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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>
    <image>
      <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>OpenRoad Link: A Public-Private Data Exchange for Safer, Smarter Trucking </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2646948</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Work zones, lane closures, and traffic incidents significantly impact roadway safety and efficiency. When lanes are blocked due to construction, crashes, or other disruptions, roadways no longer function as designed—leading unexpected congestion, increased crash risk, and reduced operational reliability. Many work zones are established to perform critical maintenance on aging infrastructure—essential to improving durability and extending the service life of roadways—but they also introduce temporary risks and delays that must be better managed.  Effects of lane blockages are particularly severe for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), which require more time and space to slow or reroute and are subject to strict hours-of-service regulations that make delays especially costly. 

This project proposes to develop and evaluate a data exchange framework—OpenRoad Link—to integrate and share real-time lane closure, work zone, and incident data from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Oklahoma City and Tulsa Traffic Operations Centers (TOCs), and other key transportation and traffic enforcement partners. To build this framework, the project will first identify and assess the roadway data already collected and shared by these agencies, as well as the types of information currently accessible to the CMV industry through private telematics platforms. Building on national standards such as the Work Zone Data Exchange and SAE J2735 (the standard message set for vehicle-to-everything communications), the project will extend the data scope to include lane-blocking crashes, maintenance activities, and other short-term or unplanned restrictions not currently emphasized in existing feeds. Through collaboration with ODOT, city TOCs, and trucking industry partners—including a pilot with a major trucking company such as ABF—the project will demonstrate the delivery of curated, high-value information directly to in-cab devices or fleet management systems.  

Key tasks will include identifying and cataloging roadway and incident data currently collected by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Traffic Operations Centers (TOCs) of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as evaluating what information is already being shared with the commercial vehicle industry through private telematics platforms. The project will establish partnerships with ODOT, city transportation and public safety agencies, and private industry stakeholders to design and implement a unified, standards-compliant data exchange framework. Following the design phase, the team will develop and deploy the OpenRoad Link data feed, ensuring compliance with existing national standards and verifying data accuracy and reliability. A pilot deployment will be conducted in collaboration with a trucking company using a selected in-cab device to deliver actionable, real-time information directly to CMV drivers.  

Anticipated outcomes include improved safety for CMV drivers, a reduction in secondary crashes, enhanced freight reliability, and a validated proof-of-concept for scalable public-private data exchange. By producing a replicable model for collaboration between state DOTs and private-sector technology providers, the project aims to accelerate national adoption of interoperable safety data systems and promote safer, more efficient freight transportation. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2026 08:59:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2646948</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>An AI-based Oversize Vehicle Warning System in Smart Work Zone
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2627406</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Lane closures, when required during road repair and maintenance, can cause traffic congestion in adjacent open lanes. It is problematic when oversized vehicles are present, as they can create safety risks for workers and other drivers in work zones. The existing technologies in this regard are customized only for overheight vehicle detection and ignore the horizontal span of the vehicles. Therefore, those solutions cannot be extended directly to address the problem at hand. Additionally, the existing methods rely on expensive sensors such as LiDars and radars for automated vehicle detection. Exorbitant costs restrict the large-scale use of those devices. As a more economical solution, this study will leverage inexpensive Ref Green Blue-Depth (RGB-D) sensors for accurate learning-based vehicle size estimation. To address this issue, this project aims to develop an intelligent early warning system that uses low-cost 3D sensing cameras and artificial intelligence (AI)-based detection algorithms. The system will estimate the size of approaching vehicles and issue a real-time warning to any vehicle that is too large for the open lanes. This will help prevent potential accidents and encourage these vehicles to take alternate routes or slow down to ensure everyone's safety.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:26:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2627406</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Likelihood of Unplanned Bridge Posting and Closing

</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2558386</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Federally required state department of transportation (DOT) Transportation Asset Management Plans (TAMPs) must include a process for risk management analysis. State DOTs are tasked with prioritizing bridges for preservation, rehabilitation, and replacement within available budgets. Investment strategies result from evaluating various levels of funding to achieve targets for bridge condition and performance effectiveness at a minimum practicable cost while managing risks. Risks include those associated with performance due to extreme events and bridge conditions. While probabilistic data, methods, and tools exist to quantitatively assess the response of bridges to extreme events using system-wide data (e.g., fragility curves), equivalent approaches for condition-related risks remain underdeveloped. Addressing this gap requires a clearer understanding of the mechanisms and circumstances that lead to unplanned bridge postings and closings due to bridge conditions.

