Guidelines for Implementing NCHRP 1-37A M-E Design Procedures in Ohio: Volume 1— Summary of Findings, Implementation Plan, and Next Steps

Highway agencies across the nation are moving towards implementation of the new AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for pavement design. The benefits of implementing the MEPDG for routine use in Ohio includes (1) achieving more cost effective and reliable pavement designs, (2) lower initial and life cycle costs to the agency, and (3) reduced highway user impact due to lane closures for maintenance and rehabilitation of pavements. Implementation of the MEPDG is a process that requires time and agency resources (staffing, training, testing facilities including equipment, and so on). A key requirement is validating the MEPDG’s nationally calibrated pavement distress and smoothness prediction models when applied under Ohio conditions and performing local calibration if needed. Feasibility of using the MEPDG’s national models in Ohio was investigated under this study using data from a limited number of Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) projects located in Ohio. Results based on limited data showed inadequate goodness of fit and significant bias in a number of the MEPDG new hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement and jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) performance prediction models. Limited recalibration of these models showed promising results indicating that a full-scale recalibration effort using a more extensive database assembled from projects located throughout the state is feasible. This report, which is Volume 1 of 4, summarizes the findings of the entire Ohio MEPDG implementation effort (literature review, sensitivity analysis, and local validation and calibration of MEPDG models) conducted as part of this study. In addition, this volume presents future steps the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) needs to consider to fully implement the MEPDG in Ohio.