All posts by trac

Sound Mitigation Study of SR 520 Bridge Modular Expansion Joints

This project will investigate the measures that WSDOT can take to attenuate noise on SR 520 that is created by the bridge’s expansion joints. The researchers will inspect the modular expansion joints and surrounding structures in the field. They will review the literature, and they will evaluate commercially available expansion joint modification technologies, as well as available noise mitigation treatments. After proposing designs to decrease noise levels, the researchers will conduct cost and durability analyses and accelerated wear and durability testing. The goal will be to reduce noise from expansion joints on SR 520 in the most safe and cost-effective manner.

Principal Investigator: Per Reinhall, Mechanical Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Mark Gaines
WSDOT Project Manager: Rhonda Brooks
Scheduled completion: February 2019

Benchmarking and Safety Assessment for Modified Lateral Spreading Design Procedure Using Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis

Liquefaction-induced lateral spreading is a critical design consideration for many bridges in highly seismic regions of the Pacific Northwest, with broad impacts on safety for the general public. The current design procedures used to estimate liquefaction-induced lateral spreading in bridge-foundation-soil systems are often overly conservative, with the result that the construction of bridges may be more costly than necessary. This project sought to verify the current modified simplified design procedure and to develop a database and benchmarking framework useful for future evaluations.

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Simulation Environment to Optimize Public Investments in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

This project will develop simulation software to help WSDOT staff prioritize investments in DC fast charger (DCFC) infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles (PEV). Electric vehicle registrations in Washington state increased by 38 percent between June 2015 and June 2016, after having increased by 34 percent in the preceding year. To meet the needs of these vehicles and achieve the Governor’s goal of 50,000 PEVs by 2020, Washington is anticipating considerable investment in DCFC infrastructure over the next several years. However, given that funding is limited and DCFC stations are expensive, public investments must be made where they will have the most impact on EV adoption and travel. Researchers will develop a model to allow engineers to specify the locations and characteristics (for example, number of plugs, charging power) of charging stations along Washington’s highway network and then calculate key performance indicators for the resulting charging network. The indicators may include technical performance such as utilization rate or vehicles served per day, cost effectiveness such as vehicles served per public dollar invested, environmental sustainability, and equity. The model will provide WSDOT with useful results in the near term while offering enough flexibility to improve as the market grows and the behavior of EV owners becomes better understood.

Principal Investigator: Don MacKenzie, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Contact: Tonia Buell
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: June 2019

Improved Methodology for Benefit Estimation of Preservation Projects

This project evaluated WSDOT’s current process for calculating highway preservation project costs and benefits and then developed an improved approach. To quantify the regional economic benefits associated with its transportation investment projects, WSDOT uses software developed by the Federal Highway Administration known as the Highway Economic Requirements System—State Version (HERS-ST). The researchers developed a tool to supplement the HERS-ST for benefit and cost estimation processes. The improved method, combining the new HERS-ST-BAT tool with HERS-ST, will allow transportation agencies to more accurately and flexibly estimate changes in their own and user costs resulting from proposed pavement projects and to more effectively consider different investment alternatives.

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Moving to Health: How Changing the Built Environment Impacts Weight and Glycemic Control

Where people live affects their health, weight, and well-being. Studies have pointed to multiple links between residential location, aspects of the surrounding built environment, and the neighborhood prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Among the physical built environment features that have been proposed to lower obesity and T2D risk are neighborhood walkability to support daily activity, access to healthy food sources such as supermarkets and farmers’ markets, fewer neighborhood fast foods or convenience stores, and more parks and trails. This study is using data from Kaiser Permanente Washington (KPWA), a large, integrated health insurance and care delivery system. By attaching a geographic context to anonymized KPWA electronic medical records in King County, Wash., researchers are examining the impacts of individual-level neighborhood built environment factors on body weight and glycemic control over a 12-year period. As a subcontract to the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, the UW Urban Form Lab is providing necessary data on land-use and mix, transportation infrastructure, neighborhood composition, and traffic conditions. Armed with the study’s findings, urban planners and policymakers will be able to target different built environment features for intervention and help to create demand for those neighborhood features that are most likely to support health.

Principal Investigators:
Anne Vernez Moudon, Urban Design and Planning, UW
Philip Hurvitz, Urban Design and Planning, UW

Sponsors:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Scheduled completion: June 2022

Cost-Effective Use of Sustainable Cementitious Materials as Reactive Filter Media (Phase I)

This project is addressing two important environmental issues by evaluating the use of crushed fines from recycled concrete to treat wastewater containing high levels of chlorides. Chlorides from deicer use are a significant source of runoff contamination. Chlorides are highly soluble, non-degradable, difficult to remove, and tend to accumulate over time. In addition, chlorides can combine with heavy metals, rendering many of them more water soluble and therefore more damaging to soils, vegetation, wildlife, and aquatic species. The second issue is that construction and demolition waste is the largest single source of all generated municipal solid waste. The EPA has reported that in 2013 335 million tons of concrete demolition waste were generated in the U.S., of which an estimated 10 percent could not be recycled for new construction. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of crushed fines from recycled concrete (CFRCs), followed by nano-modified cement paste powder (NMCPP), and use them as reactive filter media to treat synthetic wastewater with high levels of chlorides and typical levels of total phosphorus, total nitrogen and metals. The researchers will also explore the mechanisms underlying contaminant removal by these engineered sorbents.

