Category Archives: research

General research posts.

research, Traffic and Safety

New Project: Can Enhancing Color on Dynamic Message Signs Improve Clarity and Safety?

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The majority of MnDOT’s dynamic message signs (DMS) are equipped to produce full color/full matrix messaging. Current signage regulations refer to retroreflective colors for static signs, but MnDOT aims to extend and modify existing standards and guidelines by exploring differences between static signs and DMS.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

This research will systematically explore and optimize the use of different colors and color-coding schemes in DMSs to resemble the retro-reflectivity of static signs and examine how legibility, visibility, and effectiveness can be improved. Optimizing DMS colors to mimic retroreflective static sign colors and adapting them to myriad environmental conditions, MnDOT can realize reduced driver distractions, improved information comprehension, and increased safety. The project will also support improved decision-making processes by providing evidence-based guidance for future standards and practices for MnDOT beyond.

A pilot study will be conducted to assess the recommended color settings against benchmark real-world conditions. Empirical data on the new configurations will measure their performance, confirm their effectiveness and identify any adjustments required prior to broader implementation.

“Not all color is created equal! As illustrated in the three graphics below, federal standards for reflective sheeting and striping, NEMA standards for colors, and the triangle of visible light LED lights can produce do not correspond,” said Terry Haukom, senior engineer with MnDOT’s Regional Transportation Management Center. “This variance has caused the signage industry to display colors that meet federal standards but do not look correct to the human eye. In addition to exploring this incongruity, our research is focused on understanding and comparing what typical travelers understand and expect when viewing traffic information on the web, and whether the travel time numbers displayed on our signs can give drivers a better understanding of the travel time to the listed destination if it was displayed with a color scheme that leveraged web-based maps.”

The Objectives:

  1. Standardize the emitted colors from MnDOT’s DMS according to NEMA TS4 and MUTCD specifications, ensuring they match the retroreflected colors of static signs and align with current LED capabilities
  2. Document the public’s perception of optimum color if different from standards based on human factors feedback
  3. Document the public’s perception of dark pixel around graphics on emitted colors on DMS
  4. Research and document the public’s perception of emitted colors on DMS compared to static sign messages, and explore the incorporation of web-based travel time map colors to enhance visibility and clarity, especially with colors like amber

Project Details:

Details of the research study work plan and timeline are subject to change.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

Automated Vehicle Technology, Policy and Planning, research

Webinar shares industry and international perspectives on AI integration

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May 26, 2026

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how transportation and infrastructure projects are planned and delivered—and how information about them is shared with the public and stakeholders. A recent CTS webinar highlighted examples in these areas, from a large-scale urban development in Finland to communications and public engagement practices among U.S. agencies. 

Some transportation agencies and project teams have reported that they value AI for its ability to manage and make sense of large, complex data. Large infrastructure efforts generate massive amounts of information across design, construction, finance, safety, and public input. AI can connect and interpret this data and improve efficiency in routine tasks.

AI can also support more consistent and informed decision making. AI tools, such as project-specific knowledge networks, can make sense of scheduling risks, sustainability gaps, or recurring public concerns that might otherwise go unnoticed. These tools can improve service to the public by enabling faster responses through chatbots and translation.

Nicole Moon, strategic communications lead for engineering consultant HDR’s highways and roads division, described how AI supports transportation industry professionals in their day-to-day work. Rather than replacing human judgment, communications and public relations professionals use AI tools to draft content and streamline workflows, often improving efficiency, she said.

“Whatever day-to-day problems you have, you could probably find a way to use AI to solve it, but I would challenge people to consider whether that’s the right approach,” Moon said. “There are risks. As a communicator, I don’t want to lose the human side of what we do—that connection piece.”

To offer an international perspective, Tomi Kotala of the City of Helsinki’s public works department and Pieti Marjavaara of consulting and design firm AINS Group presented on the Infrastructure Programme Helsinki, an initiative focused on building a more sustainable city through light-rail expansion and transit-oriented development. The nearly decade-long project is set to run from 2025 through 2033.

