January 2008 – Vol. 2 No. 1 Partnering for Roadway Innovation

TERRA E-News is a quarterly electronic newsletter of the Transportation Engineering and Road Research Alliance. TERRA E-News brings you the latest research on pavement, materials, and related transportation engineering challenges, including issues related to cold climates.

Member News

Member Profile: Michigan Tech

TERRA recently welcomed Michigan Tech (Michigan Technological University) as a new member organization. Lawrence Sutter, professor and director of both the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI) and the University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (MiSTI), and assistant professor Jacob Hiller represent Michigan Tech on the TERRA board.

MTTI, established in 1998 to link Michigan Tech researchers and the Michigan Department of Transportation, provides organizational structure and a multidisciplinary environment for transportation-related research, education and training, product development, outreach, and technology transfer. These activities are coordinated through six focused working groups: transportation structures, transportation materials, transportation systems, social aspects of transportation, transportation and the environment, and transportation technology transfer.

MTTI partners with individual researchers and other centers and organizations at Michigan Tech. These centers include: the Centers for Structural Durability and the Transportation Materials Research Center, both funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT); the Institute for Aggregate Research and the University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure, both funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT); Michigan's Local Technical Assistance Program; and the Region 5 Tribal Technical Assistance Program.

MTTI joined TERRA to develop transportation partnerships throughout the Midwest. MTTI was one of the original supporters of the Frozen Four, which encouraged cooperation and communication between researchers and the DOTs in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois.

"Transportation structures, materials, and technology transfer continue to be our areas of strength. An increasing need for innovative solutions that incorporate sustainability have led us to broaden our approach to include social aspects, systems, and the environment when addressing the transportation industry's needs," Sutter said. "Our goal in joining TERRA is to foster new partnerships and collaborations to develop these areas and offer our current strengths to others."

Current and future MTTI research projects, which reflect the core competencies of the faculty and staff within the organization, include the following topics:

• Further development and integration of RoadSoft GIS asset management software is ongoing.
• Materials researchers are exploring the use of fly ash, cement kiln dust, and blast furnace slag to improve product performance while reducing our dependency on diminishing natural resources.
• Deicing chemicals are being evaluated for their impacts on the durability of portland cement concrete (PCC).
• Broader acceptance and use of warm-mix asphalt technologies in northern regions is being explored.
• Faculty in the Forrest Resources and Environmental Science School are exploring the ecological impacts of transportation infrastructure on wildlife and vegetation.
• In the next year, Michigan Tech researchers will begin development of a rail transportation research program to augment the educational activities of the recently established interdisciplinary program in railroad engineering and urban transit.

Sutter foresees smart infrastructure, in which embedded sensors report on the condition of the structure and the level of service, as a major component of pavement and infrastructure research. "Increased emphasis on sustainability by integrating economic, environmental, and societal impacts into the pavement type and the maintenance and rehabilitation selection process will also be important," he said.

Member Highlights

RMC Research and Education Foundation announced the publication of a study on Portland Cement Pervious Concrete Pavement: Field Performance Investigation on Parking Lot and Roadway Pavements (2.8 MB PDF). The report includes a long-term field performance investigation on the use of pervious concrete, particularly in areas where freeze-thaw conditions are prevalent. Though the use of pervious concrete has increased significantly in southern climates over the last decade, northern locations have not as widely embraced its use due to questions about its performance in cold weather. This new study validates that pervious concrete has performed well in freeze-thaw environments, with little maintenance required.

RMC Research and Education Foundation also announced the publication of NRMCA’s Plant Inspector’s Guide. The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) administers a plant certification program that ensures production facilities used to manufacture concrete are in compliance with industry standards and are capable of furnishing quality concrete. The guide will be used as a basis to qualify inspectors to conduct plant inspections. The Plant Inspector’s Guide can be purchased from the NRMCA for $50.00 ($150.00 for non-members).

The Pavement Research Institute (PRI) has developed a two-page color brochure promoting graduate studies in pavement engineering at the University of Minnesota. The brochure lists key contacts within the University's civil engineering department, relevant Web sites, University faculty with interests in pavements, possible graduate degree programs, fields of graduate research related to pavements, and enrollment information. PRI associate director Derek Tompkins distributed the brochure during the mid-January Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in an effort to attract students with interests in pavement research to the University.

Projects and Initiatives

TERRA highlights innovations at Highway 36

To kick off the new TERRA Innovation Series, industry representatives, University researchers, and a variety of state and local agency personnel gathered November 1 to learn about the innovations used in the reconstruction of Minnesota Trunk Highway 36 through North St. Paul.

The daylong event, held at the North St. Paul Community Center adjacent to the Highway 36 reconstruction site, featured several local, state, and national speakers and included panels about project innovations, accelerated construction, and project communications, outreach, and market research. The program was capped with a tour of the construction area led by the Mn/DOT project engineer in charge of the reconstruction.

The TERRA Innovation Series communicates TERRA activities, innovations, and products through knowledge transfer, exchange, and demonstration. These transportation engineering and road research events have a technical focus and addresses research results, trends that affect or improve productivity, innovative partnering and contracting models, and hot topics that may lead to new research related to TERRA priorities.

