THE FIRST FULL-SCALE ACCELERATED PAVEMENT TEST IN LOUISIANA: DEVELOPMENT AND FINDINGS

Abstract

The Pavement Research Facility in Port Allen, Louisiana houses the first full-scale accelerated pavement testing experiment in the state. The purpose of the first experiment was to evaluate the historically prevalent flexible crushed stone and in-place soil cement stabilized base construction in comparison to several alternative base construction materials and construction processes for pavements designed for a semi-tropical climate. Loading is provided by an Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) machine, the second of its type in the United States. More than six million equivalent axle loads (ESALs) were applied to the nine test lanes. Performance of the pavement structures and materials was evaluated using the information provided by the monitoring of pavement surface deterioration, deflection testing during loading and post-mortem investigations. This paper presents development of the project as well as the major findings of this first experiment. The implementation of these findings in pavement design and construction practice is discussed.