The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute will award five scholarships at its annual awards banquet October 12 to outstanding students at NDSU who have interests in transportation, agriculture, and logistics.
When do people pay the most attention to signs? It seems to be while driving a car! Have you ever wondered why that is? Most likely it's because signs are the simplest way to direct, instruct, and warn people.
This third issue
of 2023 contains information on the available treatment services in our communities. Included are links to programs licensed to provide addiction treatment services in the state and all the programs licensed to provide substance use disorder assessments to identify if early intervention
or treatment is needed and what intensity of service is most appropriate for the individual to receive.
In a study of snowplow routes in northern Utah, researchers at the University of Utah proposed routes that improved the efficiency by an average of 4.87% in terms of vehicle miles, 13.95% in terms of deadhead miles, and 15.38% in terms of turnaround time.
This conference, scheduled for Oct. 23-25 in Sioux Falls, is a valuable investment, providing an opportunity to learn and share ideas about building and maintaining safe local roadways. Register by Oct. 17.
On August 24, 2023, Shawn Currie, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) discussed key findings in investigations related to commercial vehicle crashes; provided insights into specific, common factors that contribute to the crashes; and described subsequent recommendations.
Jill Hough, Jeremy Mattson, and Del Peterson, all with UGPTI's Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility, were contributors to a recent issue of TR News focusing on Transportation Accessibility. TR News features articles on innovative research development activities in all modes of transportation and is produced by the Transportation Research Board. Hough also served as co-editor of the issue.
UGPTI researcher Raj Bridgelall recently published two journal articles outlining how technology like data mining, machine learning, and geographic information systems can be used by early cargo drone adopters to identify the most profitable products, origins and destinations, and potential routes for initiating service. The articles were published in Algorithms and Standards.
Mark Wolter recently joined the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University as a part-time industry liaison focusing on the Rural Truck Safety Education and Outreach Partnership Demonstration Project.
With more than 47,000 culverts under highways in Utah, researchers at the University of Utah developed a culvert management system and manual for the Utah Department of Transportation to help prioritize its inspection and maintenance efforts.
Researchers at Colorado State University are developing improved computer models to better predict precipitation-induced landslides, particularly those in mountainous areas, which can pose risks to property and infrastructure such as roads and bridges and result in injuries and deaths.
Maintaining awareness of people, other machines, and obstacles is important to safe motor grader operation. Operators of small and mid-size Motor Grader also face the challenge of safe operations in traffic, given that the machines are often driven to the work site. Also, in snow removal operations, a road open to traffic is the work site.
Research at the University of Utah is addressing the disconnect between asphalt mixture tests and the inputs for the structure design of pavements. Because of its complexities, the dynamic modulus (which represents the stiffness of the asphalt material when tested in a compressive, repeated load and is required as an input into the structural design of asphalt) is seldom measured, resulting in average or default values being used.
Fuchs brings more than 25 years of transportation engineering experience to NDLTAP. He worked as a consulting engineer and with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, most recently as the assistant local government engineer for NDDOT, overseeing the rural and special program areas and serving NDDOT's Tribal Liaison.
UGPTI researcher Raj Bridgelall was inducted this week as a fellow by the National Academy of Inventors. He was among 169 distinguished academic inventors who were inducted as fellows at the NAI’s national meeting in Washington, D.C.
In 2021 in North Dakota, there were 734 crashes involving heavy trucks resulting in 11 fatalities and 273 injuries. Although those numbers are down significantly, the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute is partnering with the ND Highway Patrol (NDHP), the ND Department of Transportation, and other agencies to reduce them even further.
Drive tractor mowers at high speeds can result in accidents because of the risk of overturning. Quick maneuvers in tight spaces and on slopes also cause a rollover as does using the brakes while turning. This safety talk addresses some tips to minimize risk.
