Each May, Clean Air Month serves to remind us that our respiratory health is directly impacted by the air we breathe.
Committed to both innovation and sustainability, Iowa DOT Research is always on the lookout for cutting-edge solutions to the state’s transportation challenges that simultaneously protect and improve the quality of Iowa’s air. Some of these upcoming and in-progress projects include:
Battery Electric Bus Feasibility and Deployment Research. Before communities introduce zero-emissions buses into their fleets, decision-makers need to understand all of the costs and variables so that they can make better-informed choices. This proposed project would investigate public perceptions and develop mathematical formulas to show how buses powered by alternative fuels could realistically reduce carbon emissions.
Beneficial Use of Iowa Waste Ashes in Concrete Through Carbon Sequestration. When coal-burning power plants lower their temperatures to cut carbon emissions, the waste ashes have different characteristics than the fly ash produced at higher temperatures and commonly used in concrete. This new research aims to study the waste ashes as well as the costs and benefits of treatments that could be applied to make the ashes usable in concrete materials.
Improvements to the Infrastructure Carbon Estimator (ICE). While biking, busing, and walking are all great ways to lower an individual’s carbon footprint, the energy consumed and emissions produced from constructing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports these activities can reduce the savings. The ICE was developed in 2014 to help public transportation planners across the United States quantify all of the lifetime environmental costs and benefits of transportation infrastructure. In collaboration with other state departments of transportation, Iowa DOT is working to modernize and update the tool to ensure a project’s intended carbon-emissions goals are realized.
Learn more about these and other sustainability-focused projects on Iowa DOT Research’s Ideas site.
Delivering targeted solutions for Iowa's transportation future.
Powered by Qmarkets
Supported browsers are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, IE 11+, Opera, and Safari.