Pavement Preservation Practices in Cold Regions

Abstract

Pavement preservation is an emerging approach in road upkeep. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) aim to spend wisely the funding for its road upkeep by integrating pavement preservation concept into its Pavement Management System. To do this, a literature review was conducted on the performance and cost effectiveness of pavement preservation treatments in cold regions. This paper presents the results of the literature review. The following include the main findings: Pavement preservation treatments, Crack Sealing, Patching, Fog Seals, Chip Seals, Slurry Seals, AST/BST, Microsurfacing, Thin Overlays, Bonded Wearing Courses, Interlayers and In-place Recycling, are all used widely in cold regions. Crack sealing and patching are the most extensively used pavement preservation treatments. Use of chip seals, fog seals, and slurry seals should be considered job specifically. The service life of the treatments varies from about 3 years to 12 years. Microsurfacing and thin overlays have the longest service life. The costs of treatments vary from a region to another as well as from project to another. Other issues despite the cost effectiveness include sustainability and traffic safety.