The concept of perpetual asphalt pavements is rapidly gaining acceptance in the United States. The idea is to extend the 20-year life expectancies of hot-mix asphalt pavement to greater than 50 years. To do so requires combining a rut-resistant, impermeable, and wear-resistant top structural layer with a rut-resistant and durable intermediate layer and a fatigue-resistant and durable base layer. With these pavements, only periodic surface restoration is necessary, offering advantages in speed of construction (user delay costs) and construction costs. This concept was explored and discussed at a two-part session on perpetual bituminous pavements at the 2001 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. The papers in this document were written following the session and are based on the presentations; the papers in this Circular have not undergone peer review. (A)
Abstract