National Concrete Pavement Technology Center

The Iowa Transportation Commission visited the Institute for Transportation (InTrans) as part of a tour throughout central Iowa.

The commission, comprised of seven members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, meets regularly to review Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) programs, create a long-term transportation plan for the state, and otherwise make infrastructure investment policy decisions.

InTrans Associate Director Neal Hawkins noted, “This was a fun conversation and an opportunity to highlight the benefits of collaboration among Iowa DOT leadership, division staff, and InTrans researchers.”

As one example, Hawkins showed the commissioners how connected vehicle data are being used to identify locations where wrong-way driving maneuvers occur. He also explained how these insights help the Iowa DOT make proactive, low-cost investments to improve driver safety.

The commissioners’ visit also included a brief introduction to the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center) by Associate Director Leif Wathne. He described how CP Tech’s research on longer-lasting better-performing concrete pavements benefits Iowa and the nation.

The commissioners also met 18 high school teachers participating in a two-week program at InTrans. The teachers are learning about data quality and analytics using real-world conditions so they can teach these concepts and skills to their students.

More information about InTrans’ big data-related research is available at the REACTOR Lab site, and more information about the lab’s wrong-way driving research is available in this InTrans news article.