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Purpose This paper aims to present a summary of the performance measurement and evaluation plan of the Wyoming connected vehicle (CV) Pilot Deployment Program (WYDOT Pilot). Design/methodology/approach This paper identified 21 specific performance measures as well as approaches to measure the benefits of the WYDOT Pilot. An overview of the expected challenges that might introduce confounding factors to the evaluation effort was outlined in the performance management plan to guide the collection of system performance data. Findings This paper presented the data collection approaches and analytical methods that have been established for the real-life deployment of the WYDOT CV applications. Five methodologies for assessing 21 specific performance measures contained within eight performance categories for the operational and safety-related aspects. Analyses were conducted on data collected during the baseline period, and pre-deployment conditions were established for 1 performance measures. Additionally, microsimulation modeling was recommended to aid in evaluating the mobility and safety benefits of the WYDOT CV system, particularly when evaluating system performance under various CV penetration rates and/or CV strategies. Practical implications The proposed performance evaluation framework can guide other researchers and practitioners identifying the best performance measures and evaluation methodologies when conducting similar research activities. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that develops performance measures and evaluation plan for low-volume rural freeway CV system under adverse weather conditions. This paper raised some early insights into how CV technology might achieve the goal of improving safety and mobility and has the potential to guide similar research activities conducted by other agencies.

Adverse weather conditions severely affect transportation networks. Decades of research have been dedicated to analyzing these impacts and developing countermeasures to reduce their negative effects on travelers and infrastructure. Recent developments in technology have enabled the introduction of intelligent transportation system applications used for network planning, safety assessments, countermeasure evaluation, and roadway operations. One such application is microsimulation modeling, which is a powerful tool used to emulate traffic flow. Agencies are interested in using microsimulation to forecast the effects on safety and mobility of adverse weather conditions; however, there is limited knowledge on how to calibrate the model to reflect different weather conditions. This paper contributes a methodology for calibrating car-following behavior required for successful development of microsimulation models. This research was completed using SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) data to capture realistic driving behavior in a variety of weather conditions. This study has two primary objectives. First, calibrate the Wiedemann 1999 car-following model for a subset of NDS trips, cluster trips with similar weather conditions, and identify an optimal parameter set to represent that condition. Second, apply the optimal model parameters in a realistic microsimulation network to assess the predicted traffic flow in each weather condition. Findings support the hypothesis that the calibration of driving models for use in microsimulation results in more realistic estimations of traffic flow. Moreover, this research illustrates that the use of high resolution trajectory-level data can successfully capture weather-dependent driving behaviors.

The impact of adverse weather conditions on transportation operation and safety is the focus of many studies; however, comprehensive research detailing the differences in driving behavior and performance during adverse conditions is limited. Many previous studies utilized aggregate traffic and weather data (e.g., average speed, headway, and global weather information) to formulate conclusions about the impact of weather on network operation and safety; however, research into specific factors associated with driver performance and behavior are notably absent. A novel approach, presented in this paper, fills this gap by considering disaggregate trajectory-level data available through the SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study and Roadway Information Database. Parametric ordinal logistic regression and non-parametric classification tree modeling were utilized to better understand speed selection behavior in adverse weather conditions. The results indicate that the most important factors impacting driver speed selection are weather conditions, traffic conditions, and the posted speed limit. Moreover, it was found that drivers are more likely to significantly reduce their speed in snowy weather conditions, as compared with other adverse weather conditions (such as rain and fog). The purpose of this study was to gather insights into driver speed preferences in different weather conditions, such that efficient logic can be introduced for a realistic variable speed limit system—aimed at maximizing speed compliance and reducing speed variations. This study provides valuable information related to drivers’ interaction with real-time changes in roadway and weather conditions, leading to a better understanding of the effectiveness of operational countermeasures.

Background: Variance from guideline-directed care for glucose and temperature control remains unknown in the United States at a time when priorities have shifted to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke patients. However, protocol-driven nursing surveillance for control of hyperglycemia and hyperthermia has been shown to improve patient outcomes. Methods: We conducted an observational pilot study to assess compliance with American guidelines for glucose and temperature control and association with discharge outcomes in consecutive acute stroke patients admitted to 5 US comprehensive stroke centers. Data for the first 5 days of stroke admission were collected from electronic medical records and entered and analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Student t tests, and logistic regression. Results: A total of 1669 consecutive glucose and 3782 consecutive temperature measurements were taken from a sample of 235 acute stroke patients; the sample was 87% ischemic and 13% intracerebral hemorrhage. Poor glucose control was found in 33% of patients, and the most frequent control method ordered (35%) was regular insulin sliding scale without basal dosing. Poor temperature control was noted in 10%, and 39% did not have temperature recorded in the emergency department. Lower admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score and well-controlled glucose were independent predictors of favorable outcome (discharge modified Rankin Scale score, 0–2) in reperfusion patients. Conclusion: Glucose and temperature control may be overlooked in this era of rapid stroke diagnosis and treatment. Acute stroke nurses are well positioned to assume leadership of glucose and temperature monitoring and treatment.

