Volume 2: TRAQS: A Combined Interface for Project-Level Air Quality Analysis (2018)

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NCHRP Project 25-48 4 F I N A L R E P O R T NCHRP 25-48: Combined Interface for Project-Level Air Quality Analysis The increasing sophistication of models at each point in the Project-Level “modeling chain”—traffic activity, mobile emissions, air dispersion—have increased the number of configuration decisions, data inputs, and geospatial resolution options. Superimposed upon the complex analytics are requirements relating to model scenarios: build/no-build or “worst case” analysis. In response, the user community has developed a number of pre- and post-processing tools to support the input data requirements of each model type, including tools for migrating data from older models such as MOBILE6. These advances have introduced significant complexity to the process and created discontinuity. NCHRP 25-48’s objective is to simplify the process of Project-Level analysis while maintaining the richness of the underlying models. The product of this work must be a user-friendly tool that combines disconnected models through a centralized GUI, supported by intuitive wizards providing context-sensitive help, to guide practitioners through the process of conducting or reviewing a Project-Level mobile emissions analysis. (From the original project proposal.) Introduction This report is a summary of NCHRP Project 25-48: Combined Interface for Project-Level Air Quality Analysis, a software development project completed by Resource Systems Group, Inc. (“RSG”) and Lakes Environmental Software (“Lakes Environmental”) and commissioned by the Transportation Research Board (“TRB”). The project is a joint effort to develop TRAQS (TRansportation Air Quality System), a user-friendly, GUI-based, software application that simplifies project-level air quality analysis of mobile source emissions by integrating the “modeling chain” components of traffic activity, mobile emissions, and air dispersion modeling. The sections below summarize the original project scope, workflow, and schedule. The software development process is described, including decisions made during development that led to the final features of the TRAQS interface. The final section discusses possible future enhancements to the TRAQS interface that could be implemented in later versions of the software as well as some of the user recommendations reported by a panel of beta testers during the final phase of development. Project Scope In September 2013, under contract to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), RSG completed an assessment of MPO and DOT capabilities to use MOVES (The U.S. EPA’s MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator). That effort sought to recommend new training, tools, and datasets to advance agency capabilities in mobile emissions analyses. Among the recommendations, gathered from extensive stakeholder outreach, was the development of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to facilitate Project-Level analysis. The research conducted for this project directly meets this need. During the project, a Stakeholder Outreach Group (SOG) was formed, consisting of professionals engaged in mobile air quality analysis. The Stakeholder Outreach Group was drawn from the organizations listed in

NCHRP Project 25-48 3 Figure 1. Design Overview ............................................................................................................................ 8 Figure 2. Preprocessor ................................................................................................................................ 13 Figure 3. Post Processor .............................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 4. Results of the MAXDIFF Experiment (n=27) ................................................................................. 16 Table 1. Project-Level Emissions Analysis Guidance Documents & Software .............................................. 5 Table 2. NCHRP 25-48 Project Deliverables .................................................................................................. 7 Table 3. Applicable Open-Source Models ................................................................................................... 11 Table 4. Stakeholder Engagement Process ................................................................................................. 15