Sustainable pavement maintenance practices

The purpose of this paper is to report on the state-of-the-practice in sustainable pavement maintenance and preservation. It is based on a recent study which has been published as a Research Results Digest. This paper is directed at understanding how pavement maintenance and preservation practices minimize environmental impacts. The United States Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) differentiates between pavement preservation and pavement maintenance and uses this to allocate federal funds accordingly. While Canadian agencies recognize and practice the concepts of pavement preservation, there is no regulatory differentiation between it and maintenance as compared to the United States (U.S.). Pavement preservation promotes environmental sustainability by conserving energy, virgin materials, and reducing greenhouse gases by keeping good roads good. Therefore, the foundation of a sustainable pavement maintenance program is to commit personnel and resources to pavement preservation. Currently, public agencies in the U.S. and Canada have done very little to extend the knowledge gained from research and practice in sustainable highway project delivery beyond construction completion and into the pavement preservation and maintenance phase of the road's life cycle. Thus, there are many opportunities for future research and enormous potential for agencies to accrue benefits in this area of practices. Treatments identified in this paper are primarily related to preservation and maintenance. However, these are not exclusive to preservation and maintenance and can be used in pavement rehabilitation.