State Planning & Research (SPR) Program - Part 2

Item 2100 Transportation Research BoardHTML
Beginning with FFY08, this project will only cover travel expenses and time for ODOT personnel to attend the annual TRB meeting. The TRB subscription costs are covered under a pooled fund study.

Item 2102 Research Library ServicesHTML
Provide the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and customers with an information clearinghouse. The primary goals of this Technology Transfer Office are to provide a sound, progressive, flexible library available to ODOT and Oklahoma Transportation Center’s university personnel statewide and to keep them informed of recent innovations in transportation technology, methodologies and programs as soon as information becomes available. Aligning with this is the goal of providing proficient systematic searches of all resources when needed and knowing where to reference the needed information. The Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) database will be accessed by ODOT and the Research In Progress (RIP) database will be maintained by ODOT respectively. Additional services are aimed at providing ODOT with editing and publishing capabilities to assist the Planning & Research Division in generating and distributing reports and publications. Langston University (the University) has developed the Transportation Center of Excellence to assist government entities and others in the transportation industry in the conduct of research and to provide technical assistance and training services in the resolution of transportation issues. Contract with the University to provide information, services and updates to ODOT and the state universities.

Item 2115 Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP)HTML
The purpose of this project is to maintain LTPP test sites, markings and current status, report maintenance to Southern Region Corrdination Office (SRCO), assist SRCO with data gathering as necessary, act as general liaison between SRCO and the Department. Maintain working knowledge related to SHRP product implementation, act as general liaison between FHWA and the Department for product implementation activities.

Item 2120 Technical Assistance - Special StudiesHTML
Provide ongoing technical support, or special investigations, to the Department when a full-scale research project is not warranted or when a quick turnaround is required.

Item 2130 General Research ActivityHTML
This activity covers various research activities which are necessary for the operation of a research section but which cannot be accurately included in other projects. Examples of this type of activity include: attending quality task force meetings, writing work plans for emerging research projects which have not been assigned an item number when the work plan is written, reviewing research reports, meeting with university and private researchers regarding proposed projects, attending industry seminars, conferences, etc. This project also covers costs of various professional services contracts for research projects which fill needs of the Department, but were not foreseen when the SPR work program was written, and therefore were not included as separate items. This may include special technical assistance on multiple projects, and providing matching funds for leveraging research program funds, such as OCAST/IDEA programs, for research significant to the Department.

Item 2156 Roadside Vegetation ManagementHTML
The purpose of this project is to provide ODOT with certified training related to Roadside Vegetation Management (RVM), consultation to ODOT field divisions, and development of manuals of practice for ODOT.

Item 2157 Herbicide Research ProgramHTML
The purpose of the project is to conduct field investigations which evaluate herbicide products, applications and equipment.

Item 2160 Oklahoma Transportation CenterHTML
The Oklahoma Transportation Center (OTC) is a research organization made up of researchers employed by the University of Oklahoma (OU), Oklahoma State University (OSU), and Langston University (LU). Research personnel in this organization have expertise and experience covering a wide range of transportation-related topics. The purpose of this item is to coordinate and contract research activities covering various topics on behalf of ODOT and to provide matching funds to the OTC.

Item 2188 Vegetative Rehabilitation of Highway Cut SlopesHTML
The purpose of this project is to develop improved vegetation specifications to be used on relatively steep slopes. Areas of moderate to severe erosion are occurring on highway rights of way in Eastern Oklahoma. Silt resulting from this erosion is filling ditch bottoms causing drainage problems. The answer to these recurring problems is to vegetate the erosive areas so that the soil remains on the slope and out of the drainage system. This is intended to be a five-year research project during which time, soil amendments, plant species, planting methods, planting dates, planting rates, mulches, mulch rates and application methods which demonstrate the most success will be identified. These will then be incorporated into improved vegetation specifications

Item 2194 Degradation in Selected Tributaries of Washita River in Oklahoma for Transportation PlanningHTML
To research ODOT files and digital flowline data for the preparation of longitudinal profiles of flowline for the Salt Fork Creek, Wildhorse Creek and Rush Creek tributaries of the Washita River in Oklahoma. Culverts and bridge structures will be located along these creeks, as well as, other pertinent information to obtain degradation criteria for replacement or rehabilitation. Digital data will include ArcGIS and Excel files.

