The TRC projects for Fiscal Year 2014 will investigate a wide range of problems currently faced in the state of Arkansas. TRC 1401 deals with the detrimental effects of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and will provide not only preventative measures for future concrete structures, but ways to mitigate the existing damage as well. 

    TRC 1402 will study short span arch culverts as an economically viable and environmentally sound alternative to box culverts. It will calculate construction and life cycle costs of both short span arch culvers and box culverts, and determine in which type of culvert is the most economically viable and environmentally sound culvert for different topographic situations. 

   TRC 1403 will develop Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the control of topsoil which is washed away by irrigation runoff, creating turbid water. The project will focus on the use of PAM (polyacrylamide) to bind soil particles together and prevent them from being carried away in runoff water.

   TRC 1404 will look at cores that were collected throughout the interstate rehabilitation program (IRP) which exhibit signs of severe cracking. The data from these cores will be compared to that of the data collected by the Automated Road Analyzer (ARAN) and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) to determine potential new performance tests that evaluate the quality of asphalt concrete mixtures.

    TRC 1405 will focus on the problems created by the large increase in traffic volume and weight in the Fayetteville shale and Brown Dense shale areas in Arkansas. Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) is an option for potential rehabilitation in those areas that this project will further explore. Several different types of FDR mixes will be tested and evaluated to allow for heavier and more frequent traffic flow at those sites.