MAINTENANCE-FREE LIFE OF HEAVILY TRAFFICKED FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS

Results obtained from a nationwide survey and analysis of the performance of 18 heavily trafficked flexible pavements are presented. The pavements surveyed are located in nine states, and interviews were held with highway engineers at each location. Results show that the major types of distress requiring maintenance for heavily trafficked flexible pavements are fatigue or alligator cracking, transverse crakcing, longitudinal cracking, and rutting. The major causes are heavy traffic loadings, inadequate pavement structures, low temperature shrinkage of asphalt concrete, poor lane joint construction, aging of asphalt cement, and disintegration of cement-treated bases from deicing slats and freeze and thaw. The maintenance-free life of conventional flexible pavement depends on several factors including environmental region. For wet regions having significant freeze-thaw cycles, maintenance-free life ranges up to 10 years; for dry freeze-thaw regins, maintenance-free life ranges up to 15 years. In non-freeze-thaw wet or dry regions, maintenance-free life ranges up to 15 years. Several design recommendations are given that were found to improve the maintenance-free life of flexible pavements and whose use may be justified after the high maintenance and user delay costs of heavily trafficked highways are noted. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/602/602-002.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=MAINTENANCE-FREE+LIFE+OF+HEAVILY+TRAFFICKED+FLEXIBLE+PAVEMENTS&author=M.+Darter&author=E.+Barenberg&author=J.+Sawan&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Flexible Pavement Design. 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:
  • Darter, Michael I
  • Barenberg, Ernest J
  • Sawan, Jihad S
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 9-16
• Monograph Title: Pavement design, evaluation and performance
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 602
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt concrete; Defects; Deicing chemicals; Environment; Flexible pavements; Freezing; Pavement cracking; Pavement distress; Pavement maintenance; Pavement performance; Pavements; Service life; Shrinkage; Thaw; Traffic loads
• Uncontrolled Terms: Freeze thaw cycles
• Old TRIS Terms: Pavement life
• Subject Areas: Design; Freight Transportation; Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00155995
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309220710
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 15 1977 12:00AM