Vegetation cover at right of way locations

This research evaluated the status of vegetation cover at right of way locations. Site factors that contributed to low and high ground cover along roadsides and medians were identified. Twenty-nine roadside and median study sites incorporated variability in soil type, elevation, vegetation establishment and cover, seed mixture, slope, aspect, time since planting, and climate. Vegetation cover was measured, and species distribution was identified. Slopes, aspects of the sloping face, and elevations were recorded. Soil samples were tested for nutrients, minerals, texture, and pH. Approximately 50% of the test sites met the 70% cover criteria. Locations of the worst cover (<50%) had soils with high soluble salt content (0.36–1.54 mmhos/cm) or low organic matter values (<1.7%). Vegetation cover was dominated by tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and crownvetch (Coronilla varia L.), two species that were included in the current seeding mixture and are considered invasive. To further promote revegetation success and persistence, both maintenance and site specific seed mixtures are needed.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from road construction: An assessment of alternative staging approaches

The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with road construction activities are analyzed. The main focus of this analysis is on the vehicle emissions associated with alternative project staging approaches, specifically a full closure of the road during construction, versus an intermittent road closure. The analysis includes the direct and upstream emissions associated with materials, construction equipment, mobilization of resources to the work site, and maintenance activity associated with the project over its lifetime. The analysis is based on one case study of a road project in New Jersey. The assumptions underlying the staging analysis are based on hypothetical approaches. Results provide an assessment of the main sources of project related emissions and the ability to minimize total project emissions by minimizing traffic disruption. In the analysis with a full closure of the road, traffic disruption accounts for 26% of total emissions, while with an intermittent road closure, traffic disruption accounts for only 2% of total emissions. The other main sources are from materials and life-cycle maintenance. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of minimizing project related GHG emissions during road construction activities.     

桥梁转体施工自闭合式合龙钢壳系统及施工技术研究

为进一步减小转体施工桥梁合龙施工时对既有运营线路的干扰,同时解决传统钢壳法中加劲肋板对合龙段施工的影响,以首座采用墩中转体的大树村龙川江三线大桥为依托,在传统钢壳法的基础上进行优化研究,自行研制、设计了一套自闭合式合龙钢壳系统并应用于实践,最终达到了安全、优质、快速、有序合龙的目的。实践结果表明,自闭合式合龙钢壳系统能够满足施工要求,且使用效果良好,达到了优化施工的目的,可为类似桥梁合龙施工提供参考。     

A cost-competitiveness analysis of charging infrastructure for electric bus operations

This study investigates the cost competitiveness of different types of charging infrastructure, including charging stations, charging lanes (via charging-while-driving technologies) and battery swapping stations, in support of an electric public transit system. To this end, we first establish mathematical models to investigate the optimal deployment of various charging facilities along the transit line and determine the optimal size of the electric bus fleet, as well as their batteries, to minimize total infrastructure and fleet costs while guaranteeing service frequency and satisfying the charging needs of the transit system. We then conduct an empirical analysis utilizing available real-world data. The results suggest that: (1) the service frequency, circulation length, and operating speed of a transit system may have a great impact on the cost competitiveness of different charging infrastructure; (2) charging lanes enabled by currently available inductive wireless charging technology are cost competitive for most of the existing bus rapid transit corridors; (3) swapping stations can yield a lower total cost than charging lanes and charging stations for transit systems with high operating speed and low service frequency; (4) charging stations are cost competitive only for transit systems with very low service frequency and short circulation; and (5) the key to making charging lanes more competitive for transit systems with low service frequency and high operating speed is to reduce their unit-length construction cost or enhance their charging power.     

Modeling the impacts of mandatory and discretionary lane-changing maneuvers

In this paper, a novel mesoscopic multilane model is proposed to enable simultaneous simulation of mandatory and discretionary lane-changing behaviors to realistically capture multilane traffic dynamics. The model considers lane specific fundamental diagrams to simulate dynamic heterogeneous lane flow distributions on expressways. Moreover, different priority levels are identified according to different lane-changing motivations and the corresponding levels of urgency. Then, an algorithm is proposed to estimate the dynamic mandatory and discretionary lane-changing demands. Finally, the lane flow propagation is defined by the reaction law of the demand–supply functions, which can be regarded as an extension of the Incremental-Transfer and/or Priority Incremental-Transfer principles. The proposed mesoscopic multilane cell transmission model is calibrated and validated on a complex weaving section of the State Route 241 freeway in Orange County, California, showing both the positive and negative impact of lane changing maneuvers, e.g., balancing effect and capacity drop, respectively. Moreover, the empirical study verifies that the model requires no additional data other than the cell transmission model does. Thus, the proposed model can be deployed as a simple simulation tool for accessing dynamic mesoscopic multilane traffic state from data available to most management centers, and also the potential application in predicting the impact of traffic incident or lane control strategy.     

A capacity maximization scheme for intersection management with automated vehicles

With the advent of connected and automated vehicle technology, in this paper, we propose an innovative intersection operation scheme named as MCross: Maximum Capacity inteRsection Operation Scheme with Signals. This new scheme maximizes intersection capacity by utilizing all lanes of a road simultaneously. Lane assignment and green durations are dynamically optimized by solving a multi-objective mixed-integer non-linear programming problem. The demand conditions under which full capacity can be achieved in MCross are derived analytically. Numerical examples show that MCross can almost double the intersection capacity (increase by as high as 99.51% in comparison to that in conventional signal operation scheme).     

浅谈高速公路混凝土冬季施工

中国北方受冬季气温影响全年可施工时间短,加之各个项目的施工工期紧,致使近年来冬季施工现象较为普遍。从机械设备、原材料、混凝土拌和以及混凝土养护等方面总结经济可行的施工措施,为其它类似工程提供借鉴。     

盾构法施工单机核算管理模式的应用

近年来盾构机越来越多地应用于各种隧道工程中,其中地铁应用的数量最多,约占80%。现代盾构已演变成为一种高度智能化的大型工程机械装备,对其控制的好坏将直接影响到整个工程的施工成本和企业的经营效益,而通过单机核算降低机械成本是降低施工成本、提高企业效益的有效手段,因此推行盾构法施工单机核算显得尤为重要。文章结合地铁2222标施工项目,重点介绍了盾构法单机核算管理模式及其在施工中的应用。     

采空区治理中“混凝土墩柱式支撑”施工工艺探讨

通过在某高速公路特殊路段采空区治理中首次使用“混凝土墩柱式支撑”方法的施工，该方法对于埋深较浅、顶板较好、存在有明显空腔且充水的采空区治理有明显的效果。     

铁路货物追踪系统的构建

铁路货物运输组织是铁路工作的一个核心内容,铁路货物追踪系统的设计与实现能够为货主提供更好、更快的服务,同时加快和保障铁路货运工作的组织。通过对铁路整车货物运输的流程分析,制定货物追踪系统的目标,分析系统功能。通过数据的采集和信息共享平台的建立,提出货物追踪系统的实现途径。