This paper addresses a research project initiated by the Government Service for Land and Water Use and conducted in close co-operation with the Delft University of Technology. Pavement life predictors are being developed for rural roads because of the lack of appropriate structural evaluation and design procedures applicable to these roads. The majority of rural roads in The Netherlands can be characterised by pavements with a hardly identifiable layer structure and substantial variation in layer thickness and layer property in longitudinal and transverse direction. Quite a number of these roads are located in regions with subsoils with low bearing capacity and high groundwater table levels. The currently available structural evaluation and design procedures are based on trafficked roads and cannot be adequately used for rural roads. The research project presented consists of two stages and is currently in the data-analysis phase of stage two. The structure of stage two, in which the majority of the test sections is included, has been made dependent on the outcome of stage one for maximising testing efforts and minimising demands on pavement research budgets. A tentative structural pavement life predictor has been developed in stage one. A different predictor needs to be developed for peat bog roads. Predictive models based on distress identification both for peat and clay subgrades are under development in stage two. (A)
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