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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <item>
      <title>Assessment of GDOT Grassing Practices for Post-Construction Disturbed Areas within the Right-of-Way
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2717785</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of the proposed research study is to assess the effectiveness of Georgia Department of Transportation's (GDOT)’s current grassing revegetation process and provide recommendations for improvement. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:43:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2717785</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Integrated Approaches to Establishment, Mowing, and Weed Control for Florida Roadside Turfgrasses</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2569675</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The main objectives of this research are to: (1) evaluate site-specific protocols for establishing and maintaining turfgrass stands in sandy, low-nutrient roadside soils; (2) investigate mowing regimes and their effects on turfgrass quality and maintenance requirements; (3) assess integrated weed management strategies for sustainable control of priority invasive species; and (4) examine practices that influence roadside turfgrass health and erosion control.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Jun 2025 07:49:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2569675</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Green Landslide Repair Using Deep Rooted Vetiver Grass for MDOT</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2264430</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The proposed study will evaluation the performance of Vetiver stabilized slopes in different locations of Mississippi and Develop a Proactive Landslide Repair Protocol using Vetiver

The specific objective of the proposed study is to:
(1) Evaluate the overall performance of highway slopes in Mississippi stabilized with Vetiver Grass.
(2) Develop a simple Design and direct implementation technique for MDOT Districts.
(3) Develop Specification for Field Implementation of Vetiver. 
(4) Train MDOT Material Division (Geotechnical Section) and District Engineers on the Slope Stabilization Technique using Vetiver.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Oct 2023 09:27:29 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2264430</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4810:  Feasibility of Utilizing Native Grasses and Other Vegetation In Lieu of Exotic Cool Season Grasses</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2232788</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will develop recommendations and an updated specification of native seeding mixtures for planting on INDOT’s right-of-way (ROW) areas. Specific objectives are to: (1) Evaluate previously planted ROW locations to determine long-term planting success, and (2) Develop recommendations for updating INDOT seeding standards to focus on predominantly native seed mixes that would be applicable in various ROW settings. Specific deliverables will include progress reports to INDOT, a final report to INDOT with recommended specifications, a manuscript for publication in a scientific journal, and a presentation at a regional or national scientific conference.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Aug 2023 15:09:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2232788</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Regional Optimization of Roadside Turfgrass Seed Mixtures Phase 3</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1918992</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In this Phase 3 project, the research team proposes to take advantage of the existing field sites to collect longer-term data across Minnesota to strengthen their findings from Phase 2 and ensure the best possible roadside turfgrass mixture recommendations for public stakeholders. Finally, the budget tool developed in Phase 3 will be augmented with new data, including field trial results, and developed into a web-based tool easily accessible by users.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2022 12:50:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1918992</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating Maintenance Requirements and Water Quality
Benefits of Alternative Vegetated and Non-Vegetated Linings in Roadside Swales
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1765388</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Swales are the most widely-used stormwater control measure (SCM) in the transportation environment, including linear rights-of-way, highway interchanges, operations and maintenance facilities, and secondary roadways. They are predominant because they are of low expense and easily fit into typical department of transportation (DOT) rights-of-way. Swales are usually constructed with turf grass and other low-lying grasses, and recent research (much of which was conducted in North Carolina) demonstrates modest to moderate effectiveness regarding pollutant reduction. However, there are many circumstances when grass-lined swales are impractical, especially when located under a tree line so that the vegetation is shaded or in areas with steep slopes. This situation is conducive to rock lining in lieu of vegetation. Moreover, native deep-rooted grasses are often adapted to growth in swales,  and these grasses have different – and less costly – maintenance needs than conventional low-lying turf grasses that need to be mowed. There is little to no information available on how rock-lined and native-deep rooted grass-lined swales perform with respect to water quality. Additionally, research is needed to assign a manning’s roughness coefficient by deep-rooted grasses to flow. Four existing swales and four existing bioswales located at NC State’s Sediment and Erosion Control Research and Education Facility (SECREF) will be used to evaluate water quality performance of alternatively-lined swales. Four of the swales to be tested are currently conventional grass-lined, with the other two being bioswales. Data from previously-conducted experiments will serve as a basis to compare the performance of alternative swale linings. Two different linings will be retrofitted into the existing swales/bioswales. One will be a rock lining (Class B, as specified by NCDOT); the second, a deep rooted native grass mix. Field tests will be conducted in 2021, after a thorough literature review is conducted in autumn 2020. The research team will reach out to NCDOT Roadside Environmental Unit (REU) staff and also reach out to local contractors to determine the costs and availability of alternative swale linings to help NCDOT determine future swale designs. If alternatively-lined swales prove cheaper to maintain while providing at least comparable water quality treatment, the potential for less expensive, yet still safe, operations is likely.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2021 07:58:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1765388</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Zoysiagrass Expansion on Roadsides</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1765387</link>
