Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Truax, Dennis

Committee Member

Elaway, Islam

Committee Member

Martin, James

Committee Member

Keith, Jason

Committee Member

White, Thomas

Other Advisors or Committee Members

Gude, Veera

Date of Degree

8-14-2015

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Civil Engineering

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Abstract

It is essential to build, maintain, and use our transportation systems in a manner that meets our current needs while addressing the social and economic needs of future generations. In today’s world, transportation congestion causes serious negative impacts to our societies. To this end, researchers have been utilizing various statistical methods to better study the flow of traffic into the road networks. However, these valuable studies cannot realize their true potential without solid in-depth understanding of the connectivity between the various traffic intersections. This paper bridges the gap between the engineering and social science domains. To this end, the authors propose a dynamic social network analysis framework to study the centrality of the existing road networks. This approach utilizes the field of network analysis where: (1) visualization and modeling techniques allow capturing the relationships, interactions, and attributes of and between network constituents, and (2) mathematical measurements facilitate analyzing quantitative relationships within the network. Connectivity and the importance of each intersection within the network will be understood using this method. The author conducted social network analysis modeling using three studies in Louisiana and two studies in Mississippi. Four types of centrality analysis were performed to identify the most central and important intersections within each study area. Results indicate intersection social network analysis modeling aligns with current congestion studies and transportation planning decisions.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19760

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