Investigation for Traffic Monitoring Equipment Evaluation Facility

The Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT’s) Transportation Planning and Programming (TPP) Division routinely tests a wide variety of devices for counting axles or vehicles; measuring vehicle speed, headway, and gap; classifying vehicles by length and/or axle spacing; and weighing vehicles in-motion. However, TPP needs a traffic monitoring equipment evaluation facility to enhance its capabilities in conducting these tests, in facilitating training, and in allowing vendor comparisons and demonstrations. This project investigated funding sources, design options, and viable locations for this traffic monitoring equipment evaluation facility. The project provided research and development to design a generic facility to evaluate traffic data collection equipment and sensors and perform traffic data collection research. This report covers the entirety of this 2-year project, identifying potential funding sources and candidate sites for further consideration, developing site design aspects for the two most promising sites, and evaluating Kistler Lineas Quartz weigh-in-motion sensors. The most prominent funding sources are construction funds (include the site as part of a TxDOT construction project) and State Planning and Research (SPR) funds. The most promising sites identified thus far are on I-35 north of Georgetown near the Bell County line. Evaluation of the Kistler sensors in concrete was very promising, but future research should test them in asphalt.

• Record URL:
  http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-4664-3.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Project Title: Develop and Implement Traffic Monitoring Equipment Evaluation Facility. Report Date: October 2005; Published: January 2007.
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Implementation Office, P.O. Box 5080
  Austin, TX  United States  78763-5080

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Middleton, Dan
  • White, Ronald P
  • Crawford, Jason
  • Parker, Ricky T
  • Song, Jongchul
  • Haas, Carl T
• Publication Date: 2007-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Edition: Technical Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 138p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data collection; Development; Equipment; Financing; Location; Monitoring; Research; Sensors; Speed measurement; Test facilities; Traffic; Traffic counting; Vehicle classification; Vehicle detectors; Weigh in motion
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Research; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01043623
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TX-06/0-4664-3, Report 0-4664-3
• Contract Numbers: Project 0-4664
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 8 2007 8:36AM