Search

Avalanche susceptibility assessment is a core aspect of regional avalanche early warning and risk analysis and is of great significance for disaster prevention and mitigation on proposed highways. Using sky–ground integration investigation, 83 avalanche points within the G219 Wen Quan to Horgos transportation corridor were identified, and the avalanche hazard susceptibility of the transportation corridor was partitioned using the certainty factor (CF) model and the coupled coefficient of the certainty factor–Geodetector (CF-GD) model. The CF model analysis presented nine elements of natural conditions which influence avalanche development; then, by applying the Geodetector for each of the factors, a weighting coefficient was given depending on its importance for avalanche occurrence. The results demonstrate the following: (1) According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve used to verify the accuracy, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value for the CF-GD coupled model is 0.889, which is better than the value of 0.836 of the CF model's evaluation accuracy, and the coupled model improves the accuracy by about 6.34% compared with the single model, indicating that the coupled model is more accurate. The results provide avalanche prevention and control recommendations for the G219 Wen Quan to Horgos transportation corridor. (2) The slope orientation, slope gradient, and mean winter temperature gradient are the main factors for avalanche development in the study area. (3) The results were validated based on the AUC values. The AUCs of the CF-GD coupled model and the CF model were 0.889 and 0.836, respectively. The accuracy of the coupled model was improved by about 6.34% compared to the single model, and the coupled CF-GD model was more accurate. The results provide avalanche control recommendations for the G219 Wen Quan to Horgos transportation corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to identify lessons learned from experiences of multi-stakeholder collaboration in governance processes focused on adaptation to sea level rise for specific transportation corridors/assets across different areas of California. Four transportation assets in California were selected as case studies: State Route 37 in the Bay Area; the Cardiff Beach Living Shorelines Project and the LOSSAN railroad at Del Mar in San Diego County; and the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles County. The study methods included attendance of policy meetings; document analysis; and interviews of staff at (local, regional, and state) government bodies, transportation agencies, climate collaboratives, etc. The study identified three major governance challenges shared among these cases: (1) stakeholder involvement or collaboration with ‘unusual’ partners; (2) jurisdictional fragmentation; and (3) lack of funding. The lessons learned to address these challenges were: (a) include a wide range of stakeholders early on in the project; (b) identify an intermediary or facilitator with relevant knowledge and social capital with the stakeholders; (c) establish a forum for negotiations and information exchange; (d) draft a memorandum of understanding with the rules of collaboration; (e) appoint a project manager to tie all the project parts and stakeholders together and sustain engagement; (f) structure the collaboration in tiers from technical/operational to executive/political; (g) explore options to make any given project a multi-benefit project; (h) advocate for a multi-year stream of funding rather than a lump sum; (i) leverage collaboration for funding and highlight, to potential funders, the collaborative element as a means to increase the efficiency of their investment. Issues to consider when deriving lessons from other jurisdictions were: differences in capacity, or available resources and staff; the numbers of actors involved; pre-existing positive collaborative relationships between the actors; exposure of transportation assets to sea-level rise; existing vulnerabilities of the corridor/asset; and the economic relevance of the corridor/asset.

Signage visibility along transportation corridors is critical for drivers in terms of road safety, traffic flow, and enforcement. Traffic signs that are easy to recognize by drivers and autonomous vehicles can help in avoiding accidents and improve safety. Nowadays, Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) equipped with LiDAR units can scan road network components and its surrounding environment at a normal driving speed while collecting accurate geospatial data. Most traffic signs have well-defined geometric characteristics (e.g., linear or planar features) which can be identified in the 3D LiDAR data acquired by MMS. Therefore, MMS LiDAR data are an ideal source to recognize traffic signs. In addition to traffic sign detection, MMS can also identify vegetation along the right-of-way and evaluate signage visibility. Thus, this paper presents a framework for using MMS LiDAR data for traffic sign and vegetation detection which is a prerequisite for signage visibility analysis. For signage and vegetation detection, two alternative strategies are adopted: 1) a morphological approach and 2) a learning-based approach. For the geometric/morphological approach, Multi-Class Simultaneous Segmentation (MCSS) is utilized in this study. As for the learning-based strategy, semantic segmentation of LiDAR data are performed using Super Point Graph (SPG). Lastly, signage visibility analysis is conducted based on the occlusion rate assessed from different driver’s viewpoints.

