Transportation Discipline - References

Road Guy · Feb 10, 2009

Highway Capacity Manual - Especially read the chapter on "Defaults"

-----> Teach yourself to use the worksheets at the end of each chapter, saves time

Land Surveyor Reference Manual (for bearing-azimuth problems)

ITE- Traffic Engineering Handbook

ITE - Transportation Planning Manaul

Roadside Design Guide (Read the small print)

----->Check for Updates!!!!

MUTCD (Also read the fine print)

AASHTO Green Book - Take current edition (seriously check the AASHTO site for revisions just before the exam)

----->Use Recent Green Book

Design & Control of Concrete Mixtures - PCA - Helped in the PM

6 Minute Soltions- Transportation - very handy

I also found a Soils Textbook Handy in the PM.

Also make sure you know how to do an "average difficulty" critical path problem.

Also make sure you can do the mass haul diagram.

Engineering Economy - These are really simple if you work some, dont lose easy points.

GoLucky · Feb 25, 2009

Thanks a lot for a detailed listing of all the necessary references. This will definately help.

Road Guy said:
Highway Capacity Manual - Especially read the chapter on "Defaults"-----> Teach yourself to use the worksheets at the end of each chapter, saves time

Land Surveyor Reference Manual (for bearing-azimuth problems)

ITE- Traffic Engineering Handbook

ITE - Transportation Planning Manaul

Roadside Design Guide (Read the small print)

----->Check for Updates!!!!

MUTCD (Also read the fine print)

AASHTO Green Book - Take current edition (seriously check the AASHTO site for revisions just before the exam)

----->Use Recent Green Book

Design & Control of Concrete Mixtures - PCA - Helped in the PM

6 Minute Soltions- Transportation - very handy

I also found a Soils Textbook Handy in the PM.

Also make sure you know how to do an "average difficulty" critical path problem.

Also make sure you can do the mass haul diagram.

Engineering Economy - These are really simple if you work some, dont lose easy points.

sharad · Jul 21, 2009

Road Guy said:
Highway Capacity Manual - Especially read the chapter on "Defaults"-----> Teach yourself to use the worksheets at the end of each chapter, saves time

Land Surveyor Reference Manual (for bearing-azimuth problems)

ITE- Traffic Engineering Handbook

ITE - Transportation Planning Manaul

Roadside Design Guide (Read the small print)

----->Check for Updates!!!!

MUTCD (Also read the fine print)

AASHTO Green Book - Take current edition (seriously check the AASHTO site for revisions just before the exam)

----->Use Recent Green Book

Design & Control of Concrete Mixtures - PCA - Helped in the PM

6 Minute Soltions- Transportation - very handy

I also found a Soils Textbook Handy in the PM.

Also make sure you know how to do an "average difficulty" critical path problem.

Also make sure you can do the mass haul diagram.

Engineering Economy - These are really simple if you work some, dont lose easy points.

St_Kentucky · Dec 19, 2010

Don't forget to print the specified updates to the manuals.

aucivileng · Dec 20, 2010

I would recommend taking a review course those notes you get (and experience) after going through it will be a huge help to passing the exam. There are several out there just look around. Most offer differing schedules so you can pick the one that fits you the best. Well worth the money!

ptatohed · Jun 20, 2011

Road Guy said:
Highway Capacity Manual - Especially read the chapter on "Defaults"-----> Teach yourself to use the worksheets at the end of each chapter, saves time

Land Surveyor Reference Manual (for bearing-azimuth problems)

ITE- Traffic Engineering Handbook

ITE - Transportation Planning Manaul

Roadside Design Guide (Read the small print)

----->Check for Updates!!!!

MUTCD (Also read the fine print)

AASHTO Green Book - Take current edition (seriously check the AASHTO site for revisions just before the exam)

----->Use Recent Green Book

Design & Control of Concrete Mixtures - PCA - Helped in the PM

6 Minute Soltions- Transportation - very handy

I also found a Soils Textbook Handy in the PM.

Also make sure you know how to do an "average difficulty" critical path problem.

Also make sure you can do the mass haul diagram.

Engineering Economy - These are really simple if you work some, dont lose easy points.

Thanks RG

I passed using Lindburg's CERM and Goswami's All-In-One for my AM and general PM. For my Transpo-specific PM references, I used the HCM (2000), AASHTO PGDHS (2004) and MUTCD (Mine is 2003, although 2009 is the current edition). I also brought the AASHTO RDG but only because I was able to borrow a copy for free. It helped answer a few questions. I didn't bring anything else (No ITE books, no soils books, etc.) Those all might be helpful but, if money is an issue, I think the big 3 to have for the Transpo depth are the HCM, PGDHS ("Green Book") and the MUTCD.

