Overview

Aric A. Morse, P.E.

Pavement Design Engineer
Ohio Department of Transportation
Columbus, Ohio

Roger L. Green, P.E.

Pavement Research Engineer
Ohio Department of Transportation
Columbus, Ohio

The movement of people and goods throughout the world is primarily dependent upon a transportation network consisting of roadways. Most, if not all, business economies, personal economies, and public economies are the result of this transportation system. Considering the high initial and annual costs of roadways, and since each roadway serves many users, the only prudent owner of roadways is the public sector. Thus it is the discipline of civil engineering that manages the vast network of roadways.

The surface of these roadways, the pavement, must have sufficient smoothness to allow a reasonable speed of travel, as well as ensure the safety of people and cargo. Additionally, once the pavement is in service, the economies that depend upon it will be financially burdened if the pavement is taken out of service for repair or maintenance. Thus, pavements should be designed to be long lasting with few maintenance needs.

The accomplishment of a successful pavement design depends upon several variables. The practice of pavement design is based on both engineering principles and experience. Pavements were built long before computers, calculators, and even slide rules. Prior to more modern times, pavements were designed by trial-and-error and commonsense methods, rather than the more complicated methods being used currently. Even more modern methods require a certain amount of experience and common sense. The most widely used methods...