ERTC - Environmentally Responsible Transportation Center for Communities of Concern Environmentally Responsible
Transportation Center for
Communities of Concern

ERTC3 will improve guidance and technical assistance to DOTs and MPOs to minimize negative impacts and disparities from transportation investments on the environment.

Projects

 

Surface Modification Approaches to Turn Waste Plastics into Beneficial Additive for Concrete (active)

US DOT Priorities: This project directly addresses DOT’s research priority of “Preserving the Environment” by developing novel approaches to turning waste plastics into a beneficial additive for concrete, leading to effective mitigation strategies to address the potential pollution...

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Advancing Sustainable Transportation with Innovative Near-Zero Carbon Emission Cement Derived from 100% Industrial Byproducts (active)

Project Description:  The proposed project aims to develop a near-zero carbon emission cement made entirely from 100% industrial by-products. This initiative supports the Department of Transportation's goals by promoting sustainable construction practices that significantly reduce carbon emissi...

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Investigation of Bridge Scour Mitigation with Nature Binding Material: Seaweed (active

Project Description: Green construction material plays an important role in sustainable development. With the development of construction materials, biopolymers are gradually being used as a soil improvement additive in geotechnical engineering. Seaweed, also known as macroalgae, is a diverse group ...

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Evaluation of the Role of Traffic Emissions in Elevated Particulate Matter Exposure in Disadvantaged Communities in Kansas City, MO (active)

Project Description: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), an air pollutant, harms human health upon inhalation and leads to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and death. It is well established that communities of color and impoverished communities are exposed to higher levels of air pollution ...

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Quantitative Study of Environmental Condition and PFAS Impacts on Microplastic (MP) Fate and Transport due to Effects on MP Flocculation (active)

Project Description: Microplastics (MPs) are a class of emerging contaminants of concern that result from the degradation products of plastic-based fibers, particles, and films. Transportation related pollution contributes notably to MP pollution in the environment, particularly in urban areas where...

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An Initial Step Towards The Development Of Predictive Tools To Reduce Pollution From Transportation (active)

US DOT Priorities: This project aims at mitigating the particulate pollution from transportation systems towards Preserving the Environment and Climate and Sustainability Outputs: Successful implementation of this project will create a base modelling framework (in-silico) tool that allows optimizati...

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Dissecting Disparities: How Transportation-Related Air Pollution Influences Childhood Cancer Across Racial/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic, and Geographic Lines in Texas (active)

Project Description: The relationship between environmental exposure and childhood cancer (ages 0-19 years), particularly due to transportation-related air pollution such as benzene and 1,3-butadiene, is increasingly evident and concerning. Despite childhood cancer being relatively rare, it remains ...

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Transit Equity Rx: Public Transit Bridges the Gap between Healthcare Access and Disadvantaged Communities (active)

Project Description: The importance of social equity in healthcare accessibility cannot be overstated. Disparities in health outcomes often occur among residents with different levels of access to healthcare, and spatial patterns of illness have been known to be associated with the distribution of h...

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Empowering Sustainability and Equity: Harnessing School Buses for Workforce Transit (active)

Project Description: In addressing the dual challenges of environmental sustainability and transportation equity, the project aims to repurpose school buses for workforce transportation. This strategy emerges against a backdrop where low-income individuals frequently face limited access to efficient...

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A Framework To Boost Reactivity And Consistency Of Agricultural Residual Ashes As A Supplementary Cementitious Material (active)

Project Description: Decarbonizing transportation infrastructure is one of the primary goals of the US DOT. This project aims at decarbonizing transportation infrastructure by reducing the cement usage during its construction and maintenance. For this purpose, agricultural residues (corn stover and ...

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