Unplanned postings and closings related to conditions may result from different causes, including (1) discovery of severe deficiency affecting strength or stability, (2) substantial change in condition since the previous inspection or due to accelerated deterioration, and (3) degradation from normal traffic or environmental loading on compromised members. These situations may be more prevalent in certain bridge types and materials (e.g., timber), component or element types (e.g., truss), element defect types (e.g., corrosion, fatigue), site locations (e.g., wet vs. dry), and so forth. Research is needed to develop procedures and tools for state DOTs to quantify the likelihood of unplanned bridge postings and closings as a function of bridge condition and defining attributes.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this project is to develop procedures and tools for state DOTs to quantify the likelihood of unplanned bridge posting and closing as a function of bridge condition and defining attributes. The research will quantify this likelihood in terms of annual probability values that can be applied to individual bridges.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2025 14:04:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2558386</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Enhancing Traffic Delay Prediction Utilizing Data-Driven Techniques</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2485374</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A model that accurately predicts both traffic delays and the queues that result from work zones would be a valuable tool to Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), helping the agency to manage traffic, enhance work zone planning, reduce congestion, and improve road safety. Currently, ADOT lacks the ability to generate estimates of congestion and delays that result from lane closures and other forms of planned or unplanned roadway capacity reduction. Instead, the agency relies on rough generalities to manage traffic and maintain safe operating conditions around work zones. 

Integrating a data-driven model—one that is based on roadway capacity and travel demand—into the work-zone management process would help the Traffic Operations Center (TOC) and other ADOT groups respond to both planned and unplanned traffic-delay events. Information that predicts potential problems before they occur could help the TOC prepare more efficiently for closures and other events by anticipating messaging and communication needs to the traveling public.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:08:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2485374</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Merging Implementation Criteria</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2344446</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Midwest Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative (MwSWZDI) was initiated in 1999 as a Pooled Fund Study intended to coordinate and promote research related to safety and mobility in highway work zones. The Iowa DOT has been the lead state since 2004.

The primary goal of this project is to develop guidance to aid agencies in determining how to most effectively implement lane closures in consideration of driver behavioral response and related metrics associated with traffic safety and operations. The specific objectives of this study are to: (1) conduct a synthesis of different lane merge control strategies in setting work zone merging approaches in the United States through an extensive literature review and analysis of different work zone lane merge control schemes across SWZDI states; (2) assess factors associated with work zone lane merge controls and their impacts on efficiency and safety as measured by impacts on flow rates, speeds, and driver compliance; and (3) provide guidance as to the type and location of work zone lane merge control based on these factors, including thresholds for when different lane merge controls are appropriate, as well as how to best communicate pertinent information to drivers in order to yield the anticipated results.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Feb 2024 17:56:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2344446</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Effectiveness of NCDOT's Dynamic Zipper Merge System</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2232721</link>
      <description><![CDATA[​Zipper merge refers to a convention for merging traffic into a reduced number of lanes, where drivers use both lanes to advance to the lane reduction point and merge at that location, alternating turns. In a dynamic zipper merge system, the technique switches between the zipper and conventional early merge depending on the traffic condition since the zipper merge does not work well when the demand is low.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) implemented the dynamic zipper merge system for several work zones in the past several years. Congruent with the outcomes from past case studies, NCDOT found evidence of its operational and safety benefits over the conventional early merge. However, because the technique comes with vast installation and maintenance cost, the significance of its benefits relative to the low-cost early merge needs to be known. Previous studies showed that the statistical significance of the difference in the performance using either technique was either not apparent or mixed across different metrics. Moreover, the transferability of the benefits across different demand levels is still unknown, likely because of the lack of observational data and the complexity of simulating the merging process. Also, the best practices of the device configurations of dynamic zipper merge for various lane closures are not well documented, underscoring the need for an investigation in this regard.

