This document provides an overview of transportation careers and challenges in the field of transportation engineering. It discusses what transportation is, how transportation systems work, and examples of structural and transportation systems. It also outlines several transportation problems including congestion, incidents/crashes, increased freight traffic, aging infrastructure, and security concerns. Potential solutions discussed include building more capacity, making more intelligent use of existing resources, and using intelligent transportation systems like detection equipment, traffic management centers, and connected vehicle technologies.

1. Transportation Careers
2017 MATC Scholars Program
Laurence R. Rilett, PhD, P.E.
September 30, 2017

2. Overview
• Welcome
• Transportation
–Definition
–System
• Challenges
• Careers

3. "What is Transportation?"
• Safe movement of persons and goods over
time and space
–objectives
–methods

4. "What is Transportation?"
• Safe movement of persons and goods over
time and space
–objectives constant
–methods change (shipping / railroads /
rural roads / freeways / airports)
• Characterize by
–thing being transported
–type of vehicle
–right-of-way

5. “What is a Civil Engineering System?”
• Select arrangement of elements
• Resist load on system
• Economical "life" of system

6. Example 1: Structural System
• Elements
– beams
– columns
– foundation
• Load
– live / dead
– wind
• serve 20-50-100 years without failure

7. How old is Civil Engineering?
• HAMMURABI ruled Babylonia
for 43 years (circa 1850 to 1750
B.C.)
• The Hammurabi code read:
• If a builder build a house for a man
and do not make its construction
firm and the house which he has
built collapse and cause the death of
the owner of the house-that builder
shall be put to _________

8. John R. Hillman, founder and president of HC
Bridge: patented Hillman-Composite Beam (HCB)

11. Example 2: Transportation System
• Elements (supply)
– highways, arterial roadways, local streets
– traffic signals, signs, etc.
• Load (demand for movement)
– vehicles/hour
– tons/year
– passengers/month

12. • "fail soft" versus "fail hard"
– design criteria is less than expected load
– many transportation systems designed to "fail"
twice a day ==> trade-offs
• Total U.S. expenditures
– personal transportation ~12% GNP
– freight transportation ~ 8% GNP

13. • The speed, cost, and capabilities of available
transportation have a significant economic
impact on an area
– Rail: Nebraska (2nd largest state in terms of
ton-mileage)
– Interstate freeway system: I-80
• Countries with better/advanced transportation
networks and services are leaders in industry
and commerce
– USA, Japan, Germany, ...

14. What is Transportation Engineering?
• The engineering profession is involved in all
aspects of transportation
– aeronautical (aircraft)
– chemical (fuel)
– mechanical (vehicles)
– electrical (communications, control systems)
– civil (development of facilities)

15. • Multi-disciplinary
–economic
–environmental
–planning
–statistics
–psychology &
human factors
–public
administration
–Law
–business

16. • Multi-disciplinary
– economic
– environmental
– planning
– statistics
– psychology &
human factors
– public
administration
– law
• People oriented
• Not simply engineering
• Problems ==> solutions

17. What is a transportation problem?
• Congestion

18. Congestion comes in many forms …

19. What is a transportation problem?

20. What is a transportation problem?
• Incidents /
Crashes

21. Red light running

22. What is a
transportation
problem?
• Increased freight
– Truck traffic
– Railway traffic
– Truck weights
• Security Concerns

23. • Freight:
– increase by 40 percent by 2040
– 4-8 percent of freight is hazardous goods
• Hazardous Goods
– 4-8 percent of freight
– highly-flammable crude oil
• 2009 Class 1 railroads: ~10,000 carloads
• 2014: ~ 490,000 carloads
– toxic/poison inhalation hazards (TIHs/PIHs)
• chlorine and anhydrous ammonia

26. Lac-Mégantic rail disaster

27. Lac-Mégantic rail disaster

28. What is a transportation problem?
• Aging infrastructure
– 50 years +

32. What is a transportation problem?
• Congestion

33. What is a transportation problem?
• Aging
population
• Aging
infrastructure
–50 years +

34. Potential Solution
Build more
capacity ?

35. Potential Solution
• Issues
–politics
–limited resources ($, land,...)
• New techniques
–more intelligent use of available
resources
–Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS)

36. Time is of the
essence ….
Problem: Major incident on
Freeway

37. Solution:
Detection
Equipment

38. Solution:
Detection
Equipment
Traffic
Management
Center

39. Solution:
Detection
Equipment
Dispatch

40. In-vehicle
Internet
Variable Message
Signs

42. Connected Automation