Updating, Upgrading, Refining, Calibration and Implementation of Trade-Off Analysis Methodology Developed for INDOT

As part of the ongoing evolution towards integrated highway asset management, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), through SPR studies in 2004 and 2010, sponsored research that developed an overall framework for asset management. This was intended to foster decision support for alternative investments across the program areas on the basis of a broad range of performance measures and against the background of the various alternative actions or spending amounts that could be applied to the several different asset types in the different program areas. The 2010 study also developed theoretical constructs for scaling and amalgamating the different performance measures, and for analyzing the different kinds of trade-offs. The research products from the present study include this technical report which shows how theoretical underpinnings of the methodology developed for INDOT in 2010 have been updated, upgraded, and refined. The report also includes a case study that shows how the trade-off analysis framework has been calibrated using available data. Supplemental to the report is Trade-IN Version 1.0, a set of flexible and easy-to-use spreadsheets that implement the tradeoff framework. With this framework and using data at the current time or in the future, INDOT’s asset managers are placed in a better position to quantify and comprehend the relationships between budget levels and system-wide performance, the relationships between different pairs of conflicting or non-conflicting performance measures under a given budget limit, and the consequences, in terms of system-wide performance, of funding shifts across the management systems or program areas

Development of a Design Flexibility Toolkit

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) publication titled “A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets” (Green Book) provides guidance to the designer by referencing a recommended range of values for critical dimensions for the design of highway facilities. For various reasons, it may be necessary to design a section of highway with substandard values for some elements. Such design exceptions require appropriate assessment and justification of the potential impacts to highway safety and operations. This study was performed to develop a guideline for design exceptions. The guideline for development and evaluation of design exception projects was developed and presented. The guideline outlines the steps for developing and evaluating design exception projects. The potential impacts of design exception elements to highway safety and operations are listed for the 13 controlling criteria to provide designers with important and easy to use information. The possible counter measures for each of the controlling criteria are listed in a one-page table for easy reference. The proposed safety evaluation process was presented in terms of safety impacts of individual substandard elements as well as the combined impacts of the substandard elements. An Excel based computer program was developed for life-cycle benefit-cost analysis of design exception projects. A decision on design exceptions can thus be made rationally with the recommended guideline and methods

Roadway System Assessment Using Bluetooth-Based Automatic Vehicle Identification Travel Time Data

This monograph is an exposition of several practice-ready methodologies for automatic vehicle identification (AVI) data collection systems. This includes considerations in the physical setup of the collection system as well as the interpretation of the data. An extended discussion is provided, with examples, demonstrating data techniques for converting the raw data into more concise metrics and views. Examples of statistical before-after tests are also provided. A series of case studies were presented that focus on various real-world applications, including the impact of winter weather on freeway operations, the economic benefit of traffic signal retiming, and the estimation of origin-destination matrices from travel time data. The technology used in this report is Bluetooth MAC address matching, but the concepts are extendible to other AVI data sources

Use of Pile Driving Analysis for Assessment of Axial Load Capacity of Piles

Driven piles are commonly used in foundation engineering. Pile driving formulae, which directly relate the pile set per blow to the capacity of the pile, are commonly used to decide whether an installed pile will have the designed capacity. However, existing formulae have been proposed based on empirical observations and have not been validated scientifically, so some might over-predict pile capacity, while others may be too conservative. In this report, a more advanced and realistic model developed at Purdue University for dynamic pile driving analysis was used to develop more accurate pile driving formulae. These formulae are derived for piles installed in typical soil profiles: a floating pile in sand, an end-bearing pile in sand, a floating pile in clay, an end-bearing pile in clay and a pile crossing a normally consolidated clay layer and resting on a dense sand layer. The proposed driving formulae are validated through well documented case histories of driven piles. Comparison of the predictions from the proposed formulae with the results from static load tests, dynamic load tests and conventional formulae show that they produce reasonably accurate predictions of pile capacity based on pile set observations

Point of Care Tools and Libraries: 12th Annual Health Sciences Lively Lunch

This session included a discussion about point of care tools in the health information setting. Klimley provided a presentation on the point of care tools landscape that highlighted the importance and relevance of this topic now, evaluations that have been published about these tools, funding issues, and desirable elements of the tools. The presentation included examples of marketing techniques and product advertisements to portray the various claims and testimonials regarding these products, which provided a critical discussion on the products and their use in health information settings. A lively discussion followed the presentation to allow participants to express some of their concerns about point of care tools and their role in the future. The results of the session are explained in the document

Investigating the Feasibility of Integrating Pavement Friction and Texture Depth Data in Modeling for INDOT PMS

Under INDOT’s current friction testing program, the friction is measured annually on interstates but only once every three years on non-interstate roadways. The state’s Pavement Management System, however, would require current data if friction were to be included in the PMS. During routine pavement condition monitoring for the PMS, texture data is collected annually. This study explored the feasibility of using this pavement texture data to estimate the friction during those years when friction is not measured directly. After multi0ple approaches and a wide variety of ways of examining the currently available data and texture measuring technologies, it was determined that it is not currently feasible to use the texture data as a surrogate for friction testing. This is likely because the lasers used at this time are not capable of capturing the small-scale pavement microtexture. This situation may change, however, with advances in laser or photo interpretation technologies and improved access to materials data throughout the INDOT pavement network

