1 00:00:00,647 --> 00:00:03,897 (dramatic music plays) 2 00:00:10,150 --> 00:00:12,180 - [Narrator] Because of their higher rate of crashes 3 00:00:12,180 --> 00:00:13,940 and crash severity, 4 00:00:13,940 --> 00:00:16,280 rural roadways have been a major focus 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,400 of experts trying to improve safety and mobility. 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,630 When these roads have a sudden increase 7 00:00:22,630 --> 00:00:25,340 in traffic, like they do during oil booms, 8 00:00:25,340 --> 00:00:28,060 crash numbers often rise too. 9 00:00:28,060 --> 00:00:29,300 This project began when 10 00:00:29,300 --> 00:00:32,900 the TxDot Odessa district engineer focused on problems 11 00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:35,240 with two of his local highways. 12 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:36,680 Researchers with the Texas 13 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,490 A&M Transportation Institute joined the effort 14 00:00:39,490 --> 00:00:44,055 and expanded the project with groundbreaking results. 15 00:00:44,055 --> 00:00:45,510 - It's proven that four lane 16 00:00:45,510 --> 00:00:47,350 undivided roads in rural areas 17 00:00:47,350 --> 00:00:49,250 have a poor safety performance. 18 00:00:49,250 --> 00:00:52,070 - We go out in the morning after some 19 00:00:52,070 --> 00:00:53,650 of these folks have been running 20 00:00:53,650 --> 00:00:56,840 around the oil field, drilling and fracking 21 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,830 and we see these gigantic rear view mirrors 22 00:00:59,830 --> 00:01:02,270 where they had, gone past one another 23 00:01:02,270 --> 00:01:03,610 and knocked a mirror off. 24 00:01:03,610 --> 00:01:06,810 Then of course, we did have some real 25 00:01:06,810 --> 00:01:09,600 head to head on collisions and fatalities. 26 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,822 - The Odessa district wanted us to look 27 00:01:11,822 --> 00:01:15,410 at some cross sections for undivided roadways, 28 00:01:15,410 --> 00:01:19,650 both two lane and a multi-lane undivided roadways. 29 00:01:19,650 --> 00:01:21,030 - [John] What we were trying to do is figure out 30 00:01:21,030 --> 00:01:24,890 how we could move those vehicles apart 31 00:01:24,890 --> 00:01:27,320 so that if you're going two lanes in one direction, 32 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:28,820 two lanes come from the other, 33 00:01:29,860 --> 00:01:31,600 the folks in the middle wouldn't hit each other. 34 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,280 - We got a cross section of different roadways 35 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:36,610 across the state. 36 00:01:36,610 --> 00:01:39,770 All the way from this four lane undivided 37 00:01:39,770 --> 00:01:41,220 with just a center line stripe. 38 00:01:41,220 --> 00:01:42,053 Some of the roadways 39 00:01:42,053 --> 00:01:44,110 where this had already been done, 40 00:01:44,110 --> 00:01:46,910 where the four lane, four foot median buffer 41 00:01:46,910 --> 00:01:48,050 had been put in. 42 00:01:48,050 --> 00:01:50,590 And we also looked at some two lane configurations. 43 00:01:50,590 --> 00:01:52,600 Most specifically the super two. 44 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,650 The idea was let's look at these things. 45 00:01:54,650 --> 00:01:56,930 Let's look at their safety performance. 46 00:01:56,930 --> 00:02:01,890 Let's evaluate how efficiently they can carry traffic, 47 00:02:01,890 --> 00:02:06,220 and come up with some recommendations for the department 48 00:02:06,220 --> 00:02:10,580 in terms of what's the best thing to put in what place. 49 00:02:10,580 --> 00:02:13,800 - I think of this tool, this particular study, 50 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,390 as having developed a methodology 51 00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:21,400 for how to help your road grow up. 52 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,030 Does it have enough of the right types 53 00:02:24,030 --> 00:02:28,260 of things for that volume of traffic? 54 00:02:28,260 --> 00:02:29,410 That's the key. 55 00:02:29,410 --> 00:02:33,090 These are relatively low traffic roadways 56 00:02:33,090 --> 00:02:36,704 that grow up, and as those volumes change, 57 00:02:36,704 --> 00:02:40,240 and as the nature of that traffic changes, 58 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,697 you now have a tool that will help you select the right type 59 00:02:43,697 --> 00:02:46,080 of cross section for that roadway. 60 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,210 - (Srinivas) Everything is just re-striping 61 00:02:48,210 --> 00:02:52,530 the existing cross section, which our base condition here 62 00:02:52,530 --> 00:02:55,430 is the four lane undivided highways. 63 00:02:55,430 --> 00:02:57,670 So it's just re-striping 64 00:02:57,670 --> 00:03:02,670 either by reducing the shoulders or reducing the lanes 65 00:03:02,710 --> 00:03:07,710 and either giving a four foot median buffer in the middle 66 00:03:07,710 --> 00:03:11,920 or creating a separate continuous left turn lane. 67 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:15,430 - If you have a rural setting, where the roadways 68 00:03:15,430 --> 00:03:16,870 are being used for something other 69 00:03:16,870 --> 00:03:20,083 than traditional farm activities, 70 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,810 this study can help you develop those specific tools 71 00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:29,330 that you can put into place on the ground, 72 00:03:29,330 --> 00:03:33,960 that will reduce the risk of having a hotspot, 73 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,650 where accidents continue to occur. 74 00:03:36,650 --> 00:03:39,670 That's the part that we think is so exciting 75 00:03:39,670 --> 00:03:40,750 about all this is. 76 00:03:40,750 --> 00:03:44,120 It's not something that's just for the Permian Basin. 77 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,990 It's something that can be used anywhere 78 00:03:46,990 --> 00:03:51,470 you have an unusual roadway configuration for the typical, 79 00:03:51,470 --> 00:03:54,153 whatever typical is, rural setting. 80 00:03:55,610 --> 00:03:56,700 - [Narrator] For more information 81 00:03:56,700 --> 00:03:59,270 and to find the publications for this project, 82 00:03:59,270 --> 00:04:02,150 please visit the TxDOT Research Library 83 00:04:02,150 --> 00:04:03,653 at the link shown below.