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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <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>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Establish Bridge Blast and Fire Damage Mitigation and Design Consideration</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2658327</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team will investigate fire and blast damage to bridges to develop design and mitigation strategies to enhance structural resilience. Fires and blasts from vehicular collisions, hazardous spills, and encampments beneath bridges pose significant threats to structural integrity and serviceability. To address these significant threats, the researchers will conduct full-scale experimental testing, by constructing a representative bridge, incorporating components aligned with Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT’s) practices. The researchers will explore mitigation strategies such as fire-resistant materials, protective coatings, and retrofitting methods to improve bridge performance. The research findings will be contributed to design guidelines addressing fire and blast hazards, reducing economic losses and service disruptions while ensuring bridges can better withstand extreme events.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:09:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2658327</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Synthesis: Increase Awareness and Use of Transportation Nature-Based Solutions</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604506</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Transportation systems and facilities face challenges and impacts from extreme weather, changes in precipitation, sea level rise, and storm surge. There have been many discussions including the Statewide Resiliency Plan that identify the stressors and provide a summary of solutions to help bolster system resiliency; however, nature-based solutions is a tool and methodology that has little awareness at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and limited use. Currently, TxDOT does not have guidelines for implementing nature-based solutions. This project will investigate how nature-based solutions can be used to protect roadway facilities from flooding, storm surge, and sea level rise. The research will begin with a comprehensive literature review of case studies on the successful use of nature-based solutions in transportation systems. It will then summarize existing resources, tools, research, and national and international guidance, with a focus on applicability to various Texas regions. The project will identify use cases and opportunities specific to TxDOT roadway facilities, aiming to enhance awareness and provide a foundation for future implementation guidelines.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604506</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Synthesis: Assess Hazard and Vulnerability Prioritization for Texas Bridges and Tunnels</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604498</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Recent state and national incidents have underscored the need for a comprehensive assessment of hazards and vulnerabilities affecting Texas bridges and tunnels. Accidental and intentional bridge fires, vessel allisions, and other threats pose significant risks to structural integrity, safety, and functionality, leading to costly repairs and potential service disruptions. This research aims to develop a systematic approach to measure and quantify vulnerabilities in existing bridges across the state. The study will begin with a literature review and data collection on past bridge incidents, analysing causes, effects, and current mitigation strategies, including best practices from other states. Recommendations for updates to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) manuals regarding hazard mitigation in bridge design, maintenance, and management will be developed. A risk assessment and vulnerability evaluation procedure will be created to quantify and prioritize at-risk bridges and tunnels. Using this procedure, high-risk structures will be identified and ranked based on their importance and criticality. The final phase will incorporate these findings into draft language for potential inclusion in TxDOT manuals.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:02:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604498</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Risk and Resiliency Analysis of Infrastructure by Improving RAMCAP Framework</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2169767</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The primary goal of this proposal is to develop a comprehensive risk and resilience assessment framework for critical transportation and coastal infrastructure, using the RAMCAP framework as a baseline. The framework will identify potential risks to the infrastructure and analyze its resilience against natural and artificial hazards.

The intended outcome of the project is to provide valuable insights into critical transportation and coastal infrastructure risks and resilience and develop a comprehensive framework for assessing these factors. The proposed framework will help decision-makers prioritize investments and interventions to improve the state of good repair and extend the life of infrastructure.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 2023 18:07:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2169767</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Current Practices in Rock Scaling</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1877385</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Rockfalls occur frequently along many Kentucky roadways and pose a risk to the traveling public. They result from the chemical and physical weathering of unmaintained aging exposed rock cuts. KYTC’s go-to practice for mitigating rockfalls often requires substantial excavation, procuring additional right of way, 
and/or hiring specialty contractors. A new approach is needed to maintain rock cut slopes and preserve the safety of motorists. Many DOTs have adopted rock scaling as a cost-effective rockfall mitigation tool. Rock scaling entails removing loose and unstable rocks from rock cut slopes within the right of way to reduce the risk of rockfalls. It typically involves the use of hand operated pry bars and picks to remove unstable material, but mechanical means can be incorporated if necessary. Slopes are usually accessed by a small team of qualified individuals on foot or using rope access, or by telescopic boom lifts and crane baskets.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:04:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1877385</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Alternative Methods to Manage Tree Growth Near Airports</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1729492</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Trees around airports may penetrate the airspace surfaces established to maintain safe aircraft operations. The traditional method for monitoring tree growth is through surveys, which are often expensive.  If a survey has not been conducted in recent years, potential obstructions from tree growth could go unidentified, and could potentially contribute to an accident and possible liability exposure that can lead to a reactive approach. The issue is often more pressing at small airports with resource limitations that impact the monitoring and control. Alternative practices and new technologies, such as the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), light detection and ranging (LiDAR) or photogrammetry may provide more cost-effective solutions for gathering data.  Once data is collected, there are strategies an airport can utilize that have varying costs and benefits. Other ACRP reports have studied airspace and obstruction issues, however, there is no in-depth discussion of tree management and analysis related to obstruction issues.
