While electric cars and buses are becoming more common, medium and heavy duty electric trucks are still in their infancy, and the nationwide infrastructure needs to support them still has to be determined.
In a new study, MnDOT will identify the electric charging infrastructure needed along Minnesota highway corridors to support clean freight transportation.
Assisted by many county agency staff, researchers collected and analyzed runoff from low-volume rural roads over two years to determine how their contaminants compared to those of high-volume roadways. Results documented that runoff from low-volume roads has a lower contaminant concentration and that ditches and swales can be used to effectively treat rural road runoff.
A recent study determined the effectiveness of a two-cell iron-enhanced stormwater filtration basin to remove phosphorus from highway stormwater runoff collected from 2012 to 2018. Researchers recommended design changes that would allow for more accurate monitoring of these filter basins.
Minnesota is experiencing warmer winters and an increase in freeze-thaw events may negatively impact pavement systems. However, the impacts of these recent climate changes on freeze-thaw cycles have not been well studied.
This article was originally published in Catalyst, August 2020.
Using “green” infrastructure is a useful strategy for handling city stormwater, which may contain deicers and other contaminants from streets and sidewalks. Choosing the right method and ensuring it doesn’t cause unforeseen damage, however, is another matter.
This article was originally published in Catalyst, August 2020.
By connecting measures of happiness to transportation, researchers are developing new metrics that can help cities prioritize infrastructure investments. In a new study, a research team that included Humphrey School of Public Affairs professor Yingling Fan found that air quality appears to be linked with a variety of emotional well-being (EWB) outcomes.
Climate change scenarios have been fairly well-tested and vetted. Moore et al. (2015) found that one of the noteworthy impacts on upper Midwest cities is an increase of storm magnitude of 39% (moderate scenario) to 163% (pessimistic scenario). However, the impact of these scenarios on stormwater infrastructure are not well understood and documented. There are some important financial decisions that need to be made for stormwater infrastructure in the present and near-future, requiring demonstration and discussion of the impacts of climate change on stormwater infrastructure.
Just in time for spring, new guidance is available from the Minnesota Local Research Board on the best irrigation methods to establish fresh turfgrass. Researchers tested five irrigation methods for watering new installations of salt-tolerant turfgrass. They developed an instructional course for contractors and guidance for homeowners to promote successful turfgrass installation.
This article was originally published in Catalyst, April 2020.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is exploring innovative ways to filter pollutants from stormwater runoff and meet permit requirements for construction projects. In a recent study, U of M researchers documented the performance of an iron-enhanced ditch check filter to remove phosphates from stormwater. They found that the filter was effective, though its performance decreased over time.
This article was originally published in Catalyst, April 2020.
Vibrant green grass along roadways is a common sight across urban and rural landscapes in Minnesota and many other states, but its survival is a significant challenge—especially in cold climates. Roadway salt and other stressors can cause turfgrass installations to fail, requiring expensive reseeding or sodding efforts.
Crossroads 