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January 2008
TERRA highlights innovations at Highway 36 reopening
Researchers are using the project as a test case.
University researchers, state and local agency personnel, and industry representatives gathered November 1 to learn about innovations used in the reconstruction of Minnesota Trunk Highway 36 through North St. Paul.
The event kicked off the new TERRA Innovation Series. TERRA , the Transportation Engineering Road Research Alliance, is a research governance structure formed in 2004 to foster a comprehensive road research program.
The event was hosted by TERRA in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), FHWA Highways for LIFE, and Mn/DOT.
The daylong event featured several local, state, and national speakers and included two panels about project innovations and accelerated construction. The program was capped with a tour of the construction area.
The reconstruction project is notable for its use of complete closure and intelligent compaction. The complete closure of the highway was expected to cause a major traffic problem in the east metro, but produced results to the contrary. The highway, which closed to all traffic May 1, partially reopened to traffic in October. The majority of the construction was completed during the six-month span at an estimated 15 percent under budget. The project could have taken more than two years using traditional methods.
“Quite possibly it was the biggest non-event of the year,” according to Mn/DOT’s Chris Roy, discussing the accelerated construction process.
Mn/DOT has funded a study of the full closure by John Hourdos, director of the Minnesota Traffic Observatory (MTO), and Professor Gary Davis of the Department of Civil Engineering. The MTO is a laboratory of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute at CTS.
Full closure is a relatively new strategy for addressing present-day transportation network needs in Minnesota. The Highway 36 construction gives the researchers the unique advantage of using an actual project as a test case. Their analysis includes an evaluation of all traffic operation alternatives in the greater project area, a cost/benefit comparison with other construction alternatives, market research to identify the public’s acceptance of the project during and after completion, and identification of lessons learned. The final product will be a guide for other projects considering full-road closure as a construction alternative.
The TERRA Innovation Series communicates TERRA activities, innovations, and products through knowledge transfer, exchange, and demonstration. More information about TERRA and the series is online at www.terraroadalliance.org