Date of Award

12-2014

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering

Department

Civil and Construction Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Valerian Kwigizile

Second Advisor

Dr. Jun-Seok Oh

Third Advisor

Dr. Osama Abudayyeh

Keywords

Commercial motor vehicle, weight-in-motion(WIM), pavement, cost benefit analysis, fixedweish station

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Transportation infrastructure is an essential component of a nation’s success as it allows efficient transportation of goods to all economic markets, providing economic stability and ensuring trade competiveness. Nearly 70 percent of all of Michigan’s freight is shipped by truck and Michigan is ranked eighth in the USA in terms of the value of its exports with $50 billion per year. Unfortunately, commercial vehicles also contribute to the deterioration of pavement, reducing air quality and potentially influencing road safety. To enforce commercial vehicle laws and regulations, most states utilize fixed weigh stations supplemented with other enforcement strategies. Although fixed weigh stations provide safe locations for inspecting commercial vehicles, they are often inefficient and can be easily bypassed by potential violators of commercial vehicle laws. Like other states, Michigan maintains a number of fixed weigh stations and an extensive network of weigh-in-motion (WIM) sensors installed on state routes to conduct mobile enforcement of commercial vehicle laws. This study provides a framework for cost benefit evaluation of fixed weigh stations and mobile enforcement sites (i.e., virtual weigh stations). The fixed weigh stations were categorized into four groups based on their configurations and technology available: basic, intermediate, advanced and most advanced. Economic evaluation of the benefits of each group and of mobile screening under given specific conditions, was performed.

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