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Roadways and Bridges

Increasing Efficiency in Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Inspections

Some highway-rail grade crossings are inspected only every 2-3 years. To address this challenge, VisioStack developed the Aerial Crossing Inspection System (AXIS) to assess crossing safety more efficiently with help from U.S. DOT’s SBIR program and the Federal Railroad Administration. AXIS allows...

New Drone-Based System Assesses Highway-Rail Crossings to Improve Safety

Poor highway-rail grade crossing design can contribute to rail incidents. To address this challenge, MTRI Inc. developed Crossing-i, a drone-enabled inspection system, to assess crossing safety with help from U.S. DOT’s SBIR program and the Federal Railroad Administration. Crossing-i can help rail...

First-of-Its-Kind Hazard Alert System for Motorcyclists

With support from U.S. DOT’s SBIR program, Charles River Analytics developed a first-of—its-kind roadway hazard alert application for motorcyclists that alerts motorcyclists to such roadway dangers as infrastructure hazards, surface hazards, roadway obstacles, and weather hazards.

Connected Vehicles at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings Research

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Systems Safety and Engineering Division supports FRA research activities related to designing, developing, and testing the Railroad Crossing Violation Warning (RCVW) vehicle-to-infrastructure safety application for connected vehicles. This collection of publications and...

Introducing Students to Careers in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

In 2014, FHWA sponsored an SBIR topic titled “STEM Education: Increasing Awareness about Intelligent Transportation Systems and Connected Vehicle Technologies for High School Students.” The topic aimed to create innovative, hands-on, problem-based learning opportunities that would give students the...

Effects of Side Skirts and Wheel Covers on Heavy Trailers

About This Document

National Research Council Canada Prepared for: Transport Canada Road Safety 275 Stater Sl Ottawa, ON

Prepared by: Jeff Patten, P. Eng. Chelsey Laionde, EIT William Mayda, P. Eng. Gordon Poole, P. Eng.

Technical Report April 5, 2012

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s 2020 Reports

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Volpe Center published nearly 60 reports and conference papers in 2020 spanning a breadth of transportation topics that advance U.S. DOT’s priorities: safety, infrastructure, innovation, and accountability.

These reports are housed in the National Transportation Library and are listed below by topic areas. Select the linked report titles to preview and download copies of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s 2020 transportation resources.