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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <title>SPR-4736:  A Study of Suburban Arterial Safety Performance Based on Median Type</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2026876</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There is a need for guidance on selecting a proper median type when planning significant work on suburban arterial roadways to properly balance their safety and accessibility. This guidance will be based on the density of local land use, needs for access, traffic volumes, and desired speed limit. Equations, tables, and graphs, whichever most appropriate, will be provided to decide between a two-way left-turn lane and a continuous median with openings and their design.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 21 Sep 2022 14:27:46 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2026876</guid>
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      <title>Zoysiagrass Expansion on Roadsides</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1765387</link>
      <description><![CDATA[North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) currently has to maintain vegetation under and around over 1000 miles of median rail, with approximately $40 million spent in fiscal year 2019 for mowing. Zoysiagrasses are known to be a thick sod-producing turfgrass that once adequately established are low-growing and have minimal weed invasion. Establishing zoysiagrass along non-irrigated roadside shoulders has proven problematic. Research project 2018-02 evaluated, in a small plot format, several establishment options. Seeding and vegetative establishment employing newly created mechanical methodologies were evaluated. In addition, from the NCSU 2017-2018 breeding nursery containing 95 F1 hybrid Zoysiagrasses, 5 experimental (non-released) vegetative zoysiagrass selections were evaluated under roadside conditions. A narrow-bladed selection (XZ14069) and wide-bladed selection (XZ14070) are showing promise for roadside applications. Findings from this research need to be expanded to ‘operational-sized’ roadside plots for further evaluation. Additionally, new breeding materials need to be evaluated and advanced for their ability to establish from seed. The outcome of this research will provide NCDOT with information so that they can select the best germplasm for the establishment and long-term maintenance of NC roadsides.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2021 07:54:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1765387</guid>
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      <title>Develop Enhanced Protection of Median Openings Between Parallel Bridge Structures</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1641429</link>
      <description><![CDATA[When divided highways span over a hazard, engineers often design two separate bridges with the ends protected by guardrail installations. However, the opening between the parallel bridge structures may result in a gap in roadside protection. The combination of the sloped median ditch and the approach guardrail can direct errant motorists between the two bridge structures and into the underlying hazard. The risk increases when the spanned hazard is another roadway with motorists traveling below the parallel bridges.

Unfortunately, these median openings have resulted in fatal crashes in Texas and across the country. For example, the National Transportation Safety Board has investigated a motorcoach crash between two parallel bridge structures near Loxley, Alabama, that resulted in one fatality and 46 injuries. This median opening is a roadside safety issue that deserves further attention.
Researchers will address this safety issue as follows: Develop a median opening protection system (MOPS) that prevents errant motorists from crashing between two parallel bridge structures, Identify characteristics of high-risk locations that can benefit from implementation of a MOPS, Develop a solution from currently available technologies, and Evaluate the MOPS with full-scale crash testing.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jul 2019 15:04:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1641429</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Selection, Installation, and Evaluation of Zoysiagrass</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1473824</link>
      <description><![CDATA[North Carolina Department of Transportation (​NCDOT) currently has to maintain vegetation under and around over 1000 miles of median rail. The Department has used a combination of chemical and mechanical weed control management strategies in the past that have proven to be time consuming and expensive to implement. Zoysiagrasses are known to be a thick sod-producing turfgrass that once adequately established have minimal weed invasion. Unfortunately some of the existing Zoysiagrasses cultivars can be slow to establish unless they are sodded to cover all existing exposed soil. Zoysiagrasses germplasm that can be established quicker using sprigging methods may provide a solution to the establishment and the long-term maintenance. This project will evaluate the establishment and quality characteristics of new germplasm compared to cultivars available commercially. These evaluations will be on NC roadsides in different climatic regions of NC. The outcome of this research will provide NCDOT with information so that they can select the best germplasm for the establishment and long-term maintenance of NC roadsides.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:47:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1473824</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Reasonable Alternatives for Grade-Separated Intersection</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1472678</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Grade-separated intersections increase the capacity of two non-freeway roads by elevating two or more approaches, thereby removing conflict points. Despite not including a freeway, most of the grade-separated intersections are designed using freeway-level concepts such as loop ramps. While sometimes efficient, this results in excessive right-of-way needs, increased instances of pedestrians crossing free-flow movements, and over design.
