Khattak and CEE Team Awarded 2024 Best TRB Freeway Operations Committee Paper Award

Professor Aemal Khattak, alongside Dr. MM Shakiul Haque and Jon Camenzind, received the 2024 Best TRB Freeway Operations Committee Paper Award. Their paper, "Safety and Operational Analysis of Free Right-Turn Ramps at Rural Intersections," was selected from more than 50 submissions that are annually considered by this committee.

This paper studies the topic of traffic safety and operational efficiency at rural intersections, particularly focusing on the impact of free right-turn (FRT) ramps. Prior to this research, there were concerns about the safety and operational performance of such ramps in Nebraska. The research, funded by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), aimed to assess the safety and operational performance of free right-turn ramps in Nebraska and to develop guidelines that assist NDOT staff with decisions on maintaining, removing, or reconstructing rural free right-turn ramps.

Statistical analysis did not show any significant difference in the safety of free right-turn ramp intersections compared to intersections with no free right-turn ramps. However, microsimulation of traffic operations showed varying benefit levels of free right-turn ramps. Based on simulation of 324 scenarios and benefit-cost analysis, guidelines were developed for NDOT staff to make more informed decisions on the construction, reconstruction, or removal of rural free right-turn ramps on the Nebraska state highway system. The methods and guidance from this research are applicable to states beyond Nebraska, as well.

The study's findings, synthesized in the paper soon to be published in the Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, are expected to influence future designs and decisions regarding FRT ramp construction, reconstruction, or removal.

The award letter from the TRB Standing Committee on Freeway Operations lauds the team for their "outstanding research efforts that help promote, implement, operate, and maintain traffic management systems and strategies to enhance the efficiency, safety, and environmental conditions on freeways and freeway corridors." The team will be honored at both the 2024 Mid-Year Meeting and the 2025 TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.