Update of Traffic Factor Equations for IDOT Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design

The main goal of the study is to update the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) equivalency factors for both flexible and rigid pavements. These factors are used to establish the coefficients that reflect the equivalent single axle loadings. The updated values will be based upon the current mix of loaded and empty vehicles and axle configurations. Additionally, researchers will add terms to the equations to incorporate the impact of E-trucks and platoons on IDOT pavement design. Researchers will conduct the following tasks. (1) Review weigh-in-motion data to determine the current mix of vehicles and update the damage coefficients in Equivalent Single Axle Load (ESAL) equations as well as add a factor for fully loaded trucks near multimodal and other special facilities. (2) Quantify the damage due to E-trucks and platoons using robust pavement models along with transfer functions. (3) Assess traffic factor equations to identify limitations when including E-trucks and platoons for design calculations. (4) Provide recommendations for potential updates to the IDOT pavement design framework to incorporate terms for E-trucks and platoons. (5) Provide a code/framework for implementing the recommendations into the IDOT M-E pavement design software.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $488,510.00
• Contract Numbers:

  R27-277

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Illinois Department of Transportation

  Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
  126 East Ash Street
  Springfield, IL  United States  62704-4766
• Managing Organizations:

  University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

  Illinois Center for Transportation
  1611 Titan Drive
  Rantoul, IL  United States  61866
• Principal Investigators:

  Al-Qadi, Imad

• Start Date: 20250101
• Expected Completion Date: 20270630
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Axle loads; Electric trucks; Mechanistic-empirical pavement design; Pavement distress; Traffic platooning; Vehicle mix
• Identifier Terms: Illinois Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01941770
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Illinois Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: R27-277
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 6 2025 12:32PM