      <description><![CDATA[North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) currently has to maintain vegetation under and around over 1000 miles of median rail, with approximately $40 million spent in fiscal year 2019 for mowing. Zoysiagrasses are known to be a thick sod-producing turfgrass that once adequately established are low-growing and have minimal weed invasion. Establishing zoysiagrass along non-irrigated roadside shoulders has proven problematic. Research project 2018-02 evaluated, in a small plot format, several establishment options. Seeding and vegetative establishment employing newly created mechanical methodologies were evaluated. In addition, from the NCSU 2017-2018 breeding nursery containing 95 F1 hybrid Zoysiagrasses, 5 experimental (non-released) vegetative zoysiagrass selections were evaluated under roadside conditions. A narrow-bladed selection (XZ14069) and wide-bladed selection (XZ14070) are showing promise for roadside applications. Findings from this research need to be expanded to ‘operational-sized’ roadside plots for further evaluation. Additionally, new breeding materials need to be evaluated and advanced for their ability to establish from seed. The outcome of this research will provide NCDOT with information so that they can select the best germplasm for the establishment and long-term maintenance of NC roadsides.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2021 07:54:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1765387</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Use of Vegetation Enhanced by Green Soil Stabilization for Protection of Kansas Roadsides Against Erosion</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1736391</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The main objective of the proposed research is to evaluate the effectiveness of lignin combined with buffalo grass in preventing the roadside erosion in Kansas, primarily during the construction.  This will be accomplished in two separate research phases. The first phase is designed to address the effectiveness of lignin protection against wind and rainfall induced soil erosion in the absence of vegetation, while the second phase will assess the effect of lignin on the rate of plant growth in the absence of wind and rainfall. Thus, the first phase covers the period between seeding and sprouting of the grass for which the most effective concentrations of lignin solution will be determined along with the method of application and optimal application rates. Plant growth will be monitored and evaluated separately during the second phase. The research is designed so that recommendations for the most effective application of lignin can be formulated upon the completion of the two phases. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2020 13:04:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1736391</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Selection, Installation, and Evaluation of Zoysiagrass</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1473824</link>
      <description><![CDATA[North Carolina Department of Transportation (​NCDOT) currently has to maintain vegetation under and around over 1000 miles of median rail. The Department has used a combination of chemical and mechanical weed control management strategies in the past that have proven to be time consuming and expensive to implement. Zoysiagrasses are known to be a thick sod-producing turfgrass that once adequately established have minimal weed invasion. Unfortunately some of the existing Zoysiagrasses cultivars can be slow to establish unless they are sodded to cover all existing exposed soil. Zoysiagrasses germplasm that can be established quicker using sprigging methods may provide a solution to the establishment and the long-term maintenance. This project will evaluate the establishment and quality characteristics of new germplasm compared to cultivars available commercially. These evaluations will be on NC roadsides in different climatic regions of NC. The outcome of this research will provide NCDOT with information so that they can select the best germplasm for the establishment and long-term maintenance of NC roadsides.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:47:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1473824</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Regional Roadside Turfgrass Performance Testing Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1408379</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objectives of this project are to (1) Institute a multi-state roadside turf grass testing program; (2) Develop a data collection and reporting system that provides the most recent research results to state departments of transportation (DOTs) in a timely manner; and (3) Increase collaboration between University research programs that work on roadside turf.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 22 May 2016 11:28:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1408379</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Improving Switchgrass Stand Establishment through Seed Technology</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1370153</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2015 09:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1370153</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Influence of Varietal Differences in Shrub Willow Crop Biomass Composition on Biochemical Conversion Yield</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1369880</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2015 18:31:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1369880</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Multi-Scale Fouling Characterization of Fermented/Hydrolyzed Sweet Sorghum</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368966</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2015 10:16:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368966</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Production and Life-Cycle Assessment of Switchgrass Across the Heterogeneous Landscape of the Northeast</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368839</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2015 10:34:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368839</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Selection of Hybrids and Optimization of Planting to Facilitate Just-in-Time Harvest for Sweet and Energy Sorghum</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368828</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2015 09:49:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1368828</guid>
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