Small Projects Year 2 (2013-2014)
Smartphone-Based System for Automated Detection of Walking
PI: Philip Hurvitz (UW), phurvitz@u.washington.edu
Dates: 9/30/13 – 7/31/2015
Final Project Report: PacTrans-51-UW-Hurvitz
Walking is the most effective mode of travel to access transit: transit hubs with higher residential and employment densities have higher ridership levels because they serve areas where a large population is within a short walk of transit service. Walking has additional benefits: it is well-known as a low impact mode of travel for short trips to and from, as well as within, commercial areas; and it is the most popular form of physical activity. However, current data on walking are notoriously poor. Read More
Field Validation of Recycled Concrete Fines Usage
PI: Donald Janssen (UW), d6423@uw.edu
Dates: 9/16/13 – 8/31/2015
Final Project Report: PacTrans-32-UW-Janssen
A system for quantifying waste fines in a ready-mix concrete plant’s waste-water recirculation system will be designed, fabricated, and installed at the Stoneway Readymix Concrete Plant (in the Seattle area). Concrete mixtures produced at this plant will then be evaluated to document the effects of the waste fines optimization procedures.
Testing of Cavity Attenuation Phase Shift Technology For Siting Near-Road NO2 Monitors
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
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
Encouraging Young Civil Engineers: Support for the UAF College of Engineering and Mines Steel Bridge Team Competition Steel Bridge
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.
