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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>Container-on-Barge Market Demand </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2673252</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will assess the market demand and policy levers that could expand container-on-barge (COB) services along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The study will identify key shippers, high-potential commodities, infrastructure needs, and incentive mechanisms to make COB competitive with trucking and rail. This work directly supports the Missouri Department of Transportation's (MoDOT’s) freight, sustainability, and economic development goals, and aligns with the Missouri State Freight Plan and the U.S. Maritime Administration's (MARAD’s) America’s Marine Highway Program.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:27:46 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Resilient Multimodal Transport Systems via Container-on-Barge</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2600576</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Recent events like the crack in the I-40 bridge, California wildfires,
and the Dolton, Illinois landslide have revealed vulnerabilities in transportation systems, causing closures, delays, freight rerouting, and congestion. Traditional resilience measures such as redundancy and infrastructure strengthening help mitigate some disruptions but often fall short against natural disasters and lack long-term impacts. Container on barge (CoB) transport, although currently underutilized in the nation and less explored in academic research, can alleviate the pressure on the existing system during disruptions and offer a more flexible, cost effective and sustainable solution. Therefore, in this project, the research team proposes to conduct a holistic study examining the integration of CoB into intermodal freight transportation systems, focusing on system resilience. Specifically, the team will first develop a context-aware approach for uncertain disruption quantification, and then design  reliable CoBbased strategies to further mitigate disruptions. Additionally, the team will perform numerical experiments to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:37:36 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2600576</guid>
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      <title>Vulnerability Assessment of Bridges Crossing Major US Rivers in Support of a Safe and Resilient Transportation System</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2499097</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will assess and evaluate the vulnerability of bridges on major inland waterways to allisions. The project will compile and synthesize the inventory of vehicle bridges across the Mississippi, Columbia, and Ohio Rivers.  A list of allision incidents from 2003-2024 will be compiled using Coast Guard marine casualty reports.  Based on the latest requirements for design of bridges to withstand allisions, the project will identify the bridges that are most vulnerable.  The project will review options for bridge protection, considering bridge strengthening versus replacement.  An estimate of annual barge traffic passing under the bridges will be used to indicate criticality.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:07:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2499097</guid>
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      <title>Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Capacity Study</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1440621</link>
      <description><![CDATA[It is in the long-term interest of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to encourage greater usage of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), particularly if cargoes being transported on the state highway system can be diverted to barge. However, like all transportation infrastructure, the GIWW is at risk of reaching capacity constraints that could arise along entire segments of the waterway or at individual locations subject to significant congestion. To date, there has not been a systematic, operational, data-driven approach by TxDOT to look at vessel movements along the entire Texas GIWW to determine if and where capacity problems might exist. The Research Team will employ an existing database of historic vessel activity for locations along the GIWW to provide an overview of vessel movements, which will be supplemented with interviews with key stakeholders. The research team will synthesize background research and summarize existing data on vessel effects, as they relate to safety and navigation, and summarize current and future vessel activity along the GIWW, its tributary channels, and intersecting ship channels. Finally, the research team will outline a set of criteria for tracking conditions along the GIWW that identify specific triggers or milestones that would suggest improvements to the GlWW’s future Operations or infrastructure.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2016 16:17:11 GMT</pubDate>
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