Kimberly Vachal and Jaclyn Andersen The objective of this report is to provide a benchmark for elevator managers in assessing performance, and supply a source for recognizing trends in the characteristics of North Dakota elevators.
Research at South Dakota State University shows that a new bridge system made with cross-laminated timber (CLT), which exhibits desirable design strength and low environmental impacts, offers a suitable replacement for bridges on low-volume roads.
View the webinar on "The What and Why of Distracted Driving," which was held June 6. The advancement of mobile devices has resulted in constant connectivity, but at the expense of traffic safety. The goal of this study was to understand the barriers preventing drivers from driving without manipulating their devices, and what they perceived would motivate them to stop driving distracted.
Several heat-related illnesses can affect workers. Some of the symptoms are non-specific. This means that when a worker is performing physical labor in a warm environment, any unusual symptom can be a sign of overheating.
U.S. durum production is around 37 million bushels annually. North Dakota is a leader in the U.S. wheat
industry, ranking second among states in total wheat production and first in production of hard red spring
wheat.
Truck crashes on steep downgrades are often caused by brake failures resulting from overheated brakes generated by excessive braking. Research at the University of Wyoming has resulted in a better understanding of the relationship between truck weight and the maximum descent speeds necessary to prevent road crashes on mountainous downgrades.
CSU civil and environmental engineering master's degree student Daniel Sanchez earned an honorable mention in the Great Minds in Research category of the CSU Graduate Showcase in November. He received the award with Dr. Karan Venayagamoorthy, professor of civil and environmental engineering, for their presentation, "Semi-Trucks and Trailers Overturning in High Crosswinds."
Ziluo Xiong, CSU civil and environmental engineering Ph.D. student, was recently awarded the Jack E. Cermak Wind Engineering Graduate Fellowship by the CSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Colorado State University Ph.D. student Mohammad Teymouri was recently awarded the Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Research Award from the Slag Cement Association. The work was honored April 5 during the spring American Concrete Institute Convention in San Francisco.
Yirong Zhou, a civil and environmental engineering Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, was recently awarded a scholarship from the Utah Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Winners of the $500 scholarships are selected based on outstanding scholarship, work experience, and activity within their student section of ITE.
This primer provides an overview of the rapidly evolving field of generative artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on large language models. The aim is to demystify the underlying theory and architecture of large language models, providing intuitive explanations for a broader audience.
Researchers at North Dakota State University are developing an innovative computer modeling technique that can serve as an efficient decision-making system to predict crash occurrence and severity, identify contributing factors to crashes, quantify their effects, and evaluate proposed countermeasures.
The objective of this research is to compare the level of public transportation services provided in North Dakota to those of surrounding states. The study focuses on North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska (excluding the Omaha metro area), and Minnesota (excluding the Twin Cities metro area).
The North Dakota Transportation Conference hosted by NDDOT and UGPTI has become the go-to conference for local road professionals from across the state who want to network and learn about the latest in road and bridge technology and policies.
When trains and traffic meet, the result is often catastrophic and fatal. UGPTI researcher Pan Lu is leading efforts to develop an innovative computer modeling technique that can serve as an efficient decision-making system to predict both crash occurrence and severity. Transportation agencies can use the technique to prioritize where and how to spend safety improvement dollars.
A switch to automated parking systems that assess on-street parking fees for the exact amount of time parked would be fairer for drivers and would help transportation planners manage traffic and parking demand better, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Denver.
Research at the University of Utah shows that introducing connected automated vehicles (CAVs) into traffic flow can elevate safety performance, especially on freeways. CAV adoption will likely reduce rear-end and lane-change crashes.
With the spring melt underway, local road agencies may need to undertake emergency projects such as road closures and detours due to flooding. In this brief video, Brad Wentz provides instructions for entering those projects into GRIT.
Research at the University of Utah resulted in protocol specifications for handling material and sample compaction to reduce variability in testing. The research also revealed areas for additional research to assure that results from the text correlate to improved highway performance.
