Comparative Analysis of Microsurfacing and Portland Cement Slurry Seal for Rut Filling
Rutted pavements pose a safety hazard to the public and a costly liability for transportation agencies that must be remediated with limited funds. A sustainable solution, pavement preservation, addresses pavement system needs by “keeping good roads good”. Microsurfacing and Portland cement slurry seal are pavement preservation treatments that can be used to fill ruts, whereby extending pavement life and stretching the budget. Microsurfacing has been shown to be a cost effective pavement treatment solution when compared to traditional methods. Portland cement slurry seal is a newer rut filling technology. Although these two treatments can address various serviceability aspects for both asphalt and concrete pavements, their potential for rut filling remains underutilized. Many factors influence what makes a treatment the “right treatment” for a given project, such as traffic volume and technical factors, in addition to cost and material price volatility. Therefore, having a variety of tools in the pavement preservation toolbox enhances a pavement engineer’s ability to select the “right treatment for the right pavement at the right time”. This paper presents and compares friction data, a common performance indicator related to safety, for microsurfacing and Portland cement slurry seal based upon field trials. Preliminary results show that both treatments are performing sufficiently and comparably. A life cycle cost comparison is also conducted to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the treatment alternatives. The paper concludes that either treatment could be a viable option for rut filling to preserve asphalt and concrete pavements depending upon project specific performance and cost factors.
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHD18 Pavement Preservation.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Pittenger, Dominique M
- Gransberg, Douglas D
- Zaman, Musharraf
- Riemer, Caleb
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC
- Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
- Date: 2014
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 11p
- Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Highway safety; Life cycle costing; Pavement maintenance; Portland cement; Preservation; Rutting; Service life; Slurry seals
- Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; I52: Construction of Pavements and Surfacings; I60: Maintenance;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01515585
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 14-0756
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 24 2014 8:43AM