Item 2196 Stability and Permeability of Proposed Aggregate Bases in OklahomaHTML
Assess the permeability of unbound aggregates that are widely used as pavement bases in Oklahoma. Laboratory results will be used to develop statistical models. Field samples will be tested for comparison. The models will be available to the pavement designers to facilitate implementation of the new AASHTO 2002 pavement design guide.

Item 2200 Instrumented Pavement ConstructionHTML
Conduct instrumented pavement research to collect and analyze mechanistic-empirical pavement design data on I-35 in McClain County, Oklahoma in an accelerated manner. Field Division 3 will construct an 800’ flexible pavement test section. The National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) will purchase equipment and install pavement monitoring instrumentation of test section. The University of Oklahoma (OU) will conduct monitoring and modeling of the test section over a five year period.

Item 2207 Validation and Refinement of Chemical Stabilization Procedures for Pavement Subgrade Soils in OklahomaHTML
The goal of this research project is to assist the state in validating and improving the recommendations of OHD L-50 “Soil Stabilization Mix Design Procedure.” The proposed research will primarily focus on AASHTO Soil Group Classifications falling under the fine-grained soil category (i.e. A-4 to A-7). It is expected that the results of testing on fine-grained soils may be intuitively extended to address variability found in fines of the A-2 soil class. Granular soils in the A-1 category and fine sandy soils of the A-3 category are not included in this proposal. In addition to the exclusions mentioned above, soils containing appreciable levels of sulfate will be excluded as these soils are not recommended for stabilization using calcium-based chemical additives. Note: a current research project at OU, funded through OTC, is focused on determining threshold levels of soluble sulfates that cause adverse behavior in chemically treated Oklahoma soils. Soils used in the currently proposed research will be subjected to soluble sulfate testing and current research on sulfate soils will help to guide the selection of suitable soil candidates for the proposed research.

Item 2208 Development and Implementation of a Mechanistic and Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for Rigid PavementsHTML
To utilize representative materials, construction methods and weather values and realistic material inputs that are typical of those used in ODOT to improve the MEPDG in an effort to improve the economy, durability and performance of rigid pavements in Oklahoma. Furthermore, results from this research study will produce several new tools that will assist ODOT to design and specify a high quality and economical concrete pavement.

Item 2209 Development of a Flexible Pavement Database for Local Calibration of MEPDGHTML
To develop a flexible pavement database and to populate this database with data required for calibration of the new Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) design criteria. Results from this project are expected to provide pavement design professionals with appropriate tools and a better understanding of how the new MEPDG will allow for optimization of materials, evaluate and incorporate new materials into designs, and evaluate the impacts of anticipated heavier loads and new axle configurations on pavement performance in Oklahoma.

Item 2210 Calcium-Based Stabilizer Induced Heave in Oklahoma Sulfate-Bearing SoilsHTML
To reveal the physical, mineralogical, electrical and chemical characteristics of Oklahoma soils that is vulnerable to adverse sulfate reactions due to calciumbased stabilizers and to develop a methodology for assessing this threat. To evaluate ODOT’s current method of soil-sulfate testing to determine the most accurate and repeatable soil sulfate test methodology possible.

Item 2211 Modeling of 85^TH Percentile Speed for Rural Highways for Enhanced Traffic SafetyHTML
To develop a Neural Network (NN) model based on appropriate pavement, traffic and environmental data such as pavement width, type and width of shoulder, topography, weather, roadside development, and accident experience as an effective tool for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) in determining the 85th percentile speed on twolane rural highways in Oklahoma. With this research, the model is expected to be useful in enhancing traffic safety and reducing accidents and fatalities resulting from improper posting of speed limits on rural highways in the state of Oklahoma.

