01333258

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2227-21

http://scholar.google.com...lson&publication_year=2011

Road roughness is a major factor in pavement condition because of its effects on pavement resurfacing and vehicle operating costs. Rougher pavements require more frequent resurfacing, generate complaints from highway users, reduce optimum travel speeds, disrupt traffic flow, and create safety hazards. Ride specification is one of the tools practiced by almost all state agencies including the Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT) to achieve the desired smoothness on the road. A ride specification dictates the level of smoothness from paving projects and can adjust the contractor’s payment, depending on the finished ride. Virginia DOT’s experience, accomplishments, and challenges with ride specifications are presented. Through application of the ride specification during the past decade, the ride quality on Virginia’s rideability project roads has continued to improve. The average roughness after paving has improved dramatically in the past few years compared with that of the early 2000s. Between 2005 and 2009, 3,068 lane miles were paved according to the ride specification and a net bonus of $4,928,422 was paid to contractors. The benefit of having smoother roads could result in direct savings to an agency from deferring resurfacing activities by about 2 years and substantial savings in terms of fuel efficiency (especially for the trucks), reduced congestion due to deferred resurfacing, reduced vehicle maintenance costs (from smoother roads), and other benefits. The estimated benefits from applying the ride specification during 2005 to 2009 are found to far outweigh the cost.

01358795

11-3900

English

pp 189-196

2011

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309167505

Print

Figures (5) ; References (12) ; Tables (4)

Benefits; Costs; Pavement performance; Ride quality; Roughness; Smoothness; Specifications

Virginia

Highways; Pavements; I23: Properties of Road Surfaces

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 17 2011 6:41PM

• Backcalculation Models to Evaluate Light Falling Weight Deflectometer Moduli of Road Foundation Layer Made with Bottom Ash Waste
• Backcalculation of Dynamic Modulus Mastercurve from Falling Weight Deflectometer Surface Deflections
• Contribution of Hysteresis Component of Tire Rubber Friction on Stone Surfaces
• Data Processing and Analysis Software for Continuous Friction Measurement Equipment
• Development of NYSLAB: Improved Analysis Tool for Jointed Pavement
• Evaluation of Factors Affecting Long-Term Performance of Cold In-Place Recycled Pavements in New York State
• Evaluation of Near-Surface Stress States in Asphalt Concrete Pavement: Three-Dimensional Tire–Pavement Contact Model
• Evaluation of Pavement System Based on Ground-Penetrating Radar Full-Waveform Simulation
• Evaluation of Selected Effects of Pavement Riding Quality on Logistics Costs in South Africa
• Field Evaluation and Cost-Effectiveness of Saw and Seal Method to Control Reflection Cracking in Composite Pavements
• Life-Cycle Environmental Analysis for Evaluation of Pavement Rehabilitation Options
• Mechanistic–Empirical Evaluation of Aggregate Base and Granular Subbase Quality Affecting Flexible Pavement Performance in Minnesota
• New Mechanistic–Empirical Approach for Estimating the Effect of Roughness on Vehicle Durability
• Numerical Investigation of Response of Widened Pavement System
• Revised Methodology for Computing International Friction Index
• Sand Mix Interlayer to Control Reflective Cracking in Hot-Mix Asphalt Overlay
• Selection of Pavement for Highway Rehabilitation Based on Life-Cycle Cost Analysis: Validation of California Interstate 710 Project, Phase 1
• Simple Laboratory Method for Measuring Pavement Macrotexture: Pavement Cores and Aggregate Image Measurement System
• System for Measuring Splash on Wet Pavements
• Validation of Backcalculated Modulus Values from Falling Weight Deflectometer Through Instrumentation on I-35 in Oklahoma