Application of seasonal load restrictions to certain parts of the highway network can lead to lost productivity and a substantial impact on the economy. One of the largest challenges particularly in Northern Ontario is to design and monitor roads concisely to mitigate damage caused by seasonal effects. The advancement in data availability has been greatly enhanced with the implementation of road weather information system (RWIS). This paper describes an on-going study in Ontario which has involved the installation of two thermistor probes in Thunder Bay and New Liskeard in the Winter of 2005. The design of the two pilot sites which includes the installation of thermistor strings and soil data will be described. Initial data will be presented which attempts to relate RWIS data to that observed in the pavement structure. A preliminary thaw index will also be suggested with recommendations for continued monitoring. For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD number E211521.
Samenvatting