 
Understanding all methods that are available allows airports to effectively balance the safety of operations and community interests. Research is needed to identify new technologies and practices to determine their effectiveness for monitoring and managing tree growth.
 
 
The objectives of this research were to create a guidebook that (a) identifies and evaluates alternative methods for obstruction related data collection and analysis, and (b) includes  strategies that effectively monitor and manage tree growth in and around airports. The guidebook should be applicable to different types, locations, and sizes of airports. The methods and strategies identified should be evaluated based on effectiveness, accuracy, ease of use, cost, training/expertise requirements and other relevant factors. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2020 10:14:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1729492</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 52-18. Design Practices for Rock Slopes and Rockfall Management</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707178</link>
      <description><![CDATA[While there are no national standards for rock slope design and rockfall management, many state departments of transportation (DOTs) have developed their own design goals and objectives.

The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 588: Design Practices for Rock Slopes and Rockfall Management documents DOT practices for the design of rock slopes and rockfall mitigation systems.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2020 10:45:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707178</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Program Evaluation Report Card Tool for Wildlife Hazard Management Plans: User Guide</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1689222</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Aviation Administration/U.S. Department of Agriculture (FAA/USDA) Wildlife Hazard Management at Airports manual provides a framework to evaluate wildlife hazard management plans (WHMPs) and programs. The FAA’s Advisory Circular 150/5200-38, Protocol for the Conduct and Review of Wildlife Hazard Site Visits, Wildlife Hazard Assessments, and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans, defines minimum acceptable standards for field work and document preparation. While these publications provide valuable guidance, they do not include how airports can identify key metrics for success and risk reduction.  Simple reductions in the number of wildlife strikes may not adequately characterize an airport’s program effectiveness at reducing risks to aviation, human health, and safety.  
 
Beyond compliance, there are additional sustainability considerations of an effective airport wildlife hazard management program, such as, budget and resource allocation, revenue generation, legal constraints, environmental initiatives, and community sensitivities. A robust, proactive approach to achieving the safest navigable airspace and land-use is essential.  
 
The objective of this research was to provide airport operators of all types and sizes with guidelines and tools to implement an effective and sustainable wildlife hazard management program.
 ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Feb 2020 10:37:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1689222</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1456881</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objectives of this project are the following: (1) Explore the effectiveness of new mitigation measures intended to increase driver awareness and decrease collisions with large mammals such as deer, elk, and moose. There are an estimated 1-2 million collisions with large mammals each year in the U.S., and the direct costs to society can be as high as $6-12 billion per year. There have been many developments in animal detection-driver warning systems. These are ideal at-grade solutions and are most often deployed on 2-lane rural highways. Other technologies that could be evaluated are on-board animal detection and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems. Another emerging technology is radar speed guns linked to variable message signs. There are many other emerging technologies that states and their partners may find of interest. (2) Evaluate improvements to traditional mitigation measures and quantify the effectiveness of those improvements in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs). 
Signage and messaging, reflectors, noise makers, educational campaigns, citizen involvement, structural solutions such as under- and overpasses and associated fencing and escape ramps (a.k.a. jump-outs), and other mitigation measures that may have received modernization or improvements in recent years should be re-evaluated. For example, the Illumination of roadways has been a traditional measure to increase driver visibility, but has not necessarily been aimed at reducing WVCs. With new lighting techniques available, lighting systems may be evaluated for effectiveness at reducing WVCs. Similarly, new innovations in overpass technologies, such as the use of geosynthetically reinforced soil technologies and alternative fill materials like geofoam, may result in increased effectiveness because of improved sound attenuation. The Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity pooled fund study will select mitigation measures from this category to evaluate. (3) Assess the mitigation needs and measures for particular species of conservation interest. 
