Enhancing Rural Freight Resilience in the Southeastern U.S.: Data-Driven Modeling and Decision Support for Supply Chain Efficiency.

This research aims to address the issue of limited alternative routes in rural freight systems by modeling rural freight networks to identify critical vulnerabilities and evaluate potential recovery strategies. The study also proposes new methods for addressing truck parking shortages using models such as reservation and automated allocation for predicting demand and optimizing supply. The project leverages network science, emerging data sources, and simulation tools to develop methodologies for assessing the resilience of rural freight networks. Additionally, the study will explore the potential of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) for improving operational efficiency and reducing parking demand, particularly for middle-mile delivery and short-range freight operations. This research directly addresses these issues by (1) Developing network-based modeling techniques to analyze rural freight resilience, (2) Identifying critical corridors and evaluating alternative routing strategies, and (3) Proposing innovative truck parking solutions to improve operational efficiency. This includes broader operational strategies such as parking reservations, staging areas near hubs or ports, route reservations, and quicker incident resolution for truckers.

    Language

    • English

    Project

    • Status: Active
    • Funding: $357,657.00
    • Contract Numbers:

      69A3552348304

    • Sponsor Organizations:

      Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

      University Transportation Centers Program
      Department of Transportation
      Washington, DC  United States  20590
    • Managing Organizations:

      Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities

      North Carolina A&T State University
      1601 East Market Street
      Greensboro, NC  United States  27411
    • Project Managers:

      Kaisar, Evangelos

    • Performing Organizations:

      North Carolina A&T State University

      1601 E. Market Street
      Greensboro, NC  United States  27411

      Florida Atlantic University

      777 Glades Road
      Boca Raton, FL  United States  33431

      University of Kentucky

      229 Taylor Drive
      Lexington, Kentucky  United States  40506
    • Principal Investigators:

      Kaisar, Evangelos I

      Pandey, Venktesh

      Chen, Mei

      Ni, Zhen

    • Start Date: 20251201
    • Expected Completion Date: 20270831
    • Actual Completion Date: 0
    • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

    Subject/Index Terms

    Filing Info

    • Accession Number: 01974545
    • Record Type: Research project
    • Source Agency: Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities
    • Contract Numbers: 69A3552348304
    • Files: UTC, RIP
    • Created Date: Dec 20 2025 5:04PM