Institute for Transportation

About the research

The objectives of this five-year Transportation Pooled Fund study are to evaluate conventional and new technologies and procedures for testing concrete and concrete materials to prevent material and construction problems that could lead to premature concrete pavement distress, and to develop a suite of tests that provides a comprehensive method of ensuring long-term pavement performance. A preliminary suite of tests to ensure long-term pavement performance has been developed. Shadow construction projects are being conducted to evaluate the preliminary suite of tests. A mobile concrete testing laboratory has been designed and equipped to facilitate the shadow projects. The results of the project are being compiled in a user-friendly field manual, which will be available by summer 2006.

About the research

The ILT is a Map Objects/Visual Basic application for locate incidents such as crashes and traffic violations using a digital map. The ILT is an integrated component of an electronic forms management application called Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS) developed by Iowa Department of Transportation. TraCS is currently a multi-state, collaborative effort involving law enforcement and transportation agencies from 23 States and a Canadian Province.

The ILT is designed for ease of use by users lacking prior technical exposure to GIS or GPS applications. The geographic data supporting the ILT serve as the basis for a multitude of programs and systems within Iowa, in contrast to the obsolete node-based referencing scheme previously used solely for the location of crashes. The ILT allowed the Iowa DOT to end the maintenance and production of nodes for crash location referencing purposes, and simultaneously, yield greater return on investment in geographic information system data developed and maintained for other purposes. The ILT has been customized for and deployed in several states (see the list of sponsors).