Avalanche susceptibility assessment is a core aspect of regional avalanche early warning and risk analysis and is of great significance for disaster prevention and mitigation on proposed highways. Using sky–ground integration investigation, 83 avalanche points within the G219 Wen Quan to Horgos transportation corridor were identified, and the avalanche hazard susceptibility of the transportation corridor was partitioned using the certainty factor (CF) model and the coupled coefficient of the certainty factor–Geodetector (CF-GD) model. The CF model analysis presented nine elements of natural conditions which influence avalanche development; then, by applying the Geodetector for each of the factors, a weighting coefficient was given depending on its importance for avalanche occurrence. The results demonstrate the following: (1) According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve used to verify the accuracy, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value for the CF-GD coupled model is 0.889, which is better than the value of 0.836 of the CF model’s evaluation accuracy, and the coupled model improves the accuracy by about 6.34% compared with the single model, indicating that the coupled model is more accurate. The results provide avalanche prevention and control recommendations for the G219 Wen Quan to Horgos transportation corridor. (2) The slope orientation, slope gradient, and mean winter temperature gradient are the main factors for avalanche development in the study area. (3) The results were validated based on the AUC values. The AUCs of the CF-GD coupled model and the CF model were 0.889 and 0.836, respectively. The accuracy of the coupled model was improved by about 6.34% compared to the single model, and the coupled CF-GD model was more accurate. The results provide avalanche control recommendations for the G219 Wen Quan to Horgos transportation corridor.

Rapid slope instabilities (i.e., rockfalls) involving highway networks in mountainous areas pose a threat to facilities, settlements and life, thus representing a challenge for asset management plans. To identify different morphological expressions of degradation processes that lead to rock mass destabilization, we combined satellite and uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based products over two study sites along the State Highway 133 sector near Paonia Reservoir, Colorado (USA). Along with a PS-InSAR analysis covering the 2017–2021 interval, a high-resolution dataset composed of optical, thermal and multi-spectral imagery was systematically acquired during two UAS surveys in September 2021 and June 2022. After a pre-processing step including georeferencing and orthorectification, the final products were processed through object-based multispectral classification and change detection analysis for highlighting moisture or lithological variations and for identifying areas more susceptible to deterioration and detachments at the small and micro-scale. The PS-InSAR analysis, on the other hand, provided multi-temporal information at the catchment scale and assisted in understanding the large-scale morpho-evolution of the displacements. This synergic combination offered a multiscale perspective of the superimposed imprints of denudation and mass-wasting processes occurring on the study site, leading to the detection of evidence and/or early precursors of rock collapses, and effectively supporting asset management maintenance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to growing traffic congestion, significant variations in travel time can be seen in Indian cities. This has led to inconsistency and uncertainty about reaching destinations on time. Therefore, average speeds cannot be the only factor in assessing traffic performance. Travel time reliability is a more crucial parameter to evaluate traffic performance considering the inconsistency and uncertainty involved in travel times. The probe vehicle technique is often employed to measure the travel time. However, this technique can yield only a small sample unless huge resources are deployed. Therefore, this paper attempts to develop a travel time reliability-consistency evaluation model (TTRC-EM) for limited and ambiguous information using a novel fuzzy-possibility approach. Two urban corridors, representing arterial and sub-arterial situations, are taken as a case study in Surat, India. The developed model can be applied to evaluate corridor traffic performance and assign a level of service under mixed traffic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proximity of residential areas to traffic corridors has raised concerns among researchers regarding train-induced vibrations. Experimental studies have consistently shown variations in train-induced vibrations, which can be attributed to uncertainties and randomness in both the vibration source and propagation path. This study aims to investigate the influence factors and quantify their contributions to train-induced vibration variations through a comprehensive field measurement campaign and numerical simulations using random finite element models. During the field measurements, vibrations were recorded at the ground surface and the column base for a total of 53 passbys of the same type of metro train on parallel rail lines. Variations in train-induced vibrations caused by the source-to-receiver distance and spatially varied soil properties were analyzed and compared. Specifically, the investigation focused on the spatial variation of soil properties including