Often there is little known about species of conservation concern and their interaction with roads and when and how to create safe passage for these species. This project will select those species of conservation concern for which information is most urgently needed by transportation agencies and its partners, particularly for species of regional or national importance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:19:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1456881</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Strategies to Reduce Wrong Way Movements</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1423760</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Crashes resulting from wrong way driving are rare events but are high profile and serious when they occur. During a six-month span around early 2006, seven people were killed in wrong way crashes in the Charlotte area. The flurry of media attention following this time period brought the topic of wrong way driving to the forefront of the public eye. More recently this fact was highlighted in the summer of 2015 when a highly publicized and horrific crash took the lives of three people on I-85 in Orange County. In addition to being high-profile, wrong way crashes also carry a high cost to society. These crashes typically result in serious injuries or fatalities, with associated costs to society ranging from $564,000 to $10 million per crash. If even a portion of these crashes can be prevented, this would represent substantial savings to the state of North Carolina.
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) developed reports in 2006 and 2012 in which the wrong way crash problem was examined. The latest report recognized that although wrong way crashes represent a small portion of the total crash picture, certain counties, such as Mecklenburg, Forsyth, and Wake, continue to experience wrong way crashes on their freeways. The report concluded that a systematic approach to design and traffic control may be successful in reducing wrong way crashes. The question at hand is, “What design or traffic control elements should be modified at interchanges associated with wrong way crashes to decrease the likelihood of these crashes?” The goal of this project is to answer that question for the highest priority interchanges on North Carolina freeways.
This project will develop recommendations for geometric elements, traffic control devices, and other strategies to reduce wrong way driving at freeway ramp locations. This will be accomplished by reviewing state-of-the-practice methods for reducing wrong way driving, examining data on wrong way crashes, conducting site visits to examine the field conditions of selected interchanges which have been associated with wrong way crashes, and producing recommendations for modifications to these interchanges and other strategies to decrease the incidence of wrong way driving. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:22:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1423760</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Mitigation of Transportation Induced Vibration Using Seismic Metamaterials
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1420900</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The increasing traffic intensity on roads, highways, and railways requires that major investments be made to make transportation systems more livable and sustainable, especially in the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC) Region II area. This is due to the high density population in the NYC Metropolitan area where the high speeds and a large capacity of vehicles and trains are highly desired. Such transportation systems create new technical and environmental challenges including noise and ground vibration, which affect ambient architectures, quality of life, and sustainability of the communities. Noise and vibration assessments become key elements of the environmental impact assessment process for mass transit projects, and noise and vibration are among the major concerns with regard to the effects of a transit project on the surrounding community.
The research objective of this project is to design an efficient and economic method to mitigate the vibration induced by transportation activities. Specifically, the research team proposes to use periodically arranged piles in the ground called seismic metamaterials, which attenuate the vibration through the scattering and local resonance phenomena. To achieve this, a computational-experimental framework including integrated modeling, simulation, optimal design, and experimental validation will be developed. First, the team will examine the effectiveness of the proposed seismic metamaterials to mitigate transportation induced vibration through threedimensional numerical simulations. Second, the team will develop a method for the design and optimization of the structured seismic metamaterials with the desired vibration mitigation capability in the targeted frequency range, with proper combination of constituent phases. Third, scaled experimental investigations will be performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed optimal seismic metamaterials.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2016 15:13:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1420900</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Adaptive Vehicle Routing for Evacuation under Uncertainty</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1420237</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this research project is to deliver a real-time, adaptive evacuation system for cascading events (e.g., hurricanes, following flooding, and following aftershocks). To realize this goal, the principal investigator (PI) will synthesize the existing information (e.g., flood inundation scenarios, human mobility information such as location-based social media data, U.S. Census Bureau data, past disaster statistics, and relevant weather and land conditions); establish theoretically proven experimental models; simulate evacuation plans using the synthesized data sets and models; and conceptualize and present a new approach. The adaptive evacuation transportation-planning model is anticipated to contribute to substantial improvement in understanding of natural or man-made hazards and mitigation of their effects. The target disaster type is flooding induced by hurricane and the target region is the New York City area, selected considering the potentially affected population size and the high frequency of hurricane occurrence in that region.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2016 16:02:25 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1420237</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Approach to Blast Resistant Design of Aging Transportation Structures with Little or No Stand-Off Distance</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1419892</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Considerations to blast loading by potential terrorist attacks have been increased in structural designs since September 11. Essential government and transportation facilities as well as symbolic private sector buildings have been targets of terrorists. Publicly available approaches to designing structures against blast loadings are not suitable for such urban structures, because the approaches were developed mainly for military projects, in which certain stand-off distances can be maintained from publicly open streets. Due to congested nature of urban environment, essential structural members are often exposed to the public with little or no stand-off distances. For this reason, the analysis to design urban structures against blast loading should be performed differently with a detonation with little or no stand-off distances. State-of-the-art software packages are useful to analyze blast effects on urban structures. However, they are not commonly used in structural design offices, because numerical modeling and simulation using the software are time-consuming and not practically affordable.
