How many years is the average life time of standard asphalt pavements?Does it contain partial rehabilitation?
Hello,
I have some questions about asphalt pavements that you may have some information about that affairs in your country and other countries:
1- How many years is the average life time of standard asphalt pavements?
2- Referring to prior question does lifetime contain partial rehabilitation or not?
3- Is there any computerized schedule for maintenance affairs of asphalt pavements?
4- How does municipalities contract about asphalt pavement (construction and maintenance) in order to decrease costs and increase asphalt life time?
It depends on many variables, chiefly construction, geology, truck traffic, and weather.
Road damage is proportional to axle weight to the 4th power. A light duty road may be designed for 100,000 ESALS (equivalent single axle loads) A heavy duty road maybe designed for 10 million ESALS.
Roads in areas with certain weather patterns, especially freeze/thaw cycles, will not last as long as roads in more temperate climes. Strong sunlight and heat oxidize asphalt binders, causing them to get more brittle.
Roads built on silty soil are more vulnerable to frost heaves and similar damage. They have fine grains, which can suck water up from the water table through capillary action, but are permeable enough to keep pulling water up, unlike clay. Roads on expansive clays will heave in wet seasons. Roads built on organic peaty soils will settle.
A new, well built, asphalt road should last at least 15 years before a major rehabilitation or full depth reconstruction is needed. However, surface treatments or thin overlays every 7-10 years can extend that to 20 years between major work. It is much cheaper to keep a good road in good repair than it is to rebuild a poor road.
I’ve attached a presentation from NY’s annual highway school. I wish they had included the speaker notes, but it should get the basic ideas across.
PS: I forgot to answer questions 3 and 4. There are a number of pavement management software (PMS) packages out there. The one I am most familiar with is the Road Surface Management System (RSMS)produced by the Univerity of New Hampshire.
Smart municipalities use a PMS systems. Too many wait for a road surface to fail before doing anything.
Have you tried to contact the Asphalt Institute of America
Niel Leon
Community Developer – engineering.com
