Small Projects Year 3 (2014-2015)
Supporting Four Safety Projects in Alaska
PI: Osama Abaza (UAF), oabaza@alaska.edu
Dates: 01/16/2015 – 06/15/2016
Status: Completed
Project Information
This project will provide funds for the PI to attend a conference and for a graduate student to participate in four safety projects sponsored by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Physical Facilities (AKDOT&PF). The four projects are listed below: Read More
Passing Zone Behavior and Sight Distance on Rural Highways
PI: Nathan Belz (UAF), npbelz@alaska.edu
Dates: 01/16/2015 – 06/15/2016
Status: Completed
UTC Project Sheet
Final Technical Report
In 2008, more than 27 percent of fatal crashes occurred at horizontal curves. Due to the predominance of horizontal curves on typical rural roads, a higher percentage of fatal curve-related crashes occur on rural roads, particularly on two-lane roadways in rural areas; fatality rates on rural roads are typically more than twice the rate than on urban roads. Of all fatal crashes that occur on two-lane rural highways, about 20% are head on collisions with passing being the main cause of this type of crash. Read More
Evaluation of the Social Cost of Modal Diversion: A Multi-Modal Safety Analysis
PI: Jeremy Sage (WSU), jlsage@wsu.edu
Dates: 01/16/2015 – 06/15/2016
Status: Completed
Project Information
Final Technical Report
Infrastructure investment by public agencies routinely has a multi-faceted objective. Often, considerable components of these objectives may be viewed as attributable to the goal of increasing the social welfare of the residents of the region and users of the transportation system. Transportation factors related to social welfare or social costs may typically be viewed in terms of pollution, congestion, and safety. The realization of social cost savings or benefits (performance) is largely dependent upon the response functions (how the user responds to a change in the transportation system) of users. Response functions are largely an insight to the economic conditions experienced by the user. This project will develop a reliable and implementable performance evaluation of safety projects that is readily implementable by effected jurisdictions. To achieve this evaluation, the project will draw from literature and implement tactics from several research lines, primarily that of the transportation infrastructure investment, social cost, and modal choice literature. Read More
Determination of Creep Compliance and Indirect Tensile Strength for Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG)
PI: Balasingam Muhunthan (WSU), muhuntha@wsu.edu
Dates: 01/16/2015 – 06/15/2016
Status: Completed
UTC Project Sheet
Final Technical Report
Pavement condition greatly affects the safety of driver. For instance, the rutting in wheelpath creates hydroplaning which can leads to loss of control of vehicles. The roughness, e.g. potholes, can pose safety hazards to the driver. Therefore, improving the pavement condition by designing cost-effective long-lasting pavement is of paramount importance. The adoptions of Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) align well with this goal, when compared to traditional empirical pavement design.
Safe Main Street Highways (SMSH)
PI: Anne Vernez Moudon (UW), moudon@uw.edu
Dates: 01/16/2015 – 06/15/2016
Status: Completed
UTC Project Sheet
Final Technical Report
Increases in non-motorized travel also raise important safety issues, as pedestrians and bicyclists constitute the most vulnerable road users. Therefore, tools to identify locations with a high risk of collisions between motor-vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists are essential to insure that gains in mobility, air quality, and health are not accompanied by higher rates of injuries and fatalities in vulnerable road users. Read More