Pavement widening can increase roadway capacity and improve safety, but results in a longitudinal joint between the existing and widened section that is susceptible to longitudinal pavement cracking. Previous research on construction methods focused on the pavement layer but this research looks at the effects of joint type on the base layer. Two base widening joint types, vertical and tapered, are commonly implemented by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The objective of this study is to determine the most suitable base widening technique for durable pavement sections resistant to longitudinal cracking along the joint line. Field and laboratory evaluations were carried out on 28 existing pavement widening projects to determine the strength of the base layer as well as the occurrence and severity of longitudinal cracking. Results indicate that the tapered joint type has better strength in terms of the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer and Falling Weight Deflectometer analyses, less longitudinal cracking, a...

This paper examined the interaction between roadway geometric characteristics and adverse weather conditions and their impact on crash occurrence on rural variable speed limit freeway corridors through mountainous terrain. As a quantitative measure of the effect of geometrics in adverse weather conditions, a crash frequency safety performance function that used generalized linear regression was developed with explanatory variables including snow, ice, frost, wind, horizontal curvature, and steep grades. This research concluded that the interaction between grades and horizontal curves with weather variables had a significant impact on crash occurrence. The research suggested that distinct variable speed limit strategies should be implemented on segments with challenging roadway geometry.

Instructional practices in transportation engineering education are evolving, and only some of these changes have been documented in the literature. This paper provides a systematic review of journal articles and refereed conference papers that address innovations in transportation engineering education; the focus is on novel instructional practices and their influence on student learning. The literature review finds 46 articles for analysis, with an increasing frequency of those publications over time. Instructional practices described in these papers include simulation, visualization, problem-based learning, and other active-learning techniques. Most of these articles were written by individual researchers or a team of researchers at a single institution, and few of the articles cite one another; this finding suggests a need for more effective dissemination. Techniques for measuring student learning include in-person interviews, a variety of survey types (typically multiple choice or open-ended), concept maps, and direct assessment of student work. These techniques are implemented mostly as postassessments, but in some work, a pre- and postcourse experimental design is employed. It is clear that more rigorous evaluation of student learning, resulting from changes in teaching practices, should be considered. This analytical review of the literature provides a resource for transportation engineering educators to identify pedagogical practices that are relevant to their courses and suggestions for how to measure the effect of these techniques on student learning.

Transportation engineering is a critical subdiscipline of the civil engineering profession as indicated by its inclusion on the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination and overlap with other specialty areas of civil engineering and as recognized by TRB, ITE, and ASCE. With increasing transportation workforce needs, low numbers of students entering the pipeline, and limited hours within undergraduate civil engineering programs, it is important to ensure that civil engineering students receive adequate preparation and exposure to career opportunities in the transportation engineering field. Thus, investigations into the status of transportation engineering within civil engineering programs and specifically the introductory transportation engineering course are essential for understanding implications to the profession. Relevant literature and findings from a new survey of civil engineering programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology is reviewed; that survey yielded 84 responses. The survey indicates that 88% of responding programs teach an introductory course in transportation engineering, and 79% require it in their undergraduate programs. Significant variation exists in the structure of the introductory course (number of credit hours, laboratory requirements, etc.). Common responses about improvements that could be made include adding laboratories, requiring a second course, and broadening course content. In addition, nearly 15% of instructors teaching the introductory course did not have a primary focus in transportation engineering. This finding should be investigated further, given that the course may be an undergraduate civil engineering student's only exposure to the profession.

Transportation engineering curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels are critical to the development of technical competency in future transportation engineering professionals—those who will be responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of safe and efficient transportation systems. This paper provides an analytic review of journal articles and refereed conference papers addressing how transportation engineering curricula have changed over time. The literature review found 51 articles for analysis, with an increased frequency of those publications over time. Curriculum issues described in these papers include how transportation fits broadly within engineering programs and, more specifically, within civil engineering programs, which topics are addressed in transportation courses, and how these courses attend to stakeholder needs. This analytic review of the literature provides a resource for transportation engineering educators, administrators, and resear...

