Edgar Kraus
Texas A&M University System
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Featured researches published by Edgar Kraus.
SHRP 2 Report | 2012
Cesar Quiroga; Edgar Kraus; Paul Scott; Tom Swafford; Philip Meis; Gary Monday
This report provides comprehensive, optimized concepts and procedures for identifying and resolving utility conflicts that public agency and utility professionals can use to improve the highway project development process. The tools developed include utility conflict matrices (UCMs) that enable users to organize, track, and manage the conflicts that frequently arise when utility lines are under highways.
Transportation Research Record | 2006
Cesar Quiroga; Robert Pina; Khaled Hamad; Edgar Kraus
Transportation management centers (TMCs) generate and archive enormous amounts of multimodal transportation data. Archived intelligent transportation system (ITS) data applications today tend to focus on ITS data as a resource for transportation planning and research, mainly to generate aggregated system performance measures such as corridor travel times, speeds, and delays. As ITS data applications increase, interest is also growing in using archived ITS data to help optimize TMC operations. One area of considerable interest is incident management. This paper focuses on freeway ITS features and data. It describes a prototype geographically referenced framework for ITS data and summarizes spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution of incidents along instrumented freeways in San Antonio, Texas. The geodatabase uses architecture information and archived sensor and incident data from the San Antonio TMC (TransGuide). However, it is sufficiently generic for implementation at other TMCs with relatively minor variations. The paper focuses on data model and geodatabase development, although it includes a summary of application examples.
SHRP 2 Report | 2014
Cesar Quiroga; Edgar Kraus; Jerry Le; Paul Scott; James H. Anspach; Tom Swafford; Philip Meis
Strategic Highway Research Program Research 2 (SHRP 2) Project R15B, Identification of Utility Conflicts and Solutions, took place from March 2009 to July 2011 and resulted in three products: Product 1 (stand-alone utility conflict matrix [UCM]), Product 2 (utility conflict data model and database), and Product 3 (one-day UCM training course). In December 2011, the SHRP 2 Oversight Committee authorized a follow-on project to pilot the implementation of the SHRP 2 R15B tools. The follow-on project was SHRP 2 R15C “Pilot Application of Products for the Identification of Utility Conflicts and Solutions.” Its objective was to work with a state department of transportation on the implementation of the stand-alone UCM and the one-day UCM training course, as well as an introduction to the utility conflict data model and database. The pilot implementation took place in Maryland from September 2012 to March 2014. The UCM pilot implementation in Maryland was a success, and the UCM approach that was piloted and updated as part of the SHRP 2 R15C project could be replicated throughout the country.
Transportation Research Record | 2011
Cesar Quiroga; Edgar Kraus; John Overman
Streamlined project delivery is one of the main goals of transportation agencies nationwide to achieve a more efficient and more effective transportation system. Many factors can cause delays while transportation projects are being developed and constructed. A critical factor contributing to inefficiencies is the lack of adequate information about utility facilities that may be affected by a transportation project. This lack results in problems such as unplanned environmental corrective actions and unanticipated utility relocation activities during construction. These unplanned activities cause frequent delays during construction, can increase the impact of construction on motorists and society, and may exacerbate the cost of the project. This paper summarizes the results of research conducted to evaluate the feasibility of (a) obtaining more-reliable existing utility data during preliminary design and coordinating this activity with the environmental process and (b) increasing the level of definition of components during preliminary design without affecting environmental requirements so as to support the earlier application of utility processes. The analysis resulted in 10 optimization strategies that addressed a variety of environmental and utility issues. The researchers also developed a highly detailed business process diagram that integrated environmental and utility functions, with a specific emphasis on the preliminary design phase. To facilitate access to model information, the researchers developed a web-based tool called TxDOT Business Process Explorer, which can be accessed remotely or at a local or networked computer drive.
Transportation Research Record | 2008
Cesar Quiroga; David N. Ford; Timothy R. B. Taylor; S. C. Kranc; Edgar Kraus
Utility accommodation policies nationwide contain requirements for the accommodation, location, installation, relocation, and maintenance of utility facilities on the state right-of-way. The policies normally cover basic requirements, making it necessary to use additional specifications and special provisions to handle situations not covered by the policies. Frequently, because of the lack of standard utility installation construction specifications at transportation agencies, many different versions of special specifications and special provisions exist. Closely related to the need to standardize construction specifications for utility installations is the need to standardize methodologies and procedures for determining the cost of utility relocation. This lack of standardization translates into difficulties such as how to verify the validity of the cost data submitted for reimbursement and how to prepare adequately for audits and other internal and external inquiries. This paper summarizes the work completed to develop a prototype framework of construction specification requirements for utility installations, with a focus on water, sanitary sewer, and communication specifications. The specification framework includes five groups of specifications: earth work, pipes and boxes, appurtenances, other, and general (including specifications such as mobilization and traffic control, which highway construction contracts typically include but are also relevant to the utility relocation process). The framework uses tables that summarize the main characteristics of proposed new and modified standard specifications and includes a listing of pay items, subsidiary items, and corresponding measurement units. The framework also includes specification requirements.
Transportation Research Record | 2003
Edgar Kraus; Cesar Quiroga
Red-light running is one of the leading causes of crashes in urban areas in the United States. A number of strategies are available to address this problem, including engineering countermeasures, educational campaigns, and improved law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies are increasingly relying on automated systems using photographic devices to enforce red-light-running laws. While automated enforcement systems appear to have wide public support, there is considerable confusion among drivers, engineers, planners, and decision makers as to the legality and constitutionality of those systems. The debate is particularly acute when it comes to issues such as privacy, use of information, and constitutional rights. These issues are analyzed and legal strategies are compared in states that have passed or attempted to pass legislation to regulate automated enforcement. The analysis highlights differences among states depending on their statutory laws and whether red-light violations are treated as civil or criminal offenses. The analysis reveals major differences in the way states legislate program details, which, in turn, affect program implementation. Also included is a review of current European red-light-running legislation, where automated enforcement systems have a longer history than in the United States.
TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice | 2015
Cesar Quiroga; Edgar Kraus; Lauren Cochran
Transit projects frequently affect utility facilities (both above and below ground) that exist along project corridors. Relatively little has been documented on the topic of utility issues or the use of successful practices to facilitate utility coordination in transit projects. This synthesis provides a summary of utility coordination practices at transit agencies around the United States. It focuses on utility coordination issues that transit agencies undertake during typical phases of project development and delivery, which involve planning, designing, and constructing civil infrastructure facilities. The report includes a literature review, a survey of selected transit agencies, documentation of lessons learned, and identification of information gaps and research needs.
Archive | 2003
Cesar Quiroga; Edgar Kraus; I van Schalkwyk; James A Bonneson
Archive | 2004
Cesar Quiroga; Edgar Kraus; Robert Pina; Khaled Hamad; Eun Sug Park
Archive | 2009
Edgar Kraus; Cesar Quiroga; Nicholas Koncz; Hussam Dawood