U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Focus
| Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations |
Publication Number: FHWA-RD-02-008
Date: March 2002
New Asphalt Temperature Prediction Standard Adopted
A new asphalt pavement temperature prediction standard developed through the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program has been adopted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Subcommittee on Materials. The standard provides an improved method for predicting the temperature within the asphalt layers of a pavement, using readily available data such as the infrared pavement surface temperature collected during routine deflection testing, the average air temperature the day before testing, and the time of testing.
"DC Streets" is a Capital Success
For Washington, DC, drivers, the ride is looking and feeling smoother. Launched with fanfare in June 2000, the "DC Streets" initiative constituted the first urban, performance-based asset management project in the United States. The District of Columbia Division of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and its engineering services consultant, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), worked together to develop the project. DDOT then awarded a contract to a private firm, VMS, Inc., to preserve and maintain approximately 121 km (75 mi) of the major streets and highways in the District. These roads make up the District's portion of the National Highway System (NHS) and are heavily used by residents, commuters, and tourists. A recent assessment of the first year of the project showed that substantial progress has been made toward meeting the contract's performance measures.
The 2-day course, Pavement Preservation: Selecting Pavements for Preventive Maintenance (Course No. 131058), is currently available upon request from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NHI). The course focuses on selecting the right pavement for preservation treatments and evaluating the performance of these treatments under various field conditions. Field managers and practitioners from Government and industry can learn to identify pavement conditions that suggest whether preventive maintenance is appropriate; identify feasible treatments for the selected pavement; and select appropriate treatments based on consideration of life-cycle cost, improved performance, anticipated benefits, and other factors. For scheduling information, contact the NHI scheduler, 703-235-0528 (email: nhi.scheduler@fhwa.dot.gov). For technical information on the course, contact Julie Trunk at FHWA, 202-366-1557 (email: julie.trunk@fhwa.dot.gov). More information is also available at the NHI Web site (http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/).
In 1994, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) introduced a new set of standard bridge design specifications that incorporated the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) philosophy. This philosophy features the use of limit states, multiple load and resistance factors, and a more probabilistic determination of the structure's reliability. Along with the new LRFD specifications has come the need for compatible bridge design software. Recently, the Federal Highway Administration's Federal Lands Bridge office began to evaluate new software that is compatible with the LRFD specifications.
Midwestern States Partner to Preserve Pavements
Pavement Preventive Maintenance (PPM) is getting a Midwestern twist, as highway agencies, trade associations, and members of academia in the region unite to find new ways to apply PPM techniques to roads subject to the freezing weather conditions common in their States.
Pilot Projects Kick Off Traffic Data Pooled-Fund Study
Moving forward with its traffic data State pooled-fund study, the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program conducted five pilot studies in the summer and fall of 2001. The pilot projects focused on finalizing the pooled-fund study's technical requirements for field performance evaluation and installation activities and validating a set of protocols developed by the LTPP program.