Background: In the Australian QASC Trial (Lancet 2013), better glucose and fever control improved 90 day outcomes when nurses adhered to strict monitoring/treatment protocols. We examined variance from guideline specific care for glucose and fever in an American sample. Methods: An observational study was conducted to assess compliance with AHA/ASA stroke guidelines for glucose and fever control in consecutive acute stroke patients from 5 different U.S. Stroke Centers. The first 5-days of glucose/temperature data were analyzed along with demographics and outcome measures. Results: A total of 1669 consecutive glucose and 3782 consecutive temperature measurements were taken from a sample of 235 acute stroke patients; the sample was 87% ischemic and 13% ICH, with admission median NIHSS 4.0 (range 0-34) and ICH score median 1 (range 0-5). 26% of ischemic strokes received IVtPA and/or thrombectomy. HbA1c was 5.7 + .65 (median range 4.8-11.2) in non-DM diagnosed patients vs. 8.3 + 2.3 (range 5.0-14.1; 95%CI=1.9-3.1; p180 mg/dL for >4 hours in 33% during hospitalization (Table), and the most frequent method (35%) for glucose control was regular insulin sliding scale. Temperature was >37.5 o (noncompliant with European/Australian [E/A] standards) for >4 hours in 27% of patients, and >38 o (noncompliant with US standards) for >4 hours in 10% of patients; 8% were out-of-control >8 hours (range 9-96, median 16.5 hours out-of-control) and 39% did not have temperature measured in the ED. mRS and LOS were significantly worse if temperature exceeded the E/A and US standards (Table). Temperature control to o C was an independent predictor (p Conclusions: Our study underscores the need for more vigilant control of glucose and temperature by nurses at U.S. hospitals. Given the time-sensitive ability of brain to recover from ischemia, even short-term non-compliance may have detrimental effects.

Many decisions about the content of an introductory transportation engineering course are complicated by a wide range of topics and skills to be presented in a limited amount of time. The information presented in this paper was compiled by a working group of educators who represented universities of varying sizes and geographic areas. This working group was charged with developing core concepts and associated knowledge tables for the introductory transportation course for the following core concept areas: traffic operations, transportation planning, geometric design, transportation finance, transportation economics, traffic safety, and transit and nonmotorized transport. Instructors can weave the knowledge tables together by explaining the ways of being of a transportation professional and the course learning outcomes. A key focus of the working group's efforts was to provide more guidance to instructors on core content versus optional content. The intent of the working group was not to dictate what exactly should be taught in a course. The group therefore created more content than could fit into a typical semester-long course so that instructors would have flexibility. Some content should be viewed as more critical to the transportation profession than other material, and the working group will prioritize it accordingly. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the work that has been completed and to get feedback from industry partners and other academic professionals about the curriculum. The efforts of the pilot studies over the next year will help determine the amount of time needed to cover the information in the knowledge tables.

Transportation programming, a process of selecting projects for funding given budget and other constraints, is becoming more complex as a result of new federal laws, local planning regulations, and increased public involvement. This article describes the use of an integer programming tool, Multiple Choice Knapsack Problem (MCKP), to provide optimal solutions to transportation programming problems in cases where alternative versions of projects are under consideration. In this paper, optimization methods for use in the transportation programming process are compared and then the process of building and solving the optimization problems is discussed. The concepts about the use of MCKP are presented and a real-world transportation programming example at various budget levels is provided. This article illustrates how the use of MCKP addresses the modern complexities and provides timely solutions in transportation programming practice. While the article uses transportation programming as a case study, MCKP can be useful in other fields where a similar decision among a subset of the alternatives is required.

Variable speed limit (VSL) is a type of intelligent transportation system that has shown promise for improving safety on roadways that are subject to adverse weather conditions. A new rural VSL system was installed by the Wyoming Department of Transportation along I-80 in the southeastern part of the state. Statistics on the use of the system during its initial months of implementation are presented along with analyses of the impact on observed speeds of measured weather variables and speed limits on the VSL system. Preliminary results indicate that drivers reduce their speeds by 0.47 to 0.75 mph for every mile per hour in posted speed reduction. The research lays the foundation for a decision support system that will be used in future operations of the VSL system.

