SRF Consulting Group

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) collaborates with Team Transit to increase transit use and improve the efficiency of the metropolitan highway system by allowing buses to use the designated shoulders to bypass traffic congestion. In this project, researchers evaluated the costs and benefits associated with bus-only shoulder projects and concluded the following: • Measured travel time savings on the bus-only shoulders are highly variable, but savings run as high as nine minutes per trip under snowy conditions. • 60 percent of respondents indicated that, on a typical day, the use of shoulders by buses resulted in travel time savings of about 5 minutes. • Bus regard bus-only shoulders as a use and positive addition to their commute trip. • The number of accidents directly relating to bus use of shoulders is very low. • The 10-foot minimum requirement for bus-only shoulders is marginally adequate. The study concluded that the use of the bus-only shoulder concept should continue, with an evaluation of additional projects on a case-by-case basis. The report also presents additional suggestions regarding guidelines and criteria for projects. This report is unpublished. 15 copies were produced and distributed.

This schedule was created to accompany Report 2019RIC10, Maintenance of Recreational Trails

This is a checklist for recreational trail maintenance that was created to accompany Report 2019RIC2019. Maintenance of Recreational Trails.

The final product for report 2019RIC10 was this PowerPoint training about recreational trail asset management.

This spreadsheet is a tracking form for citizen requests and pertains to report 2017RIC05, Addressing Citizen Requests for Traffic Safety Concerns.

Significant improvements have been made in base stabilization practice that include design specifications and methodology, experience with the selection of stabilizing additives, and equipment for distribution and uniform blending of additives. For the rehabilitation of existing pavements the stabilization of base material has delivered performance as good as or better than reconstruction at a reduced cost. Many additive products exist to stabilize base materials for roadway construction, but it is not always clear which additive is the right one to use. This guidebook intends to focus on stabilization for new construction and Stabilized Full Depth Reclamation (SFDR) and to help with the selection of suitable nonproprietary stabilization additives for individual specific project(s).

This presentation pertains to report 2011RIC01, Decision Tree for Stormwater BMPs.

Guardrail maintenance is a key component of protecting the roadside, but there is uncertainty as to how to maintain the various guardrails and end treatments that are currently in use. Local jurisdictions continue to perform guardrail maintenance but there are no current guidelines to ensure that maintenance practices are to standard and are consistent throughout the state. These guidelines summarize current issues, the accepted approved guardrail types and end treatments used in Minnesota, inspection and maintenance practices for guardrails and resources and standards on guardrails and end treatments. Appendices A and B provide quick reference sheets to highlight the guardrails and end treatments currently used in Minnesota and the suggested use of each type.

SRF Consulting Group worked with MnDOT in identifying specific uses for the remote sensing tools; a list of potential tools was generated; MnDOT reviewed and then developed a short list of five tools which SRF then investigated. This Transportation Research Synthesis presents the findings including information on tool applications and details for MnDOT's specific application including pros and cons of each.