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Sponsor: Caltrans

Ramp Metering Under Heavily Congested Conditions

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

September 1, 1987 - February 28, 1989

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Areas of Expertise

Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

A Systematic Evaluation of the Impacts of Real-Time Traffic Condition Information on Traffic Flow

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 1989 - June 30, 1990

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Areas of Expertise

Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience Intelligent Transportation Systems, Emerging Technologies, & Big Data

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Expert System Development for Hazardous Waste Management

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

June 1, 1988 - August 31, 1990

Principal Investigator

Stephen Ritchie

Project Team

Jeff Adler

Sponsor & Award Number

Caltrans: X88TP76-RTA-74H250

Areas of Expertise

Intelligent Transportation Systems, Emerging Technologies, & Big Data

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Summary

This research project addressed urgent Hazardous Waste Management needs of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in the following two areas: (a) Initial site assessment and preliminary site investigation for suspected hazardous waste sites on existing, and more particularly proposed, rights-of-way (ROW); and (b) Preliminary site investigation of leaking underground fuel tanks located at Caltrans maintenance stations. The products of this research include two knowledge-based expert system (KBES) computer programs, SITE (Site Investigation and Training Expert Advisor) and TANKS (Tank Advisor and Knowledge System), for Apple Macintosh microcomputers, training of Caltrans Office of Hazardous Waste Management and Division of Highway Maintenance staff in the use of these programs, and five volumes of documentation: (1) Final Report (this report); (2) SITE Version 2.0 User's Manual; (3) SITE Version 2.0 Reference Guide; (4) TANKS Version 2.0 User's Manual; and (5) TANKS Version 2.0 Reference Guide. Both SITE and TANKS have undergone an extensive evaluation phase, including limited field-testing of SITE in three different district offices, and the Hazardous Waste Management group has an on-going interest in the evaluation, maintenance, and refinement of both systems. This final report concludes with a number of recommendations for possible implementation by Caltrans concerning knowledge-based expert systems.

Related Publications

research report | Aug 1990

EXPERT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT. FINAL REPORT

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Truck Accidents at Freeway-to-Freeway Connectors

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

January 1, 1988 - December 31, 1990

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Project Team

John Leonard

Sponsor & Award Number

Caltrans: RTA-55G916

Areas of Expertise

Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Related Publications

research report | Feb 1992

Analysis of large truck crashes on freeway-to-freeway connectors. Final report.

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Phd Dissertation | Jun 1991

Analysis of large truck crashes on freeway-to-freeway connectors

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Large-Scale Traffic Simulation Through Distributed Computing of Paramics

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

January 1, 1900 - October 31, 2004

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Project Team

R. (Jay) Jayakrishnan, Henry Liu

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PATH: TO 4142

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Related Publications

research report | Oct 2004

Large-Scale Traffic Simulation Through Distributed Computing of Paramics

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Considering Risk-Taking Behavior in Travel Time Reliability

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 2000 - October 31, 2004

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Project Team

Younshik Chung, Ji Young Park, Lesley Wang

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PATH: TO 4110
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Related Publications

research report | Sep 2005

Considering Risk-Taking Behavior in Travel Time Reliability

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California ATMS Testbed, PHASE III: Operational Research Implementation

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

January 15, 2002 - December 31, 2004

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Sponsor & Award Number

Caltrans: 65A0127

Areas of Expertise

Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience Intelligent Transportation Systems, Emerging Technologies, & Big Data

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Related Publications

research report | Oct 2006

California ATMS Testbed : PHASE III: Operational Research Implementation : Final Report

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Framework for participatory evaluation of greenery screens in environmental justice communities

Status

In Progress

Project Timeline

January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026

Principal Investigator

Elisa BorowskiElisa Borowski

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PSR UTC Caltrans Match: PSR-23-38
(Subcontract to University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise

