The systems currently available for forest road design are not capable of making computer-aided design judgments such as: 1) automated generation of alternative grade lines, 2) optimizing vertical alignment, 3) minimizing total cost of construction, maintenance, and transportation costs, and 4) aiming for least environmental impacts. In recent years, advances...
The perception of a long-term cost advantage of synthetic infill turf systems relative to natural grass systems has contributed to a rise in their popularity in the USA. However, few comprehensive cost assessments of natural grass and synthetic infill systems exist. There are also no studies looking at interactions between...
Structurally efficient and cost-effective solutions are needed to extend the service-life of deficient and aging highway infrastructure around the world. One critical need is to increase the flexural strength of older reinforced concrete (RC) structures to carry heavier and more frequent loads. Titanium alloy bars (TiAB) offer a new opportunity...
Streams across the world are highly fragmented due to the presence of in-stream barriers (e.g., dams and stream-road crossings), many of which restrict or block fish passage. Retrofitting or replacing these structures is a high priority for restoring habitat connectivity for native fishes and other aquatic organisms in the Pacific...
The Horsetail Creek (HC) bridge is an example of an Oregon bridge that was classified as structurally deficient and was not designed to withstand earthquake (EQ) excitations. A fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) rehabilitation was performed on the HC bridge to increase flexural and shear capacities for traffic loads. However, a seismic...
In the past two years, Oregon State University (OSU) Corvallis campus suffered several power outages. The estimated cost of one of those outages was close to a million dollars worth of equipment and impact on research projects. Meanwhile, the campus grid operates with severely aging power assets. The reliability of...
The Pacific Northwest is at risk for significant seismic and tsunami events, which are capable of severely damaging lifeline transportation infrastructure, particularly bridges. As the bridges in the United States age and begin to show signs of fatigue, the risk for severe damage increases. Proper monitoring and inspection of bridges...
The Astoria-Megler Bridge is a 6.6 kilometer (4.1 mile) long bridge, connecting Oregon and Washington on US 101, with a continuous steel truss main span of 376 m (1232 ft). It is the second longest main span bridge of this type in the world. Due to vortex shedding, some of...
Many Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have done construction and maintenance work at night in order to minimize the disruption of daytime traffic, but nighttime operations produce a new set of concerns such as safety, public relations, productivity, and work quality. In addition, decision-making for using nighttime operations has been subjective...
Large numbers of reinforced concrete (RC) bridges were built in the past that are now considered seismically deficient. The structural members most likely to be considered deficient are the supporting columns. Typical deficient columns contain inadequate transverse reinforcement and poorly detailed lap splice lengths above the foundation. Insufficient lap splice...