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U.S. Department of Transportation • Federal Highway Administration • Office of Asset Management

January 2000

Optimizing Highway Performance:

Pavement Preservation

THE CONCEPT BEHIND PAVEMENT PRESERVATION

A 1997 report to Congress warned that more than 48 percent of the Nation’s rural

Interstate highways and nearly 60 percent of urban Interstate highways have pavements rated fair to poor. And yet the demands on our highway network are greater

than ever.

To meet the growing travel demand and the public’s expectations for safety,

ride quality, and traffic flow, highway agencies are redefining their objectives to

focus on activities and strategies to preserve and maintain existing highway systems, instead of the typical strategy of fixing the worst first. Doing that without

busting budgetary limits requires a change of philosophy from reactive maintenance to preventive maintenance. Increasingly, State departments of transportation

(DOTs) report that the proactive approach of preventive maintenance—known as

pavement preservation—cuts the need for costly, time-consuming rehabilitation

and reconstruction projects and reduces associated traffic disruptions. As a result,

the public is seeing improved mobility, reduced congestion, and safer, smoother,

longer-lasting pavements—the goals of pavement preservation.

To advance these goals, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is partnering with DOTs, industry organizations, and other stakeholders. Their objective

is to spread the word that a variety of innovative techniques and strategies can

preserve not only pavements, but also the Nation’s investment in the highway infrastructure.

 Traditionally, highway agencies have allowed the ride quality and structural condition of a pavement to deteriorate to fair to poor condition before taking steps to

rehabilitate the pavement. The aim of the rehabilitation is to repair structural

damage and restore pavement conditions—a costly, time-consuming activity. This

“worst-first” scenario came about for many reasons, including the requirements

of Federal-aid funding and maximization of capital growth. But now, by applying

a series of low-cost preventive maintenance treatments, each of which lasts a few

years, highway agencies can extend the pavement’s service life. This translates into

a better investment and a better ride quality. The experience with pavement preservation in a number of States demonstrates this success: Each dollar spent now

on pavement preservation could save up to six dollars in the future.

Pavement preservation strategies are not well suited for pavements requiring

major rehabilitation or reconstruction. Furthermore, implementation varies with
Extending the useful life

of pavement

This graphic contrasts the

traditional approach to

pavement maintenance

against a proactive strategy

of pavement preservation.

The traditional approach

allows the original pavement

to deteriorate to fair to poor

condition, at which point

structural damage has often

occurred, triggering the need

for expensive and timeconsuming rehabilitation.

A pavement preservation

strategy, in which relatively

low-cost preventive

maintenance treatments are

triggered at more frequent

intervals, results in a much

greater interval between

pavement rehabilitations.

pavement conditions and climatic, environmental, and other regional factors, requiring

each agency to adapt methods to its own conditions. No treatment can ward off pavement

deterioration forever. But the strategies and techniques of pavement preservation can

significantly slow the rate of deterioration.

SPREADING THE WORD

Highway agencies often lump a variety of maintenance activities together, with the resulting

collection all too often neglected in favor of other highway funding needs. In many States,

the snow and ice control required for a hard winter—or an unexpected heavy storm—

can consume a large share of the maintenance budget. The secret, then, to successful

implementation of pavement preservation is dedicated funding. Once legislators, highway

management, and the public grasp the cost-effectiveness of these strategies, the successes

seen in California, Georgia, Michigan, New York, and Texas will become more widespread.

Fortunately, champions have come forward, and a number of efforts are under way

nationwide to advance pavement preservation, including the following:

· The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Lead States team on pavement preservation reaches highway agencies through videos,

workshops, seminars, and publications in cooperation with other interested organizations. The team also developed pavement preservation research protocols (for copies,

contact the AASHTO Innovative Highway Technologies Web site at leadstates.tamu.edu/pp/

library). The information derived from these protocols, when combined with life-cycle

cost analysis, will be essential for improved, informed decisionmaking.

· In 1997, an expert task group (ETG) drawn from AASHTO, industry, and FHWA was

established to provide guidance and technical assistance in pavement preservation and

related training and research. FHWA, AASHTO, and industry groups also signed a formal

letter of understanding to jointly fund development of short courses on pavement preservation. The National Highway Institute has undertaken the development of the first two

courses of several planned, “Pavement Preservation: The Preventive Maintenance Concept” (course #13154) and “Pavement Preservation: Selecting Pavements for Preventive

Maintenance” (course #13158). Slated for future development are two additional courses

on proper design/construction of preventive maintenance and the integration of preventive maintenance into a pavement management system.

· In 1998, AASHTO, FHWA, and the Foundation for Pavement Preservation conducted

the “Forum for the Future,” at which stakeholders identified roadblocks and barriers to

future improvements in pavement preservation. The result was a road map for future

action and initiatives (Publ. No. SA-99-015, currently available from the Research and

Technology Report Center; phone: 301-577-0818; fax: 301-577-1421).

To learn more, contact:

Robert M. Davies

Federal Highway Administration

400 Seventh Street, SW • Room 3211 • Washington, DC 20590

Telephone: 202-366-2023 • Fax: 202-366-9981 • Email: robert.davies@fhwa.dot.gov