Throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s, the major links in the national interstate system were being built. The road designs during that period were based on tests conducted more than 30 years ago in Illinois. Times have changed, however, and with them knowledge about paving methods and materials has grown. Traffic conditions and technology have also changed drastically since those early tests. Researchers are concerned whether design standards derived from those tests can meet current and future transportation needs.

To investigate these concerns, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and the University of Minnesota developed a plan to investigate road designs and procedures, materials used and especially, the effects of traffic loads and weather on the pavement.

In June 1990, Mn/DOT began construction of the Minnesota Road Research Project (Mn/ROAD), a new roadway test facility. Located in Otsego, Minnesota, Mn/ROAD is about 40 miles (64.4 km) northwest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area on westbound interstate 94. There are two test roads. The mainline experiment which gathers information from actual I-94 traffic and a low-volume design test road that provides data from known load conditions. Combined, there are 40 test sections and 4,572 electronic sensors. As vehicles pass over the test sections, data are sent immediately to the on-site computer system. From there, millions of bytes of data are transmitted each day to the Mn/DOT Materials Research and Engineering Laboratory in Maplewood. Researchers from around the world will have access to the data and will conduct cooperative studies. The sensors and data collection system are exciting because this technology did not exist 30 years ago.

The project, expected to last at least 20 years, will help find ways to design roads that will last longer and provide greater safety, reliability and better use of tax dollars.

Office of Materials & Road Research • E-mail: MaterialsLab.DOT@state.mn.us • 1400 Gervais Avenue • Maplewood, MN 55109-2044 • Phone: (651) 366-5592 • FAX: (651) 366-5461 © 2012 Minnesota Department of Transportation • 395 John Ireland Boulevard • St. Paul, MN 55155-1899 • Phone: 800/657-3774 • 800/627-3529(TTY, Voice, ASCII) A to Z | Getting Around | About Mn/DOT | Accessibility | Disclaimer and Legal | Doing Business | Contact Mn/DOT | News Room | 511 Traveler Service | Careers/Jobs | Search MnDOT.gov | State of Minnesota | Governor's Site Last Updated: Thursday, December 7, 2000 - 5:46:29 p.m. Central Standard Time