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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Watchful Electronics Eliminating Destructive Species</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604569</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is tasked with maintaining thousands of miles of roadways and associated rights-of-way (ROW) across diverse and often challenging terrain. Noxious weed infestations along these ROW pose significant threats, including compromising roadway integrity, competing with desirable vegetation, reducing land productivity, degrading habitat, and increasing long-term maintenance costs (Kuni, 2025). Managing these weeds effectively is crucial but is particularly difficult in areas that are hard-to-reach, steep, or hazardous, where traditional ground-based spraying methods are inefficient, unsafe, and cost-prohibitive. MDT requires innovative solutions to augment existing Integrated Weed Management (IWM) efforts, prioritizing crew safety and fiscal responsibility while effectively controlling infestations across large geographic regions. There is a specific need to accurately identify the location and species of weeds to enable targeted, rather than broadcast, treatment, thereby optimizing herbicide use and minimizing environmental impact.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 17:07:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604569</guid>
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      <title>Herbicide Formulations for Roadside Maintenance</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2543855</link>
      <description><![CDATA[South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has the 4th largest state-maintained transportation system in the United States with vast acres of roadside vegetation to maintain. Vegetation management expenses comprise a considerable portion of the state’s maintenance budget, with costs skyrocketing over the last few years. While the agency has historically incorporated the use of herbicides in the vegetation management program, newer herbicide chemistries and applications are needed to provide a more sustainable approach to roadside vegetation management. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:14:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2543855</guid>
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      <title>Implementation of Field Recommendations for the NCDOT Wildflower Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149837</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The fumigant methyl bromide has been widely and successfully used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for weed control when establishing wildflowers along highway rights-of-way. With the loss of methyl bromide in 2005, NCDOT must continue to find alternatives to control weeds in wildflower plantings. Research is proposed for field experiments to evaluate weed control efficacy and tolerance of multiple species of wildflowers to a number of herbicides applied during establishment of wildflowers and for maintenance in established plantings. Information gained from this research will be essential for NCDOT to develop suitable alternative approaches for weed control in the absence of methyl bromide, as well as the loss of existing herbicides.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Apr 2023 10:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149837</guid>
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      <title>Improving Roadside Herbicide Application Safety and Versatility
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1872025</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) maintains over 19,000 acres of roadside. Within that area are noxious weeds, guardrails and signs. Vegetation can obscure the visibility of signs and guardrail and, in extreme cases, impede or block roadway drainage. Mowing typically occurs between one to four times a year depending on the location. In the meantime, noxious weeds need to be controlled. One of the best means of control is herbicide application. Special herbicides, or plant growth regulators, are applied to the vegetation to slow the growth and thus reduce the need for mowing and increase visibility for motorist. ODOT's current processes for the application of herbicides is labor intensive, hazardous and can restrict access to essential equipment.      

Other challenges are encountered during the actual application process. When spraying on open roadways, trucks are a good vehicle for spraying, but they do not do well in off-road situations and in tight spots. As herbicides are being applied, changes in weather (e.g., wind intensity and direction, temperature changes, rain) can require the application to be halted. The dump truck, which may still have several hundred gallons of herbicide in the tank, is now out-of-commission until the remaining herbicide can be applied at a later time. If roadcrews need to change the type of herbicide that is being applied, they must return to the garage (or other designated area), rinse out the sprayer's tank and restart the filling/mixing process with the new chemical. During the application process, roadcrews must record what has been done (e.g., materials used, location of application, etc.). These records must be kept for three years and the accuracy of the data is extremely important. ODOT has a Global Positioning System/Automated Vehicle Location (GPS/AVL) program that tracks various aspects of truck usage; however, herbicide application is currently not included.  

When successful this research will identify new technologies and processes that can be incorporated into ODOT's herbicide program. When incorporated the new processes will improve efficiencies, increase worker safety and provide cost effective application.     ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2021 14:03:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1872025</guid>
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      <title>Enhancing Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management
Along North Carolina Roadsides through Characterizing
Herbicide Fate.</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1530093</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Vegetation management along NC roadsides must encompass comprehensive management programs in a fiscally responsible manner ensuring motorist and transportation worker safety. Synthetic pesticides are an integral component of roadside vegetation management; however, managers must utilize effective vegetation management programs without adversely affecting adjacent plants or vegetation including agricultural crops as well as environmental and human health. An assessment of existing practices as well as evaluation of new instrumentation and technology, which may assist field personnel to avoid adverse scenarios, is needed. Specifically, the proposed research will assess current vegetation management programs and practices and their effect on air and water quality, identify best management practices to minimize potential off-target movement, and devise training material for NC DOT field personnel to understand how to prevent and identify off-target movement.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:36:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1530093</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Phase 2 Biological Control of Invasive Phragmites Australis</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1440527</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Phragmites australis plant growth and rapid expansion causes negative impacts including public safety and interference with New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) maintenance operations. More broadly, the growth and expansion of Phragmites australis interferes with NYSDOT’s Landscape Stewardship Policy to promote biodiversity. Current practices to control Phragmites australis include the application of herbicides followed by burning or mechanical removal of dead stalks. Success of eradication using herbicides has only been achieved for small infestations covering less than 1 acre. For larger areas, eradication has not been successful; plants re-grow and require re-treatment with herbicide application at a 3-5 year rotation. These practices pose problems to the maintenance budget and can cause negative ecological side effects for non-target plants.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2016 14:07:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1440527</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>2156 - Roadside Vegetation Management Training &amp; Consultation Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1325241</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objectives of this program are to conduct yearly herbicide applicator certification schools related to Roadside Vegetation Management (RVM) that will help prepare new Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) personnel for subsequent pesticide applicator testing &amp; certification and to provide each of the eight ODOT field divisions with yearly herbicide applicator continuing education workshops.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 01:00:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1325241</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>2157 - Roadside Vegetation Management Research</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1325240</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of the project is to conduct field investigations which evaluate herbicide products, applications and equipment.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 01:00:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1325240</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Attenuation of Herbicides in Sub-Arctic Enviroments: Continental Climate Study</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1256515</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this project is to investigate the environmental fate and attenuation of three herbicides currently being evaluated for use along Alaska's transportation corridors. Building upon results obtained in previous studies, this work seeks to contribute to the knowledge base necessary to minimize environmental risks associated with herbicide application in Alaska's sensitive, cold region ecosystems. As transportation-related entities such as the Alaska Department of Transportation &amp; Public Facilities (ADOT&amp;PF) and the Alaska Railroad Corporation (AKRR) require strict vegetation management practices in order to safely conduct operations, these entities have an interest in evaluating herbicides as a potential management tool. As a consequence, the AKRR (current study and previous study) and the ADOT (previous studies) are collaborating with the Alaska University Transportation Research Center (AUTC) to fund research efforts pursuant to herbicide application. In a current project joint funded by the AKRR and AUTC Razor® Pro and Oust® Extra were applied on two study plots near the southern section of AKRR rail line near Seward, Alaska. Soil and groundwater samples from each of these study plots are being analyzed for each herbicide over time. In the proposed study, Razor® Pro and Oust® Extra will be applied on the northern section of AKRR rail line near Fairbanks, Alaska. As in the ongoing study, researchers from the UAF Water &amp; Environmental Research Center (WERC) will evaluate the fate of these herbicides over a two-year time period through a series of soil and groundwater samples in order to obtain site-specific attenuation data. As part of the current, lysimeters were installed at the UAF Fairbanks Experiment Farm to better quantify the attenuation of different herbicides that may possibly be used on Alaskan right-of-ways. These lysimeter studies will continue as part of this proposed project.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:00:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1256515</guid>
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