PE Transportation Flash Cards

What is in chapter 1 of the NCEES PE | Civil Reference Handbook?

General Engineering

What is in chapter 2 of the NCEES PE | Civil Reference Handbook?

Construction

What is in chapter 3 of the NCEES PE | Civil Reference Handbook?

Geotechnical

What is in chapter 4 of the NCEES PE | Civil Reference Handbook?

Structural

What is in chapter 5 of the NCEES PE | Civil Reference Handbook?

Transportation

What is in chapter 6 of the NCEES PE | Civil Reference Handbook?

Water Resources and Environmental

payback period

Period of time required for the profit or other benefits of an investment to equal the cost of the investment

MARR

Minimum acceptable rate of return - the interest rate one is willing to accept or the rate that one desires to earn on investments

Rate of return

Interesting rate that makes the benefits and costs equal

Where do you look for interest rate tables?

Section 1.7.10 of the NCEES PE Civil Handbook

Average end-area method for earthwork

Calculates volume V between two consecutive cross sections as the average of their areas multiplied by the distance between them, where fill is positive and cut is negative

Primordial formula for earthwork

Calculates volume V between two consecutive cross sections, taking the area of the midsection into account

Benchmark

Permanent point of known elevation

Turning point

Point temporarily used to transfer an elevation

Cost index

Used to update historical cost data to the present (if purchase cost in specific year is known, current cost can be found)

Resource scheduling

Tabulating project resource demands over time

Resource leveling

Minimizing resource conflicts either by adjusting the start times of activities to reduce peak demand for resources, sometimes within float, or by extending activity durations to reduce peak demand within a constrained resource limit.

Time-Cost Trade-Off

A strategy for optimizing project time and cost either by identifying least-cost solutions for adding resources to shorten the the duration of critical path activities or by identifying least-time solutions for reallocating resources over an extended duration of critical path activities to reduce total project cost

How often are strength tests taken of each class of concrete placed placed each day?

Not less than once a day or less than once for each 150 yd3 of concrete nor less than once for each 5,000 ft2 of surface area for slabs or walls.

When are strength tests not needed for concrete placed?

When the total quantity of concrete is less than 50 yd3 as long as evidence of satisfactory strength is submitted and approved by the building official

Space mean speed and where to find it

flow / density

section 5.1.1.2 of the PERH

Lane occupancy used in freeway surveillance and where to find it

• Section 5.1.1.3 of the PERH.

• Sum of length of vehicles / length of roadway section (can be divided by average length of a vehicle to estimate density)

Greenshields maximum flow rate relationship and where to find it

• Maximum flow rate occurs at half the free flow speed (v_{f} ) and half the free flow density (K_{j} ) resulting in a flow (q_{\max} ) that is one-fourth the product of free flow speed and jam density

• q_{\max}=\frac{\left(v_{f}\cdot K_{j}\right)}{4}

• Section 5.1.1.4 of PERH

Where to find peak hour factor equation

PERH Section 5.1.3.3

Where to find equation for estimating speed based on skid marks

Section 5.1.4.3T

The gravity model

• The likelihood of a trip going to a destination is predicted by the relative attractiveness of the origin and destination locations, influenced by factors such as distance and land use.

• Section 5.1.5 PERH

Where to find equation for predicting truck traffic volumes

Section 5.1.7 PERH

Where to find diagram for basic curve elements for horizontal curves

Section 5.2.1 PERH

Offset

The time difference between a common reference point in the coordinated phases at adjacent signalized intersections

Where to find equations for calculating offset assuming a moving platoon, standing platoon, or with vehicles queued downstream

Section 5.4.2 PERH

For good progression in both directions, the cycle length (for both intersections) needs to be ______

• twice the travel time from intersection 1 to intersection 2

• Section 5.4.2 PERH

Where to find interval timing equations for yellow and red intervals

Section 5.4.3 PERH

yellow change interval

appropriate yellow time for an approach

red clearance interval

approach signal is red and no conflicting traffic is moving

where to find equations for relative soil density

Section 5.5.1 PERH

where to find equations and tables for plasticity index

Section 5.5.2 PERH

where to find tables and equations for shrinkage of soil mass

Section 5.5.3 PERH

shrinkage limit

The moisture content at which the volume change of the soil mass ceases is defined as the shrinkage limit

water acts as ____ during compaction

a softening agent

What happens to dry unit weight as water is added?

dry unit weight increases initially as water is added

after a certain point, the dry unit weight decreases as the moisture content increases

optimum moisture content

The moisture content at maximum dry weight

Where do I find equations and information about asphalt mixture design?

Section 5.5.5 PERH

Where to find equations for apparent specific gravity, bulk specific gravity, and bulk specific gravity-saturated, surface dry

Section 5.5.5.1 PERH

Whwere to find equation for water absorption (%)

Section 5.5.5.1 PERH

Where to find equations for specific gravity of fine aggregates

Section 5.5.5.3 PERH

Where to find equations for structural design of flexible pavement

Section 5.5.6 PERH

• Effective specific gravity of aggregate

• Maximum specific gravity for the paving mixture

• Asphalt adsorption

• Effective asphalt content

• Percent air voids in compacted mineral aggregates

• Percent air voids in completed mixture

What is in chapter 1 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Functional classification for motor vehicles

• Access control and mobility needs

• Functional system characteristics

• Context classification

• Multimodal considerations

• Performance based design

What is in chapter 2 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Design controls and criteria

• Driver performance and human factors

• Traffic characteristics (volume, composition, etc.)

