Washington State Transportation Center

About TRAC

Purpose  

TRAC provides a link among the government, university researchers, and the private sector. Much of our research is funded by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and TRAC acts as a liaison, connecting those who need applied research at WSDOT with those best suited to conduct it at the universities. From our offices at the University of Washington in Seattle and Washington State University in Pullman, we coordinate resources, serve as a focal point for student involvement in transportation research, and provide services such as report editing, production, and graphics.

Sources of TRAC Support  

Support for TRAC comes from many sources. Nationally, we have prepared proposals for and conducted research with

  • the U.S. Department of Transportation through Transportation Northwest (TransNow)
  • the Federal Highway Administration
  • the Federal Transit Administration
  • the National Cooperative Highway Research Program
  • the National Science Foundation
  • the National Highway Institute
  • the National Traffic Safety Administration
  • the U.S. Forest Service
  • the Transportation Research Board IDEA program
  • the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP).

Within Washington state, and in addition to WSDOT, we have worked with

  • the Puget Sound Regional Council
  • the Washington State Energy Office
  • the King County Department of Transportation (Metro)
  • the Washington State Patrol
  • the Washington Traffic Safety Commission
  • Snohomish County Public Works
  • the City of Seattle.

TRAC has received support and cooperation from a number of public agencies outside Washington state and also from numerous consultants, including

  • Chaparral Systems Corp.
  • ERES Consultants
  • Urban Systems, Inc.
  • Cambridge Systematics
  • PACCAR.

Research Topic Areas  

During the last biennium (July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2003), UW and WSU researchers conducted over 100 TRAC research projects, for which the budgets totaled over $15.4 million. This number has increased steadily since TRAC's inception in 1983. Many of these projects were elements of major programs relating to

  • bridges
  • environmental engineering
  • freeway and arterial management
  • intelligent transportation systems
  • pavements.

Other areas of research include

  • construction management
  • ferry systems
  • freight travel
  • geotechnical engineering
  • highway design
  • multimodal travel
  • traffic engineering
  • transportation planning
  • vehicle design and operation.

Technology Transfer 

We emphasize technology transfer as part of our operations because research dollars are wasted if clients are unaware of research results, unable to understand research findings, or unable to implement them. We take special effort to ensure that research reports are understandable by developing project summaries and providing guidance to writers.

In addition to standard research reports, we are also regularly asked to produce special documentation such as guideline manuals, software documentation, workshop materials and proceedings, videotapes, and targeted project newsletters. We also help researchers produce numerous presentations for client audiences.

TRAC continues to publish the TRAC Research Review and to distribute it to a broad audience within Washington and across the United States.

Outside Guidance 

A number of people directly provide advice on research issues through various TRAC and WSDOT transportation committees, thereby allowing a range of experts to affect the state's transportation research.

Each university also has its own TRAC Administrative Board, which provides us with both oversight and insight. These boards are composed of the TRAC executive director, the local university director, a representative of the college of engineering, and a representative of the provost for research.

Facilities 

A number of laboratories and other facilities are available to TRAC researchers at the UW and WSU.

Academic Computer Center, UW

Besides offering computing on a variety of mini- and mainframes from the Digital Equipment Corporation, Sequent, IBM, and UNISYS running several operating systems, the ACC offers access to a national collection of supercomputers over the Internet.

Albrook Hydraulics Laboratory, WSU

Within this laboratory, researchers study hydraulic engineering, fluid mechanics, water resources, and fisheries engineering. The laboratory contains flumes of various sizes, flow capacities, and functions; computing facilities for test control and analysis; 20,000 square feet of facilities and research space; and a library.

Asphalt Materials Laboratory, WSU

This laboratory is equipped to conduct the following tests: absolute viscosity, kinematic viscosity, flash point, rolling thin film oven, penetration, asphalt extraction, kneading compaction, Hveem stability, specific gravities, and percentage of air voids. WSU also has facilities for testing portland cement concrete and other materials.

Interactive Computer Graphics and Human Factors Laboratory, UW

This laboratory aids research in areas related to visual simulation, human factors, and safety in the transportation domain. A recent addition to the laboratory is a real-time driving simulator, which consists of a fully instrumented dashboard, brake, and accelerator; adjustable car seats; and a windshield.

Quaternary Research Center, UW

Researchers use this center to study the processes that presently shape the environment and those that have operated on it for several million years. Cooperating faculty members come from fields as diverse as anthropology, chemistry, civil engineering, forest resources, geophysics, and zoology.

Structural Testing Machine, UW

The Department of Civil Engineering has a 2.4-million-pound capacity, universal hydraulic Baldwin testing machine, used for studying the tension, compression, or flexure of structural elements.

Wind Tunnel, UW

The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics offers a versatile facility for low-speed wind tunnel testing (maximum velocity 250 miles per hour). The wind tunnel has an 8 x 12-foot test section, auxiliary compressed air and model motor (AC) power supplies, and a real-time data acquisition and reduction system.

Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory, WSU

This laboratory has a 25,000-square foot area to both statically and dynamically test structural specimens of up to 75 feet long. It also has various testing frames with up to 200-kip load capacities. A high-speed data acquisition system is available for both static and dynamic data collection.

Revised February 23, 2006

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