News

As the nation grapples with the pressing need for new and improved infrastructure, the Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) stands as a beacon of innovation and research. Located in Bryan, Texas, CIR offers a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to addressing the challenges and demands of modern infrastructure. With a focus on developing sustainable, resilient and efficient […]

Texas A&M University Professor and Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer Amy Epps Martin was recently elected president of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT). Epps Martin will serve as president for one-year effective Oct. 1. AAPT is a leading world-wide community dedicated to excellence and advancement of asphalt technology since 1924. […]

The correct amount of pavement friction is critical for motorist safety, especially during wet weather. The Wet Surface Crash Reduction Program guidelines from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Traffic Safety Division provide engineers with a framework for identifying existing pavement friction and the tools for specifying new pavement surfaces that will meet project-specific friction […]

Alkali–silica reactions (ASRs) cause cracking issues in precast concrete bridge structures. In collaboration with Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Assistant Research Scientist Kai-Wei Liu, TTI Senior Research Scientist Anol Mukhopadhyay developed two ASR test methods now accepted as American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards, as well as a four-step process for […]

With roadway construction projects such as bridge construction, time and money are both at a premium. Mistakes may not only set the timeline back but stretch already strained budgets as well. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is becoming a popular method to study the subsurface of a construction project area in a nondestructive way. ERT scans […]

Tailoring construction and repair solutions to unique problems along a discrete part of the roadway — instead of applying a one-size-fits-all method — is gaining popularity as a pavement design/rehabilitation method for entire corridors. It’s just one innovation that Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers are using to help the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) […]

Using recycled materials on roadways has been standard procedure in construction for several decades. The challenge lies in having a practical mix design process — think of it like a recipe, selecting the right ingredients and proportions — that agencies responsible for highway infrastructure can rely on for guidance. The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) […]

State departments of transportation (DOTs) nationwide have long dealt with the problem of asphalt pavement cracking — the primary type of distress that creates the need for pavement rehabilitation. Many cracking tests have been developed, but no single test has been simple, reliable, efficient, repeatable and cost effective — until now. Over the past four […]

A technology once focused on aerospace applications half a century ago is finding new utility to improve the safety of driving surfaces in Texas thanks to evolving research at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The effort employs LiDAR — or light detection and ranging — which calculates distances by transmitting a laser beam to […]

Visibility Research Laboratory TTI’s Visibility Research Laboratory supports research evaluating transportation-related visibility products. The lab is equipped with photometric equipment to evaluate the products while traveling at night or in inclement weather. Contact: Adam Pike, [email protected] Smart Intersection TTI’s Smart Intersection tests connected vehicle applications, traffic signal control and connected infrastructure interoperability. For one research […]

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has a varied and productive history of applied research for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. These projects provide excellent value by solving the myriad of problems facing transportation professionals. Two recent projects in the pavement area, Short-Term Laboratory Conditioning of Asphalt Mixtures and The Effects of Recycling Agents […]

Ensuring that asphalt binders don’t contain too many contaminates can be key to ensuring a longer-lasting roadway. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is implementing use of an innovative technology in a new test method and updated specifications developed during a two-year study conducted by the Materials and Pavements Division of the Texas A&M Transportation […]

The old adage, “Cheap, Fast, Good: Pick Any Two,” applies to most things. Defying this commonly held belief, rehabilitating a roadway with cold-in-place recycling (CIR) can actually be faster and cheaper than traditional methods and still yield outstanding results. CIR is a single operation. An existing deteriorated hot-mix asphalt (HMA) layer is recycled and treated, […]

A National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project describing a new mechanical-based method for testing aged asphalt led to international recognition for two Texas A&M Transportation Institute employees: Postdoctoral Researcher Meng Ling and TTI Research Engineer Robert Lytton. “An Inverse Approach to Determine Complex Modulus Gradient of Field-aged Asphalt Mixtures” was named a 2017 Best […]

Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas was unprecedented in many ways, including rainfall amounts, property damage and human misery. There was also unprecedented disruption and damage to Texas roadways. About a mile of SH 6 in Harris County, from Clay Road to I-10, was covered with up to 7 feet of water for 14 days. Multiple […]

Numerous Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers and students were recognized during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 97th Annual Meeting Jan. 7–11 in Washington, D.C. This year’s gathering of transportation professionals from around the globe included more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops. Best Paper Awards The paper “Field Evaluation of Pilot […]

When we think of a roadway, most of us think of the asphalt or concrete we’re riding on, not the ditches lining the roads or how efficiently water flows off those roads following a rainstorm. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has come up with an automated way of determining whether those ditches are doing […]

As in 2013, ASCE once again rated America’s infrastructure a D+ in its latest 2017 assessment. Although several categories, such as ports and rail, achieved modest improvements, others declined. And six core categories that many think of when they think of infrastructure itself — including bridges, roads and aviation — remained unchanged from four years […]

Damaged roads and devastated homes. Chemical plant explosions in Crosby, Texas. The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies much of the East Coast with fuel. The shockwaves from extreme weather events like Hurricane Harvey can last for years. Getting damaged infrastructure back online is key to public safety, as well as the nation’s economy, […]

Texas A&M University students have been involved in the research process at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) since the Institute’s founding in 1950. Currently, TTI employs 216 students — 75 of which are graduate research assistants. TTI’s Materials and Pavements Division alone employs 61 graduate and undergraduate assistant researchers. As they were 67 years […]

All airports have one thing in common: pavement, and a lot of it. In fact, in many cases, maintaining runways represents the largest expenditure at an airport. It’s critical that airport management inspect and maintain its pavements in a timely fashion for safety reasons and to avoid costly, full-pavement rehabilitation projects. Researchers at the Texas […]

There is one thing all airports have in common—pavement—and a lot of it. In fact, pavements represent perhaps the largest expenditures at any airport. Thus, it is critical that airport management inspect and maintain their pavements for not only safety reasons, but to perform timely maintenance in order to avoid costly full pavement rehabilitation projects. […]