Paterson decides
to continue using the system, it will be able to keep the equipment
at no cost. The district would have to pay only for the service.
The
company received a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of
Commerce to develop the system, which is known as "KomFram." It will
be marketed to other school districts once testing has been completed.
- Bergen Record Corp.
TRANSIMS
Computer Software Improves Transportation Decisions
U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater announced an effort to
provide transportation planners with a new software program -- the Transportation
Analysis and Simulation System (TRANSIMS) -- designed to help them make
better decisions about transportation.
During
the last five years, FHWA and EPA have been sponsoring the development
of TRANSIMS. Under this sponsorship, the Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL) (the developer of TRANSIMS) has signed a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers
to partner with U.S. DOT and LANL in the development and deployment
of a user-friendly version of the software.
According
to FHWA, TRANSIMS is expected to produce high-quality detailed simulations
that will permit planners and citizens to better understand the implications
of transportation policy choices. This will allow planners to evaluate
proposals to improve highways, transit, biking, and walking facilities.
The fine level of detail in this software will give decision makers
a more accurate representation of the impact of transportation improvements
on travel, driving, and air pollution emissions, along with information
to assess the social and economic effects of various scenarios.
FHWA
said that TRANSIMS, developed at a cost of $25 million, represents a
major advance in travel forecasting procedures. It provides planners
with a typical person's daily activity pattern (for example, a trip
to work, to shop, and then to recreation), simulates the movements of
individual vehicles on a regional transportation network, and estimates
the air pollution emissions generated by vehicle movements.
TRANSIMS
has been developed through field tests with the North Central Texas
Council of Governments, the Regional Planning Agency for the Dallas-Fort
Worth metropolitan area, and the Portland, Ore., Metropolitan Service
District. The commercialization process will move TRANSIMS from being
a laboratory procedure to being a practical, user-friendly tool that
can be applied by state and local agencies.
Plans
call for TRANSIMS to be available in January 2002.
Ohio
DOT Innovates Work Zone Congestion Policy
For
years, the Ohio DOT has used a variety of techniques to stem congestion
in work zones. However, for the first time in the department's history,
it has implemented a comprehensive program to maintain traffic flow
through construction zones.
The
department's newly adopted Maintenance of Traffic program uses computer-generated
traffic models to predict and quantify traffic backups, then apply the
data to congestion mitigation planning.
Project
planners address possible congestion problems long before construction
begins by analyzing predicted queue length and planning ahead to reduce
the potential backups.
Developing
Maintenance of Traffic measures on a project-by-project basis allows
designers to consider the individual circumstances of each work zone.
Factors such as traffic pattern, number of access points along the route,
time of day of construction, length of work, and cost of congestion
mitigation practices are considered.
"Maintenance
of Traffic practices will add to the cost of a project," said Ohio DOT
Assistant Director of Highway Management Mary Ellen Kimberlin. "However,
the cost-effectiveness of the measures will be considered in determining
congestion mitigation strategies."
The
program also uses information as a tool to combat congestion. Construction
information will be provided to communities and the media before projects
begin in an effort to detour traffic away from work zones and to allow
motorists to plan ahead for their drive.
- Ohio DOT
Public
Information and Information Exchange
State
Designation Recommendations in Question
The Clean Air Act (CAA) provides for three broad area designations --
attainment, nonattainment, and unclassifiable. Some states apparently
are pushing for options other than the above, while others may be stretching
the limits of the unclassifiable category.
EPA
officials and several environmental advocacy groups have complained
that several states are in violation of the CAA, having filed ozone
designations under the eight-hour standard that make use of the unclassifiable
label. According to these officials, the act stipulates that this designation
may only be used when a state does not hold the data necessary to determine
air quality. There seems to be some level of uncertainty, EPA officials
note, as to whether the required air quality data was available to the
states and whether their submission of areas as unclassifiable was legitimate.
Several
Midwestern states are reportedly among those that filed for unclassifiable
designations. However, the issue over data availability first surfaced
in Texas when EPA rejected a plan from the state that would have provided
for alternative designations. Such designations would have applied to
areas with borderline air quality problems and also would have featured
a less rigorous menu of emissions control requirements and programs.
In addition, the alternate plan from Texas regulators placed a greater
degree of emphasis on voluntary emissions control programs.
