P.E Civil-tranpo depth help please?

[sikh]

Hello,

I am taking P.E Civil-transpo depth exam in April 2012. I have also registered for a review class but I am not sure if the material they provide will cover the PM transportation module in depth. Please advise if I need to refer to any other reference book/textbook for the PM module other than AASHTO, HCM etc etc.

Also, since I will be taking a review class, do I still have to refer to CERM during the exam or the material from the review should be enough. Anyone who has taken a review class please give your comments. I will greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Jas

 

[TrussGuy85]

I would make sure you have all of the PM references that NCEES has listed for the test. You won't need anything else except the CERM. I would not be caught dead without the CERM, even if you have a bunch of other stuff. I still have nightmares about getting to the test and not having my CERM. You will definitely need it, and tab it well for the AM portion of the test. I think I had about 80 tabs and printed out a separate index to aid in looking info up quick. Please don't think that a review course is enough to get you a passing score on the test. Work problems, problems, and more problems. If you think you've worked enough problems, do them all again!

 

[sac_engineer]

I also did the transpo depth. I used Goswami's All-in-One book for most transpo questions. For specific planning questions, the HCM and Green Book helped the most. I can't say that the CERM was the be all and end all compared to Goswami, but it was good to have on hand.

Good luck!

 

[jco0518]

Hello,

I am taking P.E Civil-transpo depth exam in April 2012. I have also registered for a review class but I am not sure if the material they provide will cover the PM transportation module in depth. Please advise if I need to refer to any other reference book/textbook for the PM module other than AASHTO, HCM etc etc.

Also, since I will be taking a review class, do I still have to refer to CERM during the exam or the material from the review should be enough. Anyone who has taken a review class please give your comments. I will greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Jas

Which review class are you going to be taking? If you do take school of pe, they have an 3-hour webinar to cover PM part of the exam, but you need much more than that. I would buy six minute solutions and try to solve them all and get a good grip on topics that six minute solutions cover. That should prepare you.

 

[andyrich]

Other than CERM (or other core reference), HCM, and AASHTO Geometric Design of Highways (Green Book), were there any references that can be skipped? These references can add up and I don't like recommending any books that can be skipped.

Specifically, are these reference required or are they sufficiently covered in the CERM (or other core reference)?

AASHTO Guide for pavement structures

AASHTO Roadside design guide

Ashphalt Handbook

Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

Design and Control of Admixtures (PCA)

Traffic Engineering Handbook (ITE)

 

[ptatohed]

Other than CERM (or other core reference), HCM, and AASHTO Geometric Design of Highways (Green Book), were there any references that can be skipped? These references can add up and I don't like recommending any books that can be skipped.

Specifically, are these reference required or are they sufficiently covered in the CERM (or other core reference)?

AASHTO Guide for pavement structures

AASHTO Roadside design guide

Ashphalt Handbook

Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

Design and Control of Admixtures (PCA)

Traffic Engineering Handbook (ITE)

Andy, this is a good question. I see more often than not people are quick to reply to others "get every single reference on the NCEES list". I personally do not feel this is always necessary (at least for Transpo). It's expensive and I suspect there is a point of diminishing returns (the time it would take to read hundreds of pages for one or two questions you may or may not see on the exam could probably be spent more wisely).

In my case, I passed with only the AASHTO GDHS, AASHTO RDG, HCM and MUTCD.

I'd place the GDHS as #1 (which you indicated was important). I'd put the HCM as #2 I suppose but much of the important stuff from the HCM is re-printed in the CERM or AI1 so it probably could be skipped if money is really tight. I'd have to say the MUTCD should be in everyone's Banker Box because it is free (to download) and there are often easy look-up questions from it. I remember a question or two from the RDG so that might be good to have (I don't believe CERM covers clear zones, barrier offsets, etc.). I might be wrong but I believe all or most of the important Asphalt/Concrete material is reproduced in the CERM/AI1. I have, since passing, acquired the ITE TE Handbook. In looking at it, I can't say for sure that I would have used it on the exam (maybe but probably not).

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

 

[kenny911]

I think at most you'll get 1 question from the ITE so that could be skipped. The PE has had a lot of concrete questions the last two exams so the PCA does come in handy.

 

[andyrich]

Thanks for the feedback. I will keep the four 'primary' references in mind as a starting point. Another thing to consider is the transportation depth booklet. I am not sure how much this provides overlap with these references.

On a related note, does anyone have a link for the MUTCD download?

Also, I find it interesting that the ITE does not show up in the 2013 specs at all.
/>http://www.lapels.com/April2013examUpdate.html Of course they do add in FHWA design of culverts. And many of the references will be updated to the new version...

 

[ptatohed]

Thanks for the feedback. I will keep the four 'primary' references in mind as a starting point. Another thing to consider is the transportation depth booklet. I am not sure how much this provides overlap with these references.

On a related note, does anyone have a link for the MUTCD download?

Also, I find it interesting that the ITE does not show up in the 2013 specs at all.

http://www.lapels.co...examUpdate.html Of course they do add in FHWA design of culverts. And many of the references will be updated to the new version...

Thanks for the link to the 2013 NCEES reference standards 04-13 update. I did not know about that. Here is a link to download the 2009 MUTCD. http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/pdf_index.htm

 

[ptatohed]

Cool, looks like the FHWA 'Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts' (HDHC) , like the FHWA 'MUTCD', is a free download. I couldn't find the publication number and date as listed on the NCEES syllabus but, this is the latest HDHC, I believe:

http://www.fhwa.dot...._number=7&id=13

 

[miloc]

Ptatohed, thanks for the links.

Does anyone knows an affordable place to print out the MUTCD (864 pages)?

Thanks.

 

[Kram]

I had to print like 2000 pages and it was cheaper for me to just buy a ~$80 duplex laser printer, toner, and paper than have it printed somewhere else. In the end, you would still have a laser printer if your cost is a little more than having it printed elsewhere.

 

[andyrich]

Thanks for the links. 864 pages...yikes! Maybe its better to use a reference that covers the MUTCD adequately??

 

[roadwreck]

In my opinion the MUTCD is not a reference you have to read cover to cover. I didn't read it, but I had it as a reference so that I could look information up in it