News from Kentucky Section of ITE

A high profile 'traffic study' recently made the news as a result of a bridge / ramp closure in New Jersey. While we'll stay out of the politics of this one, it's not everyday that traffic engineering becomes a punchline on late night tv.

The New York Times had an article on Monday about this topic. Featured are quotes from ITE International President Hibbett Neel as well as long time ITE Member Sam Schwartz. Check it out.

And to have a little fun, how about a few jokes:

"Clearly, somebody is getting thrown under the bus. Fortunately for them, the bus isn't moving. It's stuck in terrible traffic." -Jon Stewart

"Let's talk about the big game yesterday. The Seahawks beat the Broncos 43-8. The Broncos are blaming it on a traffic study." - David Letterman

"Why did the traffic engineer cross the road? Because that's what they did last year." - unknown

See you at the Spring Meeting!

- KYSITE Officers

kysite@kysite.com

Spring Meeting Registration and Agenda

The agenda for the Spring meeting on March 25th is shown below:

10:30 Jeff Moore, KYTC - KYTC Long Range Statewide Transportation Plan
10:45 Dr. Grossardt, KTC - Public Involvement
11:15 Jarrod Stanley, KYTC - Safety in Transportation
11:45 Traffic Bowl - Professors vs. KYSITE vs. Students!
12:30 KYSITE Business
12:45 Adjourn

The meeting will be held in 112 Oliver H. Raymond Building at the University of Kentucky. A map of campus can be found here with parking and building location information. Special thanks to Director Eric Green for coordinating.

register_button

If you would like to pay online, please click here to register. Checks and cash will also be accepted at the door.

Members $10/Non-members $20

FHWA Study: Safety Effects of Horizontal Curve and Grade Combinations on Rural Two-Lane Highways

Submitted by: Jarrod Stanley

The study quantifies the effects of horizontal and vertical curvature on crash rates. Table 17 is pretty telling in the effects, but very interesting is the fact the vertical curvature does not have nearly the impact of horizontal curvature. Also telling is the quantification that more gentle curves have less impact than tighter curves (smaller radii).

This may help quantify decision making in the design process and now we can use design costs vs. crash costs to aid our decision making pertaining to highway design.

Click here for full study.

New! Job Postings

KYSITE will

gladly include professional job postings in our newsletter. So, if your company has a need and would like to reach our group, please contact Vanessa Fritsch with the details.

Our inaugural posting comes from Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc for a Traffic Operations engineer position in their Richmond, VA office. For more information, click here.

Member Profiles - Steve DeWitte

Submitted by: Steve DeWitte

This issue marks the return of the member profiles section. Be on the lookout for my emails asking hard-hitting personal questions! Who better to start with than myself?

Name: Steve De Witte

Place of Work: CDM Smith

Title: Civil Engineer

Degree: BSCE, Purdue 2013

Place of Birth: Atlanta, GA

Family: Mom/Step-dad in Lexington, Dad/Step-mom/2 sisters in Mitchell, SD

What are your technical interests?: Transportation planning, traffic micro-simulation

What are your hobbies?: KHSAA Varsity/JV Basketball referee, social intramural sports (kickball, dodgeball), starting a bourbon collection

Favorites:

Color: Blue

TV Shows: Game of Thrones, House of Cards

What is your most-played song on your iTunes?: "Some Nights" by Fun.

Five Quick Questions:

A. Coke or Pepsi: Coke, not even close

B. Dogs or Cats: Dogs

C. Facebook or Twitter: Both, way too much

D. iPhone or Android: iPhone

E. Cats or Cards: Boilermakers! Last place in both football and basketball! Boiler Up!

The World's Most Amazing Bridges

By: Anne Warnick

This week's bridge comes to you from Sweden. All content and photos are from weather.com.

#10 Øresund Bridge, Malmö, Sweden

Completed in 2000, this five-mile-long bridge that links Sweden and Denmark across the Øresund strait ends on the man-made island of Peberholm, the crossover point where the road from the bridge takes drivers into the tunnel beneath the strait.

When it opened in July 2000, the Øresund Bridge that links Denmark and Sweden had to meet several requirements: the bridge had to provide access for both road and rail travel across the Øresund Strait without interfering with airplane traffic at the nearby Copenhagen Airport, while also allowing ship traffic to flow through the strait uninterrupted.

The answer? A kind of hybrid between a bridge and a tunnel, with a man-made artificial island that connects the two. Today it's the longest combination road and rail bridge anywhere in Europe, and allows travelers to pass between the two countries usually without passport inspections.

Weird Signs

Submitted by: Billy Garrison

Quick Hits

$5 Billion Tesla Gigafactory

Construction and the Connected City

Traffic Lights Slowly Take Over a City

Scientists in France work to harness star power

Sensors Detect Structural Weaknesses Before Disaster

Have You Seen This?

An oldie but a goodie -- and a short one for you this week:

Zombie Kid Likes Turtles

Thanks for your continued support of KYSITE!

2014 KYSITE Board; and

Vanessa Fritsch, Editor
Scott Walker, Editor