CVEN 207

Overview of Transportation Engineering

Overview
Transportation Transportation System Transportation Engineering

Description Course work Jobs Problems / solutions

What is Transportation?

Safe, efficient, reliable, and sustainable movement of persons and goods over time and space
Objectives constant Methods change (shipping / railroads /

rural roads / freeways / airports)

Characterized by
Thing being transported Type of vehicle Right-of-way

What is a Civil Engineering System?

Select arrangement of elements Resist load on system Efficient performance Economical "life" of system

Structural System Example

Structural elements
Beams Columns Foundation

Load
Live / dead Wind

Serve 20-50-100 years without failure

Transportation System Example

Components
Infrastructure (~ structural elements) Vehicles (~ load) Operators/users (somewhat unique to

transportation)

Transportation System Elements

Infrastructure
Road, canal, rail, air Transfer points Supporting elements (signs, signals, safety)

Vehicles
Planes, trains, autos, buses, ships, trucks

Operators/Content
Drivers, pilots, freight, passengers

Transportation System Failure

Normal design
Failure = catastrophe

Transportation
Fail soft" vs "fail hard" Fail soft
Demand exceeds capacity Many transportation systems designed to "fail" twice a day

Fail hard
Complete breakdown

Transportation Systems
Passenger transportation Freight transportation

Transportation Impacts

The speed, cost, and capabilities of available transportation have a significant economic impact on an area
Highway, rail, freight, transit, shipping

Countries with better/advanced transportation networks and services are leaders in industry and commerce
USA, Japan, Germany, ...

Transportation Mobility
Texas Transportation Institute 2009 Urban Mobility Report says congestion cost Americans $87 billion a year Findings:

4.2 billion lost hours due to congestion 2.8 billion gallons of fuel lost to engines

idling in traffic jams

What is Transportation Engineering?

Application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation, and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally compatible movement of people and goods Multiple engineering professions are involved
Aeronautical (aircraft) Chemical (fuel) Mechanical (vehicles) Electrical (communications, control system) Civil (development of facilities and manage demand)

Transportation Engineering

One of the specialty areas of civil engineering

Development of facilities for the movement

of goods and people Planning, design, operation and maintenance

An interesting / exciting area

Transportation Engineering

Multi-disciplinary
Economic Environmental Planning Statistics Law Psychology & human factors Public administration

People oriented Problems ==> solutions

Who Employs Transportation Engineers?

Typical
~40% government ~50% consultants ~5% research, teaching ~5% other - rail, trucking firms, etc.

Future: Hot Track (Runner Up)

Recent passage of $200 billion transportation bill insures there will be plenty of highways to design and bridges to repair. Traffic engineers will also work with new technology such as monitors that tell a driver when another car is in his blind spot and sensors in the pavement that track road conditions.
U.S. News and World Report, October 26, 1998

Careers to Count On

For millions of Americans, girding for gridlock is a teeth-grinding daily ritual. And with more cars on the road every day, engineers and other professionals trained to reduce traffic congestion are finding plenty of job opportunities PAY AND PERKS: $45,000 to $150,000. Producing tangible change is a source of job satisfaction for many.
U.S. News and World Report, February 18, 2002

Typical Week for a Young Transportation Engineer

Traffic analysis or design (50-80%)

Traffic simulation, preparation of plans, design

work

Field work (20-50%)

Visiting sites for assessment/evaluation

Communications (20-60%)
Preparing reports/memos/presentations Meetings with co-workers/clients Email or phone

Administrative (10-20%)
Training, vacation, organizing

TAMU Transportation Engineering Program

Undergraduate program is one of the most extensive in country

Large faculty specializing in transportation Strong research program (with TTI) Many student work opportunities Large and active student organization (ITE) Large number of transportation specific

undergraduate courses

CVEN Transportation Faculty

Faculty
Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.

M. Burris, CE/TTI 301B G. Hawkins, CE/TTI 301C D. Lord, CE/TTI 301A L. Quadrifoglio, CE/TTI 301I B. Wang, CE/TTI 301F Y. Zhang, CE/TTI 301G

Transportation Research at A&M

Conducted through the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI)

Largest university-based transportation

research institute in the world All components of transportation system ~100 undergraduate workers hired per semester

Texas A&M Institute of Transportation Engineers Student Chapter

Mission
Promote the transportation engineering

profession and encourage students to find out more about this field and its opportunities and challenges

Activities
Monthly meetings with speakers
Free dinner

Field trips Professional meetings Social events

Student Chapter Activities

Field Trips/ Tours Cook outs

Chapter m eetings Tex I TE m eetings

TAMU Academic Program

4 undergraduate CVEN courses

307: Transportation Engineering (fall and spring) 454: Urban Planning for Engineers (fall) 456: Highway Design (spring) 457: Urban Traffic Facilities (fall)

Related undergraduate courses

418: Highway Materials and Pavement Design (spring)

8 graduate CVEN courses

Traffic Engineering: Characteristics, Traffic Engineering:

Operations, Traffic Engineering: Design, Roadside Safety Design, Transportation System Engineering Management, Street and Highway Design, Engineering and Urban Transportation Systems, Advanced Surface Transportation Systems

CVEN 307 Transportation Engineering

Basic principles and methods

Planning, design, and

operations

Vehicle/driver analysis Multi-modal perspective Drs. Burris, Hawkins, Quadrifoglio, Wang, and Zhang 2 sections/semester

CVEN 307: Transportation Engineering

Technical Elective Plan General Coastal & Ocean Construction Management Environmental Geotechnical Structural Transportation Water Resources 307 Located In: Breadth Breadth Breadth Breadth Focus Breadth Breadth Breadth Required? Yes Optional Yes Optional Optional Optional Yes Yes

CVEN 454 Urban Planning for Engineers

Urban planning (regulations, land use ...) Land development Design (interaction between elements) Dr. M. Burris

Road Planning Relationships

Functional Class Freeway

Movement
Increasing Movement

Major Arterial Minor Arterial Major Collector Minor Collector

Access
Increasing Access

Local Cul-de-Sac

Roadway and Site Design

Trip Generation

Travel Demand Analysis

CVEN 456 Highway Design

Design criteria Location studies Alignment

Horizontal / vertical

Cross section analysis Dr. D. Lord

Roadway Functional Design

Minor Arterial

Collector

Major Arterial

Local Street

Freeway

Geometric Elements
Sight distance Passing zones Roadside clearance

Intersections Horizontal curves Vertical curves

CVEN 457 Urban Traffic Facilities

Design & operation of traffic control devices Driver-vehicleroadway characteristics & interactions Dr. G. Hawkins

Traffic Models & Fry LOS

Single regime models superimposed on freeway data Source: May 1990

Level of service criteria for basic freeway segment Source: Highway Capacity Manual 2000

Traffic Signal Operations

Traffic Signing

A&M Information Sources

Department Website
www.civil.tamu.edu/Ugrad/Transportation

Institute of Transportation Engineers: TAMU Student Chapter

ite.tamu.edu

Texas Transportation Institute

tti.tamu.edu

Transportation Organizations

Institute of Transportation Engineers

www.ite.org

Federal Highway Administration

www.fhwa.dot.gov

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

www.aashto.org

Texas Department of Transportation

www.dot.state.tx.us

Transportation Research Board

www.trb.org

What are Current Transportation Problems?

Financing Congestion Aging infrastructure Safety Aging population Increased truck weights

Potential Solutions

Infrastructure expansion/renewal
$200 billion transportation bill Politics Limited resources ($, land,...)

New techniques
More intelligent use of available resources Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)