Preliminary Investigations
The Caltrans Division of Research and Innovation receives and evaluates numerous research problem statements for funding every year. DRI wishes to conduct Preliminary Investigations on these problem statements in order to better understand the need for the research in light of efforts already made on the topic nationally and internationally.
Please click here for the Preliminary Investigation Request Form
DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION• Advanced Modeling Techniques for Enhanced Constructability Review: A Survey of State Practice and Related Research - March 2012, 3.9 MB • Validating the Outcome of Partnering on Major Capital Projects - March 2012, 236 kB • Comparing In-House Staff and Consultant Costs for Highway Design and Construction: Follow-Up Investigation - October 2011, 1.5 MB • Effective Application of Traffic Calming Techniques - September 2011, 137 kB • Comparing In-House Staff and Consultant Costs for Highway Design and Construction - July 2011, 251 kB • Roadside Management Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases - June 2010, 1.9 MB • Trees and Highway Safety - March 2010, 287 kB • Green Technologies for Reducing Slope Erosion - January 2010, 450 kB |
Environmental Research• Highway Crossings for Herptiles (Reptiles and Amphibians) - November 2012, 3.2 MB • Comparing Life Cycle Costs of Fish- and Wildlife-Friendly Culverts with Conventional Culvert Designs - January 2012, 207 kB • Cool Pavements Research and Technology - September 2011, 626 kB • Outreach Efforts Related to Mitigating Impacts on Cultural Resources: A Survey of State Practice - January 2011, 362 kB |
Geotechnical/Structures Research• Steel Girder End Panel Shear Resistance - October 2010, 388 kB • Geophysical Methods for Determining the Geotechnical Engineering Properties of Earth Materials - March 2010, 104 kB • Improved LRFD/LRFR Specifications for Permit and Fatigue Load Trucks - December 2009, 2.1 MB |
Maintenance Research• Flood Warning Alert Systems - December 2012, 332 kB • Use of GPS for Equipment and Fleet Management by State DOTs - December 2011, 6.2 MB • Equipment Management Decentralization by the North Carolina Department of Transportation - December 2011, 127 kB • Laws to Prevent Metal Theft and Recycling of Stolen Metals - November 2011, 2.8 MkB • Using Life Cycle Cost Analysis in Highway Project Development - November 2011, 373 kB • National Survey of Equipment Management Practices - June 2011, 648 kB • Measuring and Improving Performance in Incident Management - March 2010, 194 kB |
Modal Research• Integrating Transit Data into State Highway Planning - July 2012, 7.8 MB • Assessing Park-and-Ride Impacts - June 2010, 164 kB • Disaster Recovery Plan - December 2009, 5.31 MB |
Pavement Research• Concrete Recycling: Reuse of Returned Plastic Concrete and Crushed Concrete as Aggregate - September 2012, 4.9 MB • Environmentally Friendly Elimination of Moss from Open-Graded Asphalt Pavement - April 2011, 242 kB • Practices and Guidelines for Temporary Transverse Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Tapers - May 2010, 194 kB |
Planning/Policy/System Information (PPSI) Research• Sustainability Tools and Practices: An Examination of Selected State Departments of Transportation, California Metropolitan Planning Organizations and National Tools - March 2013, 1.8 MB • Smart Mobility: A Survey of Current Practice and Related Research - April 2012, 352 kB • Transportation-Related Use of Health Impact Assessments and Similar Tools - August 2011, 6.0 MB • Rail Preservation Programs: A Survey of National Guidance and State Practice - June 2011, 7.4 MB • Quantifying the Effectiveness of Air Quality Mitigation Measures - April 2011, 328 kB • Developing Project Initiation Documents: A Survey of State Practice - December 2010, 852 kB • Best Practices for Rural Smart Growth - July 2010, 806 kB • Real-Time Data to Improve En Route Decision Making and Reduce Transportation Demand - July 2009, 111 kB • Designing Highway Facilities To Encourage Walking, Biking and Transit - March 2009, 125 kB |
Right of Way and Land Surveys Research• Implementing a Digital Archive Backup and Operational System for Aerial Photography Collections - May 2010, 483 kB |
Rural Research• Improving Highway Advisory Radio Predictability and Performance - August 2011, 9.8 MB • Improved Chain Control Operations - January 2010, 476 kB |
Transportation Safety and Mobility (TS&M) Research• Impacts of Increasing Vehicle-Occupancy Requirements on HOV/HOT Lanes - March 2013, 657 kB • Managed Lanes Case Studies - March 2013, 2.9 MB • Life Cycle Analysis of Galvanized Metal Guardrail Elements - October 2012, 221 kB • Ramp Metering Design - February 2012, 1.75 MB • Bicycle-in-Lane Sign Use and Comprehension - October 2011, 175 kB • Safety Implications of the Use of the Flashing Yellow Arrow for Permissive Left Turns - January 2011, 3.1 MB • Improving Driver Decisions and Performance in High-Speed, Multilane, Complex Conditions - December 2009, 3.4 MB • Informing a Pedestrian Safety Improvement Program - December 2009, 150 kB • Equal Severity Curve (ESC) Update - July 2009, 283 kB • Crash Reduction Factor (CRF) Update - January 2009, 223 kB |