"Becoming
a Regional Transportation Center presents a great opportunity to OU to
become an even stronger leader in the field,” said OU President David L.
Boren.
In addition to OU, the Southern Plains Regional Transportation Center
consortium includes Oklahoma State University, Langston University,
University of Arkansas, The University of New Mexico, Louisiana Tech
University, The University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Tech
University. Regional transportation centers differ from other U.S.
Department of Transportation funded centers in that consortium members
must be located in the region they serve and address regional needs.
“Oklahoma’s central location positions our state at a critical
crossroad for the shipment of goods and travel across the nation,” said
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a senior member of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee. “Two primary constitutional duties of the
government are providing a strong national defense and supporting a
strong transportation and infrastructure system to facilitate commerce.
With this grant, our Oklahoma universities will continue to advance
Oklahoma’s research, technology and expertise in the transportation
industry.”
"I am pleased that the Department of Transportation will award more
than $2.5 million in grant money to the University of Oklahoma’s UTC
consortium," said Congressman Tom Cole. "This grant recognizes that
Oklahoma is advancing viable solutions that will repair broken
infrastructure and improve other transportation needs nationwide. I look
forward to the difference this money will make through the bright minds
in Norman and through the seven other consortium universities in
Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico.”
“Extreme weather conditions can create enormous challenges for our
transportation infrastructure,” said Governor Mary Fallin. “This grant
will support research that will help make our roads, bridges and rail
systems more climate adaptive and less vulnerable to bad weather.”
The funding helps advance U.S. technology and expertise in
transportation through education, research, technology transfer, and
workforce development at university-based centers of excellence. The
two-year grant awards each regional UTC $2.6 million annually for the
next two years, with eligibility to renew for multiple subsequent years.
“Increased truck traffic and limited resources for construction,
maintenance, and preservation of infrastructure challenge every state in
the nation,” said Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, Gary Ridley.
“But the southern plains region’s volatile weather conditions place an
additional burden on the system.”
Extreme summer temperatures, flash floods and large numbers of
freeze-thaw cycles, coupled with poor soils, create enormous challenges
to the region’s transportation infrastructure and public safety.
According to OU Civil Engineering Professor and Southern Plains Regional
Transportation Center Director, Musharraf Zaman, counting only recent
severe droughts, economic losses are estimated at almost $9 billion
annually to managed systems in Oklahoma and Texas alone, including
transportation infrastructure.
“Fortunately, we can access some of the world’s best weather research
and information in our back yard,” said Zaman, referring to weather
entities that include the National Weather Center, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, and
Radar Innovations Laboratory located in Norman, Okla. Zaman said the
Southern Plains Regional Transportation Center plans to overlay weather
expertise upon infrastructure research to focus on climate adaptive
transportation and freight movement. “This will give us a more accurate
picture of the challenges and stress on the southern plains region
transportation infrastructure and insight to the best solutions,” said
Zaman.
The group plans to research all aspects of extreme weather on
transportation infrastructure from direct impact to innovative
materials, winter weather vehicles and multi-modal freight movement.
“The center will address the most
challenging issues of both the Federal Highway Administration and State
Transportation Agencies. The commercial, agricultural and energy
transportation corridors in the southern plains keep our nation’s
economy moving forward. OSU is proud to be a partner in this
consortium,” says Oklahoma State University Engineering Dean Paul
Tikalsky.
“Sustainable transportation
infrastructure is crucial to public safety and economic prosperity.
Through the Southern Plains Regional Transportation Center we have
assembled an outstanding team that fully represents the states in our
region, and we look forward to working together,” said OU Engineering
Dean Tom Landers.
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