Development of MnROAD
Planning for the Minnesota road test facility now known as the Minnesota Road Research Project, or MnROAD, began in the mid-1980’s when technical experts from across the nation came together to help the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) design a comprehensive pavement and materials engineering research facility. The key goal of the effort was to build a test facility where extensive research could be conducted over a long period of time under real traffic and environmental conditions. The research program developed by the team was designed to find solutions to complex pavement design and performance challenges, including many related to Minnesota’s climate.
Mn/DOT was motivated to undertake this significant investment in research because of the State’s more than $100 million yearly investment in pavements and the knowledge that even incremental improvements in design and maintenance would yield significant savings for taxpayers and users. Completed in 1994 at a total cost of roughly $25 million, MnROAD began operations as the most sophisticated independently operated pavement test facility of its type in the world. It is one of only a handful of research facilities where scientists and engineers can carry out long-term research on materials and construction techniques under real world conditions.
Since gathering its first data more than a decade ago, MnROAD has achieved
a solid return on investment, with estimated savings on materials and
maintenance costs statewide easily outweighing the cost of constructing
and operating the facility.
In the course of a decade of operation, MnROAD hosted numerous experiments
on a wide range of topics, providing unique insight into the performance
of both traditional and innovative road construction.
The creation of TERRA coincides with the beginning of MnROAD’s second phase of operations and the substantial reconstruction and augmentation of the facility’s sensor network.