The ability to systematically collect and record as-built data for pavement layers benefits highway departments in many aspects. A well-established database of as-built pavements provides a tool for maintaining an up-to-date corporate record of the physical pavement structures, keeping track of unit construction costs, and reducing the amount of pavement excavations during pavement investigations. A reliable as-built database also provides inputs for falling weight deflectometer analysis and calibrating pavement performance models in pavement management systems (PMSs). A task within the development of the second-generation PMS for the New Jersey Department of Transportation is to review and analyze the existing pavement as-built database for completeness and quality. A computer program was developed to scan and categorize the as-built data into five status levels: complete, partially complete--missing original construction data, partially complete--missing recent rehabilitation data, questionable data, and no data. The results of this analysis can be used to recommend improvement for the data-collection process and to guide further investigations, such as coring and ground penetration radar tests. The general approach used in the analysis is described, data status levels are defined, results for distribution of the pavement as-built data are provided, and the significance of the analysis for PMSs is discussed. Recommendations for improving completeness and quality of the pavement construction history database also are provided.
Abstract