elastic modulus, density and damping ratio in the topsoil and the second layer of clay, while simultaneously considering the influence of spatial variations of all three soil properties on the transmission of train-induced vibrations from the surface soil to the structural columns. Understanding these variations is crucial for the probabilistic assessment of building serviceability during train passbys. The findings of this research provide valuable insights for probabilistic prediction and evaluation of building vibration comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the land use heterogeneity and trip distribution non-equilibrium along the corridor connecting urban district and rural area, the operation characteristics of the all-stop bus, the express bus and the shuttle bus running on the transportation corridor should be given full consideration, as well as the tradeoff between passenger trip cost and bus operation cost during the peak-hour period. In order to realize the reliable decision of bus resources configuration for urban-rural public transportation, a bi-objective programming model of multi-modal urban-rural bus operation scheme is established, where the decision variables include the departure frequency of different bus modals, the terminals of shuttle buses, and the stop scheme of express buses, under the constraints of departure interval, passenger volume, vehicle occupancy, section capacity usage and modal competition. To validate the feasibility of proposed optimization model, an urban-rural bus corridor from Rural Jasmine Ecological Park in Hanjiang District to West Xiangyang Bridge in Songqiao Town was chosen as a study case, and the operation organization scheme of three bus modals were solved by the mathematical solver Lingo using mixed integer programming. Meanwhile, the scheme differences under different subobjective weights were discussed, taking into account the uncertain passenger demand and operation supply. The result shows that the increase of passenger trip cost weight will increase the departure frequency of all three bus modals, while the increase of operation cost weight will decrease the total operating vehicles, but the stop frequency at middle stations for express buses will increase accordingly. Compared to the current operation scheme, the optimized scheme can greatly enhance the section capacity usage at a slight sacrifice of passenger trip time with fewer bus vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the concept of symmetry is utilized to design the trajectory planning for parallel parking of autonomous ground vehicles—that is, the construction and the solution of the optimization-based trajectory planning approach are symmetrical. Parking is the main factor that troubles most drivers for their daily driving travel, and it can even lead to traffic congestion in severe cases. With the rise of new intelligent and autonomous vehicles, automatic parking seems to have become a trend. Traditional geometric planning methods are less adaptable to parking scenarios, while the parking paths planned by graph search methods may only achieve local optimality. Additionally, significant computational time is often required by numerical optimization methods to find a parking path when a good initial solution is not available. This paper presents a hierarchical trajectory planning approach for high-quality parallel parking of autonomous ground vehicles. The approach begins with a graph search layer to roughly generate an initial solution, which is refined by a numerical optimization layer to produce a high-quality parallel parking trajectory. Considering the high dimensionality and difficulty of finding an optimal solution for the path planning optimization problem, this paper proposes an improved safe travel corridor (I-STC) with the construction of collision constraints isolated from surrounding environmental obstacles. By constructing collision constraints of the I-STC based on the initial solution, the proposed method avoids the complexities and non-differentiability of traditional obstacle avoidance constraints, and simplifies the problem modeling the subsequent numerical optimization process. The simulation results demonstrate that the I-STC is capable of generating parallel parking trajectories with both comfort and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey's Kurdish borderlands, smugglers occasionally entered insurgent corridors, the guerrilla-controlled mountainous passages, to bypass state control. This article takes insurgent corridors to frame sovereignty as monopolization of space-making and proposes space-making as a key analytic to examine the forms of sovereignty that facilitate or undermine specific extractive practices. As a spatial form, corridors are central to the claiming and exercising sovereignty and extraction without having complete territorial control across a bounded space or the whole population in that space, the territoriality identified with nation-states. By controlling corridor space and monopolizing the traffic in them, colonial empires, nation-states, corporations, and rebel movements exercised sovereignty and extracted value that is carried or generated by corridor traffic. The insurgent corridors further complicate corridor sovereignty as the Kurdish guerillas monopolized corridor-making without monopolizing and extracting the corridor traffic under a post-nation-state political vision that favors grassroots democratized organization of mobilities and livelihoods rather than