BACKGROUND: The design, construction, and management of highway pavements is a complex task that involves the consideration of many topics.  Among these topics are structural design and analysis, drainage provisions, traffic load spectra, material utilization/conservation, surface characteristics, construction practices, pavement evaluation, pavement type selection, life-cycle cost analysis, and preservation.  Some of these topics have been addressed in AASHTO documents (e.g., Pavement Management Guide; Guide for Pavement Friction; and Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide, Interim Edition: A Manual of Practice) and a great deal of information on the other topics is available in the literature.  However, this information has not yet been synthesized or assembled in a format that will facilitate accessibility and use by highway agency professionals.  Research is needed to identify current practices; review relevant information; and develop a handbook that discusses the topics pertaining to the design, construction, and management of pavements and incorporates relevant AASHTO documents.  Preparing such a handbook in an interactive-electronic, easy-to-edit format with a printer-friendly option will further facilitate its use and update.  Such a handbook will provide highway agency professionals with ready-to-use information to help them effectively perform the task of pavement design, construction, and management.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop a handbook that addresses design, construction, and management aspects of pavements.  The Handbook shall be prepared in an interactive-electronic, easily editable format with a printer-friendly option, suitable for consideration and adoption by AASHTO.

Status: The project is complete. The final report will be provided to AASHTO for possible publication.  The research will be summarized in an NCHRP Research Results Digest.