News

Mexico’s national railway network consists of 16,700 miles of railway lines. Following a restructuring and privatization completed in 1998, the system is operated under long-term concessions to the federal government. The restructuring has resulted in the steady growth of freight rail traffic and increased efficiency. The road and rail systems intersect at more than 7,000 […]

Researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) are teaming up with The University of Wisconsin–Madison and ParkUnload to conduct a truck parking pilot study to better understand how truck drivers use existing parking spaces and to test the benefits of using a mobile parking app. Funding for this study is provided by the Federal […]

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) recently appointed Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers and staff members as chairs and co-chairs on TRB committees and groups. These newly appointed chairs and co-chairs started their term April 15. Committee chairs may serve two consecutive three-year terms, and group chairs a three-year term. TRB staff make recommendations for […]

Unintended encounters with cars and trucks are nearly always bad news for animals. But not only do creatures face dangers on existing roads, they’re often imperiled from the moment that road construction begins. Animals of all types and sizes need to move about their habitats to forage, breed and simply exist, and that movement can […]

The behavior of the brown pelican, the fascinating migration of monarch butterflies, and rangeland management are not usually associated with transportation research. But all that is changing. Over the last few years, researchers with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) have developed a portfolio of environmental projects never considered part of transportation research. TTI already […]

Transit agencies increasingly acknowledge social media’s value in providing customers a voice, boosting ridership and presenting new solutions to the public. To help codify best practices for transit agencies using social media, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers authored Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 156 — Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation: A […]

The COVID-19 pandemic rattled industries and crippled supply chains worldwide. The results were also evident in the Lone Star State, as research by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) illustrates. Institute experts conducted research studying the impacts of COVID-19 at the Texas–Mexico border and found that the effects of the viral outbreak were felt almost […]

By Jolanda Prozzi The formula for surviving hurricanes and other weather disasters is part preparation and part recovery. The more effort and resources we invest in the former, the more success we can expect with the latter. That’s especially important to consider now that the nation’s infrastructure needs become more urgent. Extreme weather events disrupt […]

Visibility Research Laboratory TTI’s Visibility Research Laboratory supports research evaluating transportation-related visibility products. The lab is equipped with photometric equipment to evaluate the products while traveling at night or in inclement weather. Contact: Adam Pike, [email protected] Smart Intersection TTI’s Smart Intersection tests connected vehicle applications, traffic signal control and connected infrastructure interoperability. For one research […]

Numerous Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers and students were recognized during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 97th Annual Meeting Jan. 7–11 in Washington, D.C. This year’s gathering of transportation professionals from around the globe included more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops. Best Paper Awards The paper “Field Evaluation of Pilot […]

Using GPS Devices to Get Better Emissions Estimates The World Trade Bridge crossing in the Laredo–Nuevo Laredo region is the most used Texas-Mexico port of entry (POE). The crossing’s popularity helps explain the location’s relatively high vehicle emissions, caused by high truck volumes and slow speeds as traffic makes its way across the bridge. A […]

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Sediment and Erosion Control Laboratory (SEC Lab) was awarded the Environmental Excellence Award during the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) annual conference and expo in Atlanta, Georgia, Feb. 22. “This was certainly a pleasant surprise,” says Assistant Research Scientist Jett McFalls, who manages the SEC Lab. “We had no […]

A new University Transportation Center (UTC) will combine experts from two disciplines traditionally not known for research collaboration—transportation and public health. The Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy and Health (CAR-TEEH) will focus on the impact of transportation emissions on human health. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) leads the CAR-TEEH consortium consisting […]

Katie Turnbull, executive associate director of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), has been appointed vice chair of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee.  The appointment was made by Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences and Chair of the National Research Council (NRC). “This is a significant milestone not only for […]

Vital to economic growth, transportation can also be a detriment to human health and the natural environment. That’s among the reasons why the concept of sustainable transportation is emerging in countries around the globe, among most state departments of transportation in the United States and, in increasing cases, as part of transportation engineering curricula. “Sustainable […]

Since 1989, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Sediment and Erosion Control Laboratory (SEC Lab) has generated an Approved Products List (APL) for the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) use of erosion-control products. Some 25 years later, the SEC Lab continues to be the nation’s premier facility for performance evaluation of roadside environment management. TTI’s […]

When researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) need a place to test vehicle emissions, they don’t have to go far — one of the largest drive-in environmental chambers in the United States is housed at Texas A&M University’s Riverside Campus. But the Environmental and Emissions Research Facility (EERF) does more than just emissions […]

Three programs at TTI work together to provide the Texas Department of Transportation with relevant and accurate data so it can make fully informed decisions on transportation priorities in Texas.

Seeing a smoking vehicle traveling down the highway makes us think about the air we’re breathing. When rainfall causes the road to be slick from tire residue and engine spills, we don’t often think of what happens when the pollutants wash off the road. But what the roadside does with the polluted water and how […]