Evangelos I. Kaisar, Ph.D. (PI)
Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering
Florida Atlantic University
ekaisar@fau.edu

Ramesh Teegavarapu, P.E., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering
Florida Atlantic University
rteegava@fau.edu

Proposal Summary and Objectives

There has been a steady increase in demand for goods over the past half-century. Therefore, there is a continuous need for well-organized freight transportation systems. Optimal use of roadways as the primary and fundamental sector of the freight transportation system is essential. Efficient movement of freight is vital to the rivaling economies of cities and metropolitan areas. Truck highway corridors comprise an essential ingredient of the regional freight transportation system, along with rail and intermodal facilities, river-port barge terminals, and air cargo facilities. To achieve efficient, reliable and robust freight movement, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act requires the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to establish a National Highway Freight Network (NHFN) to strategically direct Federal resources and policies toward improved performance of the NHFN. The main objectives of FAST are to make the Federal surface transportation more streamlined, performance-based, and multimodal, and to address challenges facing the U.S. transportation system, including improving safety, maintaining infrastructure condition, reducing traffic congestion, improving the efficiency of the system and freight movement, protecting the environment, and reducing delays in project delivery. The ability to entirely understand and accurately designate freight vehicle route choices is essential in helping to inform regional and state decisions. Critical Urban Freight Corridors (CUFC) are public roads in urbanized areas which provide access and connection to the primary highway freight system for ports, public transportation, or other intermodal transportation facilities. Specific criteria and requirements exist for identifying and designating CUFCs according to FHWA. This research will focus on CUFCs and the mobility of goods especially on the first-/last-mile links leading to them. After identifying the critical urban corridors, as FHWA encourages when making CUFC designations, it is crucial to consider first or last mile connector routes from high-volume freight corridors to freight-intensive land and key urban freight facilities, including ports, rail terminals, and other industrial-zoned lands. Therefore, investigating the first-/last-mile connectors is necessary to inspect the condition of the route regarding how congested it is and figuring out the necessity of modifying the mobility of the area by innovative and cutting-edge technologies.

Funding Amount: $97,240
Status: Active
Duration: Apr 1, 2019 - Dec 30, 2020