PCC Properties to Support W/C Determination for Durability

The fresh concrete water-cement ratio (w/c) determination tool is urgently needed for use in the QC/QA process at the job site. Various techniques have been used in the past to determine this parameter. However, many of these techniques can be complicated and time consuming. Furthermore, extensive calibration is often needed to correlate the properties measured by these techniques with w/c. During the course of the present study, the method for the use of the unit weight for the determination of w/c of fresh concrete has been developed and evaluated on both laboratory and field concretes. Additionally, the accuracy of using microwave oven technique for w/c determination reported by previous research was confirmed. Finally, the accuracies of unit weight and microwave oven techniques for the determination of w/c were compared. The unit weights required for this method have been determined either by using a “zero-air” procedure (ZAP) developed as a part of this study or by using conventional (following AASHTO specifications) methods. The ZAP technique was used to verify the w/c of 58 different laboratory concrete mixes. These verification efforts revealed that the minimum, maximum, standard error, and 95th percentile of the differences (∆w/c) between batched and determined w/c were, respectively, 0.000, 0.042, 0.017, and 0.030. The AASHTO determined unit weight (which also required measurements of the actual air content of concrete) was used to verify the w/c values of an additional set of 57 laboratory mixes. When using the AASHTO unit weights (and air contents) the minimum, maximum, standard error, and 95th percentile of ∆w/c were, respectively, 0.000, 0.075, 0.030, and 0.054. In addition, the AASHTO unit weight method was also used to verify the w/c values of 22 different field mixtures. For this case, the differences (∆w/c) between the design and unit weight-calculated values of w/c were in the range ±0.030 for all but one mixture. Finally, direct comparison of the results from the proposed method with the results obtained from the microwave oven method revealed that the former is faster but slightly less accurate. Specifically, when used on five separate concrete samples, the accuracy of the microwave oven method was 0.010, much smaller than the previously mentioned values of 0.030 (for the ZAP) and 0.054 (for the AASHTO) unit weight methods

Introduction to and Selected Bibliography of English-language Books about Turks and Turkey

In her article Introduction to and Selected Bibliography of English-language Books about Turks and Turkey Elmas Şahín presents a selected bibliography of work by Western travelers, writers, scholars, and journalists. Fictional works — owing to the large corpus of such texts — are excluded. Focus of the Bibliography is on texts published from the sixteenth to the late nineteenth century although seminal works published later also included. From earliest times Western writers, travelers, and scholars were interested in the East and their gaze resulted in writing about it as exotic and mysterious and often negative in the context of Edward W. Said\u27s concept of Orientalism. In particular, perceptions about Turkish history, culture, customs, and traditions are reflected in negative images in the works of most English-language authors

Socioeconomic Forecasting

The role of the REMI Policy Insight+ model in socioeconomic forecasting and economic impact analysis of transportation projects was assessed. The REMI PI+ model is consistent with the state of the practice in forecasting and impact analysis. REMI PI+, like its competitors, is vulnerable to the trends contained in the historical data it uses, especially recent trends. After the most recent periodic update in data, the performance of the REMI PI+ model improved, i.e., it produced long-term forecasts that were more credible. Zonal-level population and employment forecasts for direct input to the Indiana Statewide Travel Demand Model (ISTDM) can be achieved by applying disaggregation regression methods. IU’s Center for Econometric Model Research (CEMR) model is also a sound forecasting model. Because of the knowledge of in-state economists, the CEMR-IBRC model could provide forecasts of the Indiana economy that reflect characteristics not known to out-of-state forecasters. The researchers also examined economic impact analysis models that are possible alternatives to REMI PI+. Acquiring a new economic impact analysis package does not seem necessary for INDOT, if REMI forecasts can be adjusted to (a) accommodate recent and reasonable expected trends in the Indiana economy, and (b) meet the geographic (TAZ) needs of the ISTDM. MCIBAS -- which is currently used by INDOT -- is a good hybrid system to use in the economic impacts analysis of transportation projects. IU’s CEMR is capable of conducting economic impact analyses, with local knowledge of the Indiana economy, at a cost lower than REMI’s. However, INDOT would have to decide whether these potential advantages justify changing the present relationship with REMI. In cases where the credibility of data, forecasts, and/or impact analyses needs to be verified, an INDOT version of an expert panel along the lines of Michigan’s Transportation Technical Committee could be convened

Project Implementation: Classification of Organic Soils and Classification of Marls—Training of INDOT Personnel

This is an implementation project for the research completed as part of the following projects: SPR-3005 - Classification of Organic Soils and SPR-3227 – Classification of Marl Soils. The methods developed for the classification of both soils have been incorporated in INDOT standard specification 903.05 and 903.06 respectively. Both projects included recommendations for implementation that reflected input from the project PA and SAC. A specific recommendation from both projects was that INDOT soil technicians be trained to perform the required tests and classify soils based on the revised classification systems. This project was initiated to carry out the implementation of those recommendations. The project scope includes development of training material for instruction about the performance of the revised classification tests and methods, training to pertinent INDOT personnel, integration of the revised classification system into INDOT’s standards, and establishment of a resource database for future training of INDOT personnel. Within the general scope outlined above, the specific objectives of the proposed work were to: a) administer training to select INDOT personnel and interested representatives from the geotechnical consulting/construction community; b) develop training materials to be used by INDOT to train additional personnel. These two general objectives were accomplished through four specific tasks: 1) Collection of Sample Soils for Testing and Classification; 2) Development of Training Material (a PowerPoint presentation with concise instructional handouts; supporting classification examples from a variety of soils; and a short manual summarizing the classification system for both soils with supporting examples); 3) Delivery of Training Sessions for INDOT personnel, as well as representatives from select geotechnical consultants and contractors; 4) Production of Training Video