Estimated State Planning & Research Program      
Part II – Research

Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Transportation Research Center
2739 East Washington Street
Phoenix Arizona 85034-1422
Phone (602) 712-3130 Fax (602) 712-3400

Mailing Address:
206 S. 17^th Ave.
Mail Drop 075R
Phoenix AZ 85007

In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

SPR-PL-1(67)

Fiscal Year 2005
(July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005)

Glossary of Acronyms

Overview

The purpose of the Arizona Transportation Research Center (ATRC) is to provide a catalyst for the continuous process improvement of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). This responsibility includes the formal development of a focused research program as well as providing the forum for improvement through effective technology transfer, and fostering change in areas beyond the domain of research. To accomplish this ATRC uses the expertise of both public and private partners. This includes the University System of Arizona and the consultant community.

This ATRC annual report provides descriptions and progress updates for projects in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Estimated State Planning & Research (SPR) Program, Part II. A total of 72 projects and 12 research support programs are included in this year's program: Sixty-two projects and 12 support programs have been carried over from prior-years' programs. There are 10 new projects (SPR numbers 585 through 595). Fifteen project reports were completed during Fiscal Year 2004. These are listed in the table below. Two projects-479 Evaluation/Prioritization of Locations for Upgrading Highway Appurtenances and 571 Reducing ADOT's Legal Liabilities-were cancelled.

Further information on these completed projects may be obtained from the project managers. Copies of the completed reports may be obtained from the ATRC Librarian. Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for ATRC staff are shown below.

Departmental Oversight of ATRC

The ADOT Research Steering Committee provides broad policy guidance to the research program. Its responsibilities include assuring adequate resources for research activities, allocating resources, and proposing specific projects, as necessary. The Steering Committee guides ADOT’s research needs by identifying emphasis areas and overseeing the allocation of resources. When appropriate, the Steering Committee may also direct the implementation of research results.

The ADOT Research Council oversees the research effort. Responsibilities include advising the ATRC, setting research priorities, and approving funding for studies.

Steering Committee and Research Council members are shown in the following tables.

Financial and statistical data are presented in the SPR Program Budgets and Program Statistics sections. The amount of new funding for Fiscal Year 2005 is estimated at approximately $2,600,500. A total of about $5,084,674 is available in funds carried forward from prior programs.

The Implementation section briefly highlights Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) actions to implement research results.

The Progress by Projects section contains individual project reports for SPR projects in each of the following areas: Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Traffic and Safety, Maintenance, Materials and Construction, Planning and Administration, Environmental, and Structures. Information regarding other types of projects may be found in the Research Support Programs, Pooled Fund Programs, and Experimental Projects sections, respectively.

Also included in this Report is the June 2004 Publications Catalog for the Arizona Transportation Research Center, which lists all of the currently available research reports published by ATRC.

Budgets

The following tables summarize the financial status of each of the ongoing ATRC projects. Each project is identified by number and title. Funds carried over from previous years and funds to be provided by the fiscal year 2005 allocation are estimated for each project. Each project is classified as fitting into one of the following categories: E: Environment, I: Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), M: Maintenance, MC: Materials and Construction, P: Planning and Administration, R: Research Support, ST: Structures, and T: Traffic and Safety.

State Planning & Research Funded Program

Alternatively Funded Projects

¹ Abbreviations under Area refer to program areas. The letters are defined as follows – E: Environment, I: Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

BUDGET STATISTICS

There are 84 projects accounting for a budget of $7,685,174 in the program. The distribution of these projects by category is shown below.

COMPLETED PROJECT STATISTICS

There were 15 project completions accounting for a budget of $955,000 during FY 2004 (July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004). The distribution of these projects by emphasis area is shown below.

