The Local Road Research Board has funded 26 new research and implementation projects to address issues facing the Minnesota transportation community, including identifying deicing alternatives, understanding truck weight impacts, and pedestrian safety.
Last year, the state’s city and county engineers proposed more than 65 ideas for possible funding in 2024. In addition to the 15 academic research projects, the LRRB funded 11 consultant proposals through its research implementation program.
“We are excited to move forward with these research projects,” said Lon Aune, board chair. “We appreciate the valuable input we received from city and country transportation practitioners throughout Minnesota. Their partnership really makes a difference in our work.”
Local agency partners are encouraged to stay involved by serving on a technical advisory panel or signing up for project alerts. To receive email updates about a specific project, “subscribe” to the project webpage below.
If you are interested in volunteering for a technical advisory panel, please email research.dot@state.mn.us.
2024 LRRB Research and Implementation Projects
Environmental
Maintenance Operations
Materials & Construction
- Impact of Asphalt Lift Thickness on Pavement Density and Durability
- Long-term Field Performance Evaluation of Chip Seals
Multimodal
Policy & Planning
- Analyzing Truck Size and Weight Impacts on Vehicle Miles Traveled
- Transitioning to EV Fleets: Best Practices and a Decision Tool
- Best Practice for Oversized/Overweight Vehicles
- Use of MNCORS to Support AV Operations in Rural Minnesota
Traffic & Safety
- Roadside Feature Placement and Pedestrian Safety on Low and Intermediate Speed Roads
- Speed Impacts from Roundabouts and Other Traffic Control Devices*
- Effect of Centerlines on Prevailing Traffic Speeds of Low-speed, Two-lane, Two-way Roads in Urban Contexts*
- Roundabouts, J-turns, etc. – Understanding Their Economic Impacts*
- User Understanding of Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon Operation
- Rural Intersection Enhancement and Driver Behavior Study
Implementation
- Precast vs. Cast in Place
- Texas Underseal
- Pedestrian Crossings
- Guide for Commercial Driver’s License Certification
- Rule/Guidelines for Prescriptive ROW
- The Future of Weigh Tickets
- Winter Maintenance – A Deicing Products User Guide
- Roadside Vegetation Management
- Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity
- Crash Benefit of Non-Motorized Facilities
- Patching (Asphalt) Best Practices
*Indicates joint funding by the Local Road Research Board and State Research Program. See MnDOT website for additional research projects, funded solely by the State Research Program.