All posts by trac

Cost-Effective Traffic and Roadway Data Collection Using an Edge-Based, Comprehensive Sensing System: A Machine Learning-Based Approach

High-quality traffic data are crucial for infrastructure planning, system operations and performance measurement, safety considerations, maintenance activities, and informed analysis and decision-making. That’s why state departments of transportation need comprehensive and cost-effective traffic sensing and data collection systems. The primary goal of this research is to develop machine-learning-based detection algorithms, software, and a mobile hardware system that can utilize existing surveillance video cameras to accurately collect critical traffic information that traditional traffic sensors often cannot capture. This information includes vehicle volumes based on FHWA’s 13-bin classification system, speeds, and road surface conditions. The machine learning process will allow the unit to be trained with real data. The major advantage of this new system will be its ability to collect short-duration count data where geometry and volumes pose safety risks to field staff.

Principal Investigator: Yinhai Wang, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Natarajan Janarthanan
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: December 2025

WSDOT E-bike Incentives

Washington state is preparing to launch WE-bike, an instant rebate program that helps Washington residents purchase certain cycling equipment and electric bicycles, also called e-bikes. In April 2025, people across the state will be able to apply online for one of these instant rebates. Researchers at the University of Washington and Portland State University are partnering to investigate how e-bike incentive programs can change people’s travel choices and how those choices affect greenhouse gas emissions. The project includes researching incentive programs and investigating evaluation designs. The resulting evaluation will, at a minimum, include a survey of a sample of the e-bike incentive recipients approximately one month and six months after their purchase. The survey will also include applicants who applied for an incentive but didn’t get one to better estimate the effects of the incentive on travel behavior, as well as those who were eligible for the incentive but did not apply to better understand barriers to participation.

Information for those interested in the rebate program and about participating in the UW study can be found on WSDOT’s E-bike Rebate Program FAQ page. WSDOT also hosts a general information page about the E-bike Rebate Program. The WSDOT contact for the rebate program is Adele Peers.

Principal Investigator: Don MacKenzie, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Research Sponsors:
WSDOT
PacTrans

WSDOT Technical Contact: Charlotte Claybrooke
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: November 2025

Standard Test Procedures for Determining the Ice Melting Capacity of Deicers

Winter road maintenance often includes the use of deicing chemicals. However, many roadway deicing products are available, and their ice melting capacity can vary significantly. In addition, the processes that states use to procure and test deicing materials are subjective in measuring performance and are becoming increasingly burdensome for staff. The objective of this project was to provide transportation agencies with an objective, standardized, repeatable laboratory test procedure for measuring the ice melting capacity of deicers.

Identification of the Optimal Approach to Maintain Complete Statewide Sidewalk Data

This project aims to facilitate the integration of sidewalk infrastructure data into all Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) processes involving road network data. The focus is on analyses of active transportation and Complete Streets. The scope encompasses assessing inter-agency use needs; establishing requirements for Complete Streets sidewalk data; developing data stewardship and governance protocols, mechanisms, and standards; and defining the requirements for statewide, decision-supporting data tools to allow the display and analysis of walkability based on sidewalk data. The researchers will work with stakeholders and will evaluate their needs. They will inventory software tools and sidewalk data sets currently available. They will also propose methodologies and workflows for consistently displaying walksheds and other common outputs of sidewalk data systems.

Principal Investigator: Anat Caspi, Computer Science and Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Thomas Craig
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: February 2026

2050 Transportation Scenario Visualization

By 2050, the population of the central Puget Sound region is expected to grow by 1.5 million people to a total of 5.8 million. This project will evaluate several scenarios to illustrate how decisions about major transportation infrastructure investments and land use related to housing could affect the region by 2050. The researchers will look at the potential effects on the Puget Sound regional transportation system of major infrastructure investments that have either been identified or are in the early development stages. These include a third Puget Sound airport to complement SeaTac and Paine Field, I-5 lane expansion, ultra-high-speed rail from Oregon to British Columbia, and Amtrak Cascades passenger rail. They will also look at the effects of existing and potential housing zoning densities in Washington counties along the I-5 corridor. Scenarios will include evaluation of the travel times and costs for households and freight, as well as passenger air travel demand, cost, and availability. A holistic picture is needed for decision-makers to understand the tradeoffs and considerations for the future of Cascadia mobility. The results will provide decision makers and the public with a high-level understanding of major transportation needs and choices for the area’s 2050 population.

Principal Investigators:
Cecilia Aragon, Human Centered Design and Engineering, UW
Bart Treece, Mobility Innovation Center, UW
Ryan Avery, Washington State Transportation Center, UW

Sponsors:
WSDOT
King County
Challenge Seattle
Alaska Airlines
Microsoft
Boeing

WSDOT Technical Monitor: Ron Pate
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: June 2025
More information

2023 and 2024 WSDOT-PacTrans Summer High School Transportation Camps

The demand for transportation-related workforce development programs has never been greater. In addressing this issue, the 2023 and 2024 WSDOT-PacTrans Summer High School Transportation camps were a significant effort toward attracting the next generation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals to the field of transportation.

Transportation Infrastructure Sustainability and Carbon Reduction

WSDOT is combating climate change by working to reduce agency and transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions. One way to accomplish that is to adopt sustainable, low carbon materials and construction methods as standard practice. To do that, it is investigating the use of Environmental Product Declarations and life cycle assessment in construction project procurement (in a concurrent project), and it will develop a sustainable procurement strategy for construction and materials. To assist WSDOT in that goal, UW researchers are working to develop a viable carbon reduction strategy, a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory procedure, methods for including sustainability in contract documents and specifications, and a method for tracking sustainability commitments throughout the construction process. This procurement strategy will support WSDOT in purchasing materials and contracting for services that have less negative or more positive effects on the environment and human health.

Principal Investigator: Steve Muench, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Mohamed Nimeri
WSDOT Project Manager: Mustafa Mohamedali
Scheduled completion: February 2026

Model Deployment of the Virtual Coordination Center for Multimodal Integrated Corridor Management

The Virtual Coordination Center (VCC) is a digital collaborative environment for integrated multimodal transportation corridor management. Under Federal Highway Administration sponsorship, an operational community of state, city, and county agencies—including law enforcement, transit, and transportation departments—developed, deployed, and evaluated a VCC for interagency management of significant traffic incidents in the Seattle urban corridor.

Analytic Tools for Locating, Sizing, and Evaluating Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

To meet its anticipated growth in electric vehicle adoption, Washington state will need sufficient charging and refueling infrastructure to serve the public. This project reviewed the available analytic tools for planning electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and made recommendations on how to meet legislative requirements for forecasting the needs for zero-emission vehicles and mapping recharging equipment.

Leading Indicators of Transportation Equity: Equity in Planning

To increase equity in transportation planning, this project sought to identify key performance indicators that can measure the effects of transportation projects on vulnerable populations and to develop a framework for incorporating equity into the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) planning processes for long-range, regional, and corridor planning initiatives.

TRAC