KEEPING OUR PARTNERS INFORMED

LTPP

Newsletter

February 2024

Winter Issue

LTPP Analysis-Ready Datasets: Saving Users Thousands of 

Hours of Data Wrangling and Giving More Focus to Data Analysis

The goal of the Long-Term 

Pavement Performance (LTPP) 

program is “to increase pavement 

life by the investigation of 

long-term performance....”(1)

One of six objectives identified 

to support this goal was the 

establishment of a national 

pavement performance database.(2)

Since 1989 when data collection 

commenced, the LTPP program 

has been assembling such a 

database. Today, the database is 

the world’s premier source of data 

and information on pavement 

structure and performance, but 

understanding and using the 

database is not necessarily an 

easy undertaking. For starters, 

the data are typically distributed 

across multiple database tables, 

making some data elements hard 

to mine. Frequently, multiple 

values for a given data element 

make it difficult to know which 

ones to use. In addition, the data 

may have to be further interpreted

to present meaningful results.

To address these challenges, 

the LTPP program undertook a 

process to generate analysis-ready 

datasets (ARDs) for all sections 

in the database so that data 

users would not have to spend 

substantial effort wrangling data, 

(i.e., finding, extracting, merging, 

and interpreting the available data 

to develop a suitable input dataset 

for analysis). The resulting ARDs 

provide numerous benefits such 

as simpler data handling, easier 

analysis and mining data for 

trends, efficient use of time, and 

descriptive visualization of data.(3)

Images © Microsoft. Modified by FHWA to include text.

Figure 1. Illustration. Tasks completed to create analysis-ready datasets.
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Winter 2024 Issue LTPP NEWSLETTER PAGE 2

Since pavement performance 

is affected by the separate and 

combined effects of the pavement 

structure, traffic loadings, and 

climatic conditions, the ARDs 

identified and developed by the 

LTPP program are as follows:

• Analysis-ready materials dataset 

(ARMAD)—Thicknesses and 

layer material properties.

• Analysis-ready climate 

dataset (ARCLD)—ModernEra Retrospective Analysis 

for Research and Applications 

(MERRA-2)(4) data, including 

hourly, daily, and monthly 

statistics for precipitation, 

temperature, wind, and 

humidity.(5)

• Analysis-ready traffic dataset 

(ARTRD)—Input data needed

by the AASHTOWare® 

Pavement MechanisticEmpirical Design (PMED), 

annual time series truck volumes 

and axle loadings, and summary 

statistics for truck volumes.(6)

• Analysis-ready performance 

dataset (ARPED)—Pavement 

surface distresses, International 

Roughness Indices, transverse 

profile indices (rutting), and 

load transfer efficiency.

• Analysis-ready construction 

features dataset (ARCFD)—

Transverse joint properties, 

shoulder properties, subsurface 

drainage information, and 

Magnetic Imaging Tomography

(MIT) Scan results for 

LTPP sections.

The first dataset, ARMAD, was 

incorporated into LTPP Standard

Data Release (SDR) 36, which 

was released in 2022.(3,7) This 

dataset was expanded in SDR 

37 (released in 2023) to include 

data from the LTPP Specific 

Pavement Study (SPS) WarmMix Asphalt Overlay of Asphalt 

Pavements Experiment (SPS-10) 

test sections, new laboratory 

materials testing data, and 

corrections to data issues.(7) SDR 

37 also incorporated ARCLD, 

ARTRD, and ARPED, which are 

readily available via the LTPP

InfoPaveTM web portal.(3,7)

Given their value, it is anticipated 

that the LTPP program will 

continue to work on the 

development of new ARDs. 

Efforts for incorporating new data 

into the existing ARDs or making 

corrections to the existing ARDs 

will continue, as needed. LTPP 

data users can submit ideas for 

enhancing the existing ARDs 

or make suggestions for new 

ARDs by contacting the LTPP 

Customer Support Service Center 

(email: ltppinfo@dot.gov).

“The LTPP data continues to be invaluable to local MEPDG validation and calibration purposes, but 

now it has been made much simpler thanks to the LTPP ARDs,” says Harold Von Quintus, P.E.

“In the mid-2000s, I struggled with LTPP data wrangling and filling data gaps. The data were 

needed to perform the modeling in the FHWA High-Performance Concrete Paving software, 

which calculates the progression of the concrete’s strength gain and developing stresses at the 

early age after placement. The models’ inputs included materials, pavement structural information, 

construction, and environmental conditions. Today’s ARDs would have saved me a tremendous 

amount of time and effort,” says Dr. George Chang, P.E.

“In addition to the value to practitioners, ARDs will be a great resource for educators and students. 

Professors will be able to present real-world datasets of pavement structure, traffic, climate, and 

performance for students to analyze. Much more realistic and valuable than the ‘toy’ problems 

found in most textbooks,” says Dr. Charles Schwartz.

Testimonials
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Winter 2024 Issue LTPP NEWSLETTER PAGE 3

In Brief

Winners of the 2023 Student 

Data Analysis Contest

Three papers were selected 

for awards in the Long-Term 

Infrastructure Performance (LTIP) 

Student Data Analysis Contest. 

The student winners are as follows:

• Lawrencia Akuffo, research 

assistant, and Adriana Trias 

Blanco, assistant professor 

from Rowan University.

First Place (Bridge): 

“Quantification of the 

Correlation Between 

Bridge Skew Angle and 

Deterioration Rate.”