Texas
officials concede that the state submitted a plan using the unclassifiable
designation to avoid the nonattainment label and the rigorous process
that comes with it. State officials counter that their decision was
not made to avoid dealing with air quality problems, but instead was
a move to handle the eventual attainment drive without involvement from
EPA.
Some
state officials have also issued their displeasure over the agency's
intention to move forward with designations prior to the U.S. Supreme
Court's review of the more stringent ozone mark this fall. While the
standards were promulgated in 1997, the agency's regulatory package
that carried the new limits was challenged and the D.C. Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled against the agency in 1999. EPA's appeal will probably
not be settled until sometime in 2001, although the agency has the green
light to designate areas.
The
agency is actively reviewing the states' recommendations for designations
that were submitted early in the summer. While the details of any alternative
designations have not been worked out, EPA officials say that they are
receptive to offering areas on the fringe of ozone nonattainment some
degree of flexibility in meeting the new 0.08 parts per million (ppm)
ozone standard.
New
York State DOT Receives Pankow Award for Innovation
The Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF) announced the winner
of the 2000 CERF Charles Pankow Award for Innovation at the Global Innovation
2000 dinner held Aug. 15, 2000, in Washington, D.C.
The
Pankow Award was granted to the New York State DOT for their economical
rehabilitation of a steel-truss bridge using a fiber-reinforced plastic
(FRP) deck. This technology helped the department avoid a costly bridge
replacement project by rehabilitating a steel-truss bridge using lightweight
composites. Reducing dead load on the bridge by 240 metric tons (265
tons), the application of this technology doubled the load rating to
a level higher than the original design and allowed weight restrictions
to be removed, while saving $1.4 million in the process. This was the
first time this type of rehabilitation was accomplished in the United
States.
The
New York State DOT developed this innovative technology in partnership
with private industry.
This
award, given annually, recognizes the contribution of organizations
working collaboratively to demonstrate innovative approaches to design,
materials use, or the construction process. The event also honored Dean
Stephan, winner of the 2000 Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement
of Research.
- CERF
Real-Time
Traffic Information Offered for I-81 in Virginia
Drivers
in the heavily traveled Interstate 81 corridor through Virginia's scenic
Shenandoah Valley will be able to avoid hazardous travel conditions
thanks to a new advanced traffic and traveler information service called
"Travel Shenandoah."
The
service is a joint venture between Virginia Tech and the Shenandoah
Telecommunications Company (SHENTEL), sponsored by the Virginia DOT
and the Virginia Tourism Corporation. One of the first of its kind in
the country, the service covers an 11-county, 241-kilometer (150-mile)
length of I-81 between Winchester and Lexington, as well as portions
of I-64, I-66, and the Shenandoah National Park.
The
basic Travel Shenandoah service is free to users. It can be accessed
via the Internet, mobile and standard telephone, pager, and cable television
to provide travelers and local residents with up-to-the-minute information
on accidents, hazardous road conditions, places to stay and eat, local
shopping, tourist attractions, outdoor activities, and special events.
SHENTEL
is also introducing a subscriber service that will provide users with
traffic alerts, warning them automatically of delays and hazardous conditions.
The
Travel Shenandoah service is available on the Internet at www.travelshenandoah.com or toll free at (800) 578-4111.
- Virginia DOT
Houston,
Los Angeles Tops in Ozone
In a seesawing battle, Houston and Los Angeles continue to vie for the
dubious distinction of having the smoggiest sky in the nation. At last
count, it appears that the Texas city is likely to retain its lead.
With
the ozone -- or smog -- season beginning to wane in Southern California,
the metropolitan area surrounding Los Angeles logged 34 exceedances
of EPA's one-hour ozone standard as of early September. Historically,
the closing weeks of summer find the Southern California skies to be
the smoggiest.
Houston,
which overtook perennial ozone leader Los Angeles in the 1999 seasonal
total, recorded its ninth straight day above the standard during early
September. With Texas suffering through the hottest and driest summer
in 50 years, the meteorological conditions for ozone formation have
been nearly perfect, as Houston's network of air quality monitors have
thus far recorded a national high of 37 bad air days.
Adding
to the plight of the Texas city is the prospect for more hot weather
and historical trends for smog formation that stretch the season late
into the calendar year, frequently into November. Last season's totals
left Los Angeles with 41 exceedances of the standard, while Houston
logged 52 days above the ozone mark.
