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Financing Rail Capital Projects: Historical Lessons; Contemporary Cases

Two large questions informed the research for this article: first, how and why did the mid‐20th century shift from private to public ownership, financing and operation of passenger railways affect the subsequent financing and development of high speed rail? Second, does high speed rail create opportunities for the return of the private sector to a significant role in passenger rail transport, such as financing and operating new lines?

Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Deteriorated Concrete Bridge Components

Corrosion of steel bars in reinforced concrete structures is a major durability problem for bridges constructed in the New York State (NYS). The heavy use of deicing salt compounds this problem. Corrosion of steel bars results in loss of steel cross section, deterioration of bond between concrete and reinforcing bars, and more important, in most cases, it results in unsymmetrical concrete section that is susceptible to shear stresses produced by torsion.

Vehicle Classification Using Mobile Sensors

In this research, the feasibility of using mobile traffic sensors for binary vehicle classification on arterial roads is investigated. Features (e.g. speed related, acceleration/deceleration related, etc.) are extracted from vehicle traces (passenger cars, trucks) collected from real world arterial roads. Machine learning techniques such as support vector machines (SVM) are developed to distinguish passenger cars from trucks using these features.

Modern Low Cost Maintenance of Concrete Bridges Using Effective NDT Test Data

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, as of December 2008, of the 600,905 bridges 72,868 (12.1%) were categorized as structurally deficient (SD) and 89,024 (14.8%) were categorized as functionally obsolete (FO). Despite healthy economy during the period of 1995-2005, the numbers of SD and FO bridges were on the rise. It is very clear that the current bridge evaluation and maintenance policies are not working efficiently. The high numbers of SD and FO bridges should not be allowed to continue to rise.

Early Age Rutting Potential of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA)

Various plant produced Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) mixtures were evaluated and compared to identical plant produced Hot Mix Asphalt to assess their early life rutting potential. Along with laboratory permanent deformation testing, fatigue and moisture damage potential testing was also included. The test results indicated that the performance of the WMA was very similar to that of the companion HMA with differences in performance a function of mix type, RAP content, and production temperature.

A simulation-based Assessment Approach to increase Safety among Senior Drivers

Statistics show that in the U.S., there are about 38 million licensed drivers over age 65; about 1/8 of our population. By 2024, this figure will DOUBLE to 25%. The current research is intended to address the driving capabilities of our older population, as accident and injury risk has been statistically shown to increase – normalized per mile driven – with advanced age.

Enhancing Resource Coordination for Multi-Modal Evacuation Planning

This research project seeks to increase knowledge about coordinating effective multi-modal evacuation for disasters. It does so by identifying, evaluating, and assessing current transportation management approaches for multi-modal evacuation planning. The research increases equity by identifying strategies for evacuation of all residents, including carless residents during a disaster.

Bus Transit in the 21st Century - Perspectives and Prospects

This paper gives a broad overview of the role and opportunities for bus transit in the Twenty-first Century. Drawing from the inputs of a millenium paper prepared by the Bus Transit Committee, it reviews the past experience, present status, and future prospects. It identifies the many policy choices, likely dimensions of change, and various opportunities for improvements in service design, vehicles, bus technology and management.

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