A Proposal for Revising TxDOT Ride Specification to Account for Ride Quality Improvement

The objectives of this project were to i) develop a rational and financially justifiable pay adjustment system that incorporates “new” versus “old” ride quality and ii) evaluate the existing techniques to measure ride quality using Surface Test Type B or inertial profilers on short projects. To achieve these objectives, the researchers conducted an extensive review of ride specifications from other states, focusing on common ride measuring devices and roughness indices, and payment adjustment systems. A survey of past studies was also conducted that focused on the relationship between pre- and post-construction roughness and pavement performance, evaluating the need for incorporating the improvement in ride quality into the pay adjustment system. A comprehensive database was developed integrating SiteManager, Design and Construction Information System (DCIS), and Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) databases. The ride quality data were extracted from a total of 565 asphalt projects constructed from 2001 to 2011. Statistical analyses were applied to establish a pay adjustment scheme based on the gain in pavement life due to the ride improvement relative to ride quality prior to the project construction. As a result, a performance-based pay adjustment system was proposed that incentivizes or penalizes pavement projects according to the combination of change in the ride quality and post-construction ride quality. In terms of roughness measurement on short projects, the research team administered a survey questionnaire with specific and direct questions and in-person interviews designed to obtain insight into the practical issues associated with operating inertial profilers on short projects. A field experiment was also carried out to investigate the feasibility of using inertial profilers to measure roughness on short projects. The results of the field experiment and the survey revealed that an inertial profiler operated by an experienced driver could be used to measure the roughness on short projects, provided that sufficient data are collected for stabilization and initialization of the algorithms before that target section.

• Record URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/0-6853-1.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://www.chpp.egr.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/14.-CHPP-Report-UTA5-2017.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/psr/0-6853-s.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/search/SearchResults_ClearCriteria.aspx?q=(catalog.ID=(34958))
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Project Title: Improvements to Ride Specifications. Report Date August 2016; Published March 2017.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Austin

  Center for Transportation Research, 1616 Guadalupe Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-1255

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Implementation Office, P.O. Box 5080
  Austin, TX  United States  78763-5080

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Prozzi, Jorge A
  • Buddhavarapu, Prasad
  • Kouchaki, Sareh
  • de Fortier Smit, Andre
• Publication Date: 2017-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Technical Report
• Pagination: 80p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Databases; Paving; Ride quality; Roughness; Specifications; Statistical analysis
• Identifier Terms: Texas Department of Transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Inertial profilers; Pay adjustments
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01632464
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TX-16/0-6853-1, Report No. 0-6853-1
• Contract Numbers: 0-6853
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Apr 23 2017 5:07PM