Arizona Transportation Institute will foster innovation, engagement
Contributed Article/Courtesy ADOT
PHOENIX – A new research partnership between the Arizona Department of Transportation and the state’s three public universities will help keep ADOT at the forefront of innovation, nurture a new generation of transportation professionals, and support Arizona’s economy.
ADOT has entered into an agreement with the newly formed Arizona Transportation Institute (AZTI) to leverage the expertise of the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University faculty and students to propose and conduct research. The ADOT Research Center administers state planning and research funding that the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation provides to state departments of transportation and subrecipients.
“We’re tremendously excited to partner with talented faculty and students in a way that can improve the lives of Arizonans, support our state’s economy, and promote transportation engineering as an exciting and essential career,” ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said.
Through the Arizona Transportation Institute, based at the University of Arizona, faculty at the three universities will submit proposals to conduct transportation research, with the Arizona Transportation Institute encouraging collaboration among universities. This collaboration aims to foster innovative transportation technologies, planning methods, and engineering approaches that can improve Arizona’s transportation system and create better communities.
“Arizona will benefit tremendously from establishing this coordinated structure for the brightest minds at the three universities to optimize transportation, a huge quality-of-life issue for every resident,” said Arizona Transportation Institute Director Yao-Jan Wu, a University of Arizona professor of civil and architectural engineering and mechanics. “I’m grateful for this investment and eager for the institute to assess, develop, and implement the researchers’ ideas.”
University researchers have already begun work on a number of research projects requested by ADOT. For example:
- Researchers at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University will examine the impacts of heavier and oversized vehicles on roads and bridges compared to other vehicles in terms of construction, maintenance, and repair costs.
- Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona 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.
- Arizona State University and University of Arizona researchers will explore whether landscaping and vegetation management that encourages the recovery of native plants following wildfires can reduce roadway repair and maintenance costs.
To learn more about research at ADOT, visit azdot.gov/research.
