Bridges, Roads & Tunnels

The intended activities of the project are to:

• Conduct comprehensive review of the existing ITS system architecture and implementation in New Jersey
• Document the best practices in ITS system architecture practices in the country, which support transition to connected  and electric vehicles

The primary goal of this proposal is to develop a simple to use tool that would allow local agencies to develop a mechanistic-empirical design for lower volume (<1,000 vpd) highways. The primary focus would be on pavement overlays and rehabilitation. The current tools available use older empirical-only meth…

The overall goal of this study is to determine the most optimal time to apply pavement preservation treatments. Researchers will conduct full-scale accelerated pavement testing and performance evaluation. They also will examine different pavement alternatives, conducting comprehensive performance evaluations i…

Major tunnel fires can lead to catastrophic events potentially resulting in the loss of lives, property damage, long service disruptions, and major socioeconomic impacts. A number of previous historical events confirm that tunnel fires may not necessarily cause collapse, but significant damage to the tunnel lining and lo…

The primary goal of this project is to analyze the failure of different types of transportation signage during Hurricane Maria. The specific objectives are:

• determine the causes of signage failure
• suggest improvements to the design and construction to avoid or reduce…
  

The primary goal of this proposal is to analyze pedestrian bridges that were damaged or collapsed during Hurricane Maria. The specific objectives of the project are:

• Develop an inventory of pedestrian bridges that were damaged or collapsed due to the hurricane and document the type of failures exp…
  

The primary goal of this project is to analyze motor vehicle bridges that were damaged or collapsed during Hurricane Maria. The specific objectives of the project are:

• develop an inventory of bridges that experienced damages or collapsed
• determine the causes of failu…
  

Rapid-repair cements are important to extending the life of infrastructure. Damage occurs to concrete systems because of poor construction quality, accidents, severe environmental conditions, and general wear and tear. Using rapid-repair materials allows agencies to repair the infrastructure without causing un…

The primary goal of this project is to understand the combined impact of corrosion and earthquake hazards on existing bridges, and the impact of repairs using cementitious composites on the vulnerability of bridges to these hazards. This will be achieved by establishing a probabilistic framework that can then be used to …

The overarching aim of the research is to explore and establish the ability of large-amplitude, forced vibration testing to reveal the current performance and forecast the future system performance of bridges, with the consideration of dynamic soil-foundation-structure effects. With the ability to perform reli…

The primary goal of this research is to examine the effectiveness of ATP implementation on a major interstate highway carrying freight traffic under various traffic conditions, given managed strategies. ATP managed lane strategies would include:

• ATP-dedicated lane on the left-most lane
• ATP-dedicated…
  

The goal of this research project is to validate and provide a basis to improve and refine a novel de-icing system for stay-cables. This autonomous de-icing system shows significant potential to cost-effectively remove ice build-up without damaging the protective system of the underlying stay-cable. However, currently th…

The proposed research will develop a cloud-computing platform for state-wide traffic video data analytics. The platform will use the existing 511 CCTV traffic video streams to generate traffic flow and occupancy data to enrich the existing TRANSCOM data feed primarily containing travel time and event data. The added flow…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Overlay Tester using field cores from a recently completed FHWA accelerated loading facility (ALF) fatigue cracking study. The study comprised of 10 different lanes, each produced to the same target volumetrics, but with varied recycled asphalt contents, base asphal…

The objective of this research is to provide tunnel ventilation systems owners and the Port Authority of NY & NJ with a vehicle fleet mix forecast model that will enable realistic and practical long-term forecasts of the life-cycle costs of tunnel ventilation systems, and help optimize the performance of t…

The Manhattan Bridge is 6,855 feet long, spanning the East River and connecting the island of Manhattan to Brooklyn. It is subjected to repeated dynamic loads, especially by the transit system trains with the average daily traffic of 1,000 trains per day. As a result of repeated loads, especially those by the …

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to inspect, inventory, and monitor interchange assets within New Jersey’s road network. The team will use UAS to collect video and photographic data to do preliminary inspections on multiple components of the interchange, including s…

