The Local Road Research Board publishes a wide range of transportation-related educational materials. Our most recent and popular guidebooks, manuals and courses are available below. For all research reports, go here.
Contact our staff at research.dot@state.mn.us for more information.
Fog Sealing Chip Sealed Roads Can Improve Performance
A best practices manual is now available for local agencies to improve the chip seal experience. New research explored the cost-effectiveness of fog sealing over chip sealed roads, the ability of fog sealing to improve chip retention and fog sealing application methods.
Strategies for Effective Roundabout Speed Reduction
This report provides a resource for engineers to identify and select appropriate speed-reduction treatments for high-speed approaches to roundabouts. The research examines best practices and techniques that are the most effective at lowering approach speed.
20 Tips to Up Your Social Media Game
This best practices guide is designed to help the average local transportation practitioner communicate about transportation and public works topics more effectively on social media. It includes examples and tips from peer agencies of all sizes that local agencies can use to improve communication to citizens.
Minnesota Snow and Ice Control Handbook for Snowplow Operators
The newly revised field handbook offers guidance for snow plow operators on tools, best practices, and limitations for snow and ice control.
Catch Basins and Manholes: Products, Installation, and Settlement and Heave Mitigation
a new guide provides current information about manhole and catch basin installation and maintenance practices for municipal and county engineers.
Expanding the Transportation Workforce: Tools for Local Agencies
New tools are available to help local agencies recruit, train, and retain workers in the short term, while others help promote career opportunities to students and feed the longer-term worker pipeline.
Full Depth Reclamation Resource Guide for Urban and Suburban Street Application
A new guidebook, video, and fact-sheet provides guidance on the use of full-depth reclamation for rehabilitating urban and suburban roads.
Bicycle Facility Implementation – Quick Reference Guide
A companion to the MnDOT Bicycle Facility Design Manual, this guide offers a quick reference to key resources, FAQs, and more related to bicycle facility selection, design, and operations.
GIS Tools and Apps – Integration with Asset Management
A Quick Start Guide offers guidance on how to get started using GIS tools for managing public works assets.
Pavement Preservation Guidance for Local Agencies
New pavement preservation guidance helps local road agencies review accessible and effective options for preserving the condition of local asphalt pavements.
Best Practices for Managing Utility Congestion Within Rights-of-Way
The guide focuses on the requirements of Minnesota statutes, including the powers they grant to local agencies to issue permits, require quality mapping and expect timely progress.
Guide to Converting Distressed Low-Volume Paved Roads to Unpaved Roads
A practitioner-ready guide for converting severely distressed low-volume paved roads to improved, easily maintained gravel roads. The guide includes decision-making tools and an online webinar for training
Asset Management Guide for Local Agencies
An introduction to all aspects of consolidated asset management for smaller departments, from getting started to an overview of software programs, the benefits of life-cycle cost analysis and the need for risk management.
Pedestrian Crosswalk Policy Development Guidelines
This quick reference guide helps local agencies select appropriate crosswalk treatments based on roadway type, vehicle volumes and posted speed limits.
Alternate Design Methods to Renew Lightly Traveled Paved Roads
Researchers showed that cold in-place recycling and full-depth reclamation with chip seals are often more cost-effective than full pavement reconstruction of rural asphalt roads. Check out the research report for other cost-effective alternatives.
Best Practices for Boulevard Turf Design and Maintenance
A new guidebook, video and handout provide best practices for successful establishment of boulevard turfgrass after road construction.
Gravel Road Management Tool
A new spreadsheet tool was designed to help local agencies manage their gravel roads. It can be used to track maintenance and construction data, as well as to track costs and optimize spending.
Pedestrian Crossings: Uncontrolled Locations
This guidebook recommends when to install marked crosswalks and other enhancements at uncontrolled locations based on a number of factors, including the average daily vehicle count, number of pedestrians, number of lanes, and average vehicle speed.
Base Stabilization Guidance and Additive Selection for Pavement Design and Rehabilitation
New guidebook available on base stabilization for new construction and Stabilized Full Depth Reclamation (SFDR) and the selection of suitable nonproprietary stabilization additives for individual specific projects.
Traffic Sign Maintenance/Management Handbook
The handbook is intended to guide local governments about recommended sign maintenance methods that will help them meet FHWA’s adopted retroreflectivity performance measures and implementation deadlines.