centralized exclusive authority and biopolitical governance on them. The insurgent corridors constituted what I call countersovereignty, a practice contesting not only the existing state sovereignty but also political models of nation-state sovereignty and territoriality. While anthropologists understand refusal as disengagement from actors claiming sovereign superiority, the insurgent corridor countersovereignty entailed a distinct form of political refusal that rejects mimicking state sovereignty and associated forms of biopolitical governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed 13 case studies from Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, on the effects of transportation corridors on pronghorn (Antiocapra americana). What do we know and what can we do about it? Since the mid-1900s, naturalists/biologists have known that transportation corridors such as highway and railroad rights-of-way can affect pronghorn populations. Beginning in 1983, we have radiomarked ~250 adult pronghorn across Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico to assess the effects of transportation corridors on various populations. During this over 20-year period, we conducted 3 studies, 1 in Sonora, Mexico, on the endangered Sonoran pronghorn (A. a. sonoriensis) and 10 studies in central and northern Arizona on other subspecies. With >34,000 radio locations, we report on the documented effects of transportation corridors from these 13 case studies. Transportation corridor effects varied by type of corridor (number of lanes, fenced vs. unfenced, and presumably by traffic volume). Pronghorn readily crossed paved, unfenced roadways with low traffic volume, occasionally crossed paved, fenced 2-lane highways, but only in certain situations, but did not cross high-volume highways or divided interstates. Railroad rights--of-way also isolated pronghorn herds and fragmented habitat. Six mitigation ideas are presented and discussed that could improve the likelihood of pronghorn crossings. The current “wildlife missing linkages” project in Arizona is attempting to identify fragmentation of habitat across the state due to transportation corridors and plan for remedies to lessen the impact of transportation on many species of wildlife, including pronghorn. We conclude that additional research on mitigation features is warranted.

"One-chance" criminality has become public transport threat in Lagos State where passengers are trapped through deceit, robbed, and victimized by individuals or groups pretending to offer public transportation services. Understanding the strategies and victimization experiences may help illuminate this phenomenon toward developing preventive cues and appropriate institutional response. This study, therefore examines "one-chance" strategies and the victimization experiences of passengers in Lagos public transportation corridors. The Routine Activities Theory (RAT) is used to explain the phenomenon using exploratory research design. The snowball technique was used to reach victims of one-chance robbery who responded to in-depth interview guide questions which probed into the strategies, victimization experiences and coping strategies. Findings show that timing, disguise/deception, taking unusual routes, tampering with the vehicle central lock, reworking the seatbelt, and winding up glasses are methods adopted by the one-chance robbery perpetrators to victimize. Physical assaults (beating with all kinds of weapons, sexual assaults, and forced pushing out of the vehicle at top speed which could lead to the victim's disability or death) and loss of valuables (dispossession of jewelleries, monies, and phones). Participants increased vigilance before boarding, hailing a private taxi and instrumentalised religion for protection as coping strategies. The study provokes mapping of "one-chance" hot-spots by law enforcement authorities and routine adjustment for commuters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid slope instabilities (i.e., rockfalls) involving highway networks in mountainous areas pose a threat to facilities, settlements and life, thus representing a challenge for asset management plans. To identify different morphological expressions of degradation processes that lead to rock mass destabilization, we combined satellite and uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based products over two study sites along the State Highway 133 sector near Paonia Reservoir, Colorado (USA). Along with a PS-InSAR analysis covering the 2017–2021 interval, a high-resolution dataset composed of optical, thermal and multi-spectral imagery was systematically acquired during two UAS surveys in September 2021 and June 2022. After a pre-processing step including georeferencing and orthorectification, the final products were processed through object-based multispectral classification and change detection analysis for highlighting moisture or lithological variations and for identifying areas more susceptible to deterioration and detachments at the small and micro-scale. The PS-InSAR analysis, on the other hand, provided multi-temporal information at the catchment scale and assisted in understanding the large-scale morpho-evolution of the displacements. This synergic combination offered a multiscale perspective of the superimposed imprints of denudation and mass-wasting processes occurring on the study site, leading to the detection of evidence and/or early precursors of rock collapses, and effectively supporting asset management maintenance practices.