Weakened purchasing power and dwindling funds are causing transportation agencies to rethink their engineering practices in order to achieve more cost-effective designs. Increasing public awareness of the impact of highway construction on the surrounding environment has also resulted in pressure on transportation agencies to minimize impacts by incorporating context sensitive solutions in their designs. Major design criteria, such as design speed and design traffic volume, ultimately determine how expensive a project will be and the level of environmental impacts that it will have. Selection of design criteria, however, begins with the determination of the functional classification of the roadway. The purpose of this technical note is to determine the costs and impacts of several typical roadways with different functional classifications, using typical design criteria for each functional classification. This work is not presented as fundamental research, but is intended to provide decision makers with an estimated range of costs and impacts associated with different functional classifications in different types of terrain, for use in making early policy level decisions.

This paper develops a quantitative model that correlates overturning freight vehicle crash records in Wyoming to measured wind speeds at nearby weather stations. The database consists of 14,700 truck crashes from 1994 to 2003 and wind speed and gust information from 21 weather stations. A binary logit model was estimated from the data to determine if there was significant correlation between weather station wind data and the likelihood that the crash was of the overturning type. While it is reasonably known that local wind speeds at the crash location are critical in predicting overturning truck crash likelihood, it was not known if distant weather station data were an adequate predictor of these crash types. The results from this work indicate that weather station data can be used as a predictor of overturning crashes. This work provides the necessary first step for the development of operational rules for roadway sections that run high risk of overturning truck crashes in high wind conditions.

Truck safety in high-wind conditions–in particular, the use of intelligent transportation system technology for operating roadway segments during high-wind conditions–is examined. The frequent high-wind conditions in Wyoming cause trucks to overturn and often lead to the closure of a road, resulting in delays, economic impact, and a loss of system reliability. This paper addresses how critical weather conditions can be identified; what the various levels of operations can be, depending on these conditions; the means for identifying at-risk vehicles; and the benefits of implementing an advanced system for operating these high-hazard roadway segments.

Launched in 1999, the Multimodal Investment Choice Analysis (MICA) project is a computer-based tool being developed to assist the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Washington State Transportation Commission, and the Washington State legislature in making state transportation funding decisions. The function of MICA is to summarize the multimodal budgetary trade-offs that will result from varying funding allocation and priority scenarios. MICA’s methodology is based on benefit-cost and goal achievement analyses. The project recently completed the first phase of research. The analysis methodology for the MICA project is outlined, and key findings from the first phase of this effort are highlighted. Tasks for the second phase of the research project are also discussed. Although challenges remain, the results of the Phase I research effort indicate that development of a multimodal analysis tool appears feasible.

The development and widespread implementation of best practices in transportation engineering classrooms is important in attracting and retaining the next generation of transportation engineers. Engineering education professionals have uncovered many best practices in the field; however, the process of effectively disseminating and ultimately achieving the widespread adoption of these best practices by others is not yet well understood. Sixty participants, including faculty members, Ph.D. students, and public-sector employees, attended a transportation engineering education workshop convened in Seattle to promote the collaborative development and adoption of active learning and conceptual exercises in the introduction to transportation engineering class. Participant assessments were conducted in the form of presurvey, postsurvey, and follow-up survey. Results showed immediately positive shifts in participant beliefs about the importance of active learning and conceptual exercises, with declines du...

Dynamic message signs (DMSs) are a component of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) used to convey real-time travel information to motorists, enabling them to make better decisions in response to real-time roadway conditions such as congestion, crashes, and adverse weather. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing DMS system implemented by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) along a rural segment of Interstate 80 in southeastern Wyoming between the cities of Laramie and Cheyenne. The research uses speed, weather, and DMS message data collected from the winter season of 2009 to 2010 along the corridor to determine how driver speed behavior is affected by DMS signs. A linear regression model utilizing four different weather severity categories was estimated and the results indicate that the DMS message signs are effective at reducing drivers’ speeds along rural interstate corridors from 8 km/h to 32 km/h (5 mi/h to 20 mi/h) above the speed reductions that can be accounted for by weather conditions alone.

We report on a 43-year-old woman who was referred for evaluation because of minor facial anomalies, myopathy, sterility, short stature, hearing loss, downward slant of palpebral fissures, bilateral ptosis, severe micro/retrognathia, high arched palate, and scoliosis. Cytogenetic analyses utilizing GTG/CBG bandings showed presence of one i(1p) and one i(1q) without normal chromosome 1 homologues. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed hybridization to only two chromosomes, consistent with the G-banded interpretation of i(1p) and i(1q). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of isochromosomes 1p and 1q replacing the two normal chromosome 1s. Molecular investigations using markers for chromosome 1 showed inheritance of only one set of paternal alleles and absence of any maternal alleles in the patient. The adverse phenotype of the patient may be due to one or more recessive mutations, genomic imprinting, or a combination of both.