The research team will address these questions by collecting and analyzing data from both previous and current applications of dynamic and early merge techniques. This effort will encompass collecting data on identifying best practices of device configurations of the dynamic zipper merge for different lane closures, collecting traffic operation and safety data associated with dynamic and early merges, determining the statistical significance of the difference in their performance, and assessing the feasibility of the dynamic zipper merge for day-time lane closures. With the outcomes of this research, NCDOT can make more informed decisions on implementing this technique while potentially expanding the scope of dynamic zipper merge beyond the current practice.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Aug 2023 14:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2232721</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Urban Work Zone User Impacts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2151381</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research will develop a traffic analysis tool to assist in the evaluation of road closures and lane restrictions on urban projects that balances impacts to drivers, local access, work zone safety, and public construction project schedules.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Apr 2023 19:42:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2151381</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Best Practices for MOT on Interstate Pavement Rehabilitation Projects</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2039846</link>
      <description><![CDATA[On interstate pavement rehab projects, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) often finds it challenging to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction. The standard practice is to use a full-width shoulder as a thru lane while work is done on adjacent lanes. But difficulties arise when the shoulder is not wide enough to operate as a thru lane — particularly when the required depth for rehabilitation demands more lateral clearance for lanes under construction. Designers can also face maintenance of traffic (MOT) challenges at interchanges due to the widths of mainline bridges, lateral clearances of cross-road structures, and ramp lengths. Researchers will review ongoing and completed interstate rehab projects where KYTC found it challenging to maintain desired lane widths during construction and document negative impacts of MOT on completed facilities.  
The objective of this study is to develop best practices for MOT to help Project Managers mitigate risks on pavement rehab projects.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 12:57:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2039846</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Monitoring of Illegal Removal of Road Barricades using Intelligent Transportation Systems in Connected and Non-Connected Environments</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1923099</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Description:  Emergency officials usually use physical barricades to close a road/lane(s) during emergencies. The barricades commonly used include concrete barriers, metal, cones, etc. The barricades, however, can be illegally removed by a perpetrator(s) with intentions to harm road users. These incidences where the barricades were illegally removed resulted in fatalities, injuries, and property damages. In many incidences reported, the emergency officials were unable to determine the time when barricades were removed from the location. This shows that non-smart barricades do not include redundancy in the design that would alert officials and warn road users of a road/lane(s) closure to prevent an impending danger even when the barricade is removed illegally by a perpetrator(s). This research intends to propose smart road/lane monitoring and warning systems that would warn road users and alert emergency officials of the impending danger even when the physical barricades have been removed illegally while the road/lane(s) closure is still effective. This smart monitoring and warning system will consider both connected and non-connected vehicles. Because of the increasing trend in the occurrences of climate-related events, there is a demand for this type of technology to save life and damage losses.

Intellectual Merit: This project will conduct a comprehensive review of the literature on practices commonly used for road/lane(s) closure and summarize the key findings to identify the problems of the current non-smart barricades used for road/lane(s). Researchers will then propose smart road/lane closure monitoring and warning systems that support connected and non-connected vehicles to improve safety, and recommend the best road/lane(s) closure monitoring and warning systems to support connected and non-connected vehicles.

