December 2006 Focus - M-E Pavement Design Guide Workshops Available Online

M-E Pavement Design Guide Workshops Available Online

Webcasts of three workshops on the new Mechanistic-Empirical (M-E) Pavement Design Guide are now available online. Organized by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Design Guide Implementation Team (DGIT) and hosted by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the workshops familiarized participants with various aspects of the M-E Pavement Design Guide and its accompanying software.

An abbreviated version of the Traffic Data Inputs for M-E Pavement Design workshop was Webcast on September 18, 2006, and is available for viewing at www.ct.gov/dot/TDW. The workshop covers the traffic inputs required by the design guide software, as well as how to extract data using the software.

The Climatic Inputs for M-E Pavement Design workshop is available online at www.ct.gov/dot/CIW. Webcast on September 19, 2006, the workshop discusses the Enhanced Integrated Climatic Model used in the design guide, analyzes current State design methods for climatic effects, and looks at reducing climatic effects through materials selection and design. Also featured is a demonstration of the M-E design guide software. The workshop was presented in 12 other locations throughout the United States in 2006.

The third Webcast features a workshop on Use of Pavement Management System Data to Calibrate M-E Pavement Design. Held in Connecticut on September 20, 2006, the workshop showcased recommendations from a review of eight State highway agencies' pavement management systems (PMS) and discussed how PMS data can be incorporated in the design guide software. The Webcast can be viewed at www.ct.gov/dot/PMS.

Looking ahead, the DGIT is developing a 2-day Local Calibration Workshop to provide assistance to States on local calibration, pavement evaluation and PMS, and preparation of materials input catalogs and design specifications to use with the M-E design guide. The workshop will debut in 2008. A 4-day training course on the Analysis of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Performance with the M-E Pavement Design Guide Software is also being developed through FHWA's National Highway Institute. The course will give participants hands-on experience with the software. A pilot course will be held in spring 2007.

For more information on the M-E design guide or design guide implementation resources, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/dgit/index.cfm; email the DGIT at DGIT@dot.gov; or contact Gary Crawford at FHWA, 202-366-1286 (email: gary.crawford@fhwa.dot.gov).

		December 2006
		FHWA-HRT-07-009