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CEE Areas of Specialization

• Transportation• Construction• Geotechnical• Structures• Environmental• Water Resources

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Transportation

Prof. A. Goodchild

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• Transportation engineering is the science of safe and efficient movement of people and goods

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Where was your shirt made?

• South America• Central America• Southeast Asia• China• United States

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Why?

• Because that is where they grow cotton?• Because we don’t have the

manufacturing capability to make shirts in the US?

• Because labor is comparatively expensive in the US?

• Because global transportation is cheap!• Because the US has developed an

efficient system for importing and distributing goods.

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How did this happen?

• This is the result of investments in transportation infrastructure in the mid-20th century and the deregulation of transportation rates which occurred in the mid to late 20th century

• US technological innovations such as the container and double-stack trains

• Until recently we’ve had an incredibly inexpensive and efficient freight transportation system

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Containerized trade is BOOMING

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5,000,000

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Us

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This has ENABLED globalization

• The United States exports and imports about one-fourth of global merchandise trade in value annually (over $2 trillion in 2000).

• By the year 2020 U.S. foreign trade in goods may grow to four times today's value and almost double its current tonnage.

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Demand for goods movement is also driven by:

• Expanding domestic economy (population growth)

• Increased regional specialization• Suburbanization, business locations• Declining freight rates• Changing business practices

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This has changed the geography of US freight movements

• Much greater pressure on nodes on the network such as ports, airports, border crossings, heightened by security concerns post 9-11

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International trade growth has burdened West Coast Ports

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Increase in demand has not been met with an increase in supply

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Increasing congestion on freight corridors and in urban areas

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Increasing congestion on freight corridors and in urban areas

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Some Consequences

• Congestion wastes expensive capacity, lengthens shipment times

• Businesses adapt in inefficient ways– Outlying locations, longer shipments– Larger inventories, bigger fleets

• Air quality• Fuel consumption• Quality of life

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Passenger Transportation

• Passenger-miles of travel in the United States totaled an estimated 5.0 trillion in 2002, or about 17,000 miles for every man, woman, and child

• Over the decade 1992 to 2002, pmt increased 27 percent

• The only time PMT has ever decreased is during the fuel crisis of the 1970s

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The Transportation Engineering Challenge• To safely and efficiently move people

and goods• Not just by designing and building the

transportation infrastructure, but by managing the infrastructure and demand for the infrastructure

• Design a transportation system that is sustainable

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Infrastructure development is not the only answer

congestion

Provide more infrastructure

Ease congestion, allow for higher speeds, encourage more driving

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Intelligent Transportation Systems• Our ability to do this has developed

dramatically with electronic sensors and communication– Quantify congestion and compare

congestion costs to rationalize investment– Use cost to distribute capacity rather than

delay– Automatically detect and avoid dangers– Improve security– Operate more efficiently

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Changing the way we operate

• Dynamic allocation of goods• Equipment pooling• Car sharing• Dead-head reduction• Appointment systems• Off-peak operations• Changing fuels

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Is the Transportation Sector Sustainable?• 25% of total commercial energy consumed

worldwide• 50% of total oil consumed• 96% of fuel used by transportation sector is

petroleum based• Energy demand for transport between now and

2020: 1.5% growth per year in industrialized countries and 3.6% in developing countries

• Transportation is likely to become the leading user of non-renewable energy resources over the next 20 years (these supplies are finite)

• Emissions of PM, CO, NOx, VOCs, GHGs, noise, landuse impacts, accidents, congestion

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The future of transportation

• Availability of fuel• Areas like the Puget Sound carry more

burden than other areas yet transportation projects are linked to economic development

• Desire of developing nations to reach the industrialized status of the West

• Inequities caused by pricing transportation by usage and increased transportation cost

• Funding future transportation projects

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Questions?annegood@u.washington.edu

121E More Hall543-3747