Item 2212 Roadway Weather Information System and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) CoordinationHTML
To develop an intelligent winter weather vehicle monitoring system that integrates automatic vehicle location (AVL) information from relevant vehicles with information regarding where and which chemicals have been recently applied. This information will also be integrated with weather sensor data from ODOT pavement and bridge sensors as well as other weather information including data from the Oklahoma Mesonet. This information will allow for improved monitoring of road conditions across the state and improved coordination and deployment of relevant vehicles. By maximizing the application of winter weather techniques (including the application of chemicals) to areas in which conditions pose the highest risk of accidents, traveler safety can be improved while at the same time, the destructive impacts of these techniques can be applied less frequently to pavement and bridges in areas in which conditions pose a lower risk.

Item 2213 Quantifying the Costs and Benefits of Pavement Retexturing as a Pavement Preservation ToolHTML
To build on research done in Australia and New Zealand (Austroads 2005) by conducting a long-term study of various methods to restore pavement skid resistance by retexturing the existing surface with either a surface treatment, chemical treatment, or a mechanical process and furnish ODOT with the technical engineering data for each treatment coupled with an economic analysis of the costs and benefits associated with each treatment. This will furnish ODOT pavement managers the required information to make rational engineering decisions based on physical and financial data for the use of potential pavement preservation tools, evaluated under the same conditions over the same period by an impartial investigator. Researchers expect to produce a guidebook for use by ODOT pavement managers that represents a pavement preservation “toolbox” of available tools to restore both skid resistance and pavement macrotexture. The cost index and life cycle cost analyses will furnish ODOT personnel with the financial information to enable them to make an informed business decision as to the value added by each alternative in the trial. This project will produce a product that potentially can achieve an immediate impact on the safety of Oklahoma roads and highways.

Item 2214 Use of MSE Technology to Stabilize Highway Embankments and Slopes in OklahomaHTML
To determine a moisture reduction factor (MRF) to account for the influence of soil moisture content on pullout resistance of soil-geotextile interfaces in reinforced soil. This study will be part of a long-term research that is aimed at developing a better understanding of the mechanics of unsaturated soil-reinforcement interfaces involving marginal soils. The outcome of this study will help to develop reliable procedures to account for the loss of soil-reinforcement interface strength due to wetting, in order to achieve a safer design and disseminate them into the current state of practice.

Item 2215 Tube Suction Test for Evaluating Durability of Cementitiously Stabilized SoilsHTML
Changes in climatic conditions, namely freeze-thaw and wet-dry, have been recognized by pavement engineers as a major factor in poor pavement performance. Strength and stability of subgrade soil, which supports the pavement structure, is a key factor in pavement performance. A more time-efficient, inexpensive and non-abrasive method, called Tube Suction Test (TST), will be used in the proposed study to evaluate durability of selected stabilized soils that are frequently encountered in Oklahoma. A test protocol for the assessment of durability using the TST will be developed in this study and verified by comparing results with the current test methods, namely wet-dry (ASTM D 559), freeze-thaw (ASTMD560), vacuum saturation (ASTM C 593), and unconfined compressive strength. The results from this study will be useful in modifying the current ODOT procedure, Soil Stabilization Mix Design Procedure (OHD L-50), for the selection of additive percent. Assessment of durability using the TST will be time-efficient, non-abrasive, and inexpensive, making it attractive to design engineers and industry.

Item 2216 Auto-Collision Avoidance System at IntersectionsHTML
To reduce collisions at intersections by designing a prototype system that will provide real-time forewarning to drivers who are in danger of a collision as they approach an intersection. This system assists existing passive intersection control devices by implementing better methods for attracting all approaching drivers’ attention. The warning system will gather the attention of approaching motorists in a timely fashion, so they will have time to react to the impending danger. This innovative system provides better effectiveness in reducing collisions compared to the existing intersection control devices, because it makes the intersection active and aware of its surroundings and enables it to convey this knowledge to approaching drivers in real-time. Reduction in traffic accidents will be effective in alleviating property damage and loss of life and health due to these collisions at intersections.

Item 2700 Experimental Product and Evaluation ProgramHTML
This project was established to provide ODOT with a means of providing for the (experimental) use, monitoring, evaluation and implementation of products for highway and bridge construction where the products do not meet current ODOT standards and specifications.