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The art of road pavement rehabilitation design

Conference Paper · August 2015

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Gerrit Jordaan Wynand JvdM Steyn


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CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

The art of road pavement


rehabilitation design
G. J. Jordaan
Tshepega Engineering (Pty) Ltd, University of Pretoria

W. J. vdM. Steyn
University of Pretoria

Abstract – The Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) based Mechanistic-empirical concepts for the design of
programme conducted in South Africa using a number of Heavy flexible road pavements. This APT programme has resulted in
Vehicle Simulators (HVSs) over several decades since the 1970’s major advantages for South African Pavement Engineers in
resulted in the advanced understanding of pavement behaviour the understanding of pavement behaviour under a carefully
and the development of theoretical fatigue models unparalleled at
monitored research environment. This programme was unique
the time. Considering the outputs achieved, there can be little
doubt that this programme was hugely successful especially due in many ways mainly due to:
to a uniquely close environment of trust that existed between
researchers, road authorities and practitioners. This liaison • Committed direct road authority support;
resulted in to the development of new and numerous
improvements to