• Highway capacity (LOS, flow, volume, etc.)

• Access control and access management

• Pedestrians and cyclists

• Design vehicles

• Safety

• Environment

What is in chapter 3 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Sight distance

• Horizontal alignment

• Vertical alignment

• Other features affecting geometric design

What is in chapter 4 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Cross section elements

• Traveled way

• Lane width

• Shoulders

• Rumble strips

• Roadside design

• Curbs

• Drainage channels and sideslopes

• Medians

• Frontage roads

• Tunnels

• Pedestrian, bike, and transit facilities

What is in chapter 5 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Local roads and streets in rural and urban areas

• Recreational roads

• Resource recovery and local service roads

• Low-volume roads

What is in chapter 6 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Collector roads and streets in rural and urban areas

What is in chapter 7 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Arterial roads and streets in rural and urban areas

What is in chapter 8 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Freeways in rural and urban areas

Bulk specific gravity

Ratio of weight of dry aggregate to the weight of water having a volume equal to the volume of the aggregate, including permeable and impermeable pores

Section 5.5.5.1 PERH

What is in chapter 9 of the AASHTO Green Book?

• Types of intersections

• Intersection sight distance

• Turning roadways and channelization

• Auxiliary lanes

• Median openings

• Indirect left turns and u turns

• Roundabout design

• Railroad highway grade crossings

• What is in chapter 10 of the AASHTO Green Book?

Grade separations and interchanges

• Warrants for interchanges and grade separations

• Adaptability of highway grade separations and interchanges

• Access separations and control

• Safety

• Stage development

• Economic factors

• Grade separation structures

3R projects

Resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation

Functional classification system characterizes roadways by ______

their position in the transportation network and type of service they provide to motor vehicles

A context classification system characterizes roadway by _______

their surrounding environment and how the roadway fits into the community

Four functional classes

• Freeways

• Arterials

• Collectors

• Local roads and streets

Five context classes

• Rural

• Rural town

• Suburban

• Urban

• Urban core

Six recognizable stages of most trips

• Main movement

• transition

• Distribution

• Collection

• Access

• Termination

Where to look for information on hierarchy of movement

Section 1.4.1 Green Book

Urban areas

Population between 5,000 and 50,000

Urbanized area

Population above 50,000

Minor arterials are also called ____

Distributors

Do urban principal arterials serve a high proportion of bikes and pedestrians?

Yes

Where to find information on spacing of roadways by different classifications?

Section 1.4.3 Green Book

What is context classification based on and where can I find this information?

Development density, land uses, and building setbacks

Are pedestrian and cyclist volumes higher in suburban areas or urban areas?

Urban

Five transportation modes

• Automobiles

• Bicyclists

• Pedestrians

• Transit vehicles

• Trucks

Three general types of design projects

• New construction

• Reconstruction

• Construction on existing roads

Where do I find information on the three project types (new contradiction, reconstruction, construction on existing roadways)?

Performance based design

Design approach in which key design decisions are made with consideration of their anticipated impacts on aspects of future project performance that are relevant to the project purpose and need

Where do I go for information on performance based design?

Section 1.9 Green Book

What is the driving task?

Drivers receiving and using information correctly

What are the three components of the driving task and how are they organized?

• Control, guidance, navigation

• Listed in order of increasing task complexity and in order of decreasing importance for safe driving

Where do I find information on reaction time?

Section 2.2.6.1 Green Book

What is reaction time when an event is expected?

0.6 seconds, with some drivers taking up to 2 seconds

How much does reaction time increase when an event is unexpected?

35%, so some drivers take up to 2.7 seconds to respond

Primacy

The relative importance to safety of competing information

Where do I look for information and figures on design hour volume (DHV) and average daily traffic (ADT)?

Section 2.3.2 Green Book

Where to look for information on directional distribution?

Section 2.3.3 Green Book

Typical number of vehicles per lane per hour

1,000

If directional ADT is only known for one direction, the ADT _______

is nearly always twice the directional ADT

Where do I find physical life expectancy of right-of-way, grading, bridges, pavement structures, etc.?

Section 2.3.5 Green Book

Obsolescence

Process by which infrastructure becomes outdated or inefficient, rendering them non-functional before the end of their physical lifetime

Primary cause of obsolescence

Increases in the number of intersections and driveways and increases in traffic demand beyond the design capacity

Typical maximum design period

15 to 24 years, with 20 years often used as a basis for design

Three primary measures of traffic operational conditions for uninterrupted traffic flow

Speed, volume, density

Where do I look for information about congestion?

Section 2.4.3 Green Book

Peak hour factor (PHF)

• Used to convert the rate of flow during the highest 15-minute period to the total hourly volume

• Can never be greater than 1, usually between 0.75 and 0.95

Where do I find table on levels of service?

Section 2.4.5 Green Book

Where do I find information on weaving sections?

Section 2.4.6 Green Book

Four general classes of design vehicles

• Passenger cars

• Buses

• Trucks

• Recreational vehicles

Where do I find information on design vehicles?

Section 2.8 Green Book

Principal elements of design

• Sight distance

• Superlevation

• Traveled way widening

• Grades

• Horizontal and vertical alignment

Stoping sight distance is the sum of _______

• The distance traversed by the vehicle from the instance a driver sights an object necessitating a stop to the instance the brakes are applied plus the distance needed to stop the vehicle once the brakes are applied

• Referred to as brake reaction distance and braking distance, resoectively

Recommended design criterion for brake reaction time

2.5 seconds