Local Road Research Board News
 May 2024
MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION CAREER VIDEOS
 As the school year winds down and the hiring season gears up, the LRRB has a new suite of videos available to help local agencies recruit workers.
We worked with students with Century College’s Narrative Video Production degree program to produce a collection of videos that builds awareness of exciting transportation career opportunities. The videos are geared to high school and middle school students as well as individuals considering a career change.
The suite includes:
- Three-minute videos highlighting bridge inspection, road maintenance, environmental stewardship, and planning jobs
- 30-second social media clips featuring testimonials and workers in the field
- One-hour cable news segments interviewing local transportation leaders
Local agencies are encouraged to use these free resources in your recruitment efforts. They can be shared through your communications channels (website, social media, and newsletters) and used to engage with students (during career fairs, presentations, and student visits).
The videos are available on LRRB’s YouTube Playlist and can be downloaded through LRRB’s Google Drive.
Knowing that local transportation agencies in Minnesota are facing a growing workforce shortage, the LRRB is working on the following projects:
To receive email updates as each project progresses, click “Subscribe for Updates” on the project webpage.
GUIDEBOOKS
Using Apps to Notify the Public of Local Road and Bridge Closures
Navigation apps can be valuable timesavers for drivers in Minnesota. To maximize their use, these apps need traffic information that is timely and accurate. While state highway closures are reported effectively, reporting road closures on local roads and highways is inconsistent. This project aimed to improve local road closure reporting by exploring the development of a streamlined reporting system and creating guidance for reporting local road closures to third-party navigation apps.
|
NEW RESEARCH
Understanding Factors That Influence Drivers Yielding to Pedestrians
Vehicle speeds, type of pedestrian, road characteristics and other variables can impact whether drivers yield to pedestrians attempting to cross a road at an unsignalized intersection. An analysis of data collected from 18 intersections identified human and site attributes that correlate to higher rates of driver yielding. Knowledge of these potentially influential factors will help local engineers build safer crossings at intersections.
|
Designing an Autonomous Service to Cover Transit Last Mile in Low-Density Areas
The benefits of public transportation aren’t always fully available in suburban and rural areas. Even when it is an option, land development patterns can make it challenging for people to reach their destinations by transit alone. Pairing transit with an autonomous mobility service is a potential solution. Researchers assessed transportation needs in a suburban shopping area and developed a system designed to deliver passengers from the end of a transit line to their ultimate destination. Simulations of the autonomous mobility service revealed its potential to increase transit efficiency and reduce individual vehicle use.
|
The Value of Research
Assessing the return on investment in transportation research is crucial to ensuring program goals are met, knowledge and technology are shared broadly, and future investigations are prioritized. A recent effort leveraged existing MnDOT and LRRB tools and processes to evaluate and communicate the value of innovation and research. A new benefit monitoring and communication framework, which can be tailored to individual projects, allows agencies to reassess a project and its benefits throughout the research lifecycle.
|
PROJECT SHOWCASE
OPERA Project: Winter Road Sand Treatment
Cook County reduced total road salt use by 12.5% in an experiment that substituted potassium acetate-treated sand on one plow route for its regular salt/sand mix.
The Cook County Highway Department is on a mission to combat chloride pollution infiltrating Minnesota’s pristine wilderness. To that end, the department set a goal for chloride-free winter maintenance, starting from annual road salt use that averages 300 tons. Staff experimented with potassium acetate (KAc)-treated sand and with a potassium acetate deicer to reduce the use of granular sodium chloride (road salt) while maintaining road safety.
The department received a $20,000 grant through the Local OPERA Program to evaluate the usability of the treated sand, particularly its adherence to roads and melt capacity. This eight-month trial showcased the benefits and limitations of liquid-treated sand. Photos: Left - centerline treated with salt/sand mixture. Right - centerline treated with potassium/sand mixture. Read more about the details and findings of the project.
The OPERA program is sponsored by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board and administered by Minnesota LTAP. Learn more about the OPERA program.
|
Webinar: Strategies for Enhancing Rural Community Transit
Check out the recording of the April 30 webinar, Strategies for Enhancing Rural Community Transit, sponsored by the Center for Transportation Studies. It features a discussion of the LRRB project, Rural Community Transit Strategies, by Prof. Thomas Fisher, the project principal investigator. This study demonstrated the benefits of using mobile technologies and existing assets to enhance transit services and improve economies.
|
LRRB UPDATES
Welcome Matt Wegwerth
We're excited to announce that Matt Wegwerth has joined the LRRB Research Implementation Committee. Matt is the public works director and city engineer for the City of Grand Rapids. We look forward to working with you!
|
Finding the Research You Want Just Got Easier!
The LRRB website search engine was updated recently to make searching for research projects, guidebooks, reports and other resources more user-friendly and efficient. Updates include:
- Keyword search on LRRB home page
- Search filters on one screen, reducing the number of clicks to find what you’re looking for
- Filter search by keywords, date ranges, resource type, researchers and project funding
- Search results returned by relevance
- If a research report is available, it is linked in the search results for direct access
- Mobile responsive on phones and tablets for practitioners on the go
|
CONFERENCES & TRAINING
- Towards Zero Deaths Workshops, May 21 in Duluth, May 23 in Brooklyn Center, June 4 in Alexandria
- Minnesota Truck Weight Training, Minnesota LTAP, May 20, St. Cloud
- MnDOT Guardrail Identification and Inspection Workshop, Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, May 21 -22. Shoreview
- Minnesota Roadway Maintenance Training & Demo Day, Minnesota LTAP, May 23, Brainerd
-
MnDOT Roundabout Design, Facility Design Guide, Section 6E Workshop, Center for Transportation Studies, June 4-6, Shoreview
- MnDOT NHI Roadside Safety Design, Center for Transportation Studies, June 11-13, Shoreview
Minnesota Transportation Conference
|
See you at the Minnesota Transportation Conference May 29-31! Stop by our booth – 201 – to learn about the latest cutting-edge research sponsored by the LRRB and MnDOT. Make plans to attend these LRRB presentations:
|
|
 |
Check the Status of Your Research Idea
If you submitted a research idea to the Local Road Research Board, you can check the status of your idea on the LRRB Idea Tracker, which shows the status of ideas submitted over the past year. Just search by your name or project name to locate your project.
 Minnesota Local Road Research Board • lrrb.org
|
