Promoting Implementation of Significant Findings from the NCAT Pavement Test Track

Abstract

The National Center for Asphalt Technology’s (NCAT) Pavement Test Track is a unique accelerated pavement testing facility that has been operational for over 20 years. It is a cooperatively funded project with individual test sections sponsored by state and federal highway agencies as well as commercial interest groups. The focus of research within each section can include mix/materials, structural pavement design, and/or pavement preservation. A fleet of triple trailer trains with legally loaded axles is used to compress a design lifetime of pavement damage within each 3-year project cycle, with fleet operations suspended weekly to facilitate detailed pavement condition assessments. Off-Track pavement preservation sections were added to the program in 2012. A pavement research partnership with the Minnesota Road Research Project (MnROAD) was added in 2015 that included both pavement preservation and asphalt mix performance testing. This paper highlights a new initiative by the project team in the 2018 research cycle to promote implementation of significant findings that have the greatest relevance to sponsoring state agencies. The effort consisted of reviewing experimental outcomes from all seven research cycles, determining an implementation readiness level for each finding, seeking feedback from industry stakeholders, and working one-on-one with state agency representatives to identify the best deployment candidates to pursue successful demonstration projects.