Exhibit D - Research Project Requirement: PDF Link

Project Outcome Brief: TBD

Final Report: TBD

Project Summary: This research aims to address the issue of limited alternative routes in rural freight systems by modeling rural freight networks to identify critical vulnerabilities and evaluate potential recovery strategies. The study also proposes new methods for addressing truck parking shortages using models such as reservation and automated allocation for predicting demand and optimizing supply. The project leverages network science, emerging data sources, and simulation tools to develop methodologies for assessing the resilience of rural freight networks. Additionally, the study will explore the potential of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) for improving operational efficiency and reducing parking demand, particularly for middle-mile delivery and short-range freight operations. This research directly addresses these issues by: 

• Developing network-based modeling techniques to analyze rural freight resilience. 

• Identifying critical corridors and evaluating alternative routing strategies. 

• Proposing innovative truck parking solutions to improve operational efficiency. This includes broader operational strategies such as parking reservations, staging areas near hubs or ports, route reservations, and quicker incident resolution for truckers.