Seminar: Advancing Rural Transportation: AV Technology Readiness & Freight Optimization

Описание: SYNOPSIS

Part 1: Designing Tools for Assessing Readiness of Rural Communities for New Technologies
Speaker: Dr. Asad J Khattak

Abstract: This presentation introduces a new methodology for modernizing transportation planning in rural areas of the Southeastern United States, where low population density and small towns present unique challenges to mobility and connectivity. The framework guides a comprehensive planning process, which involves identifying problems, generating innovative solutions, analyzing alternatives, and supporting collaborative prioritization and decision-making. A key feature is the Automated Vehicle Readiness Framework, which integrates data on infrastructure, digital connectivity, and social vulnerability. To support rural transportation planning, the team developed the Techniques for Assessing Community Technology Readiness (TACT-R) website. It provides professionals with access to a repository of emerging technology resources, analytical tools, and readiness models specifically tailored to meet the needs of rural areas. It leverages advances in vehicle automation, machine learning, e.g., case-based reasoning, text mining, spatial analytics, and modern computational capabilities. This approach moves beyond traditional incremental planning by combining innovative solutions with advanced data-driven techniques and a deep understanding of rural challenges. The goal is to enhance safe mobility and efficiency of both digital and physical transportation systems, helping rural communities better prepare for future transportation challenges.

Part 2: Optimizing Rural Freight Systems: Case Studies from North Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky
Speaker: Dr. Venktesh Pandey

Abstract: Freight transportation in rural areas faces significant and growing challenges. Aging infrastructure, dispersed delivery points, limited parking, and safety risks disproportionately affect rural freight corridors. Yet these regions play a vital role in national supply chains. In states such as Florida, Kentucky, and North Carolina, rural roadways support the movement of billions of dollars in goods annually but often lack the routing tools and infrastructure planning needed to support this role safely and efficiently. This talk will primarily focus on the truck parking analysis in North Carolina and the evaluation of demand-supply interactions for rural freight parking needs. As part of a completed project under the CR2C2 Center, the study developed a spatial optimization model that integrated crash risk, truck volume, and accessibility data. It ranked over 160 candidate parcels to support targeted investment in rural truck parking, prioritizing locations with the highest potential safety and efficiency benefits. Briefly, the talk will also touch upon two complementary studies. In Florida, a bi-objective multi-period inventory pickup and delivery model with multi-attribute alternative routing was applied to a Walmart distribution network, achieving a 7% reduction in transportation costs and a 14% reduction in crash risk. In Kentucky, a logit-based K-shortest path assignment model used FAF data to identify critical rural freight links, informing resilience planning in a network that supports a $605B freight economy. Together, these case studies offer innovative, data-driven tools for rural freight planning and provide agencies with practical guidance to prioritize investments, enhance safety, and improve freight mobility in underserved but essential rural corridors.