There are a lot of different branches of civil engineering.  I’m going to go over a few of them for those of you that are new to the industry.  That will give you an idea of what you can focus in and what you may want to do after you graduate.  Today I’ll talk about traffic engineering and what traffic engineers do.  Or more specifically I’ll make a list with bullets.  Us engineers seem to like lists.

Definition
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) defines traffic engineering as “that phase of engineering which deals with the planning, geometric design and traffic operations of roads, streets and highways…their networks, terminals, abutting lands and relationships with other modes of transportation…for the achievement of safe, efficient and convenient movement of persons and goods.”  Basically traffic engineers make the transportation work.

Some Examples of What They Do
Coordinate signal lights so that you don’t have to stop at as many red lights
Do studies to determine speed limits
Do studies to determine the need to traffic signals, stop signs and other traffic controls
Develop systems to move traffic efficiently through high traffic areas like schools, sporting events and rush hour traffic

Major concerns
Efficiency – getting people where they want to be as fast as possible
Safety – getting them there safely
Economics – doing it for a reasonable cost

Resources
AASHTO A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Green Book)
FHWA Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)
TRB Highway Capacity Manual

Design Software Used
Tru-Traffic TS/PP – www.tsppd.com
Synchro – www.trafficware.com
PASSER – ttisoftware.tamu.edu

Links For More Info
www.ite.org
www.ite.org/pdf/trafeng.PDF
www.fhwa.dot.gov
www.transportation.org
www.trb.org

There are some quick notes and links to much more information.  What are some important things that I should add to this list?