APPLICATIONNOTES

LTPP Distress Identification Manual

Sets a Standard for States

Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada,

and Oklahoma use manual as a baseline for

identifying and quantifying distresses

Challenge

Accurate reports of pavement conditions are crucial to pavement management and maintenance activities. The reports—which detail the presence of

potholes, cracks, and other specific types of distress—must use a common

language so that the person reading the report can gain an accurate understanding of the problem and thus plan an optimal remedy. Cracks, for example, come in many shapes and sizes, and their appearance yields important information about the underlying cause—and thus what remedial action should be taken.

State departments of transportation (DOTs) rely on accurate distress reports

to plan and implement pavement projects.

The Solution

The Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program’s Distress Identification Manual uses drawings, text, and color photographs to clearly show

common types of distress found in asphalt cement, jointed portland cement

concrete, and continuously reinforced concrete pavements. Developed under the Strategic Highway Research Program, the Distress Identification

Manual is currently being updated and reissued by the Federal Highway

Administration’s LTPP program.

Putting the Manual to the Test

In Illinois, the Distress Identification Manual has been established as the

governing criteria for the State’s warranty specification for new construction. “The manual has also been used by our Research unit to help identify

pavement distresses, severity levels, and the possible causes for particular

types of distresses,” explained Tom Winkelman, research engineer.

Michigan DOT used the manual for ideas for developing their own distress

manual, while the Missouri DOT routinely used the manual for any distress

survey performance on a Missouri research investigation.

States throughout the United States have found the manual to be extremely

useful in their day-to-day operation. Indeed the Mississippi DOT has adopted

Turner-Fairbank Highway

 Research Center

6300 Georgetown Pike

McLean, Virginia 22101

www.tfhrc.gov
JANUARY 2002 FHWA-RD-02-052

For More Information

the LTPP Distress Identification

Manual as the foundation for the

department’s Pavement Management System. According to Joy

Portera, Mississippi’s State construction engineer, the manual also provides a baseline for identifying and

qualifying distresses exhibited on

Mississippi’s Warranted Pavement

Projects.

Nevada DOT used the manual to

update their outdated manual. “Using the manual, we are able to identify and record distress types found

on our pavements,” explained Sohila

Bemanian, assistant chief materials

engineer. “In turn, we are then able

to determine the most appropriate

maintenance and rehabilitation strategies for our roads.”

“As part of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT’s)

pavement management efforts, data

on pavement distresses are collected,” explained Masoud Pajoh,

ODOT’s specifications engineer. “The

Distress Identification Manual,” he

continued, “has been a very useful

tool for standardizing types and severity levels of pavement distresses.”

Benefits

LTPP’s Distress Identification Manual

helps States with their pavement

management and maintenance activities. The manual provides States

with a uniform, accurate way to identify and consistently record pavement

distresses. This results in:

• More cost-effective use of

maintenance dollars.

• Better decisions about repair

methods.

• Accurate time-series records of

pavement distress types and

severity levels.

Bill Bellinger, FHWA, e-mail:

william.bellinger@fhwa.dot.gov

Tom Winkelman, Illinois Department of Transportation, e-mail:

winkelmantj@nt.dot.state.il.us

Joy F. Portera,

Mississippi Department of

Transportation, e-mail:

portera@mdot.state.ms.us

Sohila Bemanian,

Nevada Department of

Transportation, e-mail:

sbemanian@dot.state.nv.us

Masoud Pajoh, Oklahoma

Department of Transportation,

e-mail: mpajoh@odot.org