Bringing a separate Survey reference is good too for geometric design problems, although CERM should have this info. too. I don't recall any bearing/azimuth problems though.

Not sure what you mean by read the fine print?

I checked and the 2004 PGDHS has no errata - and a new release is due out this year (2011). Depending on your printing of the HCM, there is errata. I think the RDG has available errata too. Anyway, it is a good idea to check all your references for available errata.

I used the 6-Min Solutions too but found them to take way longer than 6 mins. I personally liked the NCEES practice exam.

Anyway, if I can give one piece of advice, it's stick to the exam syllabus. Link to syllabus and references.

Best of luck.

milecargo · Nov 8, 2012

ptatohed said:
QUOTE (Road Guy @ Feb 10 2009, 01:17 PM)

Highway Capacity Manual - Especially read the chapter on "Defaults"

-----> Teach yourself to use the worksheets at the end of each chapter, saves time

Land Surveyor Reference Manual (for bearing-azimuth problems)

ITE- Traffic Engineering Handbook

ITE - Transportation Planning Manaul

Roadside Design Guide (Read the small print)

----->Check for Updates!!!!

MUTCD (Also read the fine print)

AASHTO Green Book - Take current edition (seriously check the AASHTO site for revisions just before the exam)

----->Use Recent Green Book

Design & Control of Concrete Mixtures - PCA - Helped in the PM

6 Minute Soltions- Transportation - very handy

I also found a Soils Textbook Handy in the PM.

Also make sure you know how to do an "average difficulty" critical path problem.

Also make sure you can do the mass haul diagram.

Engineering Economy - These are really simple if you work some, dont lose easy points.

Thanks RG

I passed using Lindburg's CERM and Goswami's All-In-One for my AM and general PM. For my Transpo-specific PM references, I used the HCM (2000), AASHTO PGDHS (2004) and MUTCD (Mine is 2003, although 2009 is the current edition). I also brought the AASHTO RDG but only because I was able to borrow a copy for free. It helped answer a few questions. I didn't bring anything else (No ITE books, no soils books, etc.) Those all might be helpful but, if money is an issue, I think the big 3 to have for the Transpo depth are the HCM, PGDHS ("Green Book") and the MUTCD.

Bringing a separate Survey reference is good too for geometric design problems, although CERM should have this info. too. I don't recall any bearing/azimuth problems though.

Not sure what you mean by read the fine print?

I checked and the 2004 PGDHS has no errata - and a new release is due out this year (2011). Depending on your printing of the HCM, there is errata. I think the RDG has available errata too. Anyway, it is a good idea to check all your references for available errata.

I used the 6-Min Solutions too but found them to take way longer than 6 mins. I personally liked the NCEES practice exam.

Anyway, if I can give one piece of advice, it's stick to the exam syllabus. Link to syllabus and references.

Best of luck.

I found my textbooks from College extremely useful during the 8 hour. While the bulk of the non-calculation problems I was able to pull from the CERM, I also luckily had my Geotech textbook, for example, and was able to run to its index for answers. For example, one of the test questions was regarding compaction, and my Geotech book rocked it for me.

I didn't touch the textbooks before test day, just had them there to use the indecies in case I needed them.

MGSmith519 · Mar 18, 2015

I have the latest versions of all 6 AASHTO books, the HCM, and the MUTCD as listed on the NCEES Design Standards effective for the April 2015 Exam. I have a few questions concerning Errata, Corrections, Clarifications, etc. To ask these to all of you, I will simply copy and paste an e-mail I sent to NCEES this morning:

[SIZE=10pt]I will be sitting for the PE Exam in Civil Transportation next month in Charleston, WV. I have the following questions for clarification based on [/SIZE]the latest Design Standards listed per the NCEES website beginning with the April 2015 examination:

[SIZE=small]For the AASHTO “A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 6th edition, 2011”, does this include the Errata that was issued in August 2012?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]For the AASHTO “Highway Safety Manual, 1st edition, vol. 1, 2010”, does this include the Errata that was issued in February 2012 and/or the supplement that was issued in 2014?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]For the HCM “Highway Capacity Manual 2010”, does this include Volume 4, which is online only at hcm2010.org, and includes Chapters 24-38? Or does this reference only include Volumes 1-3, which consist of Chapters 1-23?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]Also, for the HCM 2010 listed directly above, does this include the replacement pages issued on 2/25/13, the page updates issued in 2013, the corrections and clarifications issued in January 2014, the interpretations issued in January 2014, and the page updates issued in April 2014? These 5 PDF’s are available at hcm2010.org, but I want to make sure that these updates will be applied in the exam, as certain numbers in tables have changed, and would affect correct answers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Please respond as soon as possible with these clarifications.[/SIZE]

I appreciate any input in response to these questions. I guess the ultimate question is: If there is errata, page updates, etc. that have been issued prior to the exam, and these have changed numbers from certain tables, will the exam questions be based upon the errata, etc. even if NCEES doesn't quote them in their Design Standards list? The MUTCD clearly states "including Revisions 1 and 2 dated May 2012," but the AASHTO GDHS 2011 doesn't state something like "including Errata dated August 2012".

