Minnesota’s transportation research governing boards put a new emphasis on financial benefits when selecting next year’s round of transportation research projects.
MnDOT’s Transportation Research Innovation Group (TRIG) and the Local Road Research Board announced their Fiscal Year 2016 funding awards this week after hearing proposals from researchers in several states. They selected 20 research proposals hall-marked by novel approaches to improving the environment, increasing transportation safety, improving construction methods and boosting the bottom line.
“We asked the principal investigator to present the safety and financial benefits up front, and how they can be implemented to improve the transportation system and economic viability of Minnesota,” said MnDOT Research Management Engineer Hafiz Munir. “We’re making a point early in the process to identify those potential benefits, quantify them and document them in our tracking system.”
Researchers will test new technology that could make crack-free pavements; find better, faster and less expensive ways to reclaim roads; and even explore how to use waste material from road construction projects as part of the landscaping to absorb water runoff.
Links are provided below to brief descriptions of each of the projects:
Bridges and Structures
Environment
- Concrete Grinding Residue: Its Effect on Roadside Vegetation and Soil Properties (MnDOT)
- Comparing Properties of Water Absorbing/Filtering Media for Bioslope/Bioswale Design (MnDOT)
Maintenance
- Salt Brine Blending to Optimize Deicing and Anti-Icing Performance and Cost Effectiveness, Phase III (MnDOT)
- Expanding the Success of Salt-Tolerant Roadside Turfgrasses through Innovation and Education (LRRB)
- Pothole Prevention and Innovative Repair (LRRB/MnDOT)
Materials and Construction
- Evaluation of Stabilized Full Depth Reclamation (LRRB/MnDOT)
- MnPAVE-Rigid 2.0 (MnDOT)
- A Mechanistic Design Approach for Novel Graphene Nanoplatelet (GNP) Reinforced Asphalt Pavements for Low Temperature Applications (MnDOT)
- Performance Monitoring of Olmsted County CR 117/104 (MnDOT)
- Slope Stabilization and Repair Solutions for Local Government Engineers (LRRB)
- Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Tool for Minnesota Pavements (LRRB)
Multimodal
- Exploring the Walking Tolerance of Transitway Users (MnDOT)
- Refining Return on Investment Methodology/Tool for MnPASS (MnDOT)
Policy and Planning
- The Futures Project: Planning for Technology Change (LRRB/MnDOT)
Traffic and Safety
- Examining Signing Options for Improving Safe Driving Behaviors in Work Zones (LRRB/MnDOT)
- Assessing the Impact of Pedestrian-Activated Crossing Systems (MnDOT)
- Development of Travel Time Reliability Measurement System (MnDOT)
- Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) Sensor and Controller Operation and Performance Comparison (MnDOT)
- Investigate the Effectiveness of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Technology to Trigger In-Vehicle Messages At Work Zones (MnDOT)
Crossroads 