Angela S Wolters

Evaluation of Rubblized Pavement Sections in Michigan

In 1987 the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) began using rubblization of portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement followed by the application of a hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlay as a rehabilitation method for deteriorated PCC pavements. Early projects constructed in Michigan used the resonant frequency breaker to rubblize the PCC pavement, but by 1997 MDOT began to use the multi-head breaker (MHB) also. In 1999, because some rubblization projects needed rehabilitation after fewer than 12 years of service, MDOT initiated a study to identify causes for underperforming rubblized concrete pavement projects. The current study, initiated in 2005, was conducted specifically to investigate the performance of rubblized projects constructed with the MHB with the use of data provided by MDOT. Analysis of projects constructed in Michigan that used the MHB between 1997 and 2002 revealed that 20 of the 21 pavement sections evaluated had a distress index (DI) condition rating of good, and all sections had ride quality index values in the excellent or good category. The international roughness index values also indicated that all pavements were in good condition, with values of less than 95 in./mi. The DI for most sections indicated that the distress was due to longitudinal cracking at the pavement construction joint and at the pavement edge. Most distresses present on the pavement sections seemed to be related to poor or insufficient drainage, overlay construction issues, or HMA mixture problems.

Development of a Tool to Assess the Quality of Collected Pavement Management Data

Over the past 4 years, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has implemented a pavement management system (PMS) to provide the agency with accurate, current, and relevant pavement condition information for use in prioritizing candidate pavement projects based on economic and engineering analyses. Now that the implementation process has been completed, ODOT routinely uses its PMS to enhance network- and project-level decision making. Currently, ODOT contracts with a vendor to collect network-level sensor, geometric, and distress data using automated data collection techniques. The data are then processed with a combination of automated and semiautomated techniques. The agency recognized that the value of the recommendations made by its PMS is greatly dependent on the quality of the collected information included in the PMS. Therefore, ODOT has emphasized the importance of checking the quality of data before they are used for important management decisions. As one way of assessing the data quality, ODOT developed checks of the data collected and submitted by the vendor. ODOT realized the value of creating an automated procedure for checking the final delivered pavement condition database to provide a rapid, repeatable, and accurate assessment of the data quality. To address this need, ODOT developed a visual basic application tool based on Microsoft Access to provide a user-friendly interface to the systematic procedure of conducting the many required data quality checks. In addition to the control and verification site testing procedures and distress ratings checks, this tool will be used by the agency as part of a comprehensive approach to assessing pavement condition data accuracy and completeness. Details regarding the creation and function of the quality assurance tool are provided in this paper.

Part 3: Low-Volume Roads: Pavement Management and Climatic and Seasonal Effects: Development of Surfacing Criteria for Low-Volume Roads in South Dakota

On a daily basis, local road agencies in South Dakota face the challenge of how to maintain low-volume roads cost-effectively. Specifically, agencies are faced with the decision of determining when it is most economical to maintain, upgrade, or downgrade a roads existing surface. To assist decision makers with maintenance and rehabilitation decisions, the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) initiated a study in 2002 to investigate surfacing criteria for low-volume roads. The overall objective of this research is to create a process that allows users to compare the costs associated with different types of roads to provide assistance in deciding which surface type (hot-mix asphalt, blotter, gravel, or stabilized gravel) is most economical under a specific set of circumstances. In addition to incorporating economic factors into the analysis, the process allows the user to consider other noneconomic factors that are more subjective and difficult to quantify. The process used during this study i...