Project Spotlight Archives
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Project Spotlight
The ICT recently completed a study to examine the current state of truck parking and rest area facilities in the Northeast Illinois Region to determine if and how problems from truck parking affect freight transportation infrastructure, safety, and the region's economy and environment. The investigators completed a taxonomic study of truck traffic volume and truck parking availability and conducted interviews with state, county, and municipal authorities, and truck drivers.
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The ICT introduced a method to better identify reflective cracking in the field using digital imaging and ground penetrating radar (GPR)signal analysis. The outcome of this study is a better understanding of reflective cracking mechanisms; hence, enhanced simulation of crack development and field assessment, and the quantification of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of interlayer systems used to retard reflective cracking.
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Recent ICT research optimized the structural design used for new hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements for the busiest Illinois highways. The research included examining numerous HMA designs and the construction of instrumented full-depth HMA test sections. Full-scale testing of the sections was conducted using nondestructive testing techniques and the Accelerated Transportation Loading Assembly (ATLAS). The researchers used the results to validate developed pavement models capable of predicting the pavement response to vehicular loading.
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The Sixth RILEM International Conference on Cracking in Pavements convened from June 15-19 in Chicago, Illinois, with the ICT serving as a major sponsor. The conference was truly an international one with nearly 200 attendees from 29 countries. This year marked the first time the conference was held in the United States, and the attendees enjoyed various sights of Chicago, including a private reception and dinner at the Shedd Aquarium.
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As a result of an ICT project, a Commercial Vehicle Information Exchange Window was developed to exchange motor carrier safety information with other federal and state agencies involved with motor carrier regulation. The ICT project also developed system requirements for a Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) to exchange motor vehicle information amongst the Department of Transportation, the Secretary of State, and the Department of Revenue.
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Recent advances in intermodalism, the connections between various modes of transportation, have resulted in quantum leaps in transportation, logistics, and warehousing.
To gain insight into these activities, ICT sponsors research that includes surveying truck traffic and production at large warehouses in Northeast Illinois. This study will assist national agencies in determining the demand freight transportation has on infrastructure, forecasting travel activity, and anticipating needs for additional transportation assets.
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Ultra-thin whitetopping (UTW) is a pavement rehabilitation strategy where a thin layer of concrete is placed on top of an existing hot-mix asphalt pavement.
The ICT will disseminate the findings from its research on UTW through short courses where participants will learn:
1) Structural design and construction guidelines for UTW and appropriate concrete material requirements to achieve a design of the intended service life.
2) How to structurally design UTW pavement types and how to write construction specification to achieve the design life intended.
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ICT is conducting research to validate the feasibility of using laser technology to monitor IDOT construction activities and transportation structures.
Potential uses of laser scanning include:
1) Obtaining accurate terrain models for determination of earthwork quantities
2) Monitoring pavement smoothness and adherence to design grade
3) Monitoring ground movement
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Nighttime highway construction is often advocated to minimize inconvenience for the traveling public and to reduce the potential for work zone accidents. However, poor utilization and placement of the lighting equipment to illuminate the work zone can cause glare that is dangerous to drivers and workers. The ICT recently published research that provides recommendations for lighting arrangements for nighttime work zones and identifies a practical method that can be used to measure and quantify glare during nighttime highway construction.
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Project Spotlight
The state of Illinois has been using reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements since 1980, but the optimal design of these pavements has been continually questioned. Therefore, ICT is working to improve the design of pavements with RAP and investigate the use of RAP with up to 50% of the total original material. The project outcome is a scientifically proven approach to optimize the use of RAP in new pavements.
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Project Spotlight
The ICT is investigating the viability of using wind power to provide electricity for rest areas and weigh stations along Illinois highways.
Wind power is an attractive option because it is a clean, renewable energy source that avoids greenhouse gases; it uses relatively little land or other natural resources; and it is a hedge against further increases in electricity costs.
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By 2030, the elderly population in the U.S. is expected to double. An aging population brings new challenges for transportation researchers, such as providing seniors with innovative transportation alternatives that help them maintain their independence while also assuring the safety and comfort of other travelers. An ICT study explored the usefulness of strategies that can encourage seniors' use of the public transit system.
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Project Spotlight
The new generation of wide-base tires (as an alternative to the conventional dual-tire system) has the potential to provide numerous benefits to the trucking industry, including improved fuel efficiency, hauling capacity, comfort, vehicle stability, and safety. Additionally, wide-base tires can lessen gas emission, initial tire cost, tire repair cost, and noise.
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Project Spotlight
Rolling lane closures are a common traffic control technique in work zones; they consist of a convoy of traffic protection vehicles equipped with warning lights and arrowboards that alert drivers to the presence of work crews and guide them to the adjacent lane until they have safely passed the work zone.
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Some years ago, the cracking of concrete bridge abutments in Peoria, Illinois was shown to be caused by alkali-silica reaction (ASR), with the essential component for this reaction being chert in the sand. Alkali (from the Portland cement) and reactive silica (from the aggregate) can result in an expansive product that causes cracking in concrete under specific temperature and humidity conditions. Chert is a rock composed of microcrystalline quartz (quartz being a mineral composed of silicon and oxygen).
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The Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory (ATREL) is the site of cutting-edge research on a new design concept known as Thin Concrete Pavements (TCP). Comercial TCPavements Ltda, based in Santiago, Chile, is sponsoring this project to establish design guidelines for using TCP.
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On October 23-24, subject matter experts on particulate matter (PM) gathered at Allerton Park in Monticello to exchange ideas and experiences in project level hotspot analysis of PM, including monitoring and compliance. The attendees included staff from five Midwestern state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), metropolitan planning organizations, the U.S. EPA, the Illinois EPA, University faculty, and the FHWA.
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