EVALUATION OF TRUCK IMPACTS ON PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE COSTS

To determine the factors that influence pavement maintenance costs of California state highways and evaluate the impact of heavy-truck traffic on maintenance cost is the purpose of this paper. More than 1,100 one-mile sections of state highways were randomly sampled, and data from various sources were integrated to form a data base containing information on traffic, weather, geometric conditions, and pavement maintenance costs for the sample sections. Following an extensive explorative analysis of the data, a model of pavement maintenance cost was formulated. The most significant finding is that heavy-truck (five or more axles) traffic has a much larger impact on pavement maintenance cost than does light-truck traffic or passenger-car traffic. The estimation results indicate that, on a typical roadway, the average annual maintenance cost per heavy truck per day amounts to $7.60 per mile per year, while the corresponding cost per passenger car is approximately $0.08. The study further shows that one additional heavy truck per day will cost an additional $3.73 per mile per year of roadway for pavement maintenance. An increase of 50 heavy trucks will cost $183.10 per year per mile. The corresponding cost increases due to passenger-car traffic are $0.04 and $2.18 per year per mile, respectively. This study thus establishes that one heavy truck is equivalent to about 90 light trucks or passenger cars in terms of its impact on pavement maintenance cost.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1990/1262/1262-006.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=EVALUATION+OF+TRUCK+IMPACTS+ON+PAVEMENT+MAINTENANCE+COSTS&author=R.+Gibby&author=R.+Kitamura&author=H.+Zhao&publication_year=1990
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1262, Planning, Management and Economic Analysis 1990. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Gibby, R
  • Kitamura, R
  • Zhao, H
• Publication Date: 1990

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 48-56
• Monograph Title: Planning and administration - planning, management, and economic analysis 1990
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1262
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data analysis; Heavy vehicles; Impacts; Maintenance management; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Pavement maintenance; Trucks
• Uncontrolled Terms: Maintenance costs
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Motor Carriers; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00600620
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309050146
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 31 1990 12:00AM