Asphalt Pavement Gets an Upgrade

Research happening today can change the face of construction tomorrow. As one example, Minnesota-based MnROAD recently began collaborating with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) to share research on experiments with roadway construction materials in traffic conditions to determine impact on pavement performance.

The two primary experiments focus on pavement preservation and validation of cracking tests in a broad range of climate conditions. The research efforts by each organization lead to safer and more cost-effective pavement designs that can be adopted by state departments of transportation and municipalities across the country.

The studies aim at producing findings that can be directly implemented by a larger base of states that may have previous concerns that findings from just one test track were not directly applicable to their climate or pavement surface type. The data gathered will then be used for cracking and pavement preservation research and for use by teams at each location and can be made available to other stakeholders now and in the future.

The research being done here could change the way construction is done on road projects in the future. MnROAD is committed to providing safer, smarter, and sustainable pavements through innovative research.

The two organization are also using a little bit of technology of their own to support the experiments. A platform from Pavia Systems is helping to enhance their joint research efforts. The system also enables the sharing of data and research to others. This includes sharing photos, videos and more.

The end result will be greater innovation in road construction projects in the future, as the partnership and technology will provide more insight into the research being done.

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