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A
Plan for LTPP Products
Now
in its second decade, the long-term pavement performance (LTPP) program
has encompassed the building and monitoring of nearly 2,300 pavement
sections. The data collected has resulted in more than 40 research
reports and a range of products that meet pavement technology needs.
To better define the future development and delivery of LTPP products,
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Transportation Research
Board's Subcommittee on LTPP Product Development and Delivery have
prepared a new LTPP Product Plan. FHWA's Office of Pavement Technology
is responsible for managing this important phase of the LTTP program.
The goals of the LTPP product program are to deliver such ready-to-use
items as guidelines, procedures, software, and equipment to State
departments of transportation (DOT). The Product Plan outlines a product
"means test" that will help determine the advancement of
a product idea. Among other criteria, a product must:
- Be
based substantially on the LTPP results.
- Provide
tools, information, answers, etc., that address a national need
and add value to the current technology base.
- Be
a complete product that is readily useable by the State DOT highway
management and technical staff.
As the plan notes, "Few practitioners have the time or skill
to sift through thousands of pages of research reports or lines of
data in a database. LTPP recognizes this fact and will strive to present
easy-to-understand and easy-to apply products."
LTPP products that are scheduled to debut later this year include
the DataPave 3.0 CD-ROM, which will contain additional data on traffic,
materials, performance, environment, and other variables at the LTPP
test sections. Also in the works are an improved start-up procedure
for resilient modulus testing and guidelines for temperature adjustment
of falling-weight deflectometer test results on asphalt pavements.
To obtain a copy of the Product Plan (Publication No. FHWA-RD-01-086),
contact the FHWA Research and Technology Report Center at 301-577-0906
(fax: 301-577-1421; email: report.center@fhwa.dot.gov).
For more information visit the LTPP Web site.
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A new brochure available from FHWA highlights the benefits of
the LTPP program to date. An Investment Benefiting America's
Highways: The Long Term Pavement Performance Program (Publication
No. FHWA-RD-01-094) describes the current and future benefits
to State highway agencies and highway users as a result of using
such LTPP products as falling-weight deflectometer calibration
procedures, the LTPPBind software program, and new pothole repair
procedures. As Frank Francois, the former Executive Director
of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, notes, "LTPP is a major contributor toward assuring
that we will have good pavements into the 21st century."
The brochure can be found on the Web at www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ltpp/brochure.cfm.
For more information on rapid deployment, contact
Eric Kline at KTA-Tator, Inc., 412-788-1300, ext. 206 (email:
ekline@kta.com) or Matt
Wagner with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 717-939-9551, ext. 5210
(email:mwagner@paturnpike.com).
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Other
articles in this issue:
In Brief
New Standard Has States Speaking the
Same Language on Pavement Cracking
Lessons from the Big Dig
States Achieve Safety and Savings with
Rapid Deployment for Bridge Planning
Introducing the New and Improved Hot
Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook 2000
A Plan for LTPP Products
Highway technology calendar
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