Four NDSU transportation and logistics doctoral students presented at the 54th Annual Transportation Research Forum March 21-23 in Annapolis, Md.
Nimish Dharmadhikan presented the paper “The Life Cycle Cost Analysis for a Rural Bridge Construction.” The study was co-written by EunSu Lee, associate research fellow with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, and student Poyraz Kayabas. The objective of the research is the lifecycle cost benefit analysis of the bridge construction needed on rural roads due to the increase of traffic from the oil boom in western North Dakota.
Elvis Ndembe presented the paper “Relating Public Transportation to the Macro Economy.” The study used econometric analysis to evaluate the linkage between the macro economy and public transportation. Results showed that high unemployment had a significantly negative effect on ridership whereas high gasoline prices had a lesser effect comparatively.
Sumadhur Shakya presented “Strategy for Greenfield or Acquisition of Mill under Spatial Competition among Bakeries in Mainland United States.” The study evaluates a strategy for deciding whether a Greenfield investment – creating a new location – or an acquisition of an existing location is best to increase market share of current bakeries under spatial competition.
Zijian Zheng presented “Heavy Vehicle Impact on Rural Two Lane Highway Segments Operating Under Various Congested Conditions.” His study focuses on the impact of oil trucks on two-lane highway capacity.
The Transportation Research Forum is an independent organization of transportation professionals who meet to exchange ideas on research topics such as economics, regulation, safety, environment and energy, intermodal transportation, and transportation and supply chain management. The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU is the forum’s administrative home. The program for this year’s annual meeting can be found a www.trforum.org/forum/2013.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.