Although
the ozone concentration levels and the precursors -- nitrogen oxides
(NOx) and hydrocarbons -- are very similar, the ozone formation patterns
are divergent for the two cities. Smog is generated in Southern California
by motor vehicles and industrial smokestacks, as the two major sources
produce the chemicals that react with summer sunshine. Houston's ozone
troubles, however, are traced more to the hydrocarbons from petroleum
refineries, the related petrochemical industry, and multiple pollutants
from ocean-going merchant vessels.
GM
Supports Clean Air Efforts in Southern California
Two organizations not always on the same side of the air quality debate
have formed a partnership to reduce air pollution in California. Officials
from General Motors (GM) and the South Coast Air Quality Management
District (AQMD) announced an agreement in late August aimed at obtaining
substantial reductions in mobile source emissions in the Los Angeles
region.
GM
is funding much of a $2 million program called the "Community Clean
Air Partnership." In addition, GM will also provide advanced technology
in the form of alternative-fuel vans, clean locomotive technology, and
hybrid electric school buses that feature electric motors, battery packs,
an internal combustion engine, and a particulate trap to cut down on
soot. When employing the combustion engine, the buses are designed to
operate on low-sulfur fuel.
GM
will also fund the development of air pollution reduction kits for passenger
trainsets and assist California regulators in their drive to develop
a natural gas-powered locomotive. Officials from AQMD consider the new
partnership a good example of how public and private entities can work
together to the benefit of communities.
California
Committee Supports Mobile Source Programs
Alternative-fuel transit vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, electric bicycles,
and land-use strategies all may be funded in Southern California through
a program driven by the Mobile Sources Air Pollution Reduction Review
Committee (MSRC). The committee is responsible for a budget of $14.5
million that is devoted to clean air projects that target transportation
sources.
Focusing
on Southern California, MSRC has been chartered to support projects
that generate the greatest measurable emissions reduction, are cost-effective,
and are likely to garner local matching funds. Businesses, local government
agencies, research institutions, and other organizations are encouraged
to apply for funding from the committee.
Categories
are divergent but focus on mobile sources. This year's focus includes
alternative-fuel transit, on- and off-road heavy vehicles, transportation
control measures, voluntary rideshare programs, electric bicycles, and
others.
State
Program Targets Truck Crash Corridors for Improvement
Five "heavy truck crash corridors" have been targeted for extra enforcement,
improvements, and public education by the Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation (PennDOT).
Such
enforcement includes the development of electronic devices that can
detect motorists -- in both trucks and cars -- who speed, tailgate,
or run red lights along the roadway from the Delaware state line to
Route 30 in Lancaster County. Police could use the information immediately
to pull over and ticket offenders. Similar devices are in use in New
York City and California.
In
a separate pilot project, PennDOT is already experimenting with an electronic
device that weighs trucks as they approach a curve, estimates their
speed, and flashes a warning if they are in danger of rolling over.
Two of the devices are positioned along Interstate 83 -- one in Harrisburg
and another in York County.
Pennsylvania
ranked second only to Texas for the number of crashes involving large
trucks in 1998, according to a report submitted recently to state lawmakers.
The 7,300 crashes resulted in 192 deaths and nearly 6,000 injuries.
First
identified in 1998, the five corridors included all of Interstate 95,
U.S. Route 22 from Monroeville to Altoona in western Pennsylvania, state
Route 61 from Interstate 81 to Reading, state Route 41 from U.S. Route
30 through Chester and Lancaster counties to the Delaware line, and
U.S. Route 11/15 from Amity Hall to Selinsgrove. Another roadway, Interstate
581 in Harrisburg, was recently added to the program.
PennDOT
officials acknowledge that the five corridors are not necessarily the
worst areas for truck crashes in the state, but they represent different
types of roadways and, therefore, different problems. Their goal is
a 2-percent reduction in fatalities per year and a 10-percent reduction
in fatalities by 2005. The agency has identified similar corridors for
campaigns against aggressive driving and drunken driving. The agency
is also trying to check more of the trucks that run along the state's
highways, with inspections so far this year up 50 percent over the same
period last year.
