Funding/Research Supports

STAR’s TECH

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

Research highlights winter road maintenance as a critical challenge in Canada, where large quantities of conventional road salts are used annually to maintain safe mobility during snow and ice events. While effective for de-icing, traditional salts contribute significantly to environmental degradation, infrastructure corrosion, and increased maintenance costs. Existing alternative de-icing products often present their own environmental and performance limitations, creating the need for more sustainable and effective winter maintenance solutions.

To address these challenges, this research program focuses on evaluating environmentally friendly de-icing and anti-icing materials, including ECO-ST products, for Canadian winter road applications. The study investigates snow and ice melting performance, pavement friction, corrosivity, water quality impacts, and overall field effectiveness compared to conventional road salt and other alternatives. Both laboratory and multi-season field testing are employed to assess performance under realistic winter weather and pavement conditions.

The goal is to develop sustainable winter road maintenance strategies that improve roadway safety while reducing environmental impacts and infrastructure deterioration. The project will produce practical guidelines, decision-support tools, and application strategies for optimized use of alternative de-icing materials, supporting safer, greener, and more cost-effective winter maintenance operations across Canada.

Funding/Research Supports

Regional Municipality of Niagara

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

Canada has been significantly impacted by climate change, experiencing rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events. Pavements, especially asphalt and flexible types, are vulnerable to climate stressors like temperature variations, precipitation, wind speed, and water table changes, leading to rutting, cracking, and roughness. Freeze-thaw cycles further exacerbate pavement distress in colder regions. Addressing these impacts requires a comprehensive understanding of climatic stressors, life cycle assessments, and innovative maintenance strategies. This research is structured in five phases to improve pavement management in Niagara Region under changing climate and traffic conditions. Phase I evaluates the feasibility of implementing weigh-in-motion (WIM) sensors by assessing technical, economic, operational, and managerial aspects, and reviewing global best practices to understand how accurate traffic loading data can enhance pavement performance modelling, maintenance decisions, regulatory enforcement, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. Phase II develops predictive pavement performance models using mathematical and machine-learning approaches to assess the impacts of climate change and determine condition-based thresholds for indices such as IRI and PCI under various climate scenarios. Phase III focuses on estimating excessive fuel consumption and associated GHG emissions caused by deteriorated pavement conditions through calibration of the HDM-4 fuel consumption model and evaluating the combined effects of climate and pavement performance. Phase IV assesses short- and long-term climate risks to pavement infrastructure and prioritizes adaptation strategies based on regional risk tolerance. Phase V integrates the findings into multi-objective optimization models to support cost-effective, resilient, and environmentally sustainable pavement maintenance decisions.

Expected outcomes include improved pavement performance prediction, optimized maintenance strategies, reduced lifecycle costs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions under changing climate conditions. The research will also support the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP) in pavement analytics, climate resilience, and sustainable infrastructure management. Overall, the project will advance practical and resilient pavement management solutions for long-term transportation infrastructure sustainability.

Funding/Research Supports

Ontario Ministry of Transportation/ Ministère des Transports de l’Ontario

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

Safety and efficiency of Ontario highways may be greatly compromised in winter seasons due to dramatically deteriorated driving conditions caused by snowfall and ice formation. The objective of this research is to continue our previous efforts in evaluating alternative winter maintenance materials, equipment, and application methods. The project is motivated by the need to seek the most sustainable ways to maintain the safety and mobility of Ontario’s highway system. While MTO has established maintenance service standards and best practices for winter road maintenance, there is a need for developing innovative materials and technologies for reduced material application and increased effectiveness.

This research is to support MTO’s initiatives to evaluate innovative ideas on winter maintenance materials, application methods and equipment. While the exact scope of the research will be determined with MTO maintenance group, one of the focusing areas could be the development of optimal application rates for new environment friendly de-icing materials such as potassium acetate for Northern Ontario.

Funding/Research Supports

National Research Council Canada (NRC)

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

This research focuses on improving the reliability and climate adaptability of flexible pavement design in Canada through the local calibration of the AASHTOWare Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical Design (PMED) tool. While PMED represents a significant advancement over traditional design methods by incorporating climatic, traffic, and material factors, its current distress prediction models are based primarily on U.S. data and historical climate records. As a result, they may not accurately capture Canadian conditions or future climate variability.

To address these limitations, the project aims to calibrate PMED transfer functions using Canadian-specific data, ensuring more accurate prediction of pavement distresses such as rutting, cracking, and roughness. A key component of the research involves evaluating the impact of climate change on pavement performance using projected climate scenarios, including Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). These projections are analyzed across multiple time periods ranging from historical to long-term future periods to assess how evolving environmental conditions influence pavement behavior.

The study adopts a multi-phase approach involving data collection, climatic sensitivity analysis, nationwide impact assessment, and statistical calibration of PMED models. Advanced simulations capture regional variations in environmental conditions across Canada. The goal is to develop a climate-resilient, regionally calibrated pavement design framework that improves prediction accuracy, supports sustainable infrastructure planning, and enhances long-term performance while reducing maintenance costs.

Funding/Research Supports

Ontario Ministry of Transportation/ Ministère des Transports de l’Ontario

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

Research identifies environmental conditions, particularly temperature and relative humidity, as key factors affecting concrete drying and waterproofing performance. High temperatures accelerate moisture loss and shrinkage, while low temperatures delay drying, making it difficult to achieve optimal bonding conditions. Moisture gradients within concrete further influence durability, especially under Canada’s variable climate.

To address these challenges, this research focuses on developing sustainable and climate-resilient strategies for optimizing concrete drying time and moisture conditions. A combined laboratory and field-based approach is used to evaluate moisture movement, relative humidity, and bond strength of waterproofing membranes under different environmental scenarios.

