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Pavement Design and Accelerated Pavement Testing Research Facilities

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Traditionally, pavement engineers around the world, and mainly in the United States, design flexible and rigid pavements based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) method. This methodology was developed in the late 1950s in Ottawa, Illinois, under what was called then the AASHO Road Tests. The AASHO Road tests are considered by many road engineers to be one of the first references of experimental data that takes into consideration the interaction between the vehicle and the road in the design of the pavement, and aid in determining how traffic influences the deterioration of roadways. For this reason, the AASHO Road Tests can be considered as one of the very first accelerated pavement testing (APT) facilities.

With the help of the AASHO Road tests from the 1950s, the performance of the pavement structures of known thickness under moving loads of known magnitude and frequency was observed, and the results obtained were the source to develop the pavement design guides that pavement engineers use to design flexible and rigid pavement structures.  The first version of what is known today as the AASHTO Pavement Design guide was published in 1961, with major updates issued in 1972 and 1993. In 1998, a supplement to the 1993 guide was published and its use continues nowadays in the United States and around the world.

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Implementation of Research from Accelerated Pavement Testing Facilities

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In my last blog, I emphasized the importance of our highway system to our society in supporting the economy of countries around the world by continuously moving people and goods from one point to another, and the role that accelerated pavement testing (APT) facilities plays in providing DOT and industry engineers, through research and the collection of quality data, with the tools to achieve the common goal of ensuring lasting effects on tomorrow’s infrastructure with the decisions we make today.

Since the construction of MnROAD on Interstate-94 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) in 1993, other APTs have been constructed. I previously mentioned the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) test track in Alabama originally constructed in 2000. More recently, we can see how the example set by these two APTs is influencing the construction of others; the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has initiated the construction of a 2.5-mile concrete test road, long a northbound segment of US-301, which is expected to open to traffic by the end of 2021.

These test road facilities provide the ground for a comprehensive in-service performance assessment of different pavement technologies and innovative concepts while considering the interaction between factors such as traffic loading, materials properties, environmental conditions, design features, and construction practices. APTs serve as the foundation for engineers to work toward implementing new and emerging technologies, and it is of great importance to be able to have not one, but multiple APTs throughout the country that can work together in providing quality data on materials, weather, and traffic from different regions.

Working together is a key factor on the road toward implementation of the research conducted on these facilities. An African proverb says: “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This a great way to see implementation by working together as a major factor to accomplish it, but it is also important to understand that it takes time and, therefore, things do not necessarily happen quickly. Implementing research findings from advanced pavement testing facilities requires the creation of alliances and associations that can group state agencies, industry, academia, and consultants.

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Accelerated Road Research Facilities – The Key to Improving Our Highways

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Highways are an important part of the infrastructure of every country in the world. They provide the framework to move people and goods from one point to another, and this makes them an important piece to our economy and quality of life. As of 2006, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, there were approximately 4.1 million miles (6.6 million kms) of roads in the United States, of which 2.7 million miles (4.3 million kms) were paved and 1.4 million miles (2.3 million kms) were unpaved.

Using a simple A-to-F school report card format, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) provides a comprehensive assessment of the United States infrastructure in their Infrastructure Report Card prepared every four years. For the year 2021, highways are graded as D with over 40% of the system in poor or mediocre condition. If we look into ways to improve the grade of our highway system, it is key to target investments and allocate funding — and for this, it is important that routine, reliable data becomes the standard.

For this reason, and looking into road performance, it is important that decision-makers and engineers rely on accelerated pavement testing (APT) facilities to collect detailed performance data with the aid of different pavement sensors. Since APTs are considered large-scale, real-world laboratories, they allow us to conduct cutting-edge experimentation while avoiding the risk of failure on actual roadways.

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