The Highway 36 event, originally scheduled in August and postponed due to the I-35W bridge collapse, was hosted by TERRA, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), FHWA Highways for LIFE (HFL), and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT).

The reconstruction project is especially noted for its use of complete closure and intelligent compaction. It was also the first HFL demonstration project in the country, said FHWA Minnesota Division Administrator Tom Sorel, who also serves as a TERRA board member. HFL is a $75 million federal funding program created by Congress in 2005 to develop new and innovative techniques to build better pavements and bridges faster, safer and more efficiently while reducing congestion caused by construction.

The complete closure of Highway 36 was expected to cause a major traffic problem in the east metro and cut off local businesses, but instead produced results to the contrary. “Quite possibly it was the biggest non-event of the year,” according to Mn/DOT’s Chris Roy, discussing the full road closure used to accelerate the construction process.

The highway, which closed to all traffic May 1, partially reopened to traffic in October with the majority of the construction completed during the six-month span and at an estimated 15 percent under budget. The project, which could have taken more than two years using traditional methods, eliminated six heavily used at-grade crossings needed to access the northern side of the small city. In addition, tons of earth and material were moved and a 2,600-foot retaining wall constructed.

Mn/DOT has funded a study of the full closure by University of Minnesota researchers John Hourdos, director of the Minnesota Traffic Observatory (MTO), and Professor Gary Davis of the Department of Civil Engineering. Full closure is a relatively new strategy for addressing present-day transportation network needs in Minnesota. Their analysis includes an evaluation of all traffic operation alternatives in the greater project area, a cost/benefit comparison with other construction alternatives, market research to identify the public’s acceptance of the project during and after completion, and identification of lessons learned. The final product will be a guide for other projects considering full-road closure as a construction alternative.

Related resources:

• View/download event presentations
• Mn/DOT’s Highway 36 in North St. Paul project page
• FHWA Highways for LIFE
• TERRA Innovation Series

Project aims to improve PCC surface characteristics with diamond grinding

A TERRA pooled-fund project—TPF-5(134) —studying ways to rehabilitate portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements without the need to restore structural capacity, moved to the MnROAD mainline in October with the help of project partner Diamond Surfaces, Inc. Diamond Surfaces, based in Maple Grove, Minnesota, donated grinding services to cut test patterns into two 500-foot cells, each consisting of two 12-foot-wide lanes of the 3.5-mile mainline segment carrying “live” interstate traffic.

Project manager Bernard Izevbekhai, the concrete research operations engineer with Mn/DOT’s Office of Materials, said that only the donation of services from Diamond Surfaces, one of two contractors that perform such work, made the grind configuration testing possible at this point in the project. The research project, funded at $275,000 over five years, is led by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the American Concrete Paving Association (ACPA). Mn/DOT, FHWA, and ACPA are TERRA members.

Diamond grinding is one way researchers have found to rehabilitate existing PCC pavements to make them quieter without sacrificing friction. The grinding process removes much of the pavement roughness and restores texture and friction. This portion of the project studying the rehabilitation of PCC surface characteristics aims to validate an innovative one-pass diamond-ground configuration developed over two years at a Purdue University laboratory. The innovative grind pattern is being used in MnROAD mainline Cell 7, while a conventional grind pattern is being used in mainline Cell 8 for comparison. MnROAD’s low-volume road (Cell 37) was used as an initial test bed for three 18-inch grinding patterns (traditional, innovative one-pass, innovative two-pass), which were monitored before the two mainline test cells were ground.

In particular, researchers are studying details in the grinding operation, such as blade spacing, depth of cut, and kerf (width between cut) configuration. Research findings will enable transportation agencies to set standard specifications for diamond grinding that optimizes ride quality, quietness, safety against hydroplaning and splash/spray, and concrete durability. The development of the one-pass innovative grind is important, too, because it saves time for grinding contractors, often required to make the more expensive multiple passes.

“The parameters here are so sensitive,” Izevbekhai explained, describing specifications measured in fractions of a millimeter. The state standard for the surface texture on new roads is 1.0 mm. Texture, when combined with suction, helps create the friction with tires necessary to keep a vehicle on the road, especially in wet conditions. Typically, road surface texture, which ranges from 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm, lasts 20 to 35 years, but roads generally deteriorate before then. The October mainline diamond grinding produced a surface texture of 1.52 mm in one fresh spot measurement, which Izevbekhai assessed as “very good.”

Izevbekhai also explained that the innovative diamond grind lowered tire-pavement noise by 4 decibels (or 67 percent), adding that a 3-decibel decrease equals the sound of about 50 percent less traffic At highway speeds, tire pavement noise is the dominant noise source, exceeding aerodynamic and power train noise. Current research at MnROAD indicates that concrete road surfaces get quieter as the texture wears, while asphalt roads, which are quieter than concrete roads when fresh, get noisier as the pavement stiffens and deteriorates.