State Planning & Research (SPR) Implementation

The following list highlights implementation activities undertaken during Fiscal Year 2004:

Environment

Project 495, FY 2000

A Field Study of Particulate Emissions from Major Roadways in the Phoenix Airshed.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard for particulate matter focuses on the size range of particles that are easily respired and retained within human lungs, 0.1 to 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5). Our current knowledge of particle emissions from transportation-related sources is based primarily on the existing PM10 standard, a measure of the mass of particles smaller than 10 microns. PM10 is dominated by the larger particles, so that current understanding of the contributions of transportation-related sources to PM10 is not applicable to PM2.5. Future transportation models that predict ambient particle concentrations will have to incorporate the PM2.5 standard. Because large variations in emission factors occur because of variables like climate, roadway type, and vehicle type and conditions, generic emission factors from other regions or laboratory studies will not suffice. Accurate modeling of the Phoenix urban area requires direct measurement of particulates, their compositions, size distributions, and concentrations and accompanying meteorological conditions in three dimensions along and away from the linear sources that major roadways represent. Measurements of particulates must be accompanied by accurate counts of vehicle numbers, types, and their speeds.

A significant challenge in a field study of roadway emissions is separation of the urban regional plume from the freeway emissions. A second challenge in an area of complex terrain like Phoenix and Tucson is that the concentration of particles in the urban plume and the dispersion of roadway pollutants are both dependent upon position within topographically controlled wind fields. The experimental design must address these problems.

There is a serious disparity between receptor-model and emission-inventory estimates of the contribution that combustion sources make to fine particulates. For the Phoenix area, receptor models estimate that 70% of primary fine particulates come from combustion. In contrast, emission inventories estimate that 18% come from combustion. Part of the disparity is due to an underestimation of PM2.5 from vehicular exhaust coupled with possible overestimates of re-entrained dust. More of the disparity may stem from a lack of knowledge of the composition of re-entrained dust, which may consist of aggregates of soil particles with carbonaceous material rather than just soil particles alone. A field study combined with numerical modeling is the best way to answer this question. The accurate evaluation of any fine particulate control strategies cannot proceed without our knowledge of the different contributing particle fractions.

ANTICIPATED BENEFITS

The proposed study will provide data about transportation-related particulates that are essential for future transportation modeling due to (1) the serious non-attainment status of the Phoenix airshed, (2) the continuing growth in traffic caused by growing population, and (3) the eventual enforcement of the PM2.5 standard. The work on emission factors for re-entrained mineral dust will be the first such study to use quantitative single-particle analysis methods. The aircraft study will provide data about the 3-dimension variation in aerosols and associated meteorological conditions, essential for accurate fine-scale modeling of linear roadway sources. It will provide optical data that are linked to data about the aerosol’s chemical and physical properties, essential for modeling of visibility impairment. The combination of rapid population growth in Maricopa County, current and planned future freeway construction, and the non-attainment status of the area with regard to federal standards make it imperative that we gain a better understanding of transportation-related particulates and of their dispersion and transport in our desert, complex terrain region. Delay in examining these issues will only make it more difficult to address these issues.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

      To determine the contribution of vehicle-related emissions on major roadways to PM2.5 and PM10 in the Phoenix airshed;

At a minimum, the following tasks will be accomplished:

The proposed research will be of direct relevance to the Environmental Planning Section of ADOT and falls within the areas of responsibility of Air Quality personnel. The work will also be coordinated with the Air Quality Division of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

STATUS OF THE RESEARCH

The project is completed except for final report revision - which is currently ongoing. All field experimentation and analysis is finished. The final report draft review is completed. Principal investigator has promised completed final report revisions September 2004.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TAC)

Identification of Sources and Development of Effective Control Measures at High Particulate Emission Areas.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Certain areas in the Maricopa County PM10 non-attainment area consistently exceed the PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (both the 24-hour and annual standards). These high particulate pollution areas should be addressed by planning and developing an effective program to reduce particulate emissions and urban haze and should be based on tangible data addressing the efficacy of proposed abatement methods. One difficulty in constructing such a program is the scarcity of information for Maricopa County linking the sources of PM10 to high concentrations and specific costs and benefits for particulate control methods.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), along with other agencies and industrial and area sources, are consistently asked to commit to air quality control measures without any background data to assess emission reduction levels or control measure costs or benefits. Many of the measures that are being committed to by the agencies and other sources are not having the needed impact to address the PM10 pollution problem, not only on a regional basis, but at locations experiencing high particulate concentrations. This results in the continuing threat of federal sanctions on highway construction funds.

