The Research Division is a group of 15 people who seek to bring modern technology to bear in the challenges of providing a quality transportation system for Mississippi. The division was created to carry out the federal mandate to use a portion of federal aid highway construction funds for research to address problems in the highway arena. The division is probably best known for conducting research studies. This research program is almost exclusively devoted to applied, operational research. The division has concentrated primarily on pavement research. Even though most of the research program over the years has been related to pavements, a number of studies have been conducted in other highway and transportation areas.

In addition to research studies, the division is very active with operational duties, many of which have evolved from research studies. The MDOT Pavement Management System was developed and is operated by the division. Pavement management involves creation and maintenance of a database containing several types of information on the state maintained highway system including original construction, geometrics, rehabilitation, ride quality, distress and traffic. The division operates a Falling Weight Deflectometer that collects pavement response information from a heavy load and uses this information to design pavement overlays. The division also operates a skid testing system for measuring the skid resistance of pavements.