TTE 4202

Traffic Engineering

Javier Rodriguez, P.E.

Class Outline

 Syllabus
 Project
 Introduction and Background Information
 Traffic Engineering
 References for Traffic Engineers

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Syllabus

 Referto Canvas
 My contact information
– Always include your name and class number
when contacting me
– Primary method – via email
– Secondary method – via phone
 Office hours
– By appointment, via Zoom

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Syllabus

 Exams
– 2 Exams
– Proctored via Honorlock
 Textbook (refer to syllabus)
– Traffic & Highway Engineering
 Additional references (refer to syllabus)

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Syllabus

 Grading
– Assignments submitted late will receive zero (0)
– 10% Discussions
– 25% Exam 1
– 35% Exam 2
– 30% Project (15% Report, 15% Presentation)

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Project

 Will consist of:

– Report,
– Presentation, and
– Video recording of the presentation
 Group members:
– Provide the names to professor by date specified
in syllabus
– Numbers of students per group as per syllabus

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Project

 Selected topic:
– To be submitted to professor by date specified in
syllabus
 Report requirements:
– Refer to syllabus
 Presentation requirements:
– Refer to syllabus
 Video recording requirements:
– Refer to syllabus
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Importance of Transportation

 The speed, cost, and capacity of available

transportation have a significant impact on
the economic vitality of an area and the ability
to make maximum use of its natural
resources

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Transportation and Economic
Growth

 Ifa society expects to develop and grow, it

must have a strong transportation system
– Good roads
– Rail systems
– Excellent linkages to the rest of the world
by sea and air

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Social Cost and Benefits of
Transportation

 Building
vast transportation systems requires
enormous resources of energy, material, and
land

 In major cities, transportation can consume

as much as half of all the land area

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Social Cost and Benefits of
Transportation
 Transportationcan create noise, spoil the natural
beauty of an area, change the environment,
pollute air and water, and consume energy
resources

 As a society we are willing to accept some risk

and changes to the natural environment to gain
the advantages from constructing transportation
systems
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Social Cost and Benefits of
Transportation

 As transportation engineers, we need to

balance society’s need for fast and efficient
transportation with the costs involved

 Our goals is to create the most efficient and

cost-effective system, while assuring that the
environment is not compromised or
destroyed

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Transportation Systems

 The transportation system in an aggregation

of:
– Vehicles,
– Guide-ways
– Terminal facilities, and
– Control systems

 That move freight and passengers

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Highway Transportation

 Highway transportation is the dominant mode

in passenger travel and one of the principal
freight modes

 The U.S. highway system comprises

approximately 3.9 million miles, ranging from
high-capacity and multilane freeways to
urban streets and unpaved rural roads

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Sources of Funds for Highways
 Highway users are the primary source of funds to
build and maintain roads
 About 70%
– Fuel taxes
 About 30%
– Excise taxes (truck sales, batteries, tires)
– State and local license and registration fees
– Highway and parking tolls
– Traffic fines

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The Federal Highway System
 Includes the interstate and other federal-aid routes

 Consists of a network of roads totaling

approximately 930,000 miles

 The interstate highway system consists of

approximately 47,800 miles of limited access roads

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Interstate Highway System

Source: Federal Highway Administration TTE 4202

National Highway System (NHS)
 Approximately 90% of U.S. population lives five
miles or less from the NHS
 The NHS is comprised of:
– Interstate (47,800 miles)
– Other Principal Arterials (92,000 miles)
– Strategic Highway Network (15,700 miles)
– Major Strategic Highway Network Connectors (1,900
miles)
– Intermodal Connectors

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National Highway System (NHS)

Source: Federal Highway Administration TTE 4202

Traffic Engineering
 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
definition:
– A branch of civil engineering, traffic engineering
concerns the safe and efficient movement of people
and goods along roadways. Traffic flow, road
geometry, sidewalks, bicycle facilities, shared lane
markings, traffic signs, traffic lights, and more – all
of these elements must be considered when
designing public and private sector transportation
solutions

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Traffic Engineering

 The operation of the nation’s highway system

is the responsibility of the traffic engineer

 Trafficengineering involves the integration of

vehicle, driver, and pedestrian characteristics
to improve the safety and capacity of streets
and highways

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Traffic Engineering
 The traffic engineer must understand the basic
characteristics of the driver, the vehicle, and the
road, and how each interacts with each other

 Information obtained through traffic engineering

studies serves to identify relevant
characteristics and define related problems

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Traffic Engineering

 Primary objective:
– Safety
 Other objectives:
– Travel time
– Comfort
– Convenience
– Economy
– Environmental compatibility

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Traffic Engineering
 The traffic engineer works to improve traffic
flow and safety, using engineering methods
and information technology to make decisions
that are supported by enforcement and
education

 Traffic engineers work directly for

municipalities, county, state governments, and
private consulting firms
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Traffic Engineering

 The most common unit used by the traffic

engineer is “vehicles”
 Yet the movement of vehicles is not the
objective
 The goal is the movement of the people and
goods that occupy vehicles
 Modern traffic engineering now focuses more
on people and goods
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Traffic Engineering
 There are a number of key elements of traffic
engineering:
1. Traffic studies and characteristics
2. Performance evaluation
3. Facility design
4. Traffic control
5. Traffic operations
6. Transportation systems management
7. Integration of intelligent transportation system
technologies

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Traffic Engineering

1. Traffic studies and characteristics

1. Measuring and quantifying various aspects of
highway traffic
 Trafficvolumes and demands
 Speed and travel time
 Delay
 Crashes
 Origin and destinations
 Modal use

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Traffic Engineering

2. Performance evaluation
– Means by which traffic engineers can rate the
operating characteristics of individual sections of
facilities and facilities as a whole in relative terms
 Level of service (A thru F)

3. Facility design
– Involves traffic engineers in the functional and
geometric design of highways and other traffic facilities

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Traffic Engineering

4. Traffic Control
– Is a central function of traffic engineers and involves
the establishments of traffic regulations and their
communications to the driver through the use of traffic
control devices such as signs, markings, and signals

5. Traffic Operations
– Involves measures that influence overall operation of
traffic facilities

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Traffic Engineering

6. Transportation Systems Management (TSM)

– Focus on optimizing system capacity and operations
 High occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilities
 Car-pooling programs
 Pricing strategies

7. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

– Application of modern telecommunications technology
to the operation and control of transportation systems

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References for Traffic Engineers

 ITETraffic Engineering
Handbook
– Explore the fundamental
concepts of traffic
engineering as they
relate to operation,
design, and management

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References for Traffic Engineers

A Policy on Geometric
Design of Highways and
Streets “AASHTO Green
Book”
– provides the standards for
geometric design of highways

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References for Traffic Engineers

 Highway Capacity Manual

(HCM)
– Provides methods for
quantifying highway capacity
– Quantify roadway
performance across multiple
dimensions and travel
modes

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References for Traffic Engineers

 Manual on Uniform Traffic

Control Devices (MUTCD)
– Defines the standards used
by road managers
nationwide to install and
maintain traffic control
devices on all public streets

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References for Traffic Engineers

FDOT MUTS
Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) Manual
on Uniform Traffic Studies
– Establish minimum standards
for conducting traffic
engineering studies on roads
under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Transportation

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References for Traffic Engineers

 Florida
Department of
Transportation (FDOT)
Access Management
Guidebook

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