Principal Investigator: Xianming Shi, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Sponsor: Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates
Scheduled completion: June 2018

An In-Depth Study to Categorize Pacific Northwest Highway Project Types as a Way to Enhance Future Investigative Study on Contract Administration Practices and Performance

Although increasing expenditure nationwide on transportation construction projects raises concerns of overruns, delays, and poor contract administration, it is difficult to find consistency in data gathering and reporting, or validity in the analyses of contract performance, to look at trends and patterns within delivered projects. The reality is that construction projects are unique. They are of different types, sizes, materials, locations, construction methods, and complexity, and a proper classification of project types currently does not exist. The objective of this research is to develop a classification system for project types on the basis of data from Pacific Northwest transportation projects that are completed, active, and awaiting execution. The classification system will be based on several dimensions, such as type of system, geographical location, controlling scope of work, level of complexity, contractual constraint, project delivery method, and other parameters. Such standardization could improve the validity of research findings and enhance research and practice on highway projects within the Pacific Northwest and around the country.

Principal Investigator: George Okere, Construction Management, WSU
Sponsor: PacTrans
Scheduled completion: February 2020

Dynamic Metering in Connected Urban Street Networks: Improving Mobility

Connected vehicles, the internet of things, and smart infrastructure technologies will facilitate the exchange of real-time, highly granular information among individual users in transportation networks, system operators, and the supporting infrastructure. Harnessing this emergent connectivity and its resulting data stream will open unexplored possibilities to improve mobility on urban street networks. Traffic metering along urban street networks is among the effective traffic control methods that can greatly benefit from connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. A dynamic traffic metering system may use collected data to maintain network accumulation at an optimal level, thereby avoiding long queues, queue spillovers, and gridlock. The goal of this project is to improve mobility by developing a dynamic traffic metering methodology for connected urban street networks. The methodology will aim to meter an optimal portion of incoming traffic at the borders of the network or inside it to increase system-level mobility.

Principal Investigator: Ali Hajbabaie, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Sponsor: PacTrans
Scheduled completion: February 2020

Development of a Protocol to Maintain the Winter Mobility of Different Classes of Pervious Concrete Pavement Based on Porosity

The use of pervious concrete pavements is recommended by several U.S. environmental agencies as a Best Management Practice for stormwater control, which has increased their application to streets, parking lots, bike lanes, and sidewalks across the Pacific Northwest. However, with increased use of pervious concrete in areas with adverse winter weather, proper ice and snow control protocols must be developed to ensure the mobility and safety of drivers and pedestrians on pervious concrete installations. In a previous project, the researchers determined that the friction performance of pervious concrete pavement surfaces from one mixture design outperformed that of traditional concrete pavements in dry, wet, and icy conditions.  This project will extend the scope of laboratory and field testing to include a wide range of mixtures and installations. The goal is to ensure mobility on various classes of pervious concrete pavements all year around.

Principal Investigator: Somayeh Nassiri, Civil and Environnmental Engineering, WSU
Sponsor: PacTrans
Scheduled completion: February 2020

Best Practices for Using Shotcrete for Wall Fascia, Phase 2

Fascia walls are structural earth retaining components for soldier pile and soil nail walls, and they are traditionally constructed with cast-in-place (CIP) concrete.  In recent years, some state departments of transportation have begun to replace the CIP concrete with shotcrete for wall fascias. The primary difference between shotcrete and CIP concrete is that shotcrete is placed and consolidated pneumatically (using high-pressure air). This method of construction is attractive because of its potential for saving cost and construction time. However, it also has potential drawbacks that raise concerns about its durability. Currently very limited information is available to evaluate curing practices, construction, and long-term durability for shotcrete. Phase I of this research (see WA-RD 870.1) showed that the performance of shotcrete is viable and promising in comparison to CIP concrete and that, if fully investigated, shotcrete may replace CIP concrete and be suitable for other applications. This Phase 2 project will follow up on issues identified in Phase I, such as the influence of mix design criteria on early age and long-term performance and the effects of air content on long-term performance. With the increasing desire for highway agencies to use shotcrete for accelerated construction and rapid renewal, the results will be a useful resource to help WSDOT achieve the best structure quality and durability.

Principal Investigator: Pizhon Qiao, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Brian Aldrich
WSDOT Project Manager: Mustafa Mohamedali
Scheduled completion: June 2019