WSP USA and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on creating a stronger connection between research and deployment of transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) as well as connected and automated vehicle solutions.The plan also encourages educational and mentoring opportunities in which WSP would be involved in engineering seminars and lectures for Texas A&M students as well as sponsoring design projects. The agreement also entails opportunities for TTI and Texas A&M engineering students to gain real-world experience.
“TTI and WSP have a long history of collaborating, beginning with the early development of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes,” said Greg Winfree, TTI agency director. “The staffs of both of our organizations have collaborated on projects all over the country to deploy best practices in planning and design of HOV facilities. We see similar opportunities with next generation transportation technologies, such as connected and automated vehicles. By working together, we gain efficiencies in moving the most promising technologies from development into implementation.”
With technology increasing at such a rapid rate, transportation solutions need to incorporate technology advances to deliver cost-effective implementation today that will be compatible with the future direction of the transportation industry, said John Porcari, president of US advisory services at WSP. “Collaboration between leading researchers and everyday practitioners will help to better define needs for national and state sponsored research while helping agencies reflect the current state-of-the-practice in their efforts,” he said.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