Introduction: Transportation corridors, as special economic corridors, have a greater impact on land cover and landscape pattern changes. Methods: Therefore, 10 buffer zones were established at 1 km intervals on both sides of the Longhai Railway as the centerline to trace the impact of the railroad corridor on the land use change and regional landscape pattern change of the cities along the line from 1985 to 2020. Result: The results show that: (1) The land cover changes along the railroad corridor during the 35 years are mainly characterized by the conversion between cropland, grassland, and construction land. Compared with 1985, in 2020, the construction land increased by 161.96%, the grassland area decreased by 11.83%, and the cropland area decreased by 15.83%. (2) The fragmentation of land patches and vegetation coverage is negatively and positively correlated with the buffer zone distance, respectively. In the same year, the comprehensive landuse dynamic degree is smaller as it is further away from the railway. The nighttime light index in the buffer zone is significantly correlated with the land aggregation index and average patch area, and the closer to the railroad, the higher the land aggregation index of construction land. (3) In terms of zoning, the intensity of land cover and landscape pattern changes in the eastern section is higher than that in the western section, with a higher degree of land fragmentation and more agglomeration of construction land, and the transportation corridor has a greater impact on the change of integrated land use motives in this region. The results of the study can provide a scientific basis for optimising the spatial pattern of land and improving the ecological environment in the construction of cross-regional transport corridors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a generalizable planning and assessment process fortransportation planning adaptive to sea level rise (SLR). State Route 37(SR-37) is the California highway most vulnerable to temporary floodingand permanent inundation as a result of SLR. Like many other coastal highwaysin the United States, SR-37 is adjacent to protected coastal systems(e.g., beaches, tidal wetlands), meaning that any activity on the highway issubject to regulatory oversight. Both SR-37 and the surrounding marshesare vulnerable to the effects of SLR. Because of a combination of congestionand threats from SLR, planning for a new highway adaptive and resilientto SLR impacts was conducted in the context of stakeholder participationand Eco-Logical, a planning process developed by FHWA to better integratetransportation and environmental planning. To understand whichstretches of SR-37 might be most vulnerable to SLR and to what degree, amodel of potential inundation was developed with a recent, high-resolutionelevation assessment conducted using lidar. This model projects potentialinundation by comparing future daily and extreme tide levels with surroundingground elevations. The vulnerability of each segment was scoredaccording to its exposure to SLR effects, sensitivity to SLR, and adaptivecapacity (ability of other roadways to absorb traffic). The risk to each segmentfrom SLR was determined by estimating and aggregating impacts tocosts of improvement, recovery time (from impacts), public safety impacts,economic impacts, impacts on transit routes, proximity to communitiesof concern, and impacts on recreational activities.

This paper formulates a cooperative traffic control methodology that integrates traffic signal timing and ramp metering decisions into an optimization model to improve traffic operations in a corridor network. A mixed integer linear model is formulated and is solved in real time within a model predictive controller framework, where the cell transmission model is used as the system state predictor. The methodology is benchmarked in a case study corridor in San Mateo, CA, in VISSIM with two optimization scenarios, namely, optimal metering and optimal signal control, and two simulation scenarios with a preset metering plan and no metering. The numerical results show that integrated traffic signal and ramp metering control reduces delays, stops, and travel times of the corridor by up to 33.1%, 36%, and 16.4%, respectively, compared to existing benchmark conditions. With appropriate weights prioritizing freeway or arterial street operations, the integrated control balances traffic congestion between the arterial street and the freeway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The model corridor stretching from Mumbai (India) to St. Petersburg (Russia) through Iran and Azerbaijan is known as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This multi-modal corridor is around 7,200 km long and consists of rail, roads, and waterways. The main objective of the construction of the corridor is to improve connectivity and trade relations between the North and the South. It will play a crucial role in promoting regional cooperation and economic integration. Bilateral relations between the member countries will be developed through the project. India will have easy access to the resourcerich Central Asian nations via this corridor, bypassing Pakistan. It will help India by exporting its products to the North and Central Asian countries, including Russia, and importing hydrocarbons at a lower cost by avoiding the traditional long-time route. In the present geopolitical situation, this venture will also improve India's strategic relations with the member countries. Although the project at present is suffering from some glitches, it will be a game changer for India's Eurasia policy in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As urbanization rapidly progresses, streets have transitioned from mere transportation corridors to crucial spaces for daily life and social interaction. While past research has examined the impact of physical street characteristics on walkability, there is still a lack of large-scale quantitative assessments. This study systematically evaluates street walkability in Seongbuk District, Seoul, through the integration of streetscape images, machine learning, and space syntax. The physical characteristics of streets were extracted and analyzed in conjunction with space syntax to assess street accessibility, leading to a combined analysis of walkability and accessibility. The results reveal that the central and western regions of Seongbuk District outperform the eastern regions in overall street performance. Additionally, the study identifies four distinct street types based on their spatial distribution: high accessibility–high overall score, high accessibility–low overall score, low accessibility–high overall