Featured Research

How do you define success? For some of our research projects, it means that the outcomes have attracted the attention of other state and national transportation agencies who realize the positive benefits that we’ve achieved. For others, the results may have led to marked safety improvements or financial savings. Here are some of our success stories:

• For 2017, IDOT is featured in the AASHTO Safety: Innovations from State DOTs brochure for the department's right turn skew project in Peoria (District 4).  The new design led to a 59% reduction in crashes at these intersections, with an annualized 15-year cost benefit of more than 14 to 1.  Statewide implementation of specification changes is underway. 
• AASHTO has also released brochures featuring Research Makes the Difference 2017 - Award Winning Innovations from State DOTs and AASHTO Maintenance Research: Innovations from State DOTs across the country.
• IDOT/ICT Research Named AASHTO Sweet 16 Project 
• Congratulations to IDOT's National Cooperative Highway Research Panel (NCHRP) Panel Members!
• The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT), International Society for Concrete Pavements (ISCP), and ACPA-Illinois Chapter held a one-day workshop titled “Concrete Pavement Innovation & Technology Transfer Workshop” on June 25, 2015 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at the IDOT District 1 office in Schaumburg.
• FHWA has released the  “The FHWA 2015 R&T Story” document and video to highlight the value of research and how FHWA’s highway research and technology initiatives are making a difference in addressing FHWA’s six key highway challenges.
• Development of a Traffic Incident Management Operational and Training Guide - Phase II selected as AASHTO Sweet 16 High Value Research Project
• IDOT takes recycling from the rubbish pile to the roadway. For more information on how IDOT utilized recycled and reclaimed materials in Illinois, please visit the Illinois Center for Transportation’s Publication Page and search for report number R27-160: ILLINOIS HIGHWAY MATERIALS SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS OF 2013.
• Research Makes the Difference 2010: State DOTs Achieve More with Less - Illinois Automated Warn and Ticket System Slows Down Drivers
• National Cooperative Highway Research Program: Impacts on Practice - Advancing the Science of Highway Safety
• Research Pays Off: Safer Nighttime Construction Zones Through Better Lighting, Illinois Develops and Applies Practical Guidelines
• Research Pays Off: Uninterruptible Power Supplies Keep Traffic Signals On, Illinois Works to Avoid Delays and Dangers from Outages
• Research Pays Off: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement with Steel Slag Aggregate Successful Use in Illinois Pavements