<p>The main objective of this project was to evaluate the impact of the New York State divisible-load permit system for heavy trucks in terms of benefits and costs to society. The costs result primarily from increased pavement damage; the benefits accrue to the trucking industry (primary economic benefits) and also to New York State's economy (secondary economic benefits).
<p>Traffic congestion in Northern New Jersey imposes substantial operational and monetary penalty on bus service. The purpose of this project was to quantify the additional time and costs due to traffic congestion. A regression model was developed that estimates the travel time rate (in minutes per mile) of a bus as a function of car traffic time rate, number of passengers boarding per mile, and the number of bus tops per mile.
<p>This report documents and summarizes the study 'Identification of Traffic Control Devices for Mobile and Short Duration Work Operations,' for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The study was conducted in three tasks: 1. Literature Search, 2. Evaluation Criteria and Analysis, and 3. Identify Guidelines to Eliminate Driver Inattentiveness, and Design Alternative Strategies and Techniques for Traffic Control.
<p>This paper presents the results of a research project aimed at providing insights into the human factors associated with nighttime work zones on the New Jersey Department of Transportation construction and maintenance projects. It examines the impacts that nighttime construction activity has upon the workers, from their perspective. These impacts were assessed through field surveys and interviews that included: highway engineers, construction workers, field supervisors, and contractors. The research methodology is briefly discussed.
<p>Herbicides have been widely used to control vegetation on roadside rights-of-way because they are perceived as more cost effective than other treatments. However, as knowledge of environmental systems has developed along with a growing social perception of health and environmental issues, a need for alternative methods to synthetic herbicide use for vegetation control along roadsides has become a prominent issue. Earlier phases of this research indicated several promising physical, cultural, biological/ecological, and chemical controls.
Herbicides have been widely used to control vegetation on roadside rights-of-way because they are perceived as more cost effective than other treatments. However, as knowledge of environmental systems has developed along with a growing social perception of health and environmental issues, a need for alternative methods to herbicide use for vegetation control along roadsides has become a prominent issue. As many organizations are also looking into innovative control methods, it is important to gather and review information generated throughout the industry.
Vegetation managers could use a tool to compare cost effectiveness of different non-herbicide and herbicide alternatives for treating roadside vegetation. Such a tool could be used to make informed decisions, better communicate the bases for treatment choices with various stakeholders, and direct research and development activities (focus R&D where the comparisons of different alternatives are interesting, but weak on factual information).
Rights-of-way vegetation managers are increasingly focused on environmental stewardship. Managers are interested in practices that will produce and demonstrate economically-sound, socially-responsible, and environmentally-sensitive decision making and operational practice. Environmental Management Systems have developed over the past decade to frame and advertise organizational efforts in environmental stewardship, but, to date, these systems have been only strategic/tactical in nature. They have not directly pertained to operations and field performance.
Weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems might soon replace the conventional techniques used to enforce
weight restrictions for large vehicles on highways. Currently WIM systems use a piezoelectric
polymer sensor that produces a voltage proportional to an applied pressure or load. Using this
phenomenon, these systems are already being tested for collecting traffic data, including weigh-inmotion,
measuring vehicle speeds, classifying vehicles by category and counting axles etc. The
<p>The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 (9/11) have had a profound and unimaginable impact on activities in all of lower Manhattan, and the New York City metropolitan region. Profound, of course, because of the huge loss of life, and because of the continuing sense of trauma of the survivors. These events have also provided a monumental challenge to transportation and city planners because there are no guidelines in US planning/engineering literature on how to manage after such an event occurs.</p>
