BACKGROUND: Pavement preservation provides a means for maintaining and improving the functional condition of an existing highway system and slowing deterioration. Although pavement preservation is not expected to substantially increase structural capacity, it generally leads to improved pavement performance and longer service life.
Various treatments are employed by highway agencies for the preservation of asphalt-surfaced pavements. The performance of the restored pavement depends not only on the type of maintenance treatment but also on the existing pavement structure and its condition when these treatments are applied and the prevailing traffic and climate conditions. However, these relationships are not well documented making the determination of the appropriate timing for applying a specific preventive maintenance treatment a difficult task. Research is needed to establish these relationships and develop a guide for determining the timing for preservation of asphalt-surfaced pavements. This guide will help highway agencies apply preservation treatments more effectively and achieve the most benefit of their application.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop a guide for identifying the timing for preservation of asphalt-surfaced pavements considering condition-based and non-condition-based factors. For the purpose of this research, preservation treatments are treatments applied to preserve an existing roadway, slow future deterioration, and maintain and improve its functional condition (without substantially increasing structural capacity).
