Guide to Using Existing Pavement in Place and Achieving Long Life

Abstract

On roadways that have acceptable geometric features, renewal can be greatly accelerated and costs reduced if the existing pavement can be incorporated into the new pavement structure. Transportation agencies need reliable procedures that allow them to identify when an existing pavement can successfully be used in place and how to incorporate it into the new pavement structure to achieve long life. This guide and the accompanying report and web tool provide guidance for selecting, designing, and constructing long-life pavements using existing pavement structure. The goal of this project was to develop reliable procedures and guidelines for identifying when existing pavements can be used in place and the methods necessary to incorporate the original material into the new pavement structure while achieving long life. “Long life” was defined as 50 years or longer from the time the pavement was renewed or rehabilitated until the next major rehabilitation. The report and guide encourage longer-lasting renewed pavement designs; provide realistic, easy-to-use pavement thickness scoping assessments; and guide users through the data-gathering process needed for input into designing and constructing a long-life pavement using the existing pavement structure. The guide includes the following: project assessment manual; best practices for rehabilitation of flexible pavements and rigid pavements; guide specifications; life-cycle cost analysis; and emerging pavement technology. All the guidance has been incorporated into the web-based pavement design scoping tool, which is meant to complement, not replace, a transportation agency’s normal processes for design and pavement-type selection. As a result of outreach to transportation agencies, a set of enhancements is currently under way and will be included as a future addendum to the report and guide.