Accelerated Pavement Rehabilitation and Reconstruction with Long-Life Asphalt Concrete on High-Traffic Urban Highways

Abstract

Rehabilitation of urban highways is a critical issue confronting the California Department of Transportation because the state has a significant inventory of overaged, heavily trafficked urban highways showing extensive signs of distress. This paper presents the innovative pavement rehabilitation technologies and techniques that the agency applied in the first asphalt concrete (AC) project for its Long-Life Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (LLPRS) program. A 4.4-km stretch of deteriorated concrete pavement on I-710 in Long Beach was rehabilitated successfully with 230 mm of AC overlay or 325 mm of full-depth AC replacement during eight 55-h weekend closures. The pilot project proved that the accelerated (fast-track) rehabilitation with 55-h weekend closures is a viable option that can drastically shorten the overall construction time and lessen the negative effects of construction in an urban area. The project also proved that AC pavement designed to provide a design life of 30-plus years can be constructed in a series of weekend closures even on the most heavily loaded truck route in the state. The construction-monitoring study indicated that contractor productivities were noticeably improved (through the learning effect) as weekend closures were repeated. In addition, the pay factor clause in the contract effectively encouraged the contractor's awareness of quality. The traffic measurements study showed that traffic operated at free-flow speeds throughout the surrounding highways and arterial roads during the construction weekends. It is expected that the construction and traffic management techniques adopted in this project will be used in LLPRS projects on California urban highways with high-traffic volumes.