Christine E. Carrigan, PE, PhD

Dr. Carrigan has been active in transportation engineering for more than 24 years.  She received her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1997 and began her career in civil engineering as a highway designer working for two consulting firms and the Massachusetts DOT.  She was responsible, during these engagements, for the design of highway geometric improvements; the design of highway reconstruction and maintenance projects; the design of signalized and unsignalized intersections and interchanges; the preparation of temporary traffic control plans; construction and maintenance inspection; and preparation of contract documents.  Dr. Carrigan has a wide variety of real-world highway design, construction, and maintenance experience.

Dr. Carrigan gained close to ten years of design and construction experience before pursuing a Master of Science degree in 2008 and a PhD in 2010 in Civil Engineering with a focus on roadside and highway safety from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 

Dr. Carrigan formed a research consulting business with two partners in 2010 and has subsequently been almost exclusively focused on roadside and highway safety research.  Dr. Carrigan has or is currently conducting research funded by the National Academy of Science's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and a variety of other government and industry sponsors. 

Dr. Carrigan's active research interests include the in-service performance of roadside features and hazards; the development of models from crash data to represent the impact of design changes on crash frequency and severity; the development of roadside design guidance; the cost-benefit and risk-analysis of highway and roadside designs; and the development of cost-effective and risk analysis design tools. 

Dr. Carrigan has developed design guidance for inclusion in national publications such as the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide and the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Specification.  She has developed models for inclusion in the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual.  Dr. Carrigan has consulted on the development of roadside design and highway safety guidance including bridge rail selection guidelines, median and roadside barrier selection and placement guidelines, and pier protection guidelines.  She is currently developing guidance for the conduct of ISPEs.  She is a member of the Transportation Research Board Committee on Roadside Design and the Committee on Geometric Design.  Dr. Carrigan is the chair of the In-Service Performance Evaluation (ISPE) subcommittee.  She is a registered professional engineer the States of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and has an NCEES model law record.