Current Projects

Bridging the Gap: Identifying and Addressing Active Transportation Disparities in Underserved Rural Residential Clusters

Residents of rural residential clusters (RRCs) in Washington often face systemic barriers to safe, affordable, and reliable transportation, resulting in disproportionate hardship and limited access to essential services. In this research, an RRC is defined as a small, unincorporated cluster of adjacent homes located along a state highway or major county road outside any city/town limits. The goal of this study is to advance transportation equity by identifying, analyzing, and addressing active transportation (AT) disparities in transportation-disadvantaged RRCs. The study area encompasses nine counties in western Washington state, extending from Lewis County northward to the Canadian border. For this project, the researchers will develop a geospatial method for identifying and mapping state and major county roads that act as critical barriers to AT for residents of RRCs. They will assess the specific AT needs, challenges, and perceptions of residents in these communities and identify the kinds of infrastructure improvements that would be responsive to local priorities and experiences. They will also develop resources and tools—including a geospatial database, prioritization methodology, and reproducible workflow—to support targeted interventions that WSDOT can implement to improve connectivity, safety, and equitable access for residents of RRCs across the state.

Principal Investigators:
Angela Kitali
Jeff Walters
School of Engineering and Technology, UW Tacoma

Sponsor: WSDOT

WSDOT Technical Monitors:
Grace Young
Brian Wood

WSDOT Project Coordinator: David Strich
Scheduled completion: February 2027

Shore Power: Partnerships to Provide eMobility Options at the Bremerton Ferry Terminal for a Greener Future

Washington State Ferries (WSF) has prioritized electrification as a core strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve accessibility, and alleviate congestion at key terminals. Integrating electric mobility (eMobility) solutions requires a comprehensive approach that includes expanding access to transit, enhancing multimodal travel options, and deploying electrification infrastructure. The Bremerton Ferry Terminal provides a critical opportunity for electrification, given its role as a regional transportation hub with direct connections to Seattle. This project aims to develop a replicable interagency planning framework for integrating electrified mobility options at ferry terminals. To do so, researchers are analyzing current mobility challenges, evaluating eMobility and electrification solutions, performing cost analysis and energy demand modeling, creating a scalable planning framework, and engaging stakeholders and facilitating knowledge transfer among Washington State Ferries, Kitsap Transit, utility providers, and local agencies. The results will support Washington state’s transition to a more resilient, efficient, and equitable transportation system.

Principal Investigators:
Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee, Construction Management, UW
Rachel Berney, Urban Design and Planning, UW
Lingzi Wu, Construction Management, UW
Bart Treece, Mobility Innovation Center

Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Kevin Bartoy
WSDOT Project Manager: Mustafa Mohamedali
Scheduled completion: June 2027

Seismic Collapse Prevention for WSDOT Bridges

Earthquakes threaten the functionality and safety of the highway transportation system in Washington state. Given the state’s funding constraints, WSDOT needs to focus scarce resources on the bridge failure mode that is most likely to lead to bridge collapse, namely the shear failure of reinforced concrete columns, and the bridges that are most likely to suffer from column shear failures. This project is developing a new methodology, or modifying an existing one, to evaluate the seismic-shear vulnerability of WSDOT bridges with reinforced-concrete columns. This will allow WSDOT to account for the amount of shear-strength reduction that will result from repeated cycling during long-duration and shorter-duration earthquakes. The researchers will also provide WSDOT with the practical tools and training needed to implement the developed methodology. The results should enable more reliable characterization of post-earthquake transportation functionality, which will support improved emergency planning.

Principal Investigators:
Marc Eberhard, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Jeffrey Berman, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW

Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Amy Leland
WSDOT Project Manager: Mustafa Mohamedali
Scheduled completion: October 2027

Sound Mitigation Study of the SR 520 Bridge Modular Expansion Joints, Phase 3

While expansion joints are a necessary component of bridges, they also contribute to noise pollution. Previous studies have investigated the design and feasibility of strategies to mitigate noise caused by modular expansion joints on bridges in Washington state. This study is Phase 3 of an effort to develop a highly durable sound attenuation system in which researchers will perform laboratory-based testing of noise mitigation prototypes. The prototypes will be injected with mixtures of fiber-reinforced, natural, and synthetic rubber with protective additives. The researchers will use a selection of low-density foam to fill gaps for increased durability and protection against roadway debris. Finally, they will use laboratory equipment to evaluate the prototype systems for hydraulic compression, cyclic fatigue, weathering of the system, adhesive durability, abrasion between the prototype and the seal, and susceptibility to debris.

Principal Investigator: Per Reinhall, Mechanical Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Omar Jepperson
WSDOT Project Manager: Mustafa Mohamedali
Scheduled completion: November 2026

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: Mustafa Mohamedali
Scheduled completion: June 2027

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

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

Smart Sensor for Snow Avalanche Monitoring, Phase 2

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) spends millions of dollars each winter assessing and monitoring the chances of hazardous roadside snow avalanches in Washington’s mountains. For that assessment, dedicated staff hand-dig snow pits, visually evaluate snow conditions, and directly assess avalanche risks to support difficult decisions to open or close roads. The objective of this project is to develop an avalanche sensor for deployment by drone on inaccessible slopes above state roadways that will provide indirect, remote, and real-time information about snow conditions more safely and cost effectively. The research team has already proved the viability of using such sensors to gather temperature, movement, and location data, with a communication range of up to 1,600 feet between them and a base station. In this project, the University of Washington’s STAR Lab will manufacture six to ten sensors for field testing and will place them on a known avalanche path in Snoqualmie Pass. The research team will test the ability of drones to accurately drop and retrieve the sensors. In addition, they will test the communication between the sensors and base station, and they will evaluate the accuracy of the collected snowpack and avalanche information and its value to WSDOT’s avalanche staff.

Principal Investigators:
Yinhai Wang, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Edward McCormack, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW

Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: James Morin
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: June 2025

TRAC