Determining the Age and Smoothness of Asphalt and Concrete Pavements at the Time of First Rehabilitation using Long-Term Pavement Performance Program Data

Abstract

Initial performance period is an important input in life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA). An objective of this study was thus to determine actual initial performance periods, as the pavement age at first rehabilitation, for asphalt and concrete pavements using Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program data. In addition, most agencies use International Roughness Index (IRI), a measure of pavement roughness applicable to both asphalt and concrete pavements, in their decision-making and performance-evaluation process. A secondary objective was, therefore, to determine the pavement roughness condition at the time of first rehabilitation using the same dataset. Based on surveys of highway agencies, initial performance periods frequently used in LCCA for asphalt pavements are between 10 and 15 years, while the average asphalt pavement age at time of first rehabilitation in the LTPP program was found to be approximately 18 years. For concrete pavements, most initial performance periods used in LCCA are between 20 and 25 years, whereas the average concrete pavement age at the time of first rehabilitation in the LTPP program is about 24 years. This suggests initial performance period values used for LCCA do not adequately represent the actual age of asphalt pavements at the time of first rehabilitation, while they are generally representative of actual concrete pavement age at the time of first rehabilitation. Also, it was found that asphalt pavements are typically rehabilitated when they are in good or fair condition according to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) IRI criteria whereas concrete pavements are typically not rehabilitated until the pavement is in fair or poor condition.