Trends of hazardous material accidents (HMAs) during highway transportation from 2013 to 2018 in China

Statistical analysis of hazardous material accidents (HMAs) in China from 20013 to 2018 related to characteristics and consequences is discussed in this study, revealing different time volatility, spatial distribution and accident consequence features. Yearly, monthly, weekly and hourly levels of HMAs are analysed, and the corresponding factors are discussed. The trends of HMAs are affected by different factors, such as efforts toward safety-specific rectification by the government, holidays, five-day workweek systems and daily traffic peaks. The spatial distribution trends indicate that highway transportation of hazardous materials is mostly short-distance transport. The accidents that occurred on normal road sections account for 82.76% of the total HMAs during transportation. Leaking accidents caused by HMAs account for 79.35% of the total accidents. Countermeasures focusing on improving highway transportation safety for hazardous materials are recommended.     

改进群组AHP-FCE法对路域的生态环境影响评价研究--以河南省栾川至卢氏高速公路为例

为了全面准确的评价公路建设对生态环境的影响程度,基于高速公路建设特点,从社会环境、生态环境、声环境、地表水环境、隧道对地下水环境影响及环境空气六方面构建评价指标体系,结合改进的群组AHP法,构建了改进的群组AHP-FCE相结合的评价模型,对河南省栾川至卢氏高速公路进行生态影响评价。结果表明,指标权重的比例分配更为合理客观,凸显了社会环境因素在评价中的作用,改进模型的评价结果更符合生态环境实际情况相符,表明该方法应用于生态环境评价方面具有较好的适用性和推广价值。     

Leachability of dissolved chromium in asphalt and concrete surfacing materials

Leachate metal pollutant concentrations produced from different asphalt and concrete pavement surfacing materials were measured under controlled laboratory conditions. The results showed that, in general, the concentrations of most metal pollutants were below the reporting limits. However, dissolved chromium was detected in leachate from concrete (but not asphalt) specimens and more strongly in the early-time leachate samples. As the leaching continued, the concentration of Cr decreased to below or close to the reporting limit. The source of the chromium in concrete pavement was found to be cement. The concentration of total Cr produced from leachate of different cement coming from different sources that was purchased from retail distributors ranged from 124 to 641 μg/L. This result indicates that the potential leachability of dissolved Cr from concrete pavement materials can be reduced through source control. The results also showed that the leachability of dissolved Cr in hardened pavement materials was substantially reduced. For example, the concentration of dissolved Cr measured in actual highway runoff was found to be much lower than the Cr concentration produced from leachate of both open and dense graded concrete pavement specimens under controlled laboratory study. It was concluded that pavement materials are not the source of pollutants of concern in roadway runoff; rather most pollutants in roadway surface runoff are generated from other road-use or land-use sources, or from (wet or dry) atmospheric deposition.     

Rail height effects on safety performance of Midwest Guardrail System

Objective: Guardrail heights play a crucial role in the way that errant vehicles interact with roadside barriers. Low rail heights increase the propensity of vehicle rollover and override, whereas excessively tall rails promote underride. Further, rail mounting heights and post embedment depths may be altered by variations in roadside terrain. An increased guardrail height may be desirable to accommodate construction tolerances, soil erosion, frost heave, and future roadway overlays. This study aimed to investigate and identify a maximum safe installation height for the Midwest Guardrail System that would be robust and remain crashworthy before and after pavement overlays.

Methods: A research investigation was performed to evaluate the safety performance of increased mounting heights for the standard 787-mm (31-in.)-tall Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) through crash testing and computer simulation. Two full-scale crash tests with small passenger cars were performed on the MGS with top-rail mounting heights of 864 and 914 mm (34 and 36 in.). Test results were then used to calibrate computer simulation models.

