STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE Proactive Pavement Preservation By Craig Ide, P.E., MBA, NPIAS Asset Manager, UDOT Pavement preservation is a long-term strategy that involves applying a series of low-cost treatments every few years to an asphalt pavement segment to effectively delay further deterioration and extending the lifespan of our roads. Pavement preservation typically begins within three to four years after new construction and does not increase the structural capacity or remove/replace existing asphalt structure. Asphalt roads begin deteriorating after they’re constructed from exposure to environmental factors: Water infiltration, freeze-thaw cycles, varying traffic loads and solar radiation. However, we are now experiencing more dramatic weather, which takes an additional toll on our country’s roads; in many states we’re now experiencing flooding, excessive heat waves and, in some areas, record cold for longer periods of time. Just this month, we experienced the hottest day ever recorded on Earth. Over the last few years, attention has been growing on the impact of extreme weather and the long-term impacts of climate change. The term “resilience” has generally come to represent this adaptation/recovery ability. In the last decade, resilience has become a priority consideration in the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of infrastructure, including, of course, asphalt. However, pavement preservation has never been more important, even with the focus of newer and better products and applications. Typically, pavements perform well under loads until a particular point in their life spans and then deteriorate precipitously and eventually fail. The road is then either rehabilitated or totally reconstructed. However, extreme weather is adding challenges to extending the life of our roads. The typical life of an untreated road is 20 years. It will drop 40% in quality over the first 75% of its life. For the next 12% of its life, it will drop another 40% in quality. All roads pass a point of accelerated deterioration, and once it is past the point of accelerated deterioration, your only options are costly rehab and reconstruction. By investing in preventative treatments, municipalities and private owners can inexpensively add life to their pavement. By performing the right treatments over time, pavement owners can double the life of their asphalt pavements at a much less lifetime cost. Several studies have found that you can save between $6 and $10 in future pavement rehabilitation costs for a dollar spent on pavement preservation. Pavement preservation is also a greener and more cost-effective approach to getting the most life out of our roads and making taxpayer dollars go further. In addition to cost efficiency, a pavement preservation approach produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, consumes less energy and provides quicker application times than the alternative conventional approach. Future pavement preservation research focuses on developing durable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective solutions tailored to specific climatic and traffic conditions. Future preservation aims to provide government agencies with tools to make data-driven decisions in their pavement preservation programs. Pavement preservation is best done when choosing the right treatment for the right road at the right time. Preserving our road infrastructure is at the core of continued economic, urban and rural development perspectives. 30
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