This project will develop renderings of each of the left turning options including general guidance on median placement, lane assignments, and right-of-way needs. General determination of cost as well as vehicular and pedestrian safety impacts will be detailed in the guidance for planning and design professionals. Because some innovative intersections have been patented, a patent landscape analysis will investigate the existing patents in grade-separated intersection designs. Finally, both deterministic and stochastic operational analysis will be conducted, with a micro-simulation analysis for the designs with the greatest potential for implementation in North Carolina. With this guidance on cost, safety, and operations, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) planners and engineers will be able to more appropriately select a grade-separated intersection design for various vehicular and pedestrian volume levels. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 30 Jun 2017 15:37:25 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1472678</guid>
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      <title>First International Roadside Safety Conference and Peer Exchange</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1369882</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Every year, over 17,000 people are killed in roadway departure crashes in the U.S. The primary goal of this conference and peer exchange on Roadside Safety Design is to effect changes that will reduce the frequency and severity of roadside crashes. The ultimate measure of effectiveness is a reduction in the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from run-off-road crashes. To help meet this goal, roadside safety researchers, experts, and U.S./international partners have deemed it highly beneficial to develop and implement a Roadside Safety Conference that would occur every 3 to 5 years.   The primary objective for the First International Roadside Safety Conference (IRSC) and Peer Exchange would be to reduce deaths and serious injuries associated with run-off-road crashes.  The IRSC would contribute to this objective by: (1) peer exchange and improved dissemination of information within the international roadside safety community; (2) increased collaboration with international roadside safety experts, researchers, government agencies, and engineering consultants; and (3) a more rapid implementation of new technologies, best practices, and products from around the world.   Key focus areas may include: (1) Advances in rigid and flexible barrier design; (2) Geometric features - i.e., slopes, ditches, drainage culverts, curbs, pavement edges; (3) Work-zone and temporary traffic control safety; (4) Implementation guidelines for safety treatments; (5) In-service performance evaluations; (6) Barrier compatibility for vehicles and motorcycles; (7) Vulnerable user safety - pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists; (8) Cost-effective safety improvements for low-volume roads; (9) Barrier selection criteria; (10) Narrow hazards - trees, luminaires, utility poles, signs, and traffic signals; (11) New energy-absorbing technologies; (12) Aesthetic safety treatments and practices; (13) Median design and crash prevention; (14) Improved visibility and delineation; (15) Maintenance of existing roadside safety infrastructure; (16) Computer simulation, dynamic component testing, and full-scale crash testing; (17)  Road/roadside safety audits or management systems; (18) "Safe System Approach;" (19) Before/after crash data studies; (20) Concepts, products, and methods designed to reduce roadway departure crashes; (21) Strategic Highway Safety Plans and; (22) Rollover crashes.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2015 09:00:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1369882</guid>
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      <title>The Effects of Reduced Mowing in Medians on Storm Water Filtration and Invasive Species Management</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1268072</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Maintenance Division has been considering reducing or eliminating mowing of rights of way as a way to reduce costs. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been encouraging reduced mowing as a way to increase native vegetation along roads. Except for the clear zone, it is expected that a reduction in mowing will result in increased growth of tall grasses, forbs, shrubs, and trees as this is the normal succession pattern in New England. The challenges are to allow the forest to return outside of the clear zone while maintaining or improving the capacity of the vegetation to filter storm water and to ensure that the vegetation community which develops is dominated by native trees and shrubs and not the many invasive species common in Rhode Island. This project aims to 1) analyze whether managed and unmanaged vegetation communities (frequently mowed, annually mowed, forest) on roadway medians differ in their capacity to remove pollutants from storm water, and 2) survey plant community changes due to natural succession in roadside grasslands where mowing is reduced or eliminated in order to assess the probability of colonization by invasive species.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 09 Nov 2013 01:00:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1268072</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Up in the Air: New Urban Designs for LRT Stations in Highway Medians</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1231963</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Transit advocates argue for the positive implications of transit stations on their surroundings, yet certain physical factors and site restrictions may undermine positive outcomes. To contain construction costs, avoid right-of-way acquisition, increase train speeds, and limit modal conflicts, some cities, including several in California, construct light rail train systems in existing highway rights-of-way. Some questions, however, about this strategy, include the impact such stations have on adjacent neighborhoods (in terms of land values, noise, and safety) and the lack of integration with surrounding activities and land uses, resulting in lost opportunities for transit-oriented development. Scholarship exists on the effects of such stations on real estate values and economic development but little has been done on how urban design might achieve better integration of highway median stations with neighborhoods. The proposed research 1) documents the various obstacles such stations face in leveraging light rail transit (LRT) investments for transit-oriented development; 2) examines case studies of different urban design strategies for better integration of such stations to their surroundings; 3) develops a set of performance and functional measures for different urban design solutions; and 4) suggests urban design guidelines to enhance the potential for developing transit supportive nodes in the vicinity of highway median stations.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:29:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1231963</guid>
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