The goal is to improve the durability and resilience of transportation infrastructure by identifying optimal conditions for waterproofing application. The study investigates moisture-related mechanisms such as shrinkage, bond degradation, and surface defects while promoting efficient construction practices.

Expected outcomes include enhanced bond performance, reduced maintenance needs, extended service life, and lower environmental impact. In addition, the program supports the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP), equipping future engineers with expertise in sustainable materials, moisture control, and climate-adaptive infrastructure design. Overall, this research advances practical and sustainable solutions for durable waterproofing systems, ensuring reliable and long-lasting performance of concrete infrastructure under changing environmental conditions.

Funding/Research Supports

• Mitacs (Accelerate Program)
• Industry partner: Last20 Incorporated

Project Status

Completed

Project Overview

This research identifies pothole formation as a critical pavement distress issue in cold regions, driven largely by freeze–thaw cycles, moisture infiltration, and repeated traffic loading. In Ontario, fluctuating winter temperatures allow water to penetrate pavement layers, freeze and expand, and subsequently weaken the structure during thawing periods. These processes accelerate surface deterioration, leading to potholes that compromise road safety, increase vehicle operating costs, and strain maintenance budgets.

To address these challenges, the research program focuses on developing durable and cost-effective pothole patching solutions tailored to cold climate conditions. It investigates a range of asphalt materials, including conventional hot and cold mixes, alongside innovative alternatives such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and waste plastic-based aggregates derived from single-use materials. The study also evaluates different repair techniques, including throw-and-roll and semipermanent methods, to determine their effectiveness under varying environmental and operational conditions.

The goal is to enhance the resilience and sustainability of Ontario’s road infrastructure by identifying optimal combinations of materials and repair techniques. The program examines key distress mechanisms such as moisture damage, loss of cohesion, and structural instability, offering practical recommendations for improved material selection and application methods. The expected outcomes include longer-lasting pothole repairs, reduced maintenance frequency, improved road safety, and lower lifecycle costs. In addition, the integration of recycled and waste materials contributes to sustainability by minimizing resource consumption and emissions. The project also supports the development of highly qualified personnel (HQP), equipping future engineers with advanced knowledge in pavement materials, maintenance strategies, and sustainable infrastructure practices.

Funding/Research Supports

NSERC and DND Project

Project Status

Complete

Project Overview

Research highlights climate change as a key factor in pavement distress, with temperature and precipitation being critical. High temperatures cause asphalt softening and rutting, while extreme cold leads to thermal cracking. Heavy precipitation and freeze-thaw cycles accelerate degradation.

To tackle these challenges, the research program focuses on developing climate-resilient asphalt materials, such as binders, mastics, and mixtures, with enhanced resistance to climate-induced distresses. It employs a multiscale approach, using comprehensive testing and performance evaluations to identify durability factors and innovate solutions.

The goal is to strengthen Canada’s road network resilience, ensuring reliable transportation and economic growth amidst changing climate conditions. This program investigates microcrack formation, moisture stripping, and rutting, offering recommendations on using local aggregates, additives, and recycled materials to boost durability. Optimized designs will lead to safer roads, lower emissions, reduced costs, and extended pavement life. Additionally, HQP training in this program will prepare future experts in pavement engineering, promoting sustainability through increased recycled material use and reduced reliance on imported binders.

Funding/Research Supports

TBD

Project Status

Incoming

Project Overview

Recently waste materials are increasingly being incorporated into asphalt blends during the production of asphalt mixture for use in pavement construction while maintaining the pavement’s quality due to its economic and environmental advantages. Every year, enormous amounts of plastic are thrown away globally, causing a significant amount of waste being ended up in landfills which pollute the soil, air, and waterways. A potential strategy for reducing the environmental pressure and the demand for diminishing natural resources is recycling plastic trash through incorporation into asphalt pavement. On the other hand, the costs of asphalt paving materials have recently climbed significantly, which has opened the door to the discovery of substitute, less expensive alternatives. However, this project aims to evaluate the impact of incorporating waste plastics into the asphalt and examine overall performances: engineering properties, visco-elastic behavior, low-temperature properties, rutting, fatigue, aging, and cracking of plastic-modified bitumen binders. Furthermore, the optimum percentages of plastic waste to be incorporated into asphalt to achieve advantageous binder properties will also be discussed.

Funding/Research Supports

City of St. John’s

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

The goal of this research project is to enhance rutting and moisture induced damage resistance in asphalt mixture, while the project’s objectives are as follows: review the current asphalt binder and mixture specifications of the City of St. John’s; investigate the performance of asphalt binder additives and modifiers in binder and mastic levels for improving rut and moisture damage resistance for local application through standard and advanced testing; evaluate moisture damage and rut resistant asphalt mixture designs including stone matrix and high modulus mixtures, and mixture with steel slags and waste tire through laboratory and small-scale field testing.

Project Report

Link to Review Report: Review on Asphalt Binder Additives and Modifiers

Funding/Research Supports

President’s Doctoral Student Investment Fund (PDSIF) and FEAS Start-up Funding Program

Project Status

Active

Project Overview

Earth’s climate has been changing from last 650,000 years, but from 1950 there is a drastic change in climate due to an increased emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Many of the researchers agree that the current condition of climate change is extremely affecting pavement infrastructure. The short-term effects of climate change are global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, flooding, decreased snow cover, sea level rise, increased/decreased annual precipitation, etc. Because of these short term effects there is a long-term impact on pavement performance. Long-term effect of this climate change is the occurrence of natural disasters such as cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat and extreme cold weather. Nowadays, using new technology available all over the world, prediction of climate change effects became easier but not stoppable. So, there is a necessity to take some primitive measures to avoid the risk of pavement damage.

Project Report

Link to Preliminary Report: Climate Change Impact on Pavement Performance