Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/109757
RoadScience by Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor Under new federal surface transportation law MAP-21, pavement preservation treatments like slurry surfacing (shown) and state and local policy elements like asset management are supported with federal funds Pavement Preservation Codified in MAP-21 Photo courtesy of Colas, Inc. F or the first time, pavement preservation is part of national surface transportation reauthorization legislation, which now explicitly supports preservation and asset management. Pavement preservation techniques are promoted as cost-effective and environmentally sustainable strategies designed to extend the life of existing pavements before they deteriorate substantially. These techniques include nonstructural preventive maintenance surface treatments such as slurry surfacings, crack sealing, chip sealing, micro surfacing, rejuvenation, hot and cold in-place recycling and thin-lift hot-mix asphalt paving; and structural preservation techniques used in concrete pavement restoration (CPR). Pavement preservation methods, proponents say, prolong pavement life, avoiding high future costs of reconstruction or rehabilitation through the expenditure of lesser amounts of money at critical points in a pavement's life. Pavement preservation pays off in both the short and long term. Experience shows that spending a dollar on pavement preservation can eliminate or delay spending $6 to $10 on future rehabilitation or reconstruction costs, reports the National Center for Pavement Preservation at Michigan State University. At the end of June, 2012, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century bill (MAP-21) became law, and the concepts of asset management and preservation are widely used in MAP-21. In the long run this will bring major benefits via needed federal funding to state and local government agencies trying to implement pavement preservation principles. Pavement preservation also took a big leap forward in fall 2012 when, for the first time, preservation techniques began study at the Pavement Test Track at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) near Auburn, Ala. Better Roads February 2013 23