Other Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Summary

A growing strategy to mitigate environmental harms is the implementation of green infrastructure in high-pollution zones, such as greenery screens, vegetation barriers, and living walls. This study synthesizes the outcomes of existing projects and proposes an evaluation framework that centers community participation. Greenery screens and sound walls are intended to mitigate noise and air pollution, which can reduce health disparities and improve quality of life in surrounding communities. Additional co-benefits may be observed when considering the role of this infrastructure during extreme weather events, such as flooding, extreme heat, and poor air quality from wildfires. Within the sustainability framework known as the triple bottom line, some studies have begun to examine the environmental, social, and financial benefits of green infrastructure, but initial findings on the effectiveness of greenery screens remain inconclusive. Expanding this framework to include the principles of equitable evaluation, methodological advancements are needed to account not only for distributional equity, but structural and procedural equity, as well. For example, integrating the cumulative impact assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act into the infrastructure evaluation process could be one means of addressing structural equity, and practicing living labs where community members collect and interpret data from sensors tracking environmental determinants of health could be a technique to incorporate procedural equity into the evaluation process. The proposed systematic literature review will result in actionable strategies for working in collaboration with low-income communities of color who have been disproportionally harmed by freeway infrastructure to advance environmental justice. Findings from this study will provide recommendations to policymakers and analysts committed to advancing distributional, structural, and procedural equity.

Modeling the impacts of California electric vehicle policies with emphasis on the used vehicle market

Status

In Progress

Project Timeline

January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026

Principal Investigator

David Brownstone

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PSR UTC Caltrans Match: PSR-23-25
(Subcontract to University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise

Zero-Emission Vehicles & Low-Carbon Fuels

Team Departmental Affiliation

Economics

Project Summary

There are now a wide variety of California and U.S. policies designed to support the goal of decarbonizing light-duty vehicles. Existing models of the California vehicle market are not capable of analyzing the impact of all these policies. A key shortcoming is the lack of accurate modeling of the used vehicle market. Low-income households primarily purchase used vehicles, but the supply of used vehicles is largely determined by the decisions of new vehicle owners (primarily high-income households). The price of used vehicles is determined by the interaction between supply and demand. We will build a new model of the California personal vehicle market that accurately models the inter-actions between the new and used vehicle markets. We will use this model to evaluate a wide range of current and proposed policies designed to increase the penetration of electric vehicles. Our model will allow California policymakers to craft policies that reach decarbonization goals at lowest cost while alleviating (or at least not worsening) existing transportation inequities.

Investigating the Impacts of Smart Charging on Electric Vehicle Charging Choices Within an Activity-based Framework

Status

In Progress

Project Timeline

January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026

Principal Investigator

Matt DeanMatthew Dean

Project Team

Michael Hyland

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PSR UTC Caltrans Match: PSR-23-40
(Subcontract to University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment Zero-Emission Vehicles & Low-Carbon Fuels

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Summary

The objective of this project is to forecast the impacts of spatio-temporal electricity pricing on electric vehicle (EV) charging behavior, drawing on established EV charging models and incorporating considerations such as smart charging acceptance and joint charging-activity time planning decisions. We aim to elucidate how current and future electricity rates may influence EV driver behavior, while accounting for heterogeneity in charging preferences and value of travel time. Using the Los Angeles metropolitan area as a case study, we develop future year scenarios for EV adoption and charging infrastructure access to evaluate the effects of pricing strategies on the demand for public infrastructure and EV-related trips. Our analysis encompasses a range of smart charging policies, including spatially and temporally-varying electricity prices linked to factors such as charging speeds, utility control, location, and enrollment in bill assistance programs. Results, segmented by travel characteristics such as household income, home charger access,and EV range will quantify the impact of EV charging prices on both aggregate and disaggregate network metrics (e.g., vehicle miles traveled and charging cost savings, respectively.) The results provide insights into the broader implications of electricity pricing strategies for EV integration within the transportation network. The findings of this project are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of EV charging behavior and access and inform the development of effective demand management strategies within the evolving landscape of transportation electrification.

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Recent Posts

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