Why Extreme Heat Buckles Roads

Default assumptions are critical in civil engineering. BUT, what happens when those assumptions are no longer valid. The heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest is an example of atypical conditions, and the effect on pavement has been noticeable and resulted in critical failures in some instances. An article at The Verge explains why. – Daniel Findley, DTC […]

Highway 1 Collapse Update – Reopened!

We learned a few months ago about the collapse of Highway 1 near Big Sur in California. With many specializations in Civil Engineering on display, the highway has re-opened! The repairs included drainage systems improvements, filling the canyon with compacted dirt (a common type of problem solved in our review course), re-paving the road, and will soon […]

Highway 1 Collapse – Interconnected Infrastructure Failure

A recent catastrophic loss of infrastructure occurred on Highway 1 in California near Big Sur when a section of the road collapsed and slid into the ocean. This wash-out highlights the interconnectedness of civil engineering. The source of the failure has been reported as “overwhelmed drainage infrastructure, flowed across the highway, and eroded the road resulting in the complete loss […]

North Carolina DOT Uses Drones for Bridge Inspection

13,500 bridges are inspected every year in North Carolina alone, and now that task will be cheaper and faster. The FAA recently granted to North Carolina DOT the first approval in the nation to use drones when inspecting bridges. North Carolina is a launch site for this project likely because it is home to the […]

Skid Resistance Prediction Model

DTC Civil Transportation engineering instructor, Dr. Daniel Findley, recently co-authored a journal article in the Construction and Building Materials Journal that explores methods to predict pavement quality. Specifically, the research predicts the available minimum skid resistance in the road network of Biscay (Spain) with data collected in the summer season when friction values are at a minimum. Firstly, […]

How Wide Should a Travel Lane Be?

DTC’s own Civil Transportation instructor, Dr. Daniel Findley, was recently interviewed by WRAL TV news for an in-depth story about the impact of lane widths on safety. Although no conclusive scientific evidence is available, the results of individual studies show both increases and decreases in crashes after a lane is narrowed. Although somewhat counter-intuitive, the narrowing of a […]

Should You Pull In or Back In?

DTC’s Civil Transportation instructor, Dr. Daniel Findley, PE, recently published a journal article that examines the safest way to park. The analysis from this study implies that the pull-in/back-out parking maneuver is more likely to result in a collision and therefore, is associated with a higher crash risk. Further analysis of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and […]

Is That Really a Traffic Jam?

We are relying more and more on traffic information that we find on our smart phones, but do we know what data are being used by these apps to estimate the level of congestion on our roadways? This video shows how relatively low-tech hack using 99 smartphones was able to manipulate the amount of congestion that […]

Push to Cross – Not Always

Many cities struggle to find the appropriate balance between prioritizing vehicular or pedestrian traffic. If you’re curious why an intersection does or does not have a push button and what it does or does not do, check out this article about Washington, DC’s pedestrian crossing system. You’ll also learn about other treatments at intersections that can be […]