Preservation of Infrastructure by Using Weigh-in-Motion Coordinated Weight Enforcement

The Montana Department of Transportation (DOT) has completed a pilot project in which data from a statewide network of weigh-in-motion (WIM) sensors were used to assist in scheduling weight-enforcement activities of patrol personnel. The purpose of the project was to determine if one of the division’s objectives—reducing infrastructure damage from overweight vehicles—could be better realized by using WIM data when dispatching officers. Data for the project were obtained from Montana’s state truck activities reporting system (STARS), which consists of WIM sites deployed around the state to collect information for a spectrum of Montana DOT activities. In this case, the STARS data were processed to determine the pavement damage caused by overweight vehicles each month during the baseline year. The trends identified from this analysis were used in the subsequent year to direct patrol efforts each month to the five sites that historically had experienced the greatest pavement damage from overweight vehicles. Officers were directed to the specific vehicle configurations historically responsible for the damage, as well as to their direction of travel and time of operation. During this year of WIM-directed enforcement, pavement damage from overweight vehicles decreased by 4.8 million equivalent single-axle load miles, and the percentage of vehicles operating over weight decreased by 20% across all STARS sites (both enforced and unenforced). While changes in loading patterns were observed during the enforcement activities (fewer overweight and more weight-compliant vehicles), the effectiveness of the focused enforcement in producing long-term changes in loading behaviors was uncertain.

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Length-Based Vehicle Classification Schemes and Length Bin Boundaries

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/2339-03 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2339 (1) ◽

pp. 19-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Herbert Weinblatt ◽

Erik Minge ◽

Scott Petersen

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

The United States ◽

Traffic Monitoring ◽

Vehicle Classification ◽

Pavement Performance ◽

Department Of Transportation ◽

Classification Schemes ◽

Weigh In Motion

Vehicle classification data are an important component of traffic-monitoring programs. Although most vehicle classification conducted in the United States is axle based, some applications could be supplemented or replaced by length-based data. The typically higher deployment cost and reliability issues associated with collecting axle-based data as compared with length-based data present a challenge. This paper reports on analyses of alternative length-based vehicle classification schemes and appropriate length bin boundaries. The primary analyses use data from a set of 13 Long-Term Pavement Performance weigh-in-motion sites, all in rural areas; additional analyses are conducted with data from 11 Michigan Department of Transportation weigh-in-motion sites located in rural and small urban areas and one site located in an urbanized area. For most states, the recommended length-based vehicle classification scheme is a four-bin scheme (motorcycles, short, medium, and long) with an optional very long bin recommended for use by states in which significant numbers of longer combination vehicles operate.

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Parks Highway Load Restriction Field Data Analysis: Case Study

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1615-05 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 1615 (1) ◽

pp. 32-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lutfi Raad ◽

Eric Johnson ◽

Dave Bush ◽

Stephan Saboundjian

Keyword(s):

Field Data ◽

Traffic Data ◽

Falling Weight Deflectometer ◽

Department Of Transportation ◽

Truck Traffic ◽

Weigh In Motion ◽

Pavement Damage ◽

Field Data Analysis ◽

Falling Weight ◽

Thaw Period

The loss of pavement strength during spring thaw could result in excessive road damage under applied traffic loads. Damage assessment associated with the critical thaw period is essential to evaluate current load restriction policies. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities proposed a plan that will provide an engineering analysis of field conditions with 100-percent loads on the Parks Highway for 1996. Extensive data were collected and analyzed in an effort to monitor pavement damage during the spring of 1996 and to determine loss of pavement strength. Field data included truck traffic data from scalehouse and weigh-in-motion (WIM) stations, pavement temperature data, profilometer data for roughness and rutting, and falling weight deflectometer data. Analyses were performed to compare WIM and scalehouse traffic data and to determine the fraction of overweight axle-loads and corresponding pavement damage during spring thaw. Northbound and southbound truck traffic and its effect on pavement damage were considered. Ground temperature measurements were analyzed to determine when thaw initiates and how long seasonal load restrictions are required. In addition, comparisons of remaining life with and without load restrictions using mechanistic methods were conducted.

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Long-Term Changes in Experienced Yoga Practitioners

Research-Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology of Yoga - Advances in Medical Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2788-6.ch003 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 35-51

Author(s):

Frederick T. Travis

Keyword(s):

Sense Of Self ◽

The State ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Meditation Practice ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Long Term Changes ◽

Higher States Of Consciousness ◽

The Individual ◽

Object Relationship

This chapter explores subjective and objective correlates of the state of Yoga during Transcendental Meditation practice. Yoga fits the three criteria of a higher state of consciousness: (1) Yoga has a different subject/object relationship than other states. In Yoga there is no content—only self-awareness. (2) Yoga involves a more expanded sense-of-self. Content analysis of descriptions of Yoga yielded three themes: the absence of time, absence of space and absence of body sense. Yoga is the most universal aspect of the individual. (3) Yoga is defined by distinct physiological patterns. Slowing of breath, autonomic orienting and frontal alpha1 brain coherence are reported during the state of Yoga. The integration of Yoga with waking, sleeping and dreaming also fits the criteria for being a higher state of consciousness, called Cosmic Consciousness in the Vedic tradition. The chapter ends with the conclusion that growth of higher states of consciousness is the most important result of experiencing the state of Yoga. Then, life is lived in freedom.

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State Rail Plans: The Integration of Freight and Passenger Rail Planning

2011 Joint Rail Conference ◽

10.1115/jrc2011-56023 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin Keller

Keyword(s):

Implementation Strategies ◽

The State ◽

Rail Transportation ◽

Department Of Transportation ◽

The Public ◽

Rail Network ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

The Us ◽

Rail Service

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) was created to reauthorize the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak, and strengthen the US passenger rail network by tasking Amtrak, the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), States, and other stakeholders in improving service, operations, and facilities. PRIIA also tasks States with establishing or designating a State rail transportation authority that will develop Statewide rail plans to set policy involving freight and passenger rail transportation within their boundaries, establish priorities and implementation strategies to enhance rail service in the public interest, and serve as the basis for Federal and State rail investments within the State. In order to comply with PRIIA, State rail plans are required to address a broad spectrum of issues, including an inventory of the existing rail transportation system, rail services and facilities within the State. They must also include an explanation of the State’s passenger rail service objectives, an analysis of rail’s transportation, economic, and environmental impacts in the State, and a long-range investment program for current and future freight and passenger infrastructure in the State. The plans are to be coordinated with other State transportation planning programs and clarify long-term service and investment needs and requirements. This paper and presentation will illustrate the steps required in preparing a State rail plan and the benefits of having a properly developed plan.

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