The Targeted Hits for Modal Parameter Estimation and Rating (THMPER) system is a rapid modal impact trailer, a mobile work station, and streamlined data processing software that is used to extract modal parameters (natural frequencies and global mode shapes) of highway bridges during brief traffic slow downs or partial l…

The public desires less disruption to highway services in addition to cheaper and more aesthetically pleasing structures. To meet these needs, engineers are continuously pushing the limits of current designs. One way to decrease the costs of an expensive structure is to limit the number of supports, provide longer span l…

Pervious concrete has been increasing in popularity as a potential solution to reduce the amount of impermeable surface area associated with sidewalks, reduce puddling, and potentially slow storm water surface high-flow rates. As important as these benefits are to surface runoff mitigation, there are concerns with the ab…

The geosynthetic reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS) is an innovative alternative to conventional bridge technology that utilizes closely spaced layers of geosynthetic reinforcement and compacted granular fill material to provide direct bearing support for structural bridge members. Using this technology, …

Reports indicate that humanity discharges 43 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide annually. This discharge is 25% greater than just a decade ago (Lehmann & Joseph 2015). Studies indicate that converting forestry and agricultural waste into biochar could remove 4 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide each year (Lehmann & Joseph 20…

Resilience: “The ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events” Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative

While there are many definitions of resilience and almost as many measures of resilience, operationalizing the concept to be useful in decision makin…

The main goal of this study is to evaluate the behavior of the base materials with different gradations (percentages of fines) and moisture contents for the construction of pavements. In order to understand the effects of variation of gradation on the performance of the pavement systems, and hence, to achieve the main go…

The primary objectives are two develop two formulations, one suitable for casting slabs with least amount of creep and shrinkage and eliminate cracking due to restrained time-dependent strains and the second for specialized uses in grouting and gluing for pre-cast construction. The first part of the research will utilize…

Collisions between over height vehicles and bridges occur about 1,000 times per year in the United States. Collision damage to bridges can range from minor to catastrophic, potentially requiring repair or replacement of a bridge beam. For prestressed concrete beams, the traditional repair methods are strand splices and F…

The primary focus of this report is to demonstrate the suitability of an inorganic polymer composite coating for transportation-related structures. This report presents the results of three field applications and evaluation of graffiti resistance including removal techniques, self-cleaning, and depollution properties.

Given the importance of overcoming the challenges associated with aging and deteriorating bridges, and the need for a full-scale proving ground for evaluation of new and advanced materials and devices, CAIT has procured full-scale load testing equipment. The Heavy Vehicle Load Simulator for Bridge Deck Testing…

Given the importance of overcoming the challenges associated with aging and deteriorating bridges, and the need for a full-scale proving ground for evaluation of new and advanced materials and devices, CAIT has procured full-scale load testing equipment. The Heavy Vehicle Load Simulator for Bridge Deck Testing…

The project will encompass forensic testing on extracted cores of the stone matrix asphalt rubber (SMAR) material placed on I-295. Cores were provided to the Rutgers Asphalt/Pavement Laboratory (RAPL) at CAIT via Advanced Infrastructure and Design (AID).

Performance testing on cores will determine the following vo…

Bicycles and motorcycles are widely-used transportation/recreation vehicles and an unstable platform. Compared with passenger vehicles, active safety technology is less developed for bicycle/motorcycle systems and yet it is urgently needed. The project will build a theoretical and algorithmic foundation for the bicycle-b…

The main objective of the conducted research was to evaluate 3D-Radar GPR in bridge deck condition assessment and imaging, with an emphasis on detection and characterization of corrosion induced bridge deck delamination. A broader objective of the study was to provide data for comparative evaluation of the performance of…

Center for Advanced Transportation Infrastructure (CAIT) of Rutgers University is mandated to conduct ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys to update NJDOT’s pavement management system with GPR-measured pavement layer thicknesses.

Based on the review of the GPR data currently in the pavement management system, …