Permeable pavement in northern North American urban areas: research review and knowledge gaps

ABSTRACT

A majority of existing permeable pavement installations are related to parking lots and commercial areas with low speeds and light traffic loads. During the past two decades, a tremendous amount of progress has been made with regard to the application of permeable pavements regarding mix design, hydrologic design, water quality assessment and maintenance requirements. Review of the literature revealed, however, that there are still many important questions that must be answered before permeable pavements can be fully integrated in urban roads, especially in highways with high speeds and loads. This paper summarises the major research progress in the above listed areas and identifies research needs. Research needs are summarised under four topics: (1) structural and materials property, (2) hydrologic performance, (3) water quality and (4) maintenance. Research needs are further organised based on their immediate, short-term and long-term impact.

KEYWORDS:

• Porous asphalt
• pervious concrete
• permeable interlocking concrete pavers
• permeable pavement
• urban roads
• urban highways

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board and the Minnesota Department of Transportation [MnDOT Contract No. 99008 Work Order No. 99]; and through the University Transportation Center that was funded from NCST, which is supported by USDOT and by California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).