Marjavaara introduced “Project AI,” a structured framework for integrating AI into the Infrastructure Programme Helsinki. 

“First we teach people what AI is, and then we teach AI how to build in Helsinki,” Marjavaara said. He emphasized the importance of training staff in both the ethical use of AI and the practical adaptation of tools to fit project goals.

Kotala and Marjavaara both stressed that AI should be understood as part of a broader commitment to sustainable and ethical development.

“We want to be carbon aware, nature positive, and resource wise,” Kotala said. “We want to be harm-free for people and the environment, both during construction and in the final product.”

In their daily work, staff interact with a project-specific AI chatbot embedded within a broader “context sphere,” also known as a knowledge network, that draws from live Slack conversations, formal documents, task logs, and other project data. The chatbot, nicknamed “Bob,” uses this shared context to generate informed responses in its conversations with staff.

“We want to take the next step. So that’s why we are bringing AI, and, of course, we want to be responsible … [and use] it in a sustainable way and an ethical way I,” Marjavaara said. “We want everybody to be part of our AI journey.” 

This webinar’s discussion built on CTS’s December 2025 webinar, Preparing Transportation Professionals for AI Integration.

Watch the recording.

—Olivia Hanson, CTS associate editor

Policy and Planning, research

Preparing the Transportation Workforce for Emerging Technologies: A Guide

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Transportation agencies are facing rapid technological change—from artificial intelligence and machine learning to connected and automated vehicles, data governance, cybersecurity, advanced communications, and emerging analytical tools. These technologies are transforming how transportation systems are planned, operated, and maintained, while simultaneously reshaping workforce needs. This guide from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program offers practical strategies and resources to recruit, develop, and retain a workforce capable of adopting and leveraging emerging technologies.

Industry Challenges

As new technologies proliferate, agencies struggle with a number of overlapping challenges.

  • Outdated organizational structures and siloed departments
  • Skill gaps in advanced technical areas
  • Difficulty competing with private-sector salaries
  • Limited awareness of transportation tech careers among students
  • Pipeline shortages due to retirements and evolving skill demands

The guide categorizes these challenges into three core areas: Institutional Agility, Staffing Adaptability, and Workforce Pipeline.

1. Institutional Agility

Agencies must evolve organizational flexibility to integrate new technologies into their existing practices. There are a number of steps they can take to help with this.

  • Build multidisciplinary teams to break down silos and improve collaboration across planning, operations, IT, and field staff.
  • Modernize organizational structures and culture, including job rotations, co-location, communities of practice, refreshed licensure requirements, and skills-based management.
  • Develop business cases for new positions, such as data analysts, AI specialists, cybersecurity roles, and system engineers.
  • Enhance benefits packages beyond salary—highlight flexibility, professional development, hybrid schedules, innovation opportunities, and mentorship.

2. Staffing Adaptability

While the agency must modernize its processes, it must also provide a way for staff to develop the required skills to navigate new requirements. Should they hire, contract, or provide development channels for existing staff? The report has some suggestions.

  • Identify and formalize emerging positions across traffic operations, data analysis, IT/OT, hardware maintenance, policy/innovation, and design/construction.
  • Use a decision tool to determine whether to upskill current staff, hire new staff, or outsource work based on urgency, core function, and internal capacity.
  • Develop and promote new career paths that incorporate technical and soft skills, including leadership, communication, and innovation.
  • Leverage vendor contracts to include staff training, system handoff support, and access to vendor training sessions.
  • Recruit from adjacent industries with transferable skills—IT, telecommunications, military, emergency management, gaming, and manufacturing.
  • Connect staff to professional organizations and national training programs to keep technology skills current.

3. Long-term Workforce Pipeline

In addition to responding to immediate needs in the organization, the agency should look at strengthening the long-term talent pipeline with education partners.

