Research Program Funding

Funding Categories

Caltrans Functional Research | $25,870,006

The Caltrans functional research portfolio includes transportation research that addresses the areas of construction, design, environment, geotechnical/ structures, maintenance, multimodal transport, pavement, planning, policy, programming, right-of-way, rural concerns, and transportation safety and mobility. Tasks are selected through the process described in the “Research Program Development” section and grouped by functional areas to align with Caltrans’ core programs.

The following table shows the breakdown of research by functional area and their 2022-23 funding allocation.

Distribution of Caltrans 2022-23 Research Funding by Research Area

National Research Program | $ 5,742,470

Caltrans partners with national transportation organizations, including the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Caltrans benefits from national research efforts through leveraging research conducted at the national level and by serving on committees and panels that identify critical transportation issues, recommend project selection, and guide implementation. TRB funding pays for the TRB Annual Meeting expenses, workshops, and webinars. NCHRP funding pays for research projects.

State Research Support Partnerships (Research Centers) | $ 4,558,800

DRISI partners with university-based research centers to deliver research results and products. Each research center offers specialized technical expertise and state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and materials.  Funding pays for research and development of engineering methods and design tools for new bridge technologies and innovative solutions, pavement research, development, and implementation of innovation, and supports researcher and staff salaries, facilities, and supplies for rapid response to high importance Caltrans’ requests and efforts.

• Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology Research Center (AHMCT)
• Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center Lifelines Program (PEER)
• Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH)
• University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC)

University Transportation Centers | $ 3,396,154

University transportation centers (UTC) are internationally recognized centers of excellence that are fully integrated within institutions of higher learning. The UTC program is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT). The program advances transportation technology and expertise through research, education, and technology transfer; provides a critical transportation knowledge base outside of the U.S. DOT, and addresses the workforce needs for the next generation of transportation leaders. DRISI works in partnership with UTCs to identify, research, and develop solutions for California’s transportation challenges.

These five MAP-21 funded UTCs continue to conduct research initiated in prior years.

• METRANS Transportation Center
• Mineta National Transit Research Consortium
• National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• University of California Center on Economic Competitiveness in Transportation
• University of California Transportation Center

Caltrans awarded funds under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to these three UTCs: 

• Mineta Consortium for Transportation Mobility
• National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center

Roadside Safety Research | $ 158,722

DRISI’s Roadside Safety Research group evaluates the crash worthiness of safety technology, including barriers, guardrails, crash cushions, bridge rails, sign supports, and other hardware. It conducts full-scale crash tests on roadside safety hardware designs developed by Caltrans to ensure that these designs comply with applicable crash performance criteria. The group also evaluates the crash worthiness of proprietary hardware developed by others to ensure that it is acceptable for use on state highways. The group provides support to Caltrans Legal Division in tort liability cases by conducting crash tests and delivering technical assessments and expert witness testimony.

Research Implementation | $ 250,000

Over the last three years DRISI has worked to increase the number of projects implemented by offering Implementation funding. Implementation funding from DRISI is seed money to help implement projects, not a way to fund the full implementation of a project. These implementation funds may assist in procurement of prototype equipment, provide training, provide a method of charging time for non-Caltrans subject matter experts, etc.  Most projects are awarded no more than $150,000.

During the 2023 cycle, DRISI awarded funding to two promising projects. DRISI will track the results of these projects and continue to support the implementation of high-quality research in the coming years.