The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) annually present official figures of the number of natural disasters and their impacts. Statistics from recent years show that the number of disasters has been increasing significantly. These events, and their devastating consequences, have highlighted the need for an efficient and responsive humanitarian supply chain that relieves the adverse impacts of disasters.

Vehicle classification information is crucial input to transportation facility design, operations, and planning. As freight transportation is becoming more and more critical to regional and national economies, freight modeling is now an imperative issue for many transportation management agencies, for which truck classes and volumes are key input.

Background and Understanding

Roadside rights-of-way (ROWs) are important landscape features. They are managed to balance the need for safe and efficient transportation with a host of environmental issues. Tens of thousands of miles of such ROWs traverse New York. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is responsible for 30,000 miles shoulder miles of ROWs, including 3,000 miles of guiderails. Over 100,000 acres of land are mowed on NYSDOT ROWs each year.

The goal of this research project is to determine if Crumb Rubber-Modified Performance Graded Asphalt Binder (CRM PGAB), produced using the Terminal Blend Method, can be accurately tested and can conform to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, [AASHTO] M320-05, Standard Specification for Performance Graded Asphalt Binder [PGAB].

During the 2007 hot mix asphalt (HMA) paving season, several newly placed HMA pavements in New York State showed signs of pavement flushing. Initial investigations of the flushing showed it was not attributable to the factors associated with conventional flushing.