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.
While
transverse cracking, moisture-induced damage, and other cold climate
pavement distresses occur to some degree in other parts of the United
States, Midwestern States are particularly hard hit because of their
climatic conditions. To address these common problems, highway agencies
in the region formed a partnership last year to improve the technical
aspects of PPM application in their States. PPM is defined as a planned
strategy of applying cost-effective treatments to a structurally sound
roadway to preserve the system and retard future deterioration.
The founding
meeting of the Midwestern Pavement Preservation Partnership was hosted
in Grand Rapids in April 2001 by the Michigan Department of Transportation
(DOT). Participants came from Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin to summarize the
status of PPM in their respective States and share the techniques
that work for them. The 60 attendees formed work groups and identified
and ranked issues of importance to them in the areas of preservation
policy, construction specifications, research, materials, and training.
These high-priority issues include developing performance standards
for preservation treatments, determining the proper timing of treatments,
improving pavement performance predictions using mechanistic parameters,
and implementing ongoing training for workers.
Enthusiasm
for what the partnership will bring to States was voiced by participants.
"I feel the pavement preservation partnership can become as beneficial
to States in the future as the asphalt user-producer groups were during
the implementation of Superpave," said Nebraska highway engineer
Wayne Teten, whose own Department of Roads began formally implementing
a preventive maintenance program in 2001.
Some
of the specific goals suggested for the partnership relate to the
PPM techniques of microsurfacing and crack sealing. Although the process
is becoming more popular among State highway agencies, microsurfacing
specs vary from State to State. If the partnership, along with suppliers
and contractors, is able to agree on a uniform standard, a more economical
and consistent process could be developed. Similarly, with crack sealants,
there are small variations among States in the application criteria,
field performance criteria, and in the product itself. Having a uniform
standard would yield a more cost-effective use of resources and lower
bid prices for work, according to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
pavement engineer Keith Herbold.
Another
potential benefit resulting from the partnership's work, says Herbold,
is that by broadening the exposure of members of academia to the practicalities
of implementing a PPM program, universities will be able to better
prepare the highway engineers of tomorrow.
Initial
funding for the partnership's organizational work and first meeting
came from FHWA's Midwestern Resource Center and the Foundation for
Pavement Preservation. The partnership has proposed that subsequent
funding come from State highway agencies, with in-kind support provided
by vendors, consultants, and universities.
The partnership
will hold its second meeting in Minneapolis from August 19-21. For
more information on the partnership or to participate in its next
meeting, contact Keith Herbold at FHWA, 708-283-3548 (email: keith.herbold@fhwa.dot.gov).
