Long-life pavements—a European study by ELLPAG

Abstract

This paper explains some of the historical developments that lead to the discovery of the unexpected pavement deterioration modes that are an inherent part of the flexible long life pavement concept. The paper also summarises some recent pavement modelling which attempts to confirm and explain these unexpected deterioration phenomena. A European Long-Life Pavement Group (ELLPAG) has been formed under the auspices of the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) to report on the current state of knowledge on long-life pavements in Europe in particular on the very practical issue of how to design, build and maintain pavements to give long structural lives. The paper summarises the findings of the first two phases of the project which has delivered a report reviewing the current state-of-the-art of fully flexible long-life pavements (LLP) and a corresponding draft review for semi-rigid pavements based on the combined knowledge of the European pavement community. The reports include chapters on: new pavement design, assessment and upgrading, maintenance and treatment design, economics and, finally, identifying knowledge gaps. Future phases will look at the state-of-the-art of other major pavement types as well as promoting research programmes to solve the knowledge gaps identified. The Group is funded by the members' respective road administrations.

Keywords:

• Pavement
• Long-life
• Design
• Assessment
• Maintenance
• Economics