Concrete Pavement Performance and Research at the Minnesota Road Research Project – The First Ten Years

The Minnesota Road Research (MnROAD) facility was constructed in the early 1990’s to include fourteen plain jointed concrete pavement test sections. Nine of the test sections are interstate highway designs with design lives of 5 or 10 years. The other five test sections are low-volume road designs. With traffic loading beginning in 1994, the test sections have now experienced over 10 years of load and environmental effects. During that time, a tremendous amount of data collection and research analysis has taken place. The condition and ride performance of the concrete pavement test sections is characterized. Significant findings from selected studies are presented. The performance of the 5-year and 10-year design test cells shows that Mn/DOT’s current concrete pavement design method needs significant improvement. The lessons learned from the operation of the MnROAD project can be used to improve the next generation of concrete pavement design methods and test facilities