Helping to Build a Safe and Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure

The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure notes that "one in four of the nation's bridges is either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete ... " and that "33% of America's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition ... .'' Deteriorating roads and bridges lead to excessive wear and tear on vehicles, contribute to congestion, drain State maintenance coffers, and endanger lives. By helping to develop ever-more-durable materials and transferring research findings, the University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC-MiSTI) at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) is playing an important role in developing a transportation infrastructure that is safe and sustainable.

Recently, UTC-MiSTI participated in a nine-state pooled-fund study led by the South Dakota Department of Transportation. UTC-MiSTI was active both in identifying factors that affect the performance of pavement and in communicating these and other project findings via the UTC's technology transfer (T2) activities.