Iowa State’s Institute for Transportation is tentatively preparing for a significant addition to its department.

With a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, a new Midwest Transportation Center might be partnering with the institute and the College of Engineering in the near future.

The Midwest Transportation Center is generally focused on conducting research into the safety and maintenance of roadways throughout the country. The centers are working together and separately on various local and national issues regarding roadways they are tasked with solving.

Among the issues faced by Midwest Transportation Center’s research teams is improving the performance of pavement materials in certain weather conditions.

For students in the College of Engineering, the Midwest Transportation Center could be an opportunity to get experience in the transportation fields.

“A big portion of what we do is education,” said Omar Smadi, research scientist for the Institute of Transportation. “And we’re not just focused on college education: We also have a K-12 program.”

Awaiting approval from the Board of Regents, the grant amounts to two installments of $2,592,500 awarded annually to fund the project’s establishment and operation.

Six schools are expected to be involved in the efforts: Creighton, Harris-Stowe State, Missouri-Columbia, Missouri-St. Louis, Wichita State and Iowa State.

Shauna Hallmark, the interim director for the Institute of Transportation, said an estimated 40 students and 18 researchers will be able to work for the new center upon its establishment.

Should the Board of Regents decide to approve the plans of establishment, it might not be long before it can be even more greatly expanded.

“The nice thing about a MTC is you can leverage funds to hire more students and do more research,” Smadi said.

Smadi also said the Midwest Transportation Center working with Iowa State could potentially be valuable for the city of Ames and even the country as a whole.