PAVEMENT PRESERVATION: PRESERVING OUR INVESTMENT IN HIGHWAYS

Highway agencies are redefining their objectives, requiring them to focus on preserving and maintaining rather than expanding the existing highway system. As a component of system preservation, pavement preservation is aimed at preserving the investment in the highway system, extending pavement life, and meeting the customers' needs. It is the timely application of carefully selected surface treatments to maintain or extend a pavement's effective service life. In addition to establishing a pavement-preservation philosophy, other issues must be addressed to ensure the proper implementation of a pavement-preservation program. A major hurdle in establishing a pavement-preservation program is dedicated funding. The success of a pavement-preservation program is based on selecting the right treatment for the right pavement at the right time. To determine the optimal timing, performance standards and indices for various treatment types need to be established through research and the collection of performance data. In the future, pavement contractors may be required to guarantee the performance of a pavement for a specified service life. Pavement preservation must be integrated into the overall pavement management system (PMS) to allow highway officials to manage pavement conditions as part of managing their resource allocations. By using an integrated PMS, a manager can select the proper proportion of preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction that optimizes available dollars and extends the service life of the pavements within the system.