The purpose of this exploratory research is to develop a novel simplified approach for blast analysis and design of steel structures with little or no stand-off distances for use by general structural engineers without access to the sophisticated software. The main focus of this study is on the riveted built-up shapes that are commonly used in aging urban transportation structures. A series of numerical simulations will be performed and used to quantify damage levels of structural members subjected to blast loads. The simulations will be based on detailed nonlinear explicit dynamic analyses for investigation of high-intensity and short-duration blast effects on structures using a fully coupled interaction technique between computational fluid and structural dynamics. Parametric studies of such analysis would result in certain patterns, which will then be used to develop quantifiable damage curves or equations of steel members for efficient mitigation design]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2016 16:51:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1419892</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transportation Infrastructure Flooding: Sensing Water Levels and Clearing and Rerouting Traffic out of Danger</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1401179</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Flooding in urban areas, driven by both precipitation and high tide events, can have a devastating effect on a region’s transportation system and economic viability. In the City of Virginia Beach, the problem is acute as nuisance flooding in heavily populated areas impacts both communities and transportation infrastructure. The critical needs to identify the magnitude of floods are to measure and model precipitation intensity with a short lead time and relate to high tide events to plan proper protective measures for and diversion from problem areas. This study adopts a multi-disciplinary approach (hydrology, regional climate and precipitation forecasting, and transportation engineering) to predict roadway flooding and mitigate travelers’ danger from the flood and delays. The project team will study two flood-prone locations in Virginia Beach.
From the hydrology/precipitation perspective, the research addresses flooding due to a complex relationship between tide levels and rainfall events. The project team hypothesizes that a data-driven approach whereby patterns of tidal levels and rainfall intensities and durations that cause flooding can be identified. Then forecasted rainfalls and tide levels can be used to forecast periods when roadways may be flooded.
From the transportation perspective, the project team is concerned about two types of drivers: those who are on the road as the flood occurs and those who have not yet entered that particular road and must be re-routed. For the first group, warning and road closures must be provided in time to remove these drivers from the impact area. The amount of time required to clear the link depends on network traffic conditions and potentially other flooded areas. The second group must be re-routed so as not to enter the affected link(s) and place the drivers in danger from flooding.
The research project consists of 7 main tasks. In Task 1, rainfall and tidal gauge data will be obtained from the City of Virginia Beach and other organizations and then analyzed using standard data mining approaches to identify relationships and patterns. In Task 2, this data and identified influential factors will be used in conjunction with weather forecasts in independent simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to develop rainfall hyetograph forecasts. This will then be used within the models developed through Task 1 to project if the roadway will flood for the forecasted rainfall event. Task 3 takes the outputs from Tasks 1 and 2 and provides a protocol for communicating predicted flooding events and a decision support tool for the traffic management center (TMC) to put out advisories through variable message signs (VMS) and 511 systems for immediate deployment. In future deployment, when connected vehicles are more common, these advisories will also be sent to travelers, as in Task 6. In Task 4, the project team develops a small to medium sized network around the two study locations that is used in Tasks 5 and 6. In Task 5, the project team conducts microscopic traffic simulations under a variety of scenarios based on the conditions and timing related to key factors identified in Tasks 1 and 2, weather conditions, seasons (including tourism and tidal effects), times of day, and other incidents that would involve a Fire/EMS response. These simulations will provide the clearance time(s) of the soon-to-be-flooded link(s); a distribution of the clearance times will be developed for comparison with the flood warnings from Task 2. Task 6 involves developing routing recommendations for drivers who are en-route but have not yet entered the flooded or soon-to-be-flooded links through a hyperpath generating algorithm while considering load balancing. Finally, in Task 7, the project team addresses uncertainty concerns by evaluating the trade-offs between providing a warning and road closure unnecessarily and failing to issue a warning/road closure when one is needed. Costs associated with this task include property damage and rescue, among others, for failing to issue a warning when it is needed and delay costs (Tasks 5 and 6) when issuing a warning that is not needed.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2016 18:47:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1401179</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>GEO-1: Hazard Mitigation and Adaptation Counter Measures for Existing and New Highway Slopes
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1370870</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 16:31:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1370870</guid>
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