CTS Home

Home > News

How About a Roundabout? The Minnesota Experience
Curious about roundabouts? Watch this video to learn how modern roundabouts work.
Watch video

CTS researcher discusses travel time since I-35W bridge collapse
On the anniversary of the I-35W bridge collapse, one University of Minnesota researcher says that most commuters adjusted to new routes or destinations by October, and while some drivers were worse off, most were indifferent and some had shorter times.

David Levinson is the Braun/CTS Chair in Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and a CTS Faculty Scholar. He discusses his findings in a video on the Expert Alert Live page of the University of Minnesota’s News Service.

Levinson and other researchers in the civil engineering department have completed several research reports about the collapse, and several other research projects are under way.

New online road safety mapping tool: SafeRoadMaps.org
Researchers at the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety have developed a new, visually innovative tool that maps out roadway fatalities across the nation... and in your community.
Read press release | SafeRoadMaps.org | View video

To reach greenhouse gas reduction goals, researchers say action must start now
A team of University of Minnesota transportation and public policy researchers says that if Minnesota is to reach its Next Generation Energy Act goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, action must start now. More

CTS Director Robert Johns testifies at Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
CTS Director Robert Johns testified at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing entitled "Saving Lives on Our Nation's Highways." View video of testimony

Journal of Transport and Land Use debuts
The Journal of Transport and Land Use is a new open-access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing original interdisciplinary papers on the interaction of transport and land use. Subscriptions and submissions are free. The first issue was published in July 2008. Register with JTLU to be notified when new issues are published. Read JTLU

Portfolio of strategies needed to lower transportation's carbon footprint
CTS Report, July 2008
Winning the "planetary gamble" of global warming will take a large portfolio of energy and transportation strategies, said Stephen Schneider, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University. More

UPA to prove merits of road pricing for national policy
CTS Report, July 2008
David Horner, deputy assistant secretary of transportation policy with the USDOT, discussed the Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and its successor, the Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) Program. More

New commissioner shares vision for Mn/DOT
CTS Report, July 2008
Commissioner Tom Sorel said he has two main goals for Mn/DOT: to regain the public trust and confidence lost with the bridge collapse and to regenerate a spirit of innovation and creativity. More

Minnesota UPA project builds on previous success, partnerships
CTS Report, July 2008
Following the keynote presentation by David Horner, two local leaders discussed the Minnesota UPA project: Arlene McCarthy with the Metropolitan Council and Bernie Arseneau of Mn/DOT's Office of Traffic, Safety and Operations. More

Minnesota UPA project to feature priced shoulder lane, telecommuting
CTS Report, July 2008
In a continuation of the opening session with David Horner, this session presented specifics of Minnesota's Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA). More

Researchers seek ways to save more lives on rural roads
CTS Report, July 2008
University researchers and others participated on a panel about rural safety issues. More

Talking in circles: roundabouts in Minnesota
CTS Report, July 2008
Two sessions addressed the challenges and implications of using roundabouts in Minnesota. More

Mn/DOT project to improve cost estimating, cost management
CTS Report, July 2008
In this session, speakers discussed national trends in highway project cost estimation and cost management, as well as Minnesota's leading role in changing practice. More

Web coordinator hired
CTS Report, July 2008
CTS welcomed a new Web coordinator, Toni Prekker, in June. More

U of M leads national effort to make rural roads safer
KARE-11 News, June 30, 2008
The Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary Thomas Barrett was in Minnesota to kick start a new national clearinghouse for safety on rural roads. "Rural roads carry less than half of America's traffic, but they are home to far more than half of the nation's vehicular deaths. The death rates on rural roads are almost twice what they are on urban or interstate highways."

U.S. DOT Names Univ. of Minnesota National Info Hub on Rural Road Safety
KMSP-TV Fox 9 News, June 30, 2008
The University of Minnesota was named a national information center for rural road safety Monday, during a visit from U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Thomas J. Barrett.

New Web site pools best research on rural highway safety
Minnesota Public Radio, June 30, 2008
The University of Minnesota is launching a Web site to track best research and policies from across the country regarding safety on rural highways.

New technology can track teens who speed
Star Tribune, June 30, 2008
The in-vehicle cell-phone monitor gives drivers a vocal warning about excessive speeds before sending the text message.

Bridge to the GOP: Will the Twin Cities be ready for the Republican convention?
Newsweek Web Extra, Jun 17, 2008
A report on the effects of the I-35W bridge collapse, and rebuilding efforts. Includes comments by John Hourdos, director of the Minnesota Traffic Observatory, and David Levinson, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering.

U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Barrett Announces University of Minnesota as National Clearinghouse to Improve Rural Road Safety
USDOT Press Release, June 30, 2008