Minnesota

MnROAD

Minnesota's Cold Weather Pavement Testing Facility

MnROAD, located near Albertville, Minnesota (40 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul) is one of the most sophisticated, independently operated pavement test facility of its type in the world. Completed in 1991-1993 at a cost of $25 million, MnROAD consists of two unique road segments located parallel to Interstate 94:

  • A 3.5-mile mainline interstate roadway carrying live traffic averaging 26,400 vehicles a day.

    • And a 2.5-mile closed-loop low-volume roadway carrying a controlled 5-axle tractor-semi-trailer to simulated conditions of rural roads.

Details on the test sections can be found here.


The two road segments include 51-instrumented concrete and hot mix asphalt pavement test sections representing a broad range of materials and designs. Thousands of static and dynamic sensors embedded in the pavement and soil record pavement load response data. Environmental sensors capture moisture, temperature, and frost data below, inside, and above the pavement surface.

This environmental data combined with the pavement performance data (ride, cracking, faulting/rutting) enables researchers to:

  • Rapidly evaluate the potential performance of new pavement designs and materials under real-life conditions.

  • Examine the effects of environmental conditions, traffic loads and volumes, and innovative construction techniques and materials on pavement performance.

  • Validate current and new pavement design procedures over a broad range of inputs.

MnROAD also plays a key role in many state and national research efforts, including:

  • Test facility and/or data source for several NCHRP studies, including development of the 2002 Design Guide

  • Continued support of ITS, roadside environment, and other on-site research

  • Minnesota Seasonal Load Limits (Spring Load and Winter Overloads)

  • MnPAVE Hot Mix Asphalt Design Software