  • Build partnerships with K–12, community colleges, trade programs, and universities through advisory committees, career fairs, mentorship, and public awareness campaigns.
  • Expand internships, apprenticeships, faculty exchanges, and hands-on training opportunities in emerging technology areas.
  • Collaborate on curriculum modernization, integrating interdisciplinary programs that blend engineering, IT, data science, and policy.
  • Invest in or share technology labs, equipment, and research opportunities to expose learners to real-world systems.
  • Support research initiatives that incorporate workforce development, outreach, and student engagement.

Conclusion

Emerging technologies offer transformative benefits for transportation systems but realizing those benefits hinges on the workforce. Agencies must take proactive, structured steps to evolve their organizations, strengthen recruitment and retention strategies, and build sustainable talent pipelines. This guide provides a flexible, practical framework to help you look at your organization and think about how some of these ideas apply to it, and how they may help you develop your own strategy for improving how you prepare for emerging technologies.

Read the complete report:

NCHRP Research Report 1174 (website or PDF)

Additional resources

Environment, research

Protecting Wildlife Along Minnesota Roads

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This week is Wildlife Casualty Count Week of Action in Minnesota. It highlights the impacts transportation systems have on wildlife and raises awareness of wildlife deaths resulting from vehicle collisions. Information about this effort can be found at: Wildlife Casualty Count Week

At MnDOT, we are committed to protecting wildlife through established practices and thoughtful planning. MnDOT works to minimize and mitigate impacts to protected fish, wildlife, and plant species in the design and construction of transportation projects. Read more about MnDOT’s commitment to protected species here: Wildlife – Environmental Stewardship

MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation supports research projects that advance wildlife protection and environmental conservation. These projects help inform how wildlife considerations are incorporated into transportation planning and construction. Explore projects guiding this work below:

Goats can play a role in multi-pronged restoration of buckthorn-invaded woodlands | University of Minnesota

Identifying Deer-Vehicle Collision Concentrations in Minnesota

Species From Feces: A New Tool to Identify Bats in Culverts and on Bridges

Assessing a New Tool for Early Detection of Endangered Turtles on Proposed Transportation Projects

Reduce Vehicle-Animal Collisions with Installation of Small Animal Exclusion Fencing

Follow MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to receive the latest updates in transportation research.

Policy and Planning, research

New Project: Understanding How Parking Space Requirements Affect Vehicle Miles Traveled

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Minimum parking requirements were established in the mid-20th century to mitigate increased motor vehicle congestion but have the potential to contribute to urban sprawl, hinder development, and curb incentives for drivers to choose alternative travel modes. Eliminating or reducing these requirements can help remove excess parking supply, increase alternative modes such as transit ridership, reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and enhance economic productivity. Decreasing VMTs directly mitigates emissions by reducing car travel distances and many VMT reduction strategies hold additional benefits such as increasing accessibility and reducing traffic congestion.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

VMT reduction also plays a significant role in Minnesota’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. New legislation passed in 2023 requires reducing VMT up to 20% per capita by 2050. The impacts of parking space requirements or long-term benefits and challenges associated with modifying or removing these requirements have not been studied in Minnesota. This project will investigate, document, and advance the understanding of minimum parking requirements in Minnesota and the region and their impact on VMT reduction.

Researchers aim to establish recommended values based on differing types of land use and community context, e.g., urban, suburban, and rural within Minnesota. Specifically, this project will examine the long-term benefits and challenges presented by reducing and/or removing currently established parking space requirements with new or redevelopment projects, and opportunities for parking space reallocation with existing uses.

“This research aims to fill a critical knowledge gap, will modernize minimum parking requirements reduce vehicle miles traveled, and provide communities with more flexible land‑use options,” said Mark Vizecky, state aid operations engineer, State Aid for Local Transportation at MnDOT.