Thank you for your input in advance!

ptatohed · Mar 18, 2015

MGSmith519 said:
I have the latest versions of all 6 AASHTO books, the HCM, and the MUTCD as listed on the NCEES Design Standards effective for the April 2015 Exam. I have a few questions concerning Errata, Corrections, Clarifications, etc. To ask these to all of you, I will simply copy and paste an e-mail I sent to NCEES this morning:

I will be sitting for the PE Exam in Civil Transportation next month in Charleston, :wv: . I have the following questions for clarification based on the latest Design Standards listed per the NCEES website beginning with the April 2015 examination:

[SIZE=small]For the AASHTO “A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 6th edition, 2011”, does this include the Errata that was issued in August 2012?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]For the AASHTO “Highway Safety Manual, 1st edition, vol. 1, 2010”, does this include the Errata that was issued in February 2012 and/or the supplement that was issued in 2014?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]For the HCM “Highway Capacity Manual 2010”, does this include Volume 4, which is online only at hcm2010.org, and includes Chapters 24-38? Or does this reference only include Volumes 1-3, which consist of Chapters 1-23?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Also, for the HCM 2010 listed directly above, does this include the replacement pages issued on 2/25/13, the page updates issued in 2013, the corrections and clarifications issued in January 2014, the interpretations issued in January 2014, and the page updates issued in April 2014? These 5 PDF’s are available at hcm2010.org, but I want to make sure that these updates will be applied in the exam, as certain numbers in tables have changed, and would affect correct answers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Please respond as soon as possible with these clarifications.[/SIZE]

I appreciate any input in response to these questions. I guess the ultimate question is: If there is errata, page updates, etc. that have been issued prior to the exam, and these have changed numbers from certain tables, will the exam questions be based upon the errata, etc. even if NCEES doesn't quote them in their Design Standards list? The MUTCD clearly states "including Revisions 1 and 2 dated May 2012," but the AASHTO GDHS 2011 doesn't state something like "including Errata dated August 2012".

Thank you for your input in advance!

MG, I think this sticky is primarily intended for sharing useful study references.

I appreciate your detailed concern but I do think you are overthinking this. Just make all the errata changes to your hard copy books (in red, so you remember they were errata) and study on! That's what I did. I seriously doubt you'd ever have a question that can go two ways - one without errata, and one with. You'll likely not even get a question related to the errata and if you do, it's unlikely the answer would be swayed by the errata. I think you and I are 1% of examinees who even bother with errata in the first place.

And to answer your question about the HCM - no, the exam will not test you on Volume 4, only 1 - 3, and mostly just 2 and 3.

But please tell us what NCEES says, I am curious.

Good luck.

MGSmith519 · Mar 23, 2015

Re: NCEES PE Exam Civil Transportation Design Standards (Effective April 2015) - Questions

Michael,

Thanks for your detailed email. I apologize for my delayed response.

If a supplement or errata is needed, we will include those in the list of design standards or notes.

If you use the editions listed in the design standards currently posted in the NCEES website, then you are good to go.

For the HCM, since Volume 4 is online and examinees cannot access the online volume during exam, only the printed volumes will be referenced in the exam.

During the exam, if you do encounter an issue in terms of ambiguity or validity of the question, please provide to us feedback within 10 days from the date of the exam. Provide sufficient information for reviewers to fully understand your concerns. NCEES reviews all examinee comments, and the subject-matter experts consider comments about specific exam questions. If the reviews confirm an error in a question, credit may be given for more than one answer. Any resulting changes are applied to all examinees.

Sincerely,
[SIZE=medium]Susan[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Susan M. Cline, P.E.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Exam Development Engineer[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]NCEES[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]T: 864-654-6824[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]ncees.org[/SIZE]

Rayer · Jul 25, 2015

There specs were revised on 7-23-2015 to include some erratas:

https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-Tran-April-2015-1_Combined.rev1_.pdf

ptatohed · Jul 26, 2015

Rayer said:
There specs were revised on 7-23-2015 to include some erratas:

https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-Tran-April-2015-1_Combined.rev1_.pdf

Good catch Rayer, I missed that. I wonder of someone can provide a link to each one of the individual errata that NCEES has added?

