After being shut down for a couple of years during the COVID period, a staple of I-94 traffic is back – the MnROAD testing facility.
Westbound traffic on I-94 between Albertville and Monticello has shifted to the two MnROAD lanes, which tests different forms of pavement to see which is the most sustainable. This summer crews paved 3.5 miles into 39 sections – 20 with asphalt and 19 with concrete. Each section contains different materials to see how the mixtures perform under heavy traffic and in cold weather conditions.
Hundreds of sensors were placed beneath the pavement to record data such as temperature, moisture and strain on the pavement.
MnROAD began in 1994 and has more than 10 miles of pavement sections and researchers from around the world use MnROAD data.
To learn more about this project, go to the MnROAD website at https://www.dot.state.mn.us/mnroad/