Title: Pavement Preservation Strategy Selection in California
Abstract: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has embarked on an ambitious program for pavement preservation and has established a pavement preservation task group (PPTG) to handle activities related to this program. One of the sub-groups is charged with improving the pavement preservation strategy selection process for both asphalt and portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements. This paper describes the pavement preservation strategy selection process currently used by Caltrans for flexible pavements. It identifies the many factors that are considered in the process of selecting an appropriate maintenance treatment for a pavement. These factors include pavement age and condition, traffic levels, expected future plans, as well as available funding and agency policy. For a properly constructed new pavement, typical pavement preservation treatments include those to delay the onset of distresses or to slow down the progress of the distresses. As the pavement ages, the pavement may become a candidate for routine and contract maintenance (e.g., crack sealing, grinding, seal coats, or thin hot mix overlays), minor or major rehabilitation, and eventually reconstruction. Determining the appropriate maintenance treatment, based on the pavement condition index of the existing pavement and cost-effectiveness of the treatment, also depends on the timing of the treatment. Once a pavement has been identified for pavement maintenance, a specific treatment is selected to address the specific distress mechanism for the pavement. The most important factors considered when choosing a maintenance treatment include the following: Will the treatment address the distresses present? Can the required preparation for the treatment be carried out? Is the treatment cost-effective? Can the treatment be applied before the situation being addressed changes? A discussion of the basic steps in the pavement preservation strategy selection process is presented in this paper. These steps include the following: (1) Assess the existing pavement conditions: the pavement distress mechanisms are identified from field pavement surveys along with the use of a field distress identification manual; (2) Determine the feasible treatment options: the feasibility is determined by a treatment's ability to address the functional and structural condition of the pavement while also meeting any future needs; at this stage, the primary purpose of selecting feasible treatments is to determine if the identified maintenance treatments work for the pavement conditions; and (3) Analyze and compare the feasible options with each other: the feasible options are further compared in terms of cost, life expectancy of the treatment, and extended pavement life benefits due to treatment; to determine cost-effectiveness of each treatment, a life cycle or other cost-effectiveness measure should be made. This paper also addresses proposed changes to the selection process to include treatments for PCC pavements and to include a more detailed cost-effectiveness approach using life-cycle cost analysis.
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 5
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