Transportation Institute Again Opens Its House To Area Schools

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) hosted its semi-annual School Day Open House Wednesday. Known for its research in improving roads here in the Commonwealth and the nation, the Institute welcomed over 300 students out to the facilities.

The first group of students to tour the facilities, 100 fourth graders from Penn Forest Elementary in Roanoke, seemed excited to see what goes on at the Institute. The group was divided into groups of about 30 and taken to different stations throughout the building.

Looking out onto the Smart Road through floor to ceiling windows, 60 eager ears listened as they were told about the beginnings of the road and some of the things researchers are learning here at the Institute. The children were engaged in a number of ways, from being asked why it is important to drive safely to discovering some major causes of accidents.

The next station looked at the vehicles used out on the road for research. Andy Alden, leader of the Technical Operations Group, said, “We [at the Institute] are very concerned about traffic safety.” Before letting the kids loose to explore the different research vehicles, he explained a little about some of the more significant projects at VTTI.

“We study truck drivers and have the ability to monitor their eyes while driving. And if they shut them, a warning light and noise will go off in the truck that they have to respond to,” said Alden. “It’s important to us that we hide the monitoring equipment so drivers don’t worry about it [being monitored]. This allows us to collect better data on how they drive, brake and accelerate. You name it, we can collect information on it.”

After taking time to explore the different vehicles on the lot and watching their friends on hidden cameras throughout the cars, the kids were off to their next station. On the walk to the conference room, a student named James said, “That was my favorite so far. I saw Katie [a schoolmate] on the camera [in the truck] from so far away.”

The last stop before a trip down the Smart Road was with Dr. Ronald Gibbons, a “lighting and infrastructure” leader. He did a demonstration about recognizing different emergency lights. The children were able to easily recall police, ambulance and fire truck lights, but didn’t recognize the flashing yellow, often associated with the Virginia Department of Vehicles, or VDOT.

Gibbons explained, “This is a problem that has come to VDOT’s attention and they called upon us to come up with a more recognizable product.”

Gibbons also shared information about the structure of the bridge, which was built in long spans to minimize destruction of the view around Ellett Valley. “When we were constructing the bridge, workers said it swayed about four feet on a really windy day,” Gibbons offered.

The next stop for the Penn Forest students was back to the buses for a ride along the Smart Road. As they pulled away from the Institute and headed onto the road, you could see them craning their necks above the seats to catch a glimpse of the road.

Chris Price, a guide for VTTI, shared some interesting information as the students made their way down the road. The two-mile road features sensors under the pavement for research, different line markings to study what is the most visible in driving rains and 12 different road designs including various asphalts and concrete.”

As they made their way toward towers that produce rain conditions for research, the children’s excitement grew. Price pointed out a water tower to the right of the road that drew water to produce the rain showers, snow, sleet and fog used in research on the Smart Road.

The children were so excited to pass under the rain towers and couldn’t believe that it was raining above their heads on an otherwise beautiful day. “This is so cool,” said Catherine, one of the students.

After their trip down the Smart Road, the Hokie clad group gave a hearty thank you to everyone at the Institute and headed off to a special lunch on the Virginia Tech campus at Dietrick dining hall.