Researchers at Colorado State University are learning more about the complex hydrology that contributes to stream flows in order to develop recommendations for building bridges that can better withstand the effects of erosion.
UGPTI researchers completed a walkability assessment of Langdon, ND, in 2022. They sought to bring all stakeholders together to identify the problems facing pedestrians in the community. A community is considered walkable if it is easy as well as safe for pedestrians to walk for recreation, exercise, and to school, stores, parks, the post office, etc.
Researchers at South Dakota State University developed a simple, straightforward benefits estimation methodology for evaluating the financial benefits of proposed access management treatments, including the design, spacing, operation, and locations of street connections, interchanges, driveways, and median openings.
University of Utah researchers developed and tested a computational modeling technique that can predict the local and global response of column-to-footing joints with recessed grouted spliced sleeves in seismically active areas.
DUI recidivism rates presented in this fact sheet are based on DUI convictions within the previous 10 calendar years: 2012–2021. Recidivism rates are defined as the percent of recidivist drivers who had two or more DUI convictions within the past 10 calendar years, among all drivers with at least one DUI conviction in 2021.
Researchers from the Mountain-Plains Consortium's eight collaborating universities presented papers and posters and participated in committee meetings at the January 8-12 meeting. They were among the more than 20,000 transportation administrators, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers who attended.
The Recommended Practices are designed to be used in a wide variety of small and medium-sized business settings. The Recommended Practices present a step-by-step approach to implementing a safety and health program, built around seven core elements that make up a successful program.
Researchers at the University of Utah found that road efficiency and safety was improved in snowy and icy conditions when variable speed limit signs used amber instead of white lettering on a black background.
University of Utah research will help the Utah Department of Transportation identify freeway bottleneck locations that are suitable for coordinated ramp metering control and evaluate both the safety and operational performances of the system. The work will also study the additional delay created to the ramps by ramp metering controls when a certain congestion level on the freeway mainline is expected to be achieved.
Kimberly Vachal and Yun Zhou The 24/7 Sobriety Program is an intervention strategy mandating that impaired driving offenders remain sober as a condition of bond or pre-trial release. The goal is to monitor the most at-risk offenders in North Dakota and require that these individuals remain sober in order to keep roadways safe from hazardous drivers.
Based on recommendation results from University of Wyoming research, engineers at the Wyoming Department of Transportation will be able to specify concrete that resists shrinking and cracking.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming have developed a set of engineering properties for most bedrock encountered by the Wyoming Department of Transportation as they construct transportation infrastructure elements such as bridges.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming surveyed groups from across the state that partner with the Wyoming Department of Transportation on road safety to learn about their needs with regard to the quality, timeliness, completeness, and format of data provided on crashes and roadway inventories.
Kimberly Vachal and Jaclyn Andersen This report represents a continuation of analysis concerned with the patterns and methods of distributing grains and oilseeds from North Dakota.
Carrie Tremblatt, a transportation professional and Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado Denver, has been named the 2022 Student of the Year for the Mountain-Plains Consortium. She will be honored with other award winners from across the country during an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in January.
Ranjit Godavarthy and Jill Hough Shared-use mobility services such as ridesourcing, bikesharing, and carsharing have been introduced in a few rural communities and a fair number of small-urban communities. This study analyzed the the interest and adoption patterns for shared mobility and emerging vehicle technologies in rural and small-urban communities.
Chris Pantelides, MPC program director and researcher at the University of Utah, was recently elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE fellows have made celebrated contributions and developed creative solutions that change lives around the world.
University of Utah researchers combined off-the-shelf video equipment with machine learning software to develop a system for monitoring operations and small general aviation airports that lack control towers and staff to do so.
Raj Bridgelall, associate professor of transportation and logistics, has been named a fellow by the National Academy of Inventors. He was among 169 distinguished academic inventors on this year's list of fellows, which was announced Dec. 8.