Broader Impacts: The proposed smart road/lane(s) closure monitoring and warning systems are expected to significantly reduce traffic accidents resulting from illegal removal of road/lane(s) closure barricades. The smart system will provide a secondary system that can warn motorists of the impending hazard even when the physical barriers were removed intentionally before an accident occurs. Additionally, the smart system will alert responsible emergency agencies that the barrier has been illegally removed so that they take immediate action to protect all road users before an accident occurs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 06 Mar 2022 14:58:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1923099</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of the Driveway Assistance Device (DAD) Systems in One-Lane Two-Way Work Zone</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1741272</link>
      <description><![CDATA[When one lane of a two-lane, two-way roadway is closed as a result of a work zone, traffic in each direction will take turns utilizing the one lane that is open. The alternate one-way traffic will be controlled using various methods including flagger, pilot car, or portable traffic signals. However, these control methods are not always feasible for controlling work zone access points that are located in the work zone such as residential driveways, business driveways, or minor side streets.
This proposal will focus on the driveway assistance device (DAD) systems that are located in the one-lane two-way work zone. The proposed study will evaluate DAD systems in Nebraska. Their safety and efficacy will be analyzed quantitative, empirical performance measures including waiting times, compliance rates, and stop locations. It is anticipated that driver survey will also be conducted.
The objectives of this research are to: (1) Determine the DAD display design that best directs drivers to safely enter the one-lane, two-way work zone operation and proceed in the proper direction of travel; (2) Model efficacy of the DAD systems in terms of driver’s compliance or violation behaviors, as well as the time savings for both driveway and the main road traffic; and (3) Develop a Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) implementation guide outlining best practice for using these systems in Nebraska. At present, DAD systems are not included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). As part of the technology transfer component, this project will develop the necessary background material to have the MUTCD approve the use of DAD systems in work zones.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2020 15:18:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1741272</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4513: Determining Optimal Traffic Opening Time through Concrete Strength Monitoring – Wireless Sensing</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1718347</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team has successfully developed and implemented a nondestructive testing (NDT) method using piezoelectric sensors to measure real-time concrete strength and stiffness. However, the current hardware and software are bulky and inconvenient for field implements.  This project will develop a wireless sensor with hand-held devices or portable terminals, and associated graphic interface to make devices easy for field implementation. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2020 08:59:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1718347</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating the Construction Cost and Schedule Impacts of SCDOT's Traffic Control Restrictions</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1691996</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The overarching goal of this project is to provide technical guidance ot SCDOT in effectively specifying lane closure restrictions on their construction projects.  Effective specification of lane closure restrictions needs to be based on a thorough understanding of the trade-offs between the total project cost, schedule, and user costs.  The following objectives are identified:  (1) synthesize current state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in evaluating the impacts of traffic control measures on construction cost, schedule, and user costs; (2) develop and demonstrate an approach for estimating construction cost, schedule, and user cost implications for a specified lane-closure restriction strategy; (3) evaluate the impact of current and previous lane-closure restriction policies on project cost and schedule objectives for different types of SCDOT projects; and (4) develop a user-friendly computational tool that will assist SCDOT’s construction engineers in quickly evaluating the construction cost, schedule, and user cost implications of various lane closure restriction considerations based on a given set of project characteristics.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2020 08:00:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1691996</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4409: Safety, Mobility, and Cost Benefits of Closing One Direction of Interstate in Rural Areas During Construction Work</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1664492</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Contractors have been pushing for more safety either by closing sections or placing barrier walls along the length of the project. Project deliverables will be guidelines that help to determine (1) where it is beneficial to close interstates, (2) what needs to be added prior to projects such as extra lanes, widening structures, increasing truck radii, signal timing, etc., and (3) what it is an acceptable user cost and necessary liquidated damages for the contractor to complete on time.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 Nov 2019 13:43:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1664492</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Impacts of Connected Vehicles and Automated Vehicles on State and Local Transportation Agencies--Task-Order Support. Preparing Transportation Agencies for Connected and Automated Vehicles in Work Zones</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1656027</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To help transportation agencies prepare for connected and automated vehicles in work zones, the objectives of this project were to: 
(1) dentify technical needs and potential impacts of CAVs in work zones 
(2) Document deployed and planned practices for CAVs in work zones
(3) Evaluate the qualitative and quantitative benefits of these practices, e.g., return on investment and improved safety, mobility,anduser/workerawareness
(4) Identify research needed for addressing gaps in implementing various CAV practices 
(5) Educate stakeholders on research findings through webinars and other materials.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2019 15:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1656027</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Selecting the Most Feasible Construction Phasing Plans for Urban Highway Rehabilitation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1644230</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Approximately one-fifth of the U.S. highway system is under construction, resulting in more than 3,000 construction work zones (CWZ) across cities and states. Since CWZ disrupt traffic flow, daily commuters, and business interests are facing a pressing need to improve mobility around work zones. The primary problem is a lack of standardized methods and analytical tools for proactively assessing the level of mobility disruption that is caused by a CWZ. To tackle this immediate concern, the main objective of this study is to create and test a novel data-driven decision-support model that predicts the level of mobility disruption of a CWZ under arbitrary and user-defined construction and lane closure alternatives. This aim will be achieved by conducting a three-stage methodology that articulates a new spatiotemporal big-data modeling framework where the level of mobility disruption is assessed, and the model’s prediction accuracy fused from a machine-learning algorithm is validated. The central hypothesis is that use of machine-learning techniques will inform the development of reliable mobility indicators for use in selecting the most feasible construction phasing plans. The proposed decision-support system will provide a theoretical basis for comparatively analyzing what-if lane closure scenarios of critical highway projects in urban corridors.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 05 Aug 2019 20:33:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1644230</guid>
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