Small Projects
Testing of Cavity Attenuation Phase Shift Technology For Siting Near-Road NO2 Monitors
University: Small Projects Year 2 (2013-2014), University of Washington
PI: Tim Larson (UW), tlarson@uw.edu
Dates: 9/1/13 – 8/31/2015
Final Project Report: PacTrans-53-UW-Larson
Recent research has identified the public health importance of air pollution exposures near busy roadways. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) significantly revised its Nitric oxide (NO2) air quality standard in 2010. The current regulatory focus has shifted from assessment of longer-term (annual average) NO2 concentrations measured at locations away from busy roads to shorter-term (1-hour average) concentrations measured at locations near busy roads. Even though EPA has developed extensive guidelines for siting traditional air quality monitors that are located relatively far from roads, their siting guidance for near-road NO2 monitors is not yet officially established. Therefore this project proposes to test a more direct approach to siting near-road NO2 sampling locations using a state-of-the-art NO2 monitor that is no more expensive than traditional EPA chemiluminesce-base monitors, is much more readily deployed on a mobile platform, and can ultimately be used as the regulatory monitor at the official sampling location.
Identifying and Analyzing the Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Public-Private Partnerships and Traditional Delivery for Roadway Projects
University: Small Projects Year 2 (2013-2014), University of Washington
PI: Jan Whittington (UW), janwhit@uw.edu
Dates: 9/16/13 – 6/30/2015
With the recent adoption of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), the U.S. Congress sent out a clarion call to the transport community that all roads should lead to private sector financing of our infrastructure. Congress increased the key transport lending tool, the TIFIA program, almost ten-fold to $1 billion in the second year of the authorization bill to spur private participation. The Wall Street Journal further laid out to the financial sector and its readership, “Private investment in America’s transportation systems through public private partnerships (PPPs) has the potential to expand, revitalize and rationalize our infrastructure. With the right policies, that can happen. Read More
Changing Retail Business Models and the Impact on CO2 Emissions from Transport: E-commerce Deliveries in Urban and Rural Areas
University: Small Projects Year 2 (2013-2014), University of Washington
PI: Anne Goodchild (UW), annegood@uw.edu
Dates: 7/1/13 – 10/31/14
Final Project Report: PacTrans-23-UW-Goodchild
E-commerce currently represents approximately 8% of total shopping, up from 6% only 5 years ago with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 9% (Mulpuru et al. 2008, 2013). Online shopping is growing at a faster rate than traditional retailing, and presents a new model for freight transportation. By eliminating stores, e-commerce results in a more streamlined supply chain, often ending in residential rather than commercial locations. In addition, e-commerce often bypasses commercial locations, relying instead on more distribution and warehousing facilities. This project will build on previous work, which examined the carbon dioxide (CO2) impacts of grocery delivery in the city of Seattle and will examine the CO2 and criteria pollutant implications for serving e-commerce customers in rural areas. Read More
Encouraging Young Civil Engineers: Support for the UAF College of Engineering and Mines Steel Bridge Team Competition Steel Bridge
University: Small Projects Year 2 (2013-2014), University of Alaska, Fairbanks
PI: Leroy Hulsey (UAF), jlhulsey@alaska.edu
Dates: 07/01/2013 – 6/30/2015
Final Project Report: PacTrans-43-UAF-Hulsey
The University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) has a long and successful history competing in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Steel Bridge Competition. In this competition, university students design and construct a small steel bridge that meets criteria established by the competition committee. Students learn to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to an actual design project which they then construct. Not only do students learn application of structural design, but they learn constructability issues, scheduling, estimating and costing principles, and personnel management. Many of these students work for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) after graduation. Dr. Leroy Hulsey is the team faculty adviser. Funds will provide materials for the competition.
Roundabout Design Training for Alaska’s Engineers
University: Small Projects Year 2 (2013-2014), University of Alaska, Fairbanks
PI: Nathan Belz (UAF), npbelz@alaska.edu
Dates: 07/01/2013 – 7/31/2015
Final Project Report: PacTrans-49-UAF-Belz
Roundabout are an emerging type of intersection design, and are relatively new addition to the transportation system transportation system in the United States. As a result, guidelines for roundabout design and construction are very broad and leave much room for subjectivity. This can result in roundabout designs with performance and safety well below the level that was anticipated. Peer review of roundabout designs is one way of controlling this. As the peer review of designs becomes more popular, it is apparent that there is a need to develop a proper procedure for and identification of critical elements that should be checked during this review process. Read More
