Each year, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) honors the best transportation research projects from each of its four regions with a prestigious High Value Research (HVR) award.
As a member of Region 3, Iowa competes with eight other Midwestern states – Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. After winning 12 HVR awards, (including supplemental HVR awards) in the last 10 years, Iowa is looking to do it again in 2023.
The projects Iowa has submitted for consideration this year are:
Roadway Friction Modeling: Improving the Use of Friction Measurements in State DOTs. Pavement friction helps vehicles maintain control on a roadway. Like other states, Iowa DOT uses friction measurements to determine where salt or other treatments should be applied to improve surface conditions. In this project, collected data was used to train and improve computer models so that friction can be accurately predicted even when measurements aren’t available.
Assessment, Repair, and Replacement of Bridges Subjected to Fire. Though bridge fires don’t happen often, they can be destructive and costly. This research provides tools and guidance that will help the state’s engineers evaluate damage and make decisions in the aftermath of a fire.
Development of Non-Proprietary Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) for Iowa Bridges. UHPC is stronger and more durable than regular concrete, but proprietary formulas make it cost-prohibitive for many applications. This project developed non-proprietary UHPC mixtures that can be made with materials readily available in Iowa for a fraction of the typical cost.
Development of Digital As-Built: Incorporating As-Built Information into the I-80/I-380 Building Information Model (BIM) for Use in Future Asset Management Applications. Because modifications often occur during construction, the model that was used to design a bridge can be outdated by the time the bridge is completed. In a pilot project, Iowa DOT incorporated changes from a recently completed bridge, updating the original design with the alterations made during construction. With a better understanding of how the software needs to improve to keep up with modern needs, Iowa DOT is closer to achieving its goals for a fully digital design, construction, and asset-management process.
After reviewing all of the projects submitted by the Region 3 states, AASHTO’s Research Advisory Committee will recognize the winners at the committee’s summer meeting in July. The winning states will also participate in a poster session dedicated to high-value research projects at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, DC in January 2024.
Learn more about the HVR Awards Iowa has won over the years.
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.