PHOENIX – A new research partnership between the Arizona Department of Transportation and the state’s three public universities has been established with the intention of keeping ADOT at the “forefront of innovation,” state officials announced Friday.

ADOT entered into an agreement with the newly formed Arizona Transportation Institute to leverage the expertise of University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University faculty and students to propose and conduct research, according to a release from the state agency.

The ADOT Research Center administers state planning and research funding that the Federal Highway Administration provides to state departments of transportation and others.

Through the Arizona Transportation Institute, based at the University of Arizona, faculty at the three universities will submit proposals to conduct transportation research, the release stated.

University researchers have begun work on a number of research projects requested by ADOT, including: 

• Researchers at the three schools will look into the effects of heavier and oversize vehicles on roads and bridges compared to other vehicles in terms of construction, maintenance and repair costs.
• NAU and UA researchers will develop Arizona-specific factors to aid ADOT’s decisions on the location and types of safety countermeasures intended to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes. 

• ASU and UA researchers will explore whether landscaping and vegetation management that encourages recovery of native plants following wildfires can reduce repair and maintenance costs for roadways. 

For more: azdot.gov/research.

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