The Phase One I-710 Freeway Rehabilitation Project: Initial Design (1999) to Performance after Five-Plus Years of Traffic (2009)

This summary report incorporates into a single document the design, construction, and performance data for the I-710 Freeway Rehabilitation Project in Long Beach, California. Included are the following: summaries of the asphalt mix and structural pavement section designs; construction sequence for a representative 55 hours closure; design and construction experience from post construction interviews with Caltrans and Contractor Staff; pavement performance evaluations in the period November 2003 and January 2009 (five-plus years under traffic), as well as the results of additional analyses and tests on mixes obtained from cores and slabs taken from the pavement after construction. This project is one of the first major freeway rehabilitation projects in the US incorporating 55-hour weekend closures (a total of eight in this instance) for the construction of long-life asphalt pavements. It includes both full-depth asphalt concrete sections, which replaced the existing portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement under the over crossings and at interchanges, and asphalt concrete overlays on cracked-and-seated PCC on the sections between the interchanges and over crossings. Aspects of the project involved a Caltrans, Industry, and University cooperative effort—through the Flexible Pavement Task Group the Long Life Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (LLPRS) Program)—for both design development and construction evaluations. The project utilized asphalt mix and structural pavement section designs based on Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) developed technologies, results from the California Accelerated Pavement Testing Program, and innovations in construction specifications and requirements.