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Implementing the AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide: Phase II

Project Details
STATE

MA

SOURCE

RIP

START DATE

07/01/21

END DATE

09/30/22

RESEARCHERS

Walaa S. Mogawer

SPONSORS

Massachusetts DOT

KEYWORDS

Calibration, Handbooks, Mechanistic-empirical pavement design, Pavement distress, Plan implementation

LINKS

Project webpage

Product

Project description

MassDOT is striving to improve its highway infrastructure's resiliency to climate change, environmental impacts, and traffic loading by implementing new technologies that can provide valuable return on investment. These improvements should begin with the pavement design process which currently utilizes antiquated empirical design methods from the 1960's. AASHTO's new Mechanistic-Empirical (M-E design) pavement design method is currently used or being evaluated by at least 33 state agencies and would be a significant improvement in design. AASHTO ME design predicts pavement distresses utilizing prediction models that were developed and nationally calibrated using in-service pavements. To accurately predict the design performance in Massachusetts, these models need to be calibrated according to Massachusetts local conditions. Due to the complexity of the research problem, a multi-phase (four phase) approach over several years was suggested. The objectives for this second phase are: (1) Develop an AASHTOWare® Pavement M-E user manual & local experimental plan and sampling template. (2) Continue initial testing of already sampled mixtures to accelerate future phases of this research.
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