The Objectives:

  1. Perform literature reviews of historical and current practices, policy and requirements regarding parking space requirements in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest and of current best practices regarding parking space requirements and the impact parking has on land use and travel behavior.
  2. Interview local agencies and the League of Minnesota Cities to gain insight into current parking space practices, policies, and requirements across Minnesota.
  3. Conduct an online survey of business stakeholders to assess the potential economic impacts of parking policy changes regarding customer behavior, business density, operating costs, opportunity cost and sunk cost, and accessibility.
  4. Conduct a travel behavior and mode choice survey using a diverse group of daily commuters from Minnesota’s urban, suburban, and rural communities to understand the influence of parking policies on traveler behavior.
  5. Analyze survey responses using discrete choice modeling to develop utility equations for different parking requirements, which will help predict mode shifts and associated VMT reductions.
  6. Utilize travel demand model data from eight metropolitan planning organizations in Minnesota to assess how changes in parking requirements could impact VMT reduction.
  7. Analyze the sensitivity and data requirements for a parking space requirement that will be effective for local use and develop a toolkit for local municipalities to assess parking needs and the economic impacts of parking policies in local communities.

Project Details

  • Start Date: 06/02/2025
  • Estimated Completion Date: 04/30/2027
  • Funding: Local Road Research Board (LRRB)
  • Principal Investigator: Kakan Dey
  • Co-Principal Investigators: Subasish Das, Ali Zockaie
  • Technical Liaison: Mark Vizecky

Details of the research study work plan and timeline are subject to change.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

research

Research Partnership Award honors mobility planning app

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Reprinted from CTS News May 6, 2026

The limited public transit infrastructure often found in rural areas can make it difficult for residents to access essential services such as healthcare, education, and grocery shopping—especially those without personal vehicles or who are unable to drive. Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a platform that integrates multiple transportation options and booking/e-ticketing with a smartphone app. While MaaS has primarily been developed and deployed in urban areas, it also offers potential benefits for rural area residents, such as improving transportation access, reducing social isolation, and simplifying the passenger experience.

A study sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) assessing the benefits of deploying its MaaS app in southern Minnesota was honored with this year’s CTS Robert C. Johns Research Partnership Award.

MnDOT’s MaaS platform was implemented in southern Minnesota in March 2023 to streamline and promote transit use, incorporating features such as interactive trip planning and mobile payment. The study area is served by seven different transit agencies, covering seven small cities and the surrounding rural areas.  

Led by University of Minnesota Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering associate professor and CTS scholar Alireza Khani, the research team aimed to learn how residents benefited from having access to a variety of mobility options through the MaaS platform, as well as if the platform increased transit ridership and how it could be improved. 

“This work represents a collaborative effort to better understand how people, especially those in rural Minnesota without many transportation options, might engage with emerging transportation technologies, mainly mobility-as-a-service,” Khani said when accepting the award. “This project is about people, their mobility options, their choices, and how technology can support more efficient, equitable, and sustainable transportation.”

The research team worked closely with MnDOT’s project management team and the platform development team to address the unique challenges of rural MaaS. Recognizing that existing data was insufficient to capture rural transit nuances, the team developed specialized data-collection spreadsheets and protocols. By training local transit service providers to use these tools for one week for both pre- and post- MaaS deployment phases, the team obtained primary data to analyze rider behavior across both fixed-route and demand-responsive transit (DRT). They also used the data to evaluate equity and service quality for disadvantaged populations. This collaboration between the University and the providers ensured that the MaaS implementation was not only technically sound but also tailored to the specific operational realities of southern Minnesota’s transit landscape.

Analysis of booking and ride data provided a clearer picture of how people use transit and how both riders and providers felt about their experiences, informing areas for improvement by deploying MaaS. Results showed a notable ridership increase of 4.2 percent for DRT and paratransit services following MaaS deployment, compared to a marginal 0.2 percent increase in the control group. In addition, a before-and-after study of trip location data showed MaaS’s ability to boost transit service rates in areas with lower-income residents.