score, and low accessibility–low overall score. The findings not only provide a scientific basis for street development in Seongbuk District but also offer valuable insights for assessing and enhancing walkability in cities globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review, part funded by Network Rail Ltd (UK), considers the role of transportation corridors in habitat connectivity within temperate climates, through verge habitat, surrounding matrix, movement along and across the corridor, the wider landscape context and management practices. PICO terms were developed for the bibliographic search on 15/11/22 using Web of Science (all databases), yielding 168 studies for review. The risk of bias was minimised by excluding non-peer reviewed papers. Large and exotic taxa were excluded due to a focus on temperate zones, as were studies on invasive species and climate change where the primary focus was not ecological connectivity. Emergent themes were used to structure the paper. Results indicate that transportation corridors have significant potential for habitat connectivity, especially for generalist and open-specialist species, which favour early to mid-successional habitats. However, physiology is a key determinant in dispersal ability. Vegetation management should consider representative communities rather than individual species. Gaps exist in the range of taxa studied, understanding of seasonal variations and lifecycle stages supported in verges, survival factors such as predation and disease and changes to community structure. Rail environments are under-represented and there is limited knowledge on the relative impacts of vegetation management regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study critically examines the spatial dynamics of urban sprawl and land use changes in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, over the past three decades, utilizing advanced remote sensing and GIS methodologies. The primary objective is to elucidate the patterns of urban expansion and its consequential impacts on green infrastructure. The findings reveal a pronounced increase in built-up areas, with the most significant growth observed towards the north-northwest (NNW) and west-southwest (WSW) directions, driven by the presence of major transportation corridors and proximate urban centers. The LULC classification achieved high accuracy, with Producer's accuracy ranging from 81 to 94.4%, User's accuracy from 73.7 to 100%, and Overall accuracy between 84.5 and 93.8%, accompanied by a Kappa coefficient of 0.78 to 0.83. These results underscore the robust methodology employed and highlight the critical need for integrated urban planning approaches that prioritize sustainable development and green infrastructure preservation. The study's conclusions offer substantial contributions to the academic discourse on urbanization, providing actionable insights for policymakers and urban planners to manage urban growth effectively and sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of globalization on transportation corridors in Azerbaijan, which are strategically located to serve as hubs for crossroads between north-south and east-west trade. The main hypothesis is that globalization has had a significant impact on transportation corridors in Azerbaijan, resulting in greater connectivity and trade flows within the region. The recent triumph over Armenia has resulted in significant changes in the region, enhancing Azerbaijan's reputation. Alongside the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions on Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan has emerged as a secure passage between these influential powers. Furthermore, the rising demands for major international trade routes have created a pressing need for Azerbaijan to enhance its capabilities to effectively meet these growing requirements. According to the World Systems Theory, semi-periphery countries play the role of bridges between core and periphery states. Globalization has led to Azerbaijan's integration into the global economic system as a semi-peripheral country. This has resulted in increased trade and investment, which in turn has led to the development of transportation infrastructure and the expansion of transportation networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a landslide that occurred on the G213 National Highway in Songpan County, Sichuan, China. The landslide, which was triggered by heavy rainfall, led to the closure of the highway for almost 50 days and caused damage to infrastructure. The article provides a detailed analysis of the landslide, including information about the geological setting, climate conditions, and morphology. The study emphasizes the importance of long-term monitoring and disaster prevention measures in landslide-prone areas and provides data that can be used for further research and awareness. [Extracted from the article]

This literature review is the culmination of the first phase of a research study directed at reviewing, analyzing, and quantifying the impacts of transportation corridors’ design features on user behavior, safety, community and economic vitality, environmental quality, and public health. The research project aims to provide transportation agencies with information to facilitate more defensible measurement of the effects of corridor design features on the quality of life of the communities and rural environments through which they run. The research is directed at transportation corridors under the jurisdiction of state highway departments, and is concerned with controlled-access freeways, expressways, arterials, and “main street” highways. The focus is primarily on corridor roadsides, rather than vehicle roadbeds, because these are the interface zones between roadways and communities or the rural landscape. (See Table 4: Caltrans Terminology for definitions of “roadside” and “roadbed.”) Because of their potential contributions to quality of life issues, attention has also been paid to non-roadside design elements that contribute to traffic calming, walkability, and bikability, such as travel lane widths, crosswalks, and bicycle lanes. Funding and time constraints necessarily limit the scope of the research project such that transit-related roadside design elements, such as bus shelters, are not considered.This literature review assesses the recent published research that has been identified as most relevant for this research project. The ultimate goal of the research project is to develop quantifiable performance measures derived from this review of the research, and then to test the performance measures via case study analysis of selected transportation corridors.

