Evaluation of MDOT's Long-Life Pilot Projects

As a result of Public Act 175 of 2015 and the Roads Innovation Task Force (RITF) Report, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) committed to designing and constructing four long-life pavements using hot mix asphalt (HMA) and concrete. The four different long-life pavements are as follows: 30-year HMA on US-131 in the Grand Region, 30-year concrete on I-69 in the Bay Region, 50-year HMA on I-475 in the Bay Region, and a 50-year concrete on US-131 in the Grand Region. In 2017, the first of these pilot projects was constructed (30-year HMA on US-131). In 2018, three more will be let with two being built in 2018 and one in 2019. Several changes were made to standard designs and materials to increase the design life. These include increased structural support (increased layer thicknesses, etc.), improved material selection (HMA binder selection, etc.), improved construction specifications (lower initial ride requirements, etc.), and improved design aspects (increased drainage freeboard, etc.). Before further long-life projects can be planned, an assessment of the potential of the four pilot projects for meeting their intended design and services lives (50 and 75 years) should be performed. An evaluation of the effectiveness of all improvements will help transportation investments on future designs result in longer pavement life.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Contract Numbers:

  2019‐0997

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Michigan Department of Transportation

  Murray Van Wagoner Building
  425 West Ottawa, P.O. Box 30050
  Lansing, MI  United States  48909
• Performing Organizations:

  Michigan State University, East Lansing

  Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
  Institute for Community Development
  East Lansing, MI  United States  48824-1226
• Principal Investigators:

  Emin Kutay, M

• Start Date: 20191025
• Expected Completion Date: 20220531
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Evaluation and assessment; Hot mix asphalt; Improvements; Pavement design; Paving; Perpetual pavements; Pilot studies; Service life; Specifications
• Identifier Terms: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Materials; Pavements; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01776466
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 2019‐0997
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 13 2021 3:19PM