Current research in pavement engineering includes the development of asphalt and concrete mechanistic-empirical pavement response and performance models, material characterization using non-destructive field and laboratory testing, advanced cost-effective pavement preservation methodologies, rapid construction quality assurance technologies, innovative pavement management strategies, dynamic vehicle-pavement interaction, and modeling of vehicle operating costs.

A modest amount of research also is done in transportation safety, including work zone safety, effectiveness of traffic control devices, safety and mobility of older persons, and surrogate measures of accident exposure.