While the potential importance of corridors has been acknowledged for both native and non-native species, little is known about how corridors actually function in developed and fragmented landscapes. Transportation corridors, such as roads and freeways, provide fairly consistent habitat conditions traversing nearly all man-made developments, including cropland, suburbs, reserves, and cities, and connect them with undeveloped areas. The combination of the particular conditions along road and freeway verges and the characteristics of the plants that reach these corridors will ultimately determine which species, native or not, will be able to move within cities and developed areas, as well as to and from cities and surrounding undeveloped areas. This study will advance ecological understanding of the plant species that are able to move through existing corridors in arid and semi-arid urban areas. Urban areas, including freeway corridors, are intensively managed. This study will consider human management and urban development as integral and natural parts of the ecosystem under study. Understanding the similarities and differences in traits that affect movement of plant species along corridors will provide evidence as to whether native and non-native or functional groupings of species actually move differently in corridors. It will contribute to the literature on assessing the potential for particular plant species to invade new areas. Linking local plant processes to the larger landscape scale of movement between cities and undeveloped areas will have important implications for conservation planning in both environments. Twenty sites were selected along the four major freeways in the cardinal directions around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Beginning in March 2004, vegetation surveys have been performed seasonally at each site. In addition, seedbank samples and bulk-soil samples were collected at each site. The seed-bank samples are germinating in the greenhouse to determine the seed-bank composition; analysis of physical soil characteristics and available and total levels of soil nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) is nearly complete. Initial soil-chemistry results show that levels of plant-extractable nitrate are significantly increased in the surface soil located directly adjacent to the asphalt (ANOVA using log surface soil concentration; F = 5.556, P = 0.005). There were also significant differences between sites located adjacent to different land uses, with the sites located in the more densely developed city areas having higher nitrate levels than those at the edges of developed areas. The urban residential sites had the highest levels, followed by croplands, then lower density “fringe” development, and desert sites had the lowest levels of extractable nitrate (ANOVA using log surface soil concentration, F = 123.67, P < 0.001; Fisher’s multiple comparison, all combos P < 0.001). The plant community composition and seed-bank composition at these sites will be compared with nutrient levels to determine whether similar patterns emerge. It is likely that in the typically nitrogen-limited Sonoran Desert, the addition of nitrogen as a result of exhaust from combustion engines is significantly impacting which plant species are most likely to grow along the roadsides. This raises the question of whether heavily traveled roadsides in naturally nutrient-limited ecosystems should be considered as potential vegetation reserves, since intense maintenance would likely be needed to maintain a native community. Perhaps these areas are best landscaped with species unlikely to move along the highway corridors, whether native or not. The results of this research will advance ecological understanding in several ways. I will elucidate the suite of plant traits that allow effective dispersal in fragmented landscapes with well-defined corridors, clarifying whether these corridors favor plants with particular traits, rather than native or non-native species. This study will increase understanding of the connection between urban and extra-urban environments and will have important implications for conservation planning in both types of environments. Finally, this research specifically incorporates humans into ecological theory, including human management and urban development as an integral and natural part of the ecosystem under study. The project results will also be useful to highway and road managers, particularly in arid areas. The results will illuminate potential management techniques that will enhance or prevent plant migration along transportation corridors, as well as providing information on how management of transportation verges for objectives other than plant dispersal is likely to affect plant community composition.

