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Minnesota has declared ambitious climate goals aimed at significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next thirty years, which it plans to accomplish partly through considerable reductions in the average vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per person. This will require close collaboration between local governments and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). This report presents the findings of a brief field scan conducted in early 2023 to understand relevant initiatives, opportunities, and challenges experienced by local communities throughout Minnesota. It involved a review of local plans and documents, a survey distributed among local agencies across the state, and targeted follow-up interviews. Results indicate that while many local organizations have expressed an interest in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, few focus explicitly on transportation emissions and even fewer of those see VMT reduction as a major strategy for meeting those goals. Nonetheless, there are organizations that are interested in the types of policies and investments that could reduce overall driving and help meet ambitious climate goals, often because they support local economic goals. This presents opportunities to realign VMT-reduction strategies with local needs and for MnDOT to provide local support in the form of funding, technical assistance, data resources, and additional guidance.

The MnDOT Bridge Office sought out information on best practices regarding the use of drainage systems on bridges. Minnesota regulations strongly discourage the discharge of runoff directly into waterways; however, bridge drainage systems can lead to accelerated deterioration in bridge elements. MnDOT requested a synthesis to gather information to assist them in future development of guidance on design, detailing, specifications, construction, and maintenance procedures for bridge needs, focusing specifically on agencies with similar northern climates to the greatest extent possible.

There are 29 separate files for the Appendices of TRS 1508, State of the Practice for Managing, Maintaining and Operating Culverts: A Review of Deterioration Curves and Tools. Most are PDF files.

This presentation pertains to Transportation Research Synthesis TRS 1206, Traffic Forecasting on Trunk Highways in Nonmetropolitan Areas: A Survey of State Practice.

Appendix A pertains to TRS 1207, Collecting and Managing Traffic Data on Local Roads. It contains survey responses for the Initial Survey of Statewide Participants in MnDOT's Traffic Data Collection Program.

Appendix B pertains to TRS 1207, Collecting and Managing Traffic Data on Local Roads. It contains survey responses for the Greater Minnesota supplemental survey.

TRS 1211, State Highway System Classification and Investment: A Survey of State Practice, contains all appendices within its report except for Appendix H which was provided as a separate multiple tab spreadsheet by Washington State DOT. It identifies distribution of funding on the state highway system.

This presentation was created to accompany TRS 1412: Strategic Plans for Transportation Research Programs: A Survey of State and National Practice.

This slide presentation relates to Transportation Research Synthesis TRS2103, Public Engagement Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Disruptive Events.

CTC & Associates gathered information for this report through an online survey of state departments of transportation to assess their experience with pavement design in design-build projects and through a literature search of published findings.