Improving Transportation Infrastructure Resilience against Hurricanes, other Natural Disasters, and Weathering: Part I - Analysis of failure of transportation signs due to Hurricane Maria

The primary goal of this proposal is to analyze the failure of different types of transportation signs due to Hurricane Maria. The specific objectives of the project are: (a) determine the causes of the failure, (b) suggest improvements to the design and construction to avoid or reduce the risk of damages in future hurricane situations, and (c) calculate the wind loads that produced the damage in order to better establish the design wind speed in Puerto Rico (PR) new building codes and Department of Transportation (DOT) specifications. The intended outcome of the project is to improve the design and construction of highway and roadway signs. Also, the findings could motivate ASCE, the Institute of Civil Engineers of the College of Engineers and Land Surveyors of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico Building Code Officials (PRBCO) to change the design wind speed established for Puerto Rico, which in turn will affect the design of transportation infrastructure. PRDOT may also decide to adopt the assessed wind speeds for their design, aside of any ASCE or PRBCO decision.

• Record URL:
  http://cait.rutgers.edu/cait/research/improving-transportation-infrastructure-resilience-against-hurricanes-other-natural-di

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $137878
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551847102

  CAIT-UTC-REG17

• 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 Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation

  Rutgers University
  100 Brett Road
  Piscataway, NJ  United States  08854-8058

  Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority

  P.O. Box 42007
  San Juan,   Puerto Rico  00940-2007
• Project Managers:

  Carlos, Juan

  Szary, Patrick

• Performing Organizations:

  Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico

  377 Ponce de León Ave
  San Juan, PR  United States  00918
• Principal Investigators:

  Cruzado, Héctor

  Pacheco-Crosetti, Gustavo

• Start Date: 20181001
• Expected Completion Date: 20200529
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Disaster resilience; Failure analysis; Hurricanes; Improvements; Recommendations; Specifications; Traffic signs; Wind
• Identifier Terms: Hurricane Maria
• Geographic Terms: Puerto Rico
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01685241
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551847102, CAIT-UTC-REG17
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 12 2018 11:53AM