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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