Triggers · Mar 4, 2017

Road Guy said:
Highway Capacity Manual - Especially read the chapter on "Defaults"

-----> Teach yourself to use the worksheets at the end of each chapter, saves time

Land Surveyor Reference Manual (for bearing-azimuth problems)

ITE- Traffic Engineering Handbook

ITE - Transportation Planning Manaul

Roadside Design Guide (Read the small print)

----->Check for Updates!!!!

MUTCD (Also read the fine print)

AASHTO Green Book - Take current edition (seriously check the AASHTO site for revisions just before the exam)

----->Use Recent Green Book

Design & Control of Concrete Mixtures - PCA - Helped in the PM

6 Minute Soltions- Transportation - very handy

I also found a Soils Textbook Handy in the PM.

Also make sure you know how to do an "average difficulty" critical path problem.

Also make sure you can do the mass haul diagram.

Engineering Economy - These are really simple if you work some, dont lose easy points.

i am using the 2010 edition.

Is there a chapter on defaults?

Have the worksheets you mentioned been replaced with Example Problems?

Road Guy · Mar 6, 2017

I do believe someone told me they did away with the worksheets in the HCM

Nashville Cyclone · Apr 23, 2018

I'd like to add my thoughts to this after taking the exam APR18 as an engineer who does not work in transportation on a day-to-day basis, but felt I did very well on the exam (I'll update this once the scores come out

). I think you need 5 (maybe 6) references for the afternoon.

1. Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) - Essential, need equations found in manual for about 10 problems

2. A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (AASHTO Green Book) - Essential, need charts and table for about 10 problems

3. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) - Essential, probably 5 answers come word-for-word out of this manual

4. Roadside Design Guide - Very Helpful - Pulled 3-4 answers from here

5. AASHTO Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities - Helpful, maybe 2 answers came straight out of here that I wouldn't have found elsewhere

6. CERM - You should already have it for the morning, but everything you need for the geometry of curves is in here.

I did not have any pavement books which probably cost me two answers, but that was a risk I was willing to take due to being confident in with the other 6 references.

- Mods if there is something in this post that shouldn't be here please let me know.

KOKOMO777 · Apr 23, 2018

Did you use any other notes from the review courses such as SOPE, EET?

Nashville Cyclone · Apr 24, 2018

KOKOMO777 said:
Did you use any other notes from the review courses such as SOPE, EET?

I did not. I'm sure it saves you time in flipping through books, but I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the references prior to the exam.

I thought the Transportation Six Minute Solutions was pretty accurate as far as the type of problems that appear on the exam. I used that to decide what to tab.

Zaxmarth · May 25, 2018

Nashville Cyclone said:
I did not. I'm sure it saves you time in flipping through books, but I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the references prior to the exam.

I thought the Transportation Six Minute Solutions was pretty accurate as far as the type of problems that appear on the exam. I used that to decide what to tab.

I passed this Spring and I followed very much this same routine. I did many problems >250 between multiple sources (NCEES, Six Min, Goswami) and I thought as far as practice goes, the Goswami ones were the best for preparation for both the morning and afternoon sessions, the NCEES problems are best to save for the last few weeks to go through as a practice run as they are the best representation as to what to expect in terms of difficulty.

By far, my biggest suggestion is to be sure to familiarize yourself with the resources. HCM2010, AASHTO Green Book, MUTCD, and Roadside Design Guide are the most important for the afternoon but it doesn't hurt to know what's in the other listed references. I used the CERM and Goswami's book both the morning and even on some questions in the afternoon. Goswami's is much more practical and provides examples. The CERM does have merit though for some things. From practice problems you'll develop a sense of what sections of each of these references are most important. Tabbing each of the sections appropriately helped a lot and understanding how the indexes of each reference was formatted in the event I didn't have the required section tabbed. Really, the exam is a race against time.

For the morning, outside of practice exams, Civil Engineering Academy on Youtube was a big help. I'd pause the video and try to solve the question and often times mess up and learn from my mistake. The key is understanding the underlying principles in the question and not just memorizing the methodology of solving the problem.

3va87 · Jun 22, 2018

What are people's thoughts on the Transportation Depth Reference Manual by Voigt? Is it worth having it?...
I am struggling to afford some of the references and work is not offering to pay up even if they are requiring me to take the tests....yes yes I know, I shoudl just fork up the money and get all of them...sorry mortgage takes precedence...

2AFerg · Jun 24, 2018

I bought it, but it doesn't contain near all the info you need from the required references. I ended up getting the main references (HCM, Green Book, MUTCD, RDG). It will not be sufficient for the exam. It was helpful in understanding a few basic concepts that I hadn't seen before, but overall I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think I used it during the exam.

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