Develop Best Practices for Flexible Pavement Repairs

Details

• Creators:
  Nyamuhokya, Tito ; Goehl, Darlene ; Liu, Kai-Wei ; Mistri, Abhijit
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas A&M Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas Department of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation Office ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Stability analysis
  • Seal coats
  • Rutting
  • Best practices
  • Flexible pavements
  • Repairing
  • Nondestructive tests
  • Literature reviews
  • Falling weight deflectometers
  • Ground penetrating radar
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-25/0-7175-R1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Texas
• Edition:
  September 2023 to February 2026
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Description:
  Texas plans to invest over $18 trillion in preventive maintenance (PM) and rehabilitation between FY 2026 and 2035, allocating one-third specifically to PM. This significant investment must be protected through ongoing enhancements to techniques that extend the life of PM treatments, especially seal coats, which make up the bulk of Texas's PM efforts. This study focused on identifying best practices for pre-PM flexible pavement repairs to ensure durability and cost-effectiveness. The research included a review of existing literature, analysis of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) data from 2019-2023, and TxDOT district surveys to identify types of asphalt pavement distress, repair methods, constraints, and performance trends. Results show that repair decisions mainly rely on visual inspections and PMIS scores, with little use of nondestructive testing. Factors such as repair type (e.g., crack sealing, level-up, and base repair), material availability, variations in curing time, and budget play key roles in determining outcomes. Advanced tools-such as Grind Diagnostic, falling weight deflectometer, dynamic cone penetrometer, and ground penetrating radar-were examined to help define repair scopes and improve structural assessments. The study created a standardized decision framework and repair guidelines that support better preparatory work, extend PM lifespan, and reduce lifecycle costs. Implementing these best practices across the state will improve system reliability, lower the risk of early failures, and strengthen TxDOT's ability to achieve performance goals.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  0-7175
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/94037/dot_94037_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.79 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:259c55f362dc749dd1a527ae4b5abf24d2287c469eafd8af0488e7e1410a16bb1829d93238bd2c042c7e0e1103a8b2804d379f4727bc788c3f768b7fdf5eead7