Taking Care of Our Roads: Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation
Andrew F. Braham
Civil Engineering, University of Arkansas
ABSTRACT: The 2017 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card gave the four million miles of roads in the United States a “D” grade. The fact that 21% of highway pavement is in poor condition is a large influence on this low grade. One of the recommendations that ASCE provided to raise the grade was to “prioritize maintenance and the state of good repair to maximize the lifespan of roads.” How can we do this? By applying the right treatment to the right road at the right time, we can increase the lifespan of our roads and reduce the long-term cost. After moving through the concept of pavement preservation and perpetual pavement, Braham provides a brief overview of the different types of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation. Braham then explores preliminary findings from research on Cold In-Place Recycling (CIR, a type of pavement rehabilitation) to show how much there is to learn about all types of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation.
