Minnesota Department of Transportation

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Research & Innovation

Academic Research Solicitation

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MnDOT and LRRB Research Funding Awards

The Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Steering Committee and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board have announced funding awards for the CY2022/FY2024 academic transportation research Request for Proposals (RFP).

The following proposals have been selected for funding. Most projects are anticipated to begin July 2023 or sooner.

Click on a project hyperlink below to sign up for project updates. To volunteer for a project’s advisory panel, email research.dot@state.mn.us. 

Note: Proposals from responding universities are private until contracts are signed. See corresponding need statements (left column) for further information about most funded projects.

Need Statement Project Title Principal Investigator University Sponsor
Bridges & Structures
NS-673 Assessing the Need for Floodplain Culverts Based on Geomorphology Jessica Kozarek University of Minnesota MnDOT
NS-672 Ice Loading on Piers for Minnesota’s Bridges Jessica Kozarek University of Minnesota MnDOT
NS-671 Correlation Between Deck Patching Quantities and Chloride Concentration Levels Qindan (Chindan) Huang Marquette University MnDOT
NS-669 Understanding Causes of Concrete Culvert Pipe Joint Separation Brock Hedegaard University of Minnesota Duluth MnDOT
NS-670 Understanding Driving Causes of Bridge Replacement Başak Bektaş Minnesota State University, Mankato Joint
NS-674 Deck Reinforcement Detailing and Concrete Mix Additives to Reduce Bridge Deck Cracking Brock Hedegaard University of Minnesota Duluth Joint
Environmental
Unsolicited Protection of Precious Waters from Road Salt: Mitigation Through Roadside Ditch Capture Stephen Druschel Minnesota State University Mankato MnDOT
NS-687 Mitigating Community Harms of Dense Highway Infrastructure "Spaghetti Junctions" Camila Fonseca-Sarmiento University of Minnesota Joint
NS-675 Evaluation of Conditions that Cause Negative Environmental Impacts When Using Recycled Concrete Aggregate Qingli Dai Michigan Technological University MnDOT
NS-676 Development of Biochar Specification Criteria as Soil Amendment for Slopes, Conveyances and Stormwater Treatment Systems Brian Barry University of Minnesota Duluth Joint
NS-690 Assessment of Efficacy and Environmental Effects of Sodium Chloride Alternatives Bo Hu University of Minnesota LRRB
KB1 Wet Pond Modeling for Contaminant Retention and Maintenance John Gulliver University of Minnesota LRRB
Equity
NS-695 Advancing Equity in Capital Investment Decision-Making Camila Fonseca-Sarmiento University of Minnesota Joint
Maintenance Operations
NS-677 Human-Centered Testing of Rear-Facing Display to Reduce Vehicle Collisions with Snowplows Nichole Morris University of Minnesota Joint
NS-691 Fleet – Life Cycle Katherine Madson Iowa State University Joint
Materials & Construction
NS-679 Novel Durability Screening Method for Stabilized Geomaterials Bora Cetin Michigan State University MnDOT
Unsolicited Using Electric Vehicle Onboard Data for Pavement Quality Assessment and Management Mihai Marasteanu University of Minnesota MnDOT
NS-696 Pavement Design: Performance of Base versus Subbase Erol Tutumluer University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Joint
NS-689 Use of Plastics in Road Materials (Paving) Halil Ceylan Iowa State University Joint
NS-688 Sawing and Sealing Joints in Bituminous Pavements to Control Cracking Mihai Marasteanu University of Minnesota LRRB
KB5 Investigation on Mix Design of Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Materials Jialiang Le University of Minnesota LRRB
Multimodal
NS-681 Assessing the Deterioration of Pedestrian Assets Inya Nlenanya Iowa State University MnDOT
Policy & Planning
KB2 Impacts of Shared Mobility on Infrastructure usage, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Accessibility Michael Levin University of Minnesota LRRB
Traffic & Safety
NS-683 School Times Impact on Students Walking or Biking to School: Safe Routes to School Michael Levin University of Minnesota MnDOT
NS-686 Enhanced Safety of Highway Construction Site using Low Cost, Wearable Sensor Network Youjin Jang North Dakota State University MnDOT
NS-684 Improving Safety for People Walking and Biking at Roundabouts Peter Savolainen Michigan State University Joint
NS-685 Behavioral Investigation of Temporary and Permanent Pedestrian Infrastructure Curtis Craig University of Minnesota Joint
NS-694 Right-Turn Lane Safety Improvements for Pedestrians Timothy Gates Michigan State University LRRB

Updated: January, 2023