UTAH'S SYSTEM DESIGN FOR ROADWAY IMPROVEMENT

A REPORT WILL BE PREPARED FOR CONGRESS BY 1972 SHOWING THE NATIONWIDE ESTIMATE OF HIGHWAY NEEDS UP TO 1990. THE STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 1990 FUNCTIONAL PLAN AND NEEDS ESTIMATE. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND NEEDS STUDY MANUAL SUGGESTED A METHOD OF ESTIMATING THE REMAINING SERVICE LIFE FOR PAVEMENTS. HOWEVER, THE FINAL CHOICE OF A PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING REMAINING SERVICE LIFE WAS LEFT TO THE STATE PROVIDED PREVIOUS APPROVAL WAS OBTAINED. A SYSTEM FOR PLANNING PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED THAT TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THE MAIN ELEMENTS AFFECTING ROADWAY PERFORMANCE: (1) STRUCTURAL ADEQUACY, THE ABILITY OF THE ROADWAY TO SUPPORT REPEATED TRAFFIC LOADS WITHOUT FAILURE; (2) SERVICEABILITY, AN ESTIMATE OF THE TRAVELING PUBLIC'S OPINION OF THE RELATIVE QUALITY OF PAVEMENT SURFACES; AND (3) SLIPPERINESS, THE SKID RESISTANCE OF PAVEMENT SURFACES. A FOURTH ELEMENT STILL TO BE ADDED TO THE SYSTEM IS SUFFICIENCY, WHICH PERTAINS TO COMPONENTS OF THE SAFE MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC, E.G., CAPACITY, HAZARDS, AND GEOMETRICS. THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ROADWAY IS EVALUATED ACCORDING TO EACH ELEMENT. USING APPROPRIATE PREDICTION EQUATIONS, THE RATE OF DETERIORATION OF A PAVEMENT IS DETERMINED, AND, IN RELATIONSHIP TO TRAFFIC, THE TIME OF FAILURE IS PREDICTED. THE REMAINING LIFE FROM EACH OF THE THREE ELEMENTS IS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE REQUIRED SERVICE LIFE TO DETERMINE THE RECOMMENDED IMPROVEMENT THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE ROADWAY AT A SATISFACTORY LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE. THE SYSTEM PERMITS DETERMINING WHEN ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE REQUIRED, WHAT TYPE OF IMPROVEMENT IS NECESSARY, AND WHAT AMOUNT OF CORRECTION IS NEEDED FOR THE ROADWAY TO MAINTAIN A SATISFACOTY LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE. ALL HIGHWAYS UNDER THE SYSTEM MUST BE TESTED IN THE FIRST YEAR, BUT THERE-AFTER THE SYSTEM MAY BE MAINTAINED BY TESTING 20--25% OF THE TOTAL PROJECTS ANNUALLY. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 157 Pp, 36 FIG, 16 TAB, 3 APP
• Corporate Authors:

  Utah State Department Highways

  /Materials and Test Division
  ,   United States 
• Authors:
  • Peterson, D E
  • Delis, W R
  • Mangrum, D
  • Sy, C C
• Publication Date: 1971

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Evaluation; Failure; Forecasting; Highways; Improvements; Needs assessment; Pavement performance; Pavements; Performance; Planning; Roads; Service life; Serviceability; Slipperiness; Strategic planning; Structural analysis; Systems
• Uncontrolled Terms: Structural adequacy; Sufficiency rating
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207384
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Dec 20 1971 12:00AM