The research objective of the Cornell Local Roads Program is to improve the quality and durability of the local road system in our nation. Current research efforts focus on the following:

• developing methods for the structural evaluation of roads using nondestructive test methods (NDT)
• developing improved road building materials
• understanding the phenomenon of spring-thaw weakening of roads
• developing mathematical models of road behavior

It is believed that these efforts will result in significantly reduced costs both to highway agencies and to road users.

Good qualify farm-to-market roads are important to a viable agricultural industry. As our roads and bridges become older, they become usable only by light vehicles. This is occurring at a time when the national trend is toward increased use of heavy trucks to move commodities directly to and from the farm. Expanding on-farm storage and the containerization of farm products are also causing more frequent and heavier loads on local roads, thereby accelerating their deterioration.

The Biological and Environmental Engineering Department at Cornell University is unique among the various departments of agricultural engineering in the U.S. and Canada in having a program of research, teaching, and extension in local roads. There are numerous potential areas for research that provide the opportunity to assist agriculture and enhance the quality of community life through improved roads. Suitable projects might include:

• studies of road drainage
• the use of video imaging to determine the grain size distribution and angularity of granular materials
• frost effects on aggregates
• aggregate durability
• evaluation of seasonal variation in the strength of roads through NDTs

Faculty with Research Interests in this Specialization can be found here