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For over 30 years, the staff of LTRC has strived to merge resources of state government and universities
to help identify, develop, and implement new technology to improve the state's transportation system.
Since its creation by the legislature in 1986, LTRC has grown to national prominence through its efforts to improve transportation systems in Louisiana. The center conducts short-term and long-term research and provides technology assistance, engineering training and continuing education, technology transfer, and problem-solving services to DOTD and others in the transportation community. LTRC's goal is to merge the resources of state government and universities to identify, develop, and implement new technology to improve the state's transportation system.
Located on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, LTRC provides researchers and students access to excellent laboratories and state-of-the-art research equipment. The full resources of LSU as a Carnegie Designated Doctoral/Research Extensive Institution are also available. The unique position of LTRC provides access to virtually all of LSU and DOTD’s resources to pursue its mission.
In addition to its affiliation with LSU, LTRC participates fully with other universities in Louisiana that house engineering programs (Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Southern University, Tulane University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and University of New Orleans). By combining their resources with those of DOTD, the center eliminates duplication of effort and provides a richer base of support. The center also provides an avenue for multi-disciplinary support from universities to meet the practical and academic needs of the transportation industry in such areas as engineering, law, business and management, basic sciences, planning, and environmental studies.
LTRC houses more than 90 employees and up to 30 students in two adjacent facilities. The LTRC building is a 25,300-square foot facility that includes five research laboratories, a conference room, and offices. The laboratories are used to conduct advanced research into asphalt, concrete, soils, and pavements. The 14,000-square foot Transportation Training and Education Center (TTEC) houses a lecture hall, a computer-based training classroom, and two general classrooms that are all equipped with advanced education and training equipment and distance learning/video-conferencing capabilities. A comprehensive transportation library and offices are also included.
LTRC is a budget division of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Funding is a combination of State, State Planning and Research (Part II, Federal), Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment (Federal), Surface Transportation Program (STP-Federal), and external contracts and grants, such as the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Federal Agency Grants, and the National Science Foundation.
LTRC has identified research areas of strategic importance and has developed expanded capabilities for concentration in several areas: the Engineering Materials Characterization Research Facility (EMCRF), a laboratory facility specializing in fundamental materials characterization; the Geotechnical Engineering Research Laboratory (GERL), a laboratory focusing on transportation earth-works, structural foundations, and geosynthetics; Pavement on the Move (POM), a multi-use mobile laboratory for collecting data from field construction projects as well as research and training; and the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) lab, the newest lab designed to evaluate traffic data collected from Louisiana’s traffic management centers. Although remote from the center, the Louisiana Pavement Research Facility is an important facility that streamlines pavement loading research by compressing years of road wear into months of testing. The six-acre facility is located on the west side of the Mississippi River and incorporates an Accelerated Loading Facility (ALFTM) for testing flexible pavements and our ATLAS for testing rigid pavements.
To learn more about our research areas, visit the following pages:
The focus of LTRC on safety-related research, training, and outreach has increased over the past five years as DOTD has affirmed its commitment to reducing the number of highway crashes which result in fatalities and serious injuries in the state. To that end, the Louisiana Center for Transportation Safety, also known as LCTS or the Safety Center, was established in January 2015. LCTS's location within LTRC provides access to academic partners and training facilities and enables coordination of safety research, workforce development, and stakeholder outreach across the many entities involved in the Louisiana Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). LCTS is funded by the state's key lead agencies in transportation safety and injury prevention. The hope is that this enhanced level of activity and collaboration will benefit not only the state of Louisiana but also regional and national safety improvement efforts.
As LTRC’s formal research program continues to investigate solutions to Louisiana’s transportation problems, the technology transfer program serves the wider transportation community by implementing these research findings and technological innovations. Whether through technical assistance on DOTD projects, publications, videos, seminars, or workshops, technology transfer’s ultimate goal is to disseminate practical knowledge to municipalities, parishes, and the transportation industry at large. Technology transfer’s ultimate goal is to disseminate practical knowledge to municipalities, parishes, and the transportation industry at large. LTRC’s Publications and Digital Media Development Program meets DOTD’s informational and training needs through newsletters, brochures, annual reports, capsules, web development, and video production/photography.
The addition of the Transportation Training and Education Center greatly enhances LTRC’s mission by facilitating the delivery of training, professional development opportunities, and technology transfer to engineers, technicians, undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals from both the public and private domains.
LTRC's Local Technical Assistance Program, one of 52 Centers networked throughout the United States, stimulates the progressive transfer of highway technology through training, work force development and technical assistance. A cooperative effort of DOTD, FHWA and LSU, LTAP leverages the expertise and resources of these organizations for the benefit of local transportation and public works agencies.