PennDOT
needed a variety of conditions when it chose the highways used in the
pilot program, but they plan to use what they learn on other high-accident
roadways.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
Computer
and IT Training Scholarships for Federal/State Employees
National Education Foundation (NEF) CyberLearning, a non-profit organization
dedicated to bridging the "Digital Divide," offers federal and state
employees a unique opportunity. With the support of Microsoft and others,
NEF CyberLearning is now able to offer full-tuition scholarships, valued
at $2,000, to the first 5,000 applicants, thus enabling them to take
any or all of the 650+ Internet-based online personal computing and
computer professional courses from anywhere, at any time.
The
courses are either self-study or instructor-led. They cover all levels
and almost all topics, including Computer Basics, Internet Basics, Web
Design Basics, Networking Basics, Programming Basics, A+, Network+,
MCSE, CNE, Microsoft Office, MOUS, WordPerfect, Lotus, Operating Systems,
Windows, Windows 2000, Linux, Unix, Networking, WAN, LAN, Programming,
Java, C++, Visual Basics, Internet, Web Design, Web Applications, Web
Master, E-Commerce, Databases, Oracle, and Cisco.
To
sign up, just visit www.cyberlearning.org,
click on "Free IT Training," complete the "Federal and Other Government
Employees" application, and pay a registration fee of $75 with a government
or personal credit card.
A
registrant receives immediate access to all 650+ online courses, an
online library of the latest 1,000+ computer/information technology
books, evaluations, instructor assistance, course-specific chat areas,
and round-the-clock technical support.
- National Education Foundation
(NEF) CyberLearning
FHWA
Releases Clean Air Compliance Guide
Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle has announced the release of a revised version of Transportation Conformity: A Basic Guide
for State & Local Officials, which is intended to facilitate compliance
by state and local agencies with the transportation conformity requirements
in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
The
updated guide, designed for state and local transportation officials,
explains the basics of the transportation conformity process. It covers
the definition and what actions are subject to transportation conformity,
who makes conformity determinations and how often they are made, the
key components of conformity determinations, and the consequences of
failing to make a conformity determination. The guide also discusses
roles and responsibilities in the conformity process.
The
guide was prepared by FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
in cooperation with EPA. It reflects the implementation of the Transportation
Equity Act of the 21st Century, as well as the March 2, 1999 decision
by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that affected
certain conformity provisions.
The
guide was originally published in 1997, but this revised version reflects
changes in the transportation conformity provisions.
The
guide may be obtained from FHWA division offices and resource centers,
and FTA regional offices. It also can be viewed on the Internet at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/conformity/basic_gd.htm.
FHWA
Announces Availability of Work Zone Guidebook
Striving toward a goal of "No Delays and No Crashes in Work Zones,"
FHWA Administrator Wykle announced the availability of the Work Zone
Best Practices Guidebook, a guide to improving safety and mobility
in highway work zones.
The
guidebook is a tool designed to save lives, reduce injuries, and enhance
mobility in highway construction work zones. It assists construction
workers by providing descriptions and points of contact for work zone
best practices in every stage of a project -- from planning and design
through construction and maintenance. Transportation experts from around
the country were surveyed for the guidebook, and their names appear
as points of contact.
National
surveys indicate that American motorists experience their greatest frustration
when encountering a work zone-related delay. This frustration, in part,
leads to nearly 800 deaths and 37,000 injuries per year to both motorists
and workers.
The
guidebook was produced by the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and FHWA.
The
document is on the agency's Web site at ops.fhwa.dot.gov/workzone.htm.
Transportation
Secretary Slater Announces Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Recipients
U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater has announced the recipients
of FHWA's Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowships. The program
supports post-graduate study and research in transportation.
The
annual Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program was established
in 1992 under the provisions of the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 and was re-authorized in 1998 by the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century. It encompasses all modes of transportation
and seeks to attract the best and brightest minds to the field of transportation
research and into the transportation workforce.
Selection
criteria for student awards include applicants' academic achievements,
recommendations, and the likelihood for pursuit of a career in transportation.
FHWA's National Highway Institute (NHI) manages the program.
Eisenhower
Fellowship Awards are presented in six categories: Graduate, Grants
for Research, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving
Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and Faculty. Since its inception, the
program has been funded at $2 million per year and has supported more
than 750 students and faculty.
