Transportation Engineering

UAA has an active research program in the areas of traffic and highway engineering. The mission of research at UAA-SOE in transportation engineering is to serve the  local community and develop partnerships with agencies working in this field. Our research in the field of traffic engineering addresses a) the assessment of the use of roundabouts in Alaska as means of improving traffic flow and minimizing environmental impacts, and  b)  cold region issues in transportation engineering. Research in areas relevant to cold regions focuses on pedestrian and driver behavior, and utilization of waste materials in the construction of highway facilities.  The following is a summary of some of the research areas in the field of transportation engineering in the SOE:

•      Comparative Analysis of Multilane Roundabout Capacity,
•       Evaluation of Pedestrian Walking Speed at Crosswalks in Cold Regions,
•       Effectiveness of Speed Measures to Improve Roundabout Capacity,
•       NCHRP Roundabout Model Calibration to Local Driver’s Behavior,
•       Utilization of Waste Tires in the Production of Non-Structural Portland Cement Concrete,
•       Developing a Transportation Plan for Evacuation of Buildup Areas in Case of Earthquake,
•       Optimization of Speed Control Hump Spacing,
•       Modeling Pedestrian Behavior on Controlled Crosswalks, and
•       Flexural Strength Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Rubberized Concrete.

Contact Professors Osama A. Abaza, and Hannele Zubeck for more details.