TRP chair spotlight: Matt Sunderland

Matt Sunderland, Acting Roadside Maintenance Manager for IDOT, has been a member of five technical review panels with ICT and is currently serving as chair on two projects:

• R27-103: Green Friendly Best Management Practices for Interstate Rest Areas
• R27-126: Temporary Stabilization Specification Improvements

Sunderland, who has been with IDOT for 14 years, is happy to be involved with the research ICT conducts on IDOT’s behalf and enjoys the partnership between IDOT and ICT. “It’s great we have an opportunity to ground IDOT decision making in quality research,” he states. Specifically, Sunderland is pleased at the proactivity the Green Friendly Best Management Practices for Interstate Rest Areas project has shown. “Researchers have developed computer software to assist in determining the return on investment for energy conservation practices, allowing IDOT to make informed decisions about which initiatives make the most sense.”
In addition, Sunderland has also chaired research that ensures IDOT is compliant with federal initiatives. The Temporary Stabilization Specification Improvements project, which seeks to determine more effective temporary stabilization  practices along Illinois highways actively under construction, is one of four projects underway to assist IDOT in remaining in compliance with The Clean Water Act.
A registered landscape architect in Illinois, Sunderland holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.