Minnesota Road Research Facility
Encyclopedia
The Minnesota Road Research Facility (also known as Mn/ROAD, pronounced MinROAD), is an outdoor research
laboratory
operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation
(Mn/DOT) that specializes in testing different types of pavement. Said to be the largest such facility in the world, it is located 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul near the town of Otsego, Minnesota
along Interstate 94
. Minnesota
is a good site for such a project, as the state experiences some of the largest seasonal swings in temperature
in the United States
, and has a spring freeze-thaw cycle that can heavily damage roadways. More than 4,500 sensor
s are embedded in and under the road surfaces to measure stresses while the test segments are in use. The facility opened in 1994.
A three-mile stretch of the interstate is redirected onto test pavement at the site, and a test track simulating a low-volume rural roadway loops through the facility. Real highway traffic is used for this mainline test area, but traffic is simulated on the low-volume road by a semi-trailer truck
. A bypass is available to shift traffic off the mainline testing area so researchers can closely examine the pavement without disrupting flow on the highway.
Many different organizations have partnered with Mn/DOT to conduct research at the facility, ranging from fairly obvious partners such as the University of Minnesota
, Federal Highway Administration
, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation
to others like the National Road Administration of Finland
.
45.26208°N 93.709774°W
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation
Minnesota Department of Transportation
The Minnesota Department of Transportation oversees transportation by land, water, and air in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT, pronounced "min-dot") oversees...
(Mn/DOT) that specializes in testing different types of pavement. Said to be the largest such facility in the world, it is located 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul near the town of Otsego, Minnesota
Otsego, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,389 people, 2,062 households, and 1,674 families residing in the city. The population density was 217.5 people per square mile . There were 2,120 housing units at an average density of 72.2 per square mile...
along Interstate 94
Interstate 94
Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
. Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
is a good site for such a project, as the state experiences some of the largest seasonal swings in temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has a spring freeze-thaw cycle that can heavily damage roadways. More than 4,500 sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
s are embedded in and under the road surfaces to measure stresses while the test segments are in use. The facility opened in 1994.
A three-mile stretch of the interstate is redirected onto test pavement at the site, and a test track simulating a low-volume rural roadway loops through the facility. Real highway traffic is used for this mainline test area, but traffic is simulated on the low-volume road by a semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
. A bypass is available to shift traffic off the mainline testing area so researchers can closely examine the pavement without disrupting flow on the highway.
Many different organizations have partnered with Mn/DOT to conduct research at the facility, ranging from fairly obvious partners such as the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, abbreviated as WisDOT, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for planning, building and maintaining the state's highways...
to others like the National Road Administration of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
45.26208°N 93.709774°W