The Grainger College of Engineering
Illinois Center for Transportation

New ICT-IDOT reports

8/14/2026 McCall Macomber

Illinois Center for Transportation is pleased to announce the publication of reports from the following Illinois Department of Transportation-sponsored projects, in order of publication.

R27-263: Advancements in Profiler Certification
Steve Karamihas and Kelly Smith, Applied Pavement Technology
John Senger, Illinois Department of Transportation

Provided by John Senger. A pavement test section at the Illinois Certification and Research Track in Clinton County, Illinois.
Provided by John Senger. A pavement test section at Illinois Department of Transportation’s Illinois Certification and Research Track in Clinton County, Illinois.

Building smooth roads extends the life of pavements as well as decreases fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance costs.

This project aimed to help IDOT implement the latest technology in collecting ride-quality data or measuring road smoothness. Researchers validated proposed tests for inertial profilers, a device that measures pavement’s smoothness, and investigated improvements to IDOT’s Illinois Certification and Research Track.

Successfully implementing the latest technology will allow IDOT to make better decisions on what roads need to be addressed as well as provide data for underserved areas.

R27-SP75: Development of Pavement Temperature Measurement System for ICART
Ramez Hajj, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
John Senger, Illinois Department of Transportation

Provided by John Senger. Illinois Department of Transportation’s Illinois Certification and Research Track, a one-mile test track in Clinton County that helps IDOT research pavement and evaluate materials as well as certify equipment.
Provided by John Senger. Illinois Department of Transportation’s Illinois Certification and Research Track, a one-mile test track in Clinton County that helps IDOT research pavement and evaluate materials as well as certify equipment.

Performance of hot-mix asphalt is dependent on temperature and loads applied to the pavement, among other factors.

Researchers designed pavement temperature sensors for IDOT’s Illinois Certification and Research Track that will measure and record temperatures at various levels in the pavement structure.

Monitoring pavement temperature at various levels will help to better understand how pavement reacts to changes in weather conditions, allowing engineers to optimize measurement analysis and designs.

R27-268: Quarry By-product Fines for Otta Seal Surfacing of Local Roads
Erol Tutumluer and Ramez Hajj, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
John Senger and Andrew Stolba, Illinois Department of Transportation

Excess quarry by-products generated each year in Illinois exceeds 950,000 tons according to an ICT-IDOT research study, R27-125: Sustainable Aggregates Production — Green Applications for Aggregate By-Products.
Excess quarry by-products generated each year in Illinois exceeds 950,000 tons according to an ICT-IDOT research study, R27-125: Sustainable Aggregates Production — Green Applications for Aggregate By-Products.

An Otta seal is a cost-effective surface treatment that is formed by adding graded aggregate to a thick application of soft binder. It is worked into the aggregate as traffic rolls over it.

This project examined the use of quarry by-product fines, a leftover material from crushed rock extraction found in abundance in Illinois, as aggregates in Otta seals. Researchers reviewed design parameters as well as conducted lab testing to prepare mechanistic-based design and construction guidelines for Otta seals with quarry by-product aggregates.

Effectively using Otta seals with quarry by-product aggregates will reduce operational costs and maintenance needs as well as minimize aggregate segregation and provide environmental benefits.