This review examines the state of railway transportation in Central Asia within the context of the Silk Road initiative, tracing its origins from the United States' New Silk Road strategy. Despite recent setbacks, the Silk Route has become a crucial geopolitical tool for military, political, and economic interests, with corridors like Kazakhstan's Terminal and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan route identified for potential revitalization. Uzbekistan, particularly in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan corridor, emerges as pivotal for advancing the Silk Road initiative. A comprehensive analysis of data collection methodologies employed in studying these corridors is also included to ensure the reliability and validity of the findings. Employing a multifaceted methodology, including quantitative analysis of infrastructure metrics, case studies of specific projects, a literature review synthesizing existing knowledge, and comparative analysis drawing parallels and contrasts, this study explores opportunities and challenges in enhancing these corridors, aiming to contribute to the broader strategy's rejuvenation in Central Asia. By analyzing current conditions and proposing improvements, the research seeks to optimize railway transport, aligning with the Silk Road's historical significance in the contemporary geopolitical landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) using fiber-optic cables has potential for landslide and rockfall monitoring along linear infrastructure but faces challenges for accurate seismic source localization due to signal nonuniformity and attenuation during propagation. This limits the applicability of traditional seismic location methods with DAS. We present a novel computer vision–based approach to overcome these limitations. Field experiments simulating landslide quakes and rockfall impacts were conducted near dedicated DAS arrays to validate the method. Results demonstrate the computer vision technique outperforms short-to-long-term average ratio and cross-correlation algorithms in both location accuracy and constraint of seismic sources, with locations also agreeing well with a colocated nodal seismic array. Key factors influencing performance include the type of signal processing used on the DAS data and cable array geometry. The envelope function best handled noise while L-shape and parallel dual-cable geometries proved most effective. Overall, this computer vision method provides an improved solution for seismic source location of landslides and rockfalls monitored by DAS networks, enhancing safety along vulnerable linear infrastructure like transportation corridors through mountainous terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula White (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), is an invasive Southeast Asian planthopper that was recently introduced into the eastern United States and spreads along human transportation corridors by 'hitch‐hiking' on vehicles and cargo.To better understand the risk of establishment when mobile life stages are moved, it is critical to know how long spotted lanternfly mobile life stages will survive without food and water under different temperatures.This work reports on spotted lanternfly first, second, and third instar nymphal and adult survival without food over the 10–30°C temperature range. Survival time without food declined exponentially as temperature increased for all life stages of spotted lanternfly that were evaluated.At temperatures <30°C, first instar nymphs survived longer than second or third instar individuals. Female adults survived about 1 day longer than male adults at all but 10 and 25°C.Without food, 99% of all adults of both sexes are predicted to be dead in less than a week over the temperature range evaluated. First instars, which were the smallest, survived the longest and their survival exponentially decreased as temperature increased.This suggests that more attention to first instar movement may be warranted. The data presented here will provide a basis for assessing the risk of survival of transported spotted lanternfly active life stages along various pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatial requirements of exploited wildlife species, including population density and home range size, is important for wildlife management and conservation. Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are hunted and trapped across the Arctic, and are vulnerable to numerous, often interrelated, threats resulting from anthropogenic changes in their environment. Previous population density estimates for wolverines in the Arctic range tenfold, from the lowest to highest available for the species, limiting their utility outside the specific areas and times they were derived. The most recent density estimate in Arctic Alaska, USA, was produced 4 decades ago and was derived from a relatively small study area. We evaluated wolverine population density and home range size across the North Slope of Alaska during 2017–2022 using global positioning system (GPS)‐based collar data and spatial capture‐recapture models. Population density estimates were 2.0 individuals/1,000 km2 (95% credible interval = 1.3–3.5) in 2018 and 2.8 individuals/1,000 km2 (95% credible interval = 1.7–3.5) in 2021. Median home range sizes modeled with autocorrelated kernel density estimators and Ornstein‐Uhlenbeck foraging movement processes were 699 km2 (range = 158–2,895 km2) among 12 females and 2,332 km2 (range = 797–4,699 km2) among 10 males. These population density estimates are nearly 10 times lower than the previous estimate for Arctic Alaska. We recommend incorporating this information into management strategies to ensure sustainable harvest, particularly as the region's remote areas are more efficiently accessed by hunters and are being considered for transportation corridors supporting new industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]