• Bingyan Cui, Ph.D. student, 

Xiao Chen, Ph.D. student, 

Zhe Wan, post doctorate, and 

Hao Wang, professor from 

Rutgers University.

First Place (Pavement): 

“Predicting Asphalt Pavement 

Deterioration Under Climate 

Change Uncertainty Using 

Bayesian Neural Network.”

• Jian Liu, Daodao Zhou, 

Fangyu Liu, and Linbing 

Wang, Ph.D., P.E., professor 

from Virginia Polytechnic 

Institute and State University.

Second Place (Pavement): 

“Accelerated Balanced Asphalt 

Mix Design Based on Machine 

Learning and Nondominated 

Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II 

(NSGA-II).”

The winners were recognized at 

the Transportation Research Board 

103rd Annual Meeting at the 

Long-Term Bridge Performance

Program Lectern Session 2197

on Monday, January 8, 2024, 

and the first-place bridge winner 

presented at this session.(8)

The two pavement winners 

presented their winning papers 

at the Performance Analysis

Workshop 5012 on Thursday, 

January 11, 2024.(9)

It was the first time since the 

LTIP Student Contest started 

in 2021 that the first-place 

winners in both the pavement and 

bridge categories were female. 

Congratulations to the winners 

and thank you to everyone who 

participated. This year’s LTIP 

Student Data Analysis Contest 

is already underway, and papers 

are due August 1, 2024.(10)

Transportation Pooled 

Fund Solicitations

Two active Transportation Pooled 

Fund (TPF) Program research 

projects involve the LTPP 

program. One continues 

the forensic investigations of 

LTPP test sections (LTPP

Forensic Investigations—Stage 2, 

TPF-5(500)),(11) and the other 

evaluates and documents the 

long-term performance of 

pavement preservation treatments 

(National Partnership to 

Implement Quality Preventive 

Maintenance Treatment

Construction and Data Collection

Practices (PG Phase III), TPF-5

(522)).(12)

 Please consider 

partnering in these new efforts.

Source: FHWA.

Figure 2. Photo. Second-Place LTIP 

Student Winner (Pavement) Jian Liu 

proudly received a certificate for his 

winning paper.

Source: FHWA.

Figure 3. Photo.First-Place LTIP Student Winners (Left to Right): Bingyan Cui (Pavement) 

and Lawrencia Akuffo (Bridge) being recognized at LTBP Program Lectern Session.
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HRDI-30/02-24(WEB)E

FHWA-HRT-24-049

Recommended citation: Federal Highway Administration, 

LTPP Newsletter Winter 2024 Issue 

(Washington, DC 2024) https://doi.org/10.21949/1521483

Winter 2024 Issue LTPP NEWSLETTER PAGE 4

References

1. FHWA. 2015. The Long-Term 

Pavement Performance Program. 

Report No. FHWA HRT-15-049. 

Washington, DC: Federal Highway 

Administration. https://www.fhwa.

dot.gov/publications/research/

infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/15049/

15049.pdf, last accessed 

December 11, 2023.

2. Transportation Research Board. 

National Cooperative Highway 

Research Program (NCHRP), 

and Transportation Officials. 1986. 

Strategic Highway Research 

Program: Research Plans. 

Washington, DC: National 

Academy of Sciences.

3. FHWA. n.d. “LTPP InfoPaveTM” 

(web page). https://infopave.fhwa.

dot.gov/, last accessed 

December 11, 2023. 

4. National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. 2023. “Modern-Era 

Retrospective Analysis for Research 

and Applications, Version 2” 

(web page). https://gmao.gsfc.nasa.

gov/reanalysis/MERRA-2/, last 

accessed December 11, 2023.

5. Elkins, G. and B. Ostrom. 2021. 

Long-Term Pavement Performance 

Information Management System 

User Guide. Report No. FHWAHRT-21-038. Washington, DC: 

FHWA. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

publications/research/infrastructure/

pavements/21038/index.cfm, last 

accessed December 11, 2023.

6. American Association of State 

Highway and Transportation 

Officials. 2020. MechanisticEmpirical Pavement Design Guide, 

A Manual of Practice, 3rd edition. 

Washington, DC: AASHTO.

7. FHWA. n.d. “LTPP InfoPaveTM: 

Help” (web page). https://

infopave.fhwa.dot.gov/Page/

Type/ReleaseNotes, last accessed

December 21, 2023. 

8. National Academies of Sciences, 

Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. 

“TRB 103rd Annual Meeting 

Online Program” (web page). 

https://annualmeeting.mytrb.org/

OnlineProgram/Details/21201, last 

accessed December 11, 2023.

9. National Academies of Sciences, 

Engineering, and Medicine. 2023 

“TRB 103rd Annual meeting 

Online Program” (web page) 

https://annualmeeting.mytrb.org/

OnlineProgram/Details/20800, 

last accessed December 11, 2023.

10. FHWA. n.d. “LTPP 

InfoPaveTM:Library” (web page). 

https://infopave.fhwa.dot.gov/

Reports/LtppDataContest, last 

accessed December 11, 2023. 

11. NCHRP. 2023. “Transportation 

Pooled Fund Detail” (web page). 

https://www.pooledfund.org/

Details/Study/729, last accessed 

December 11, 2023.

12. NCHRP. 2023. Transportation 

Pooled Fund Detail” (web page). 

https://www.pooledfund.org/

Details/Study/754, last accessed 

December 11, 2023.

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