A Brown Cloud Study was done in 1990 in Phoenix, but has not been updated. The study did identify transportation related PM10 sources as the major contributor to the problem

In its 1998 recommendations, the Governor’s Air Quality Strategies Task Force suggested that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and ADOT participate in research to identify the larger emission sources and evaluate potential control measures for areas with high particulate emission concentrations. As a result, Senate Bill 1427 (1998) provided for a $50,000 appropriation from the state general fund in Fiscal Year 1998-1999 as a state match to ADEQ to monitor specific high PM10 pollution sites as the first step to reduce emissions in those areas. ADEQ is currently seeking the necessary matching funds for the $50,000 appropriation. This proposed project, along with the ADEQ project, is beneficial to ADOT as the projects will help both agencies meet the air quality commitments of the Governor’s Task Force. ADOT would be represented on the ADEQ project team as both a partner and a stakeholder, coordinating tasks through this proposed project. Because any potential sanctions for missing an air quality deadline will heavily impact ADOT, we are proposing that ADOT match the ADEQ project with this proposed project.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

At a minimum the following tasks will be accomplished:

  EXPECTED IMPLEMENTATION

While transportation construction projects would probably be impacted the hardest, most of ADOT would be affected in terms of the way highway projects are planned, programmed, designed, contracted out, and ultimately completed. As ADOT is an affected party in this effort, it is recommended that ADOT have at least two representatives on the ADEQ project committee. At the same time, two ADEQ representatives will be on the Technical Advisory Committee for this project, as suggested below.

STATUS OF THE RESEARCH

Draft Final report submitted July 2004. TAC review in progress.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TAC)

Evaluation of Measures to Minimize Wildlife Vehicle Collisions and Maintain Wildlife Permeability across Highways (Phase1 and Phase II)

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Animal/vehicle collisions result in human fatalities, injuries, and extensive property losses every year in Arizona. As the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) upgrades existing rural highways the problem intensifies. Collisions increase with speed and traffic volume. The issue of vehicle/wildlife collisions is becoming more of a concern to citizens and resource managers. These collisions cause millions of dollars of property damage and litigation associated with such collisions is increasing. These concerns are impacting highway construction costs and project schedules as highway designers and scientists look for solutions to the problem. A lack of scientifically collected data on the effectiveness of various mitigation measures compounds the problem especially here in Arizona where no valid studies have been conducted.

ADOT will be implementing a comprehensive package of measures to address wildlife concerns as part of the upgrade of SR260 from Payson to Show Low. These measures will conservatively cost more than 3.5 million dollars. None of these measures have been implemented in Arizona before nor has their effectiveness been evaluated. Since animal/vehicle collision mitigation methods will be used in the future on other highways in Arizona, it is imperative that these methods are evaluated to determine their effectiveness at increasing highway safety and maintaining wildlife permeability.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of this proposed research is to measure the effectiveness of the various highway design features to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions and maintain habitat connectivity on the state highway 260 corridor.

ACTION PLAN - TASKS

At a minimum, the following tasks will be accomplished by the researcher:

EXPECTED IMPLEMENTATION

This research will provide the required data for the need, design, location, and frequency of underpasses for the conveyance of wildlife under a highway. It will evaluate the effectiveness of various wildlife-proof fence configurations in containing and directing large game animals. The research will evaluate the effectiveness of one-way gates and escape ramps in allowing large game animals to return to the off-highway side should a breach in the fence occur. This research will establish a database that will provide more complete information on the frequency, location, species, and damage related to wildlife/vehicle collisions

