In The News – The Western Transportation Institute

Bozeman Receives Grant to Integrate Art and Transportation

Posted on April 16th, 2018

Congratulations to the City of Bozeman, one of only three communities across the nation selected to receive State of the Art Transportation Trainings from Transportation for America (T4America). WTI’s Rebecca Gleason served on the team that developed the successful grant application, led by Cathy Costakis of the Montana Nutrition and Physical Activity Program along with Randy Carpenter of Future West, Jim Madden of Mountain Time Arts, with support from Bozeman Mayor Cyndy Andrus. Through this program, Bozeman will receive technical training workshops from T4America on how to partner with local arts leaders and organizations to develop “out of the box” transportation solutions and broaden public support for current or future projects. Bozeman hopes to engage its vibrant arts community into transportation planning efforts across the Gallatin Valley, and in particular, into initiatives to create a first-class regional transit system as the region grows. “We are excited to be selected for this unique program, which is great fit for Bozeman given how rapidly our population is growing,” said Rebecca.

The full announcement and more information is available on the T4America website.

MSU News features WTI’s Proposal that brings $10.3 million for road and public transit improvements.

Posted on March 28th, 2018

From MSU News– BOZEMAN – A proposal written by researchers at Montana State University’s Western Transportation Institute has resulted in a $10.3 million federal grant for improving safety and traffic flow on the road leading to the Big Sky community.

The funding comes from one of the most highly coveted and competitive sources of federal transportation dollars: the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program, known as TIGER. Read the full story

http://www.montana.edu/news/17541/wti-proposal-wins-big-sky-10-3-million-for-road-improvements

WTI’s Dani Hess is making the news with Bozeman Commute-A-Thon

Posted on March 27th, 2018

The Spring Commute-A-Thon kicked off on Monday March 26, and will continue through Friday, April 6. Coordinator Dani Hess was interviewed by KBZK-TV while promoting the event on the MSU campus on Monday. Watch her interview and the full new story on the KBZK website. http://www.kbzk.com/story/37813013/commute-a-thon-competition-kicks-off-in-bozeman

Have you joined the challenge? go to https://bozemancommute.org/#/challenges/5a872dd59584fe20ee7dfe16 to register on the Bozeman Commuter Project website so you can start logging your trips by bus, bike, carpool or on foot!

MSU Video Shows Students “Crushing it” in the Research Lab

Posted on February 26th, 2018

Professor Mike Berry and his students had the opportunity to show off their efforts to develop and test ultra-high performance concrete in a Montana State University (MSU) feature article and video published on the MSU website last week. The research stems from a collaboration between the Montana Department of Transportation, MSU College of Engineering, and WTI to formulate an affordable version of ultra-high performance concrete with materials available in Montana. In the video, Berry also discusses how the research has allowed many students to gain valuable “hands-on” experience testing the strength and durability of construction materials in the lab. The story also gained national attention last week when it was featured in the Daily Transportation Update of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The article, photos, and video are available on the MSU website, and more project information is available on the project’s webpage.

One-Stop Shop Selected as Model for “Research Pays Off”

Posted on February 20th, 2018

Congratulations to the One-Stop Shop Traveler Information project, which was featured in the November/December 2017 issue of TR News Magazine, published by the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board. Caltrans Senior Transportation Engineer Sean Campbell and WTI Principal Investigator Doug Galarus authored the article, entitled “The One-Stop Shop: Traveler Information Tool for Multistate Road Trips,” which was selected for a three-page feature in the “Research Pays Off” section of the magazine. The One-Stop Shop application is an umbrella website that can be used as a primary point of reference for trip planning over an 11-state region. It was created through an ongoing research collaboration that began in 2010 between the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Western States Rural Consortium (WSRTC), and the Western Transportation Institute. The article describes how the tool developed from a proof-of-concept project to an internet and mobile application that benefits a broad range of users, including long-distance travelers, local and state transportation agency personnel, emergency responders, and commercial vehicle operators. Additional information is available at the WSRTC website and the WTI website.

View the article ( TR News article on One-Stop Shop)

(TR News is copyright, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; posted with permission of the Transportation Research Board.)

