Performance Management System Data for Monitoring Performance: Example with Superpave®

Abstract

A project was undertaken to examine how pavement management and related data in various state departments of transportation (DOTs) can be used to evaluate the performance of new materials and to validate new design concepts. Evaluation of the performance of Superpave® was used as an ideal example for demonstrating the potential. No performance analyses have been presented to date. The project started with fact-finding visits to the DOTs of Maryland, Florida, Indiana, Arizona, and Washington. From the findings, a Pathfinder study was coordinated for Maryland, where all required data from seven Superpave projects were collected, transferred to an electronic file, and subsequently entered into a web-based system, developed by the University of Washington, where the data could be analyzed. The project results show that it is possible for state DOTs to assemble a database that can be used to evaluate the performance of Superpave and other design and new materials concepts. The project was not large or long enough to make a complete evaluation, but it did determine the feasibility of the concept and its applicability among five states.