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Pavement Preservation in South Carolina. J. C. “Clem” Watson, P.E. Chief Engineer for Operations South Carolina Department of Transportation. Why is pavement preservation important to SCDOT?. Money and Miles. Miles. SCDOT maintains the 5 th largest road system in the nation.
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Pavement Preservation in South Carolina J. C. “Clem” Watson, P.E. Chief Engineer for Operations South Carolina Department of Transportation
Why is pavement preservation important to SCDOT? Money and Miles
Miles • SCDOT maintains the 5th largest road system in the nation. • Approximately 41,500 centerline miles • Over 90,000 lane miles
Money • Lowest receipts per mile in the nation • SCDOT receives $31,685 per mile • National average is $128,538
What does this have to do with preservation? • Economics – preservation is cheaper to perform with more bang for your buck
Keys to Success • Roads have to be in good condition • Use the right treatment on the right road at the right time • Must have a well-qualified contractor • Should have dedicated funding
Challenges • Getting away from worst first • Educating the public • Industry resistance
Optimize Treatment Selection • Find the optimal combination of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Preservation Treatments • Goal is to increase the Remaining Service Life (RSL) of the system while addressing some of the really bad roads and minimizing the amount becoming really bad
SCDOT’s Strategy • Use Pavement Management data to categorize road candidates • Distribute the maintenance funding to each category based on the estimated cost of need for that category
Types of Preservation Surface Treatments used by SCDOT • Crack Seal • Chip Seal • Microsurfacing • Ultra-Thin Asphalt Overlays
Which treatment? • Pavement condition • Traffic volumes • The location of the road (rural or urban) • The availability of materials and approved contractors • The cost effectiveness of the treatment • Volume of work
Life Cycle Cost *If milling of the pavement is required these costs will increase
Summary • SCDOT could not adequately maintain our large system with the limited resources available without a pavement preservation program • Without preservation, it’s easy to see how quickly our system would deteriorate • Treatment selection critical for success