This information is for workers and employers for reducing the spread of seasonal flu in workplaces. It provides information on the basic precautions for all workplaces, including additional precautions for healthcare settings.
Jeremy Mattson, Taraneh Askarzadeh, and Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi This study developed a level of traffic stress (LTS) map for Fargo-Moorhead and used crowdsourced bicycle use data from Strava to show relationships between the built environment and bicycle use.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming are developing new analysis methods that will improve the consistency and efficiency of driving piles in intermediate geomaterials, a transitional geomaterial between soil and hard rock, often found in the Rocky Mountain region.
Researchers at the University of Utah are studying automated data collection technologies that can be used to gather information on roadway assets such as traffic signs, bridges, pedestrian access ramps, and pavement.
Researchers at Colorado State University developed an integrated tool that provides a more accurate consideration of various adverse driving conditions, including those in work zones. The new tool will allow planners and emergency responders to develop work zones and traffic patterns that reduce the risk of accidents and enhance traffic flow even when driving conditions become adverse or hazardous.
Researchers at the University of Utah are developing bridge designs that dissipate seismic forces during earthquakes so that the bridges can remain operational. The bridge designs are compatible with accelerated bridge construction techniques, which reduce construction costs and traffic disruptions.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming are tracking eye movements to learn what captures the attention of workers on construction sites and how rapidly they perceive hazards. The research is the first step toward a new way of improving construction jobsite safety.
Kimberly Vachal, Yun Zhou, Shantanu Awasthi, and Andrew Kubas The 24/7 Sobriety Program is an intervention strategy mandating that impaired driving offenders remain sober as a condition of bond or pre-trial release. The goal is to monitor the most at-risk offenders in North Dakota and require that these individuals remain sober in order to keep roadways safe from hazardous drivers.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming are closely examining the characteristics of fatal and severe motorcycle accidents in Wyoming and Utah to identify methods and models that can be used to assess roadways to improve motorcycle safety.
Researchers at the University of Wyoming are developing and improving vehicle communication protocols and creating signal control programs to prepare for the integration of connected and autonomous vehicles into traffic.
North Dakota State University will head a consortium that includes South Dakota State University, Montana State University, and the University of Wyoming in providing transportation outreach and technical assistance to tribes across the Upper Great Plains and Intermountain West.
Researchers at South Dakota State University are developing a database to help pavement engineers select the best types and application rates of tack coats, the asphalt-based material applied between pavement layers to improve structural performance.
Researchers at the University of Utah are developing tests for asphalt that can predict their performance in the field so that optimum life of pavements can be attained, and maintenance investments can be minimized.
Researchers at the University of Utah are developing performance-related tests that will allow highway agencies to select asphalt mixtures for optimal performance thus significantly reducing maintenance costs.
Research at South Dakota State University will provide bridge engineers with design tools that will substantially reduce the cost of some bridge foundations and protect existing bridge foundations from the damaging effects of scour, the erosion of soil from around those foundations.
Researchers at Colorado State University developed new modeling techniques to assist in planning emergency medical services (EMS) response. The techniques help predict the resilience of the transportation network in terms of EMS response to help implement optimized post-disaster medical response plans, and also to identify the most cost-effective measures for preventing EMS response disruptions.
Researchers at Colorado State University used responses to written and oral interviews and questionnaires administered to bridge personnel in state DOTs to identify the reasons behind the gap between researchers and practitioners. The effort helped provide insights about how to facilitate research implementation and change in state DOTs and other transportation or government organizations.
Kimberly Vachal and Andrew Kubas The statewide driver traffic safety survey provides baseline metrics for the North Dakota Department of Transportation Safety Division and others to use in understanding perceptions and self-reported behaviors related to focus issues.
Researchers at South Dakota State University tested new precast column connection details that could potentially reduce the time it takes to construct bridge bents by a factor of three to four while meeting seismic requirements.