Results: In the first test, a small car impacted the MGS with 864-mm (34-in.) rail height at 102 km/h (63.6 mph) and 25.0° and was successfully redirected. In the second test, another small car impacted the MGS with a 914-mm (36-in.) rail height at 103 km/h (64.1 mph) and 25.6° and was successful. Both system heights satisfied the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) evaluation criteria. Test results were then used to calibrate computer simulation models. A mounting height of 36 in. was determined to be the maximum guardrail height that would safely contain and redirect small car vehicles. Simulations confirmed that taller guardrail heights (i.e., 37 in.) would likely result in small car underride. In addition, simulation results indicated that passenger vehicle models were successfully contained by the 34- and 36-in.-tall MGS installed on approach slopes as steep as 6:1.

Conclusions: A mounting height of 914 mm (36 in.) was determined to be the maximum guardrail height that would safely contain and redirect 1100C vehicles and not allow underride or excessive vehicle snag on support posts. Recommendations were also provided regarding the safety performance of the MGS with increased height.     

Characteristics of the event mean concentration (EMC) from rainfall runoff on an urban highway

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characterization of the event mean concentration (EMC) of runoff during heavy precipitation events on highways. Highway runoff quality data were collected from the 7th highway, in South Korea during 2007-2009. The samples were analyzed for runoff quantity and quality parameters such as COD_cr, TSS, TPHs, TKN, NO₃, TP, PO₄ and six heavy metals, e.g., As, Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn. Analysis of resulting hydrographs and pollutant graphs indicates that the peak of the pollutant concentrations in runoff occurs 20 min after the first rainfall runoff occurrence. The first flush effect depends on the preceding dry period and the rainfall intensity. The results of this study can be used as a reference for water quality management of urban highways.     

高速公路水土保持生态服务功能价值评估浅析——以陕西省不同区域三条高速公路为例

以陕西省3个典型区域的3条高速公路为例，在构建高速公路水土保持生态服务功能价值评价体系并确定各评价指标计算方法的基础上，全面分析了高速公路水土保持的生态服务功能价值。旨在相互交流的基础上，为后期同类工程水土保持投资预算设计和资金管理使用提供理论依据。     

一个实用的高速公路大气扩散模式

在高斯线源扩散模式的基础上，建立了一个适合高速公路大气污染源扩散特点的模式，并以沈阳环城高速公路环境影响评价中的应用为例，说明该模式的实用性和优越性．在建立该模式的过程中，应用了国外关于公路扩散试验的成果来确定和修正模式中的扩散参数．     

公路汽车尾气扩散模式研究

通过实测资料和理论计算的对比分析，认为在有风条件下对源参数作适当修正后，可以利用线源模式预测公路汽车尾气扩散浓度分布，同时提出了适合高速公路汽车尾气扩散浓度预测的源参数修正方法，可供高速公路环境影响评价时参考。     

道路交通噪声预测影响分析

随着公路建设步伐加大,公路交通噪声污染对沿线居民的影响也随之加剧。本文介绍了噪声的危害,并通过对建赏欧洲临街住宅楼进行噪声实测,将道路交通噪声预测与实测进行了对比分析,然后将建赏欧洲和泰山小区临街住宅楼的前七层进行噪声实测,分析比较两组数值之间的差异,最后对本次实验进行总结。     

Analyzing injury severity factors at highway railway grade crossing accidents involving vulnerable road users: A comparative study

Objective: The main objective of this study is to identify the main factors associated with injury severity of vulnerable road users (VRUs) involved in accidents at highway railroad grade crossings (HRGCs) using data mining techniques.

Methods: This article applies an ordered probit model, association rules, and classification and regression tree (CART) algorithms to the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) HRGC accident database for the period 2007–2013 to identify VRU injury severity factors at HRGCs.

Results: The results show that train speed is a key factor influencing injury severity. Further analysis illustrated that the presence of illumination does not reduce the severity of accidents for high-speed trains. In addition, there is a greater propensity toward fatal accidents for elderly road users compared to younger individuals. Interestingly, at night, injury accidents involving female road users are more severe compared to those involving males.

Conclusions: The ordered probit model was the primary technique, and CART and association rules act as the supporter and identifier of interactions between variables. All 3 algorithms' results consistently show that the most influential accident factors are train speed, VRU age, and gender. The findings of this research could be applied for identifying high-risk hotspots and developing cost-effective countermeasures targeting VRUs at HRGCs.