These high-tech sensors can record 250,000 data points a second, recording information about stress and load from traffic and the effects of varying climates. More than a thousand of them are embedded in a three-mile stretch of pavement on U.S. Highway 23 in Delaware County, Ohio, as part of a national road project that could one day help engineers build better, more durable roads. Other universities involved are Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, the University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University in Columbus, the University of Toledo, and the University of Akron. Located about twenty-five miles north of Columbus, the test road site was opened to traffic in August 1996, two years after construction of the test area began. Faculty and students from participating universities set eleven types of sensors on the road site before the pavement was placed.
Cables link the sensors to computers, which store and analyze the information.
A small road sign denoting the site as a test road is the only indication travelers have that they are helping researchers in their quest to build a better road. With every passing vehicle, researchers are able to collect more data on pressure, load, and strain on the pavement caused by traffic. And they won't wait until the project is over to implement changes in road construction based on their findings. Four sections of the test area on U.S. Highway 23 will be rebuilt later this year and two additional sections will be replaced in 1998. Researchers then will study the redesigned sections to see how they fare.