New Wildlife Overpass Planned for Trans-Canada Highway (TCH)

Posted on February 5th, 2018

WTI Research Scientist Tony Clevenger was interviewed by the Rocky Mountain Outlook last week about a new wildlife overpass near Canmore, Alberta and Banff National Park. In “Plans for new TCH overpass in the works,” Clevenger discusses the role of wildlife overpasses in reconnecting grizzly bear populations, which is critical for the long-term viability of the species. The article also highlights Clevenger’s work with colleague Adam Ford to study the wildlife crossing structures in Banff for 17 years, research which revealed grizzly bear travel patterns and the types of crossing structures which are most effective. The full article is available on the Rocky Mountain Outlook website.

MDT Research Newsletter Profiles Three WTI Projects

Posted on February 5th, 2018

WTI research is prominently featured in the new issue of Solutions, the research newsletter of the Montana Department of Transportation. Three recently completed projects are profiled in feature articles:

“Prefabricated Steel Truss/Bridge Deck Systems.” This study was a WTI and MSU Civil Engineering project led by Damon Fick, Tyler Kuehl, Michael Berry, and Jerry Stephens. It evaluated a prototype of a welded steel truss constructed with an integral concrete deck, which has been proposed as a potential alternative for accelerated bridge construction (ABC) projects in Montana. Steel truss bridges are relatively light weight compared with plate girder systems, which makes them a desirable alternative for both material savings and constructability. See the WTI website for more information.
“Evaluation of Effectiveness and Cost-Benefits of Woolen Roadside Reclamation Products.” This research project developed three types of products for study: woolen erosion control blankets (ECBs), wool incorporated into wood fiber compost, and wool incorporated into silt fence. The project, supported by Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates, compared the wool products’ performance to roadside reclamation products commonly used for revegetating cut slopes. Rob Ament (P.I.) and Eli Cuelho served on the research team. Additional information is available on the WTI website.
“Feasibility of Non-Proprietary Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) for Use in Highway Bridges in Montana.” Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has mechanical and durability properties that far exceed those of conventional concrete. However, using UHPC in conventional concrete applications has been cost prohibitive, costing 20 times that of conventional concrete. The overall objective of the Phase I research was to develop and characterize economical non-proprietary UHPC mixes made with materials readily available in Montana. The research was led by Michael Berry. Additional project information is available on the WTI website.

The MDT Solutions newsletter is available on the MDT website.

To Pave or Not to Pave?

Posted on January 29th, 2018

WTI Research Scientist Laura Fay was interviewed last week by MINNPOST.com on the topic of local road agencies that choose to unpave roads. The discussion focused on Laura’s research sponsored by the Transportation Research Board, in which she surveyed local, state, or federal agencies on how they manage low-volume roads. The survey identified nearly 70 road projects in 27 states in which the road agency chose to convert a road to an unpaved, gravel road instead of re-paving it. The project will also result in a guidebook to help local officials decide if unpaving a road is safe and cost-effective. Read the full article here or go to the WTI website for more information about the research project.

MSU Highlights WTI’s Wildlife Research in Banff National Park

Posted on January 22nd, 2018

Image of elk near entrance of a wildlife underpass — Elk approaches wildlife underpass in Banff National Park (*courtesy of Tony Clevenger*)

Montana State University News Service interviewed three WTI researchers for an in-depth article on WTI’s “influential research” on reducing wildlife vehicle collisions. “MSU’s Western Transportation Institute featured for research on wildlife crossings” is currently on the MSU website and was highlighted on the home page last week. Tony Clevenger was interviewed regarding his 17 years of research in Banff National Park, which has documented the effectiveness of the wildlife overpasses on the Trans-Canada Highway. Rob Ament and Steve Albert discussed how the crossing structures are influencing the development of similar efforts by transportation agencies around the world, and how the research helped establish WTI as an internationally recognized center for road ecology.

Tony Clevenger Radio Interview on Innovative Wildlife Research Techniques

Posted on January 22nd, 2018

WTI Research Scientist Tony Clevenger was interviewed by WHYY radio in Canada regarding his 17-year research project to evaluate the wildlife crossing structures in Banff National Park. The discussion highlighted the research techniques used to determine which animals were using the crossing structures; these techniques included animal tracks, hair traps, and remote wildlife cameras. The entire audio interview is available on the WHYY website. The online article also features photos of a fox, wolf, elk, linx and bear using the wildlife crossings, and a video clip of a bear and two cubs on one of the structures.