NAA/NSA
Merge
The board of directors and the general membership of the National Aggregates
Association (NAA) unanimously approved a resolution to merge NAA and
the National Stone Association (NSA). This historic vote took place
at special NAA board of directors and membership meetings in Chicago
and comes on the heels of NSA's approval of a merger resolution. Upon
final approval by NSA's membership, the new association will represent
more than an estimated 90 percent of the crushed stone and 70 percent
of the sand and gravel tonnage produced annually in the United States.
The
goal is to merge the two organizations by Sept. 30, 2000. NSA President
Joy Wilson will serve as president and chief executive officer of the
new association, while NAA's president, Charlie Hawkins, will serve
as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
- National Aggregates Association
FHWA
Partners With 10 Minority Institutions of Higher Education
Transportation Secretary Slater announced cooperative agreements between
FHWA and 10 Minority Institutions of Higher Education (MIHEs) for transportation
research and technology activities valued at more than $1.2 million.
The
agreements, made through FHWA's new competitive assistance program,
are part of the agency's ongoing commitment to educational and minority
outreach.
FHWA's
competitive assistance program is a new approach to contracting that
allows MIHEs to compete solely with one another for cooperative, cost-sharing
agreements. The program's goal is to foster MIHE research and technology
activities that will contribute substantially to FHWA's mission and
help prepare the faculty and students at these institutions to successfully
participate in the competitive research arena.
The
agreements matched the expertise and capabilities of 10 Historically
Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions with
FHWA's specific research needs.
WFTAO
Agrees to Develop a World Technical Assessment
The World Federation of Technical Assessment Organizations (WFTAO) met
Aug. 16-18, 2000, to tackle matters of critical importance to suppliers
of innovative and non-standardized construction products worldwide.
The meeting was held in conjunction with the International Symposium
and Innovative Technology Trade Show 2000, sponsored by the Civil Engineering
Research Foundation (CERF).
At
the conference, members of WFTAO, including the three U.S. member organizations
-- CERF, the National Evaluation Service, and the International Conference
of Building Officials -- agreed in principle to a first draft process
for developing a World Technical Assessment. This approach allows proponents
of new products to gain simultaneous assessments in two or more countries.
WFTAO,
launched in 1996, is comprised of 25 organizations from 21 nations.
The federation strives to become the world network for coordinating
and facilitating innovation assessment in the construction field. WFTAO
aids the transfer of national products to the global marketplace through
the acceptance of technical assessments of innovative and non-standardized
building and construction products and processes delivered by its members;
creates awareness and understanding of assessment both locally and worldwide;
and encourages the use of technical assessment organizations by designers,
owners, manufacturers, contractors, and regulators.
- CERF
Personnel
Miller
Appointed Director of FHWA's Office of Public Affairs
Virginia Miller was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES)
position of director, FHWA Office of Public Affairs, on Sept. 10. Miller
had been serving as acting director since February 2000.
She
joined the Office of Public Affairs in 1997 as a special assistant and
served as director of the Office of Public Affairs, in the U.S. Department
of Commerce.
Downs
Appointed Acting Division Administrator in Massachusetts
Frederick H. Downs, senior manager in the Eastern Resource Center, Albany,
N.Y., was appointed to serve as the acting administrator of FHWA's Massachusetts
Division on April 1.
He
previously held the positions of administrator of the Vermont Division
and assistant division administrator in Illinois.
Paniati
Promoted to ITS Program Manager
Jeffrey F. Paniati was selected for advancement into the SES position
of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program manager, Operations
Core Business Unit, effective Oct. 8, 2000. Paniati had been serving
as deputy director, ITS Joint Program Office.
Prior
to joining Operations in 1997, he served as chief of the Safety Design
Division in the Office of Safety and Traffic Operations Research and
Development. As chief of safety design and in other positions in research
and development, he led cutting-edge research programs in the areas
of highway design, highway safety analysis, traffic operations, and
safety information management.
Other Articles in this Issue:
Using Monte Carlo Simulation for Pavement Cost Analysis
ITS Peer-to-Peer Program
Design Evaluation and Model of Attention Demand (DEMAnD): A Tool for In-Vehicle Information System Designers
Studying the Reliability of Bridge Inspection
Ultrasonic Inspection of Bridge Hanger Pins
The Northwest Transportation Technology Exposition
Faster, Easier, Cheaper - Pyrotechnical Anchoring
Practical Research Answers Real-Life Questions
A Nondestructive Impulse Radar Tomography Imaging System for Timber Structures
Strategic Work-Zone Analysis Tools