Issue link: http://uwashington.uberflip.com/i/742071
17 2014-2015 Annual Report • Project: Deployment and Validation of Low-Cost Wireless Sensors for Real-Time Lifeline Condition Assessment • PI: Daniel Borello (OSU), Daniel.Borello@oregonstate.edu The transportation network is a critical lifeline to community resilience following a major natural disaster. In the Pacific Northwest, consideration of seismic demands on bridge designs is a relatively recent development in the last 20 years. Therefore, a significant portion of the bridge inventory is expected to suffer failure due to a large event, such as a fault event along the Cascadia subduction zone. Rapid assessment of the bridge infrastructure is critical in getting key personnel to where they are needed. Therefore, deployment of a real-time lifeline monitoring system can provide a significant improvement in community response during the most important hours following an event. In ongoing phase one of this work, "Deployment of Low-Cost Wireless Sensors for Real-Time lifeline Condition Assessment", a sensor was developed to assess the condition of bridges following a natural hazard. Off-the-shelf hardware was adopted to minimize initial investment and increase ease of installation for long-term deployments. However, a test bed deployment on a representative structure is necessary prior to widespread use. The goal of this work is to prepare the sensor for real-world deployment, select an appropriate bridge, and evaluate the performance under realistic conditions. Therefore, the deployment and validation of the sensor is critical towards wide deployment throughout the Pacific Northwest transportation network, which would allow rapid evaluation of the current state of the transportation network. • Project: Safety Data Management and Analysis Assessing the Continuing Education Needs for the Pacific Northwest, Analysis of Options • PI: Robert Perkins (UAF), raperkins@alaska.edu Recent advancements in data collection capabilities have allowed transportation-related agencies to collect mountains of safety data. There is an immediate need to find out what types of safety data are being collected, what types of safety analysis can be done with the collected data, and what (other) types of safety data and analysis approaches are required to meet the safety objectives. With the increased complexity of various safety data management and analysis activities, and with most transportation agencies faced with limited staff and financial resources, there is opportunity to providing the transportation workforce, which includes practitioners and academicians alike, with the resources needed to effectively understand, manage and analyze safety data. Safety data collection, management, integration, improvement, and analysis activities are integral to developing a robust data program that leads to more informed decision making, better targeted safety investments, and overall improved safety outcomes. The objectives for the project respond to the current gaps in research and identify a methodology that will benefit all system users. • Project: Spatial Analysis of Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Data • PI: Michael Lowry (UI), mlowry@uidaho.edu In 2012, 25 bicyclists and 148 pedestrians were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in the Pacific Northwest. State DOTs need reliable information about bicycle and pedestrian volumes to justify and prioritize project alternatives. Volume information is used to identify critical locations and determine crash rates, which can be more informative than simply the number of crashes. In the last few years there has been tremendous push across the country to collect better bicycle and pedestrian volume data. This project will create best-practice recommendations for collecting bicycle and pedestrian count data that state DOTs and their community partners can use when deciding where to locate permanent counters or how to spatially distribute volunteer manual counters.