STATUS OF THE RESEARCH

Phase I of the project is nearly completed with work in progress on an interim phase I report. Phase II of the project is currently on-going with good progress.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TAC)

Develop Strategies that Best Integrate Environmental Stewardship into ADOT’s Business.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) recognizes that it has an important role in environmental protection. It is in this light that the ADOT Core Team has identified environmental stewardship as one of three priority focus areas from a broader list of strategic planning challenges. It is ADOT’s desire to strongly and proactively pursue a strategy or set of strategies that fulfill this role as an integral part of its business. Such a strategy (mix) should address matters over which the Department has formal control as well as those areas that it can influence.

The Department’s role in environmental stewardship goes hand in hand with its other role to the taxpayers to deliver a transportation program on time and on budget. These are not mutually exclusive goals, nor should excelling at one mean doing so at the expense of the other. With the right mix of strategies, one can set out and succeed in excelling at both.

To develop an effective strategy (mix), focus must be placed on drawing upon effective processes from within the department as well as from outside the department. The Environmental Planning Group within the Intermodal Transportation Division and the Air Quality Programs section within the Transportation Planning Division (TPD), are currently involved in a number of leading efforts in environmental process streamlining, educational programs, performance audits, and outreach programs – among others. These programs, with critical evaluation, can form a strong basis for future strategy. Some of these efforts also include on-going research projects through the Research Center. Outside the Department, other states may have identifiable programs that are already successful or that show strong potential to deliver effective solutions. Strategy elements that show promise, regardless of source, can be a part of the discussion, evaluation, and strategy development process.

Strategies in environmental stewardship ought to recognize the contributions from the many diverse role players. The most benefits will be achieved if the most players are involved and convinced to make their contribution. Those to be targeted for involvement will include:

·        Local, state, and federal agencies

·        Contractors in the construction and related industries

·        The driving public

·        The general public (as taxpayers and environmental stakeholders)

·        Department employees and other state employees

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1.  To identify and evaluate effective environmental programs and isolate the key elements in those programs.

2.   To recommend an environmental strategy or mix of strategies for ADOT as part of its strategic plan.

At a minimum, the following tasks will be accomplished by the researcher:

EXPECTED IMPLEMENTATION

An Arizona Transportation Research Center (ATRC) project manager, working with the Environmental Planning Group (Champion) and the TPD Air Quality Team will put together a TAC and work with this committee to select and contract with a consultant to conduct the research. The Technical Advisory Committee will define the scope of work and monitor project execution by the contractor. The final recommendation and implementation plan will be presented to the Research Council and ADOT management (Core Team) for their consideration and implementation decision.

STATUS OF THE RESEARCH

Final Report submitted July 2004 after completion of TAC review of the draft final report. Technical editing of the final report in progress.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TAC)

Determination of Atmospheric Effects on Highway Noise Propagation

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Long-term exposure to noise is a function of atmospheric conditions that current highway prediction methods ignore by assuming a neutral, homogeneous atmosphere. Prevailing atmospheric conditions can cause receivers beyond those adjacent to a highway to be exposed to highway noise otherwise considered inaudible using standard prediction methods. This effect may not only increase audibility of highway noise but can produce noise levels that exceed the applicable noise impact criteria.

Noise emanates directly from primary noise sources such as exhausts and encased engines and from tires where the noise emissions depend upon the pavement type. Secondary noise sources arise due to reflections from pavement and vertical surfaces such as highway noise barriers. Noise barriers reflect sound energy from an elevated location and spread the highway noise over a wider area. Absorptive sound barriers offset this effect.

Negative public attitudes towards noise barriers can result from this increased noise. As an example, Ohio DOT temporarily suspended its Type II program five years ago in response to strong public criticism that arose from people whose properties were not adjacent to the highway but reported being able to hear it more clearly after walls were installed. People next to the highway still benefited from reduced noise, but more distant locations were exposed to greater highway noise.

Refraction is the underlying phenomenon that correlates with