Related resources:

• Contact project manager Bernard Izevbekhai
• PCC Surface Characteristics—Rehabilitation [TPF-5(134)] pooled-fund project
• About MnROAD

TERRA board developing new multi-year strategic plan

The TERRA board is close to finalizing a strategic plan to guide the organization through the next few years. The board gathered in October for a strategic planning session to assess the status of the alliance and make decisions about future strategic priorities for external action and internal operations.

The new plan aims to establish long-term (three- to five-year) goals as well as identify key action areas required to achieve the goals for the next two years. Chief among the long-term goals is successful and visible “on-the ground” implementation of research results. To help meet that goal, the board is considering the creation of an implementation committee to plan, initiate, support, and monitor research implementation. In addition, they’re considering how to develop new products, services, and practices to show how research costs pay off in benefits.

Other likely goals include defining and launching a bold and synergistic research program, setting up activities that enhance TERRA’s role as a dynamic forum for dresearch interchange, proactively expanding TERRA membership, and developing governance and operating structures that assure a thriving and sustainable organization.

As part of their strategic assessment, the board identified TERRA accomplishments, advantages, and challenges. Discussion also focused on ways to ensure the organizational structure of TERRA remains flexible enough to accommodate new members and their needs.

Several new member representatives participated in the process since the board’s first planning session, which took place in December 2004. That session resulted in a five-year strategic plan that guided TERRA business planning and partnership operations. The strategic focus of the past years has been to strengthen and leverage the MnROAD test facility and its associated resources as a base for transportation engineering and road research.

Announcements

TERRA publishes fact sheet on low-volume roads

TERRA published the first in a new series of fact sheets highlighting findings from the 2007 report MnROAD Lessons Learned. The Low Volume Roads fact sheet (188 KB PDF) describes how extensive experiments and continuous data collection on test sections of the MnROAD low-volume road (LVR) have produced a number of benefits to Minnesota roadways and to the larger pavement community. MnROAD, a key element in TERRA’s comprehensive road research strategy, has established itself as a national leader in the study of low-volume road research and construction techniques. In fact, no other test track gives researchers the ability to investigate low-volume roads to the extent of MnROAD. The next fact sheet to be published this year will address new products developed at MnROAD.

TERRA goes to Washington

TERRA Board member and former co-chair Fred Corrigan, executive director of the Aggregate and Ready Mix Association of Minnesota (ARM), made a presentation about TERRA during a session about innovative partnerships at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Corrigan's presentation highlighted TERRA's successful research efforts with international partners and outlined opportunities for further international collaboration.

TERRA Board members also met again with high-ranking Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials during TRB to provide an update on TERRA activities and to explore opportunities for further collaboration on road research. FHWA, a TERRA member, has provided key leadership and support for TERRA research and activities through the years. The meeting expanded on conversations begun at previous TRB meetings. “The meeting gave us a chance to discuss the growing list of innovative and successful projects and partnerships developed through the TERRA alliance,” said TERRA co-chair Julie Skallman. “We also introduced our newly updated TERRA strategic goals, especially emphasizing our intention to better communicate the latest research results as they unfold and expand research beyond just a MnROAD focus.”

TERRA featured in session at ARM annual convention

TERRA participated in the 39th annual convention of the Aggregate and Ready Mix Association of Minnesota (ARM). “Come Discover Why It's Getting Easier to Be Green,” held December 12 and 13 in Minneapolis, featured several speakers and forums focused on sustainability. During the first day of the conference, TERRA co-chair Tim Worke, director of the transportation and highway division at the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota (AGC), made a presentation about TERRA, one of three organizations highlighted in a technical forum. Worke's presentation provided an overview of TERRA and outlined the organization's research, partnership, and communications goals for the coming year. Mn/DOT's Ben Worel also presented on "Lessons Learned at MnROAD" during the same forum. ARM’s annual convention provides an opportunity for members to review and discuss issues of interest and concern to the industry and to hear from notable speakers on a variety of topics. ARM membership consists of more than 25 aggregate producers and 30 ready mix producers from across Minnesota and more than 50 related associate member companies.

TERRA among sponsors of upcoming pavement conference

TERRA is one of several sponsors for the 12th Annual Minnesota Pavement Conference, scheduled for February 14, 2008, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

This one-day conference provides practical information to practitioners and others in pavement design, construction, and maintenance. The conference is intended for city engineers, county engineers, public works officials, maintenance superintendents, design engineers, consulting engineers, and others interested in pavement issues. The emphasis of the conference is new materials and methods that can assist decision makers in providing the most cost-effective strategies for building, repairing, and maintaining Minnesota roads.

This year’s conference will look at the challenges and relevant issues for pavement design, construction, preservation, and management. The national and local trends and innovations to help meet those challenges also will be examined. Planned feature presentations topics include: composite pavements, pavement preservation with bituminous surface treatments, the technical and cultural information exchange between four U.S. state DOTs and the Russian Regional Highway Administration, pavement reclamation, sustainable innovations in concrete pavements, geotech innovations, green transportation, Highway 36 reconstruction, and road foundations.