Pavement Rehabilitation Analysis: A Life-Cycle Cost and Long-Term Performance Comparison of Full Depth Reclamation and Overlays

Details

• Creators:
  Torres-Machi, Cristina ; Evers, Elijah ; Schmidt, Jonathan ; Crayton, Anneliese
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Colorado Boulder
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration ; Colorado. Department of Transportation. Applied Research & Innovations Branch
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Cost Effectiveness Full-depth Reclamation Life Cycle Costing Long-term Performance Pavement Performance Performance Rehabilitation (Maintenance)
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CDOT-2024-07
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Colorado ; United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Colorado. Dept. of Transportation. Research Branch
• Abstract:
  To reduce the environmental impact of transportation, Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are incorporating cold recycling technologies such as Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) in their rehabilitation strategies. One of the limitations hindering the deployment of FDR is the limited information available on the material properties of these mixtures and their long-term performance. The objective of this project is to analyze the long-term performance and life-cycle costs of FDR and compare this rehabilitation solution with traditional mill and overlay. For each of these alternatives, a set of reference sections built across the state of Colorado were analyzed. Historical information of costs, maintenance history and pavement conditions were characterized using statistical analyses. This information was then incorporated into a probabilistic life-cycle analysis using Monte Carlo simulations to account for the uncertainty in the model inputs. Outputs related to life-cycle costs, long-term condition, and cost-effectiveness were estimated for both FDR and overlay pavements. Overall, FDR was found to be a more cost-effective rehabilitation solution than overlays. FDR pavements have significantly lower life-cycle costs than overlay pavements. On average, the life-cycle cost of FDR pavements is $178,243/ln-mi less expensive than overlay pavements, resulting in a potential cost saving of 30%. FDR pavements also have a better long-term performance than overlays. Over the 10 years analysis, FDR pavements have an average roughness, measured in terms of the International Roughness Index (IRI) of 104 in/mi, compared to 124 in/mi for overlays. This study characterized these alternatives based on direct costs and long-term condition. Future research analyzing the environmental impacts of these alternatives is recommended to fully capture the differences between FDR and traditional overlays. Our analysis also found some unexpected trends and inconsistencies in the historical pavement condition data that would be worth exploring further.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  R421.01
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f5e94c0fb1c125149f0bb0e85085b321b17a57bd37106b13c8fc1a58341afdf5b8c145eb5894fb2135d4e3a24e9874f92d86e4b67ac57af79bb25762abcaaea2
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75734/dot_75734_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.87 MB ]