“This is a great example of academic partnership with the public and private sector in a really practical way,” McFadden said during the awards ceremony. “We have brought rural transit up to parity with a lot of the technology that has been common in urban settings for about the last decade. This project has been a leader and driven both the public and private sector to bring along our rural transit systems. And so everybody is getting access to the same information.”

The research results provided a thorough evaluation of the pilot and have been key in shaping future rural transit projects. The evaluation served as a proof-of-concept for MnDOT, directly informing the decision to expand the MaaS system to the entire state. Additionally, the methods and findings have been widely shared with the professional community and received national attention, “highlighting the broader relevance of what started here in Minnesota,” Khani added. By bridging the gap between a regional pilot and a statewide initiative, this research serves as a strategic roadmap for modernizing rural transit in Minnesota and beyond.

The Research Partnership Award is named in honor of former CTS director Robert Johns. The award is presented annually to a team of individuals who have collaboratively drawn on their diverse expertise to achieve significant impacts on transportation.

Clockwise, from left: Robert C. Johns with research team members Alireza Khani, Elliott McFadden, Kwangho Baek, and Hannah DeBruin

Project team

  • University of Minnesota: Alireza Khani, Kwangho Baek, Hannah DeBruin
  • MnDOT: Elliott McFadden
  • Federal Transit Administration: Steve Mortensen
  • Cambridge Systematics: Raphael Barcham

—Amy Friebe, CTS senior editorial manager

Additional reading

Automated Vehicle Technology, research

Rough roads? How everyday cars might help flag trouble spots

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Reprinted from CTS News, May 11, 2026

To assess pavement conditions throughout the state, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) uses a van specially equipped with advanced technology that measures roughness, cracking, and other signs of distress on a roadway’s surface. That system has its limitations, however. The vans cost about $800,000 each, and the data collection requires extensive coordination, trained personnel, and sensitive equipment that is limited to operating in warmer summer months. In addition, the data collection takes place once a year on MnDOT routes and every other year on County State Aid Highways.

van equipped with technology to measure pavement conditions
Mn/DOT’s Pathway Services, Inc. Digital Inspection Vehicle (DIV)

Could there be a more efficient and more timely way to assess the state’s road pavement conditions? To find out, researchers at the University of Minnesota (UMN) explored whether data already being generated by everyday vehicles could enhance MnDOT’s current method. 

To test this, UMN researchers equipped study vehicles with a simple plug-in scanner that captured onboard diagnostics data, explains CTS scholar Raphael Stern, the project’s co-investigator and UMN associate professor of civil, environmental, and geo- engineering. Modern vehicles already have sensors that collect this data, which can be used to monitor and optimize vehicle performance. That same data could provide clues to how a vehicle is responding to pavement beneath it, he says.

“If we could show that this can be done in Minnesota, MnDOT or local agencies can implement this technology,” says lead investigator and CTS scholar Mihai Marasteanu. “They could have a very good idea about the conditions of pavement every day—not just once a year.”

For this project, researchers adapted methodologies from Denmark’s Live Road Assessment (LiRA) project, considered to be the most comprehensive effort to use onboard vehicle sensors for continuous pavement monitoring. That initiative provided insights into both the technical feasibility and practical challenges of extracting meaningful pavement quality metrics from standard vehicle data.

Researchers tested a similar approach on three routes in Minnesota to capture a diverse range of pavement conditions under real-world driving scenarios. One route was a 15-mile loop in the northeast Twin Cities metropolitan area that covered urban and suburban road segments with consistent traffic flow. Another was a 96-mile loop between Minneapolis and Northfield, comprising a mix of urban, suburban, and rural roadways. The third was the 2.6-mile loop at MnROAD, MnDOT’s research facility near Albertville.

The plug-in scanner collected data on vehicle location, speed, and 3D acceleration; the last measures the intensity and complexity of vibrations transmitted from the road through the vehicle’s suspension system.

Across the three routes, researchers collected more than 9,000 data points. Machine learning models used 694 data values to predict pavement quality using the International Roughness Index (IRI) for a given pavement section.

Researchers compared and validated predictions against data from MnDOT and a commercial pavement‑monitoring system. Results demonstrated a correlation across diverse road conditions, although accuracy decreased in areas where pavement conditions changed quickly or road surfaces had defects. Predictions were also more accurate on highway segments than local roads because of variable urban driving environments.

Of the eight learning models evaluated, one achieved 94 percent accuracy on predicting pavement roughness. The performance of each model varied based on environmental factors, data collection conditions, and road types.

The research successfully demonstrated that vehicle sensor data can effectively support continuous infrastructure monitoring, Marasteanu says. “It could save money in the long run and give a much more accurate representation of pavement conditions over the entire year,” he notes.

The project, funded by MnDOT, included implementation guidelines for large-scale deployment, equipment standardization protocols, data-processing pipelines, and risk-mitigation strategies.

MnDOT is now exploring how to extend the research beyond the study vehicles, says Curt Turgeon, director of MnDOT’s Office of Materials and Road Research. One way will be to use commercial data sources that already collect similar information from everyday vehicles. For example, NIRA Dynamics, headquartered in Sweden, partners with automakers Volkswagen and Volvo to collect anonymized sensor data from consumer vehicles. These data streams are captured continuously throughout the year.

“MnDOT has a contract with NIRA to determine how this data might enhance our pavement management decisions as well as potentially document snow and ice response,” he says. “They also have a module that may flag potholes or other in-road hazards based upon vehicles swerving.”

—Peter Raeker, contributing writer

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Continue reading Rough roads? How everyday cars might help flag trouble spots →
Materials and Construction, research

New Project: Using Satellite Technology to Monitor Ground Deformations Adjacent to Roads

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Geohazards generated by ground movements (e.g., landslides, subsidence, sink holes, etc.) cause substantial damage and interruptions to Minnesota’s highway network. Reactive monitoring approaches and borehole-based instrument sensing both have limited spatial coverage and are limited to sites already known to be in distress. This research explores the establishment of continuous satellite-based InSAR monitoring of ground deformations adjacent to roads on a broad geographic scale that would enable detection of pending hazards before they develop into large failures.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

This warning system will combine data from high spatial resolution InSAR measurements, optical remote sensing data, and deep learning algorithms to automatically detect and continuously monitor deformations across large spatial regions. The research team will create MnDOT training modules to demonstrate the utility of the deformation data and automated warning system.

InSAR monitoring is expected to improve the safety and reliability of Minnesota’s transportation system and reduce costs and delays associated with emergency repairs. It would also support the state’s geotechnical asset management program by assessing the feasibility of InSAR for tracking performance of geotechnical assets (e.g. retaining walls, slopes, pavement foundations, etc.).

“This research project will help us determine if InSAR technology is ready for prime time for transportation agencies as a remote sensing tool to track performance of assets,“ said Raul Velasquez, geomechanics research & deployment engineer at MnDOT’s Office of Materials and Road Research.

The Objectives:

  1. Develop an automated warning system that can alert MnDOT staff of areas where abnormal ground deformation (e.g., landslides, subsidence, and sinkholes) is occurring along Minnesota interstate highways, allowing them to proactively intervene.
  2. Assist MnDOT in continuing to build its geotechnical asset management program by assessing the feasibility of InSAR for tracking performance of geotechnical assets such as retaining walls, slopes, and pavement foundations.

Project Details

Details of the research study work plan and timeline are subject to change.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOT’s Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

Environment, Maintenance Operations, research

Goats can play a role in multi-pronged restoration of buckthorn-invaded woodlands

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Reprinted from MnLTAP News, May 4, 2026

Goats are increasingly being used in efforts to manage invasive common buckthorn in Midwestern woodlands. New research demonstrates when and how they are best used.

Continue reading Goats can play a role in multi-pronged restoration of buckthorn-invaded woodlands →