Asphalt Pavement Options! In making a decision concerning the type of pavement to use on a roadway, an agency is obligated to get the best value for the taxpayers. It is up to contractors to provide the pavement that gives the best possible performance at the lowest possible price. Thus, pavement type selection should be a road user-oriented process, not an industry-oriented process.
In order to accomplish this, the system used to select pavement type should be:
- Objective
- Defensible
- Understandable
- Based on historical records
- Primarily driven by economics
- Periodically reviewed
Asphalt pavements possess many advantages in the primary factors listed in the AASHTO Design Guides.
Among these are low initial cost, low maintenance costs, flexibility and speed of construction, the ability to handle heavy loads, a long life, and complete recyclability. Furthermore, asphalt pavements allow an opportunity to reduce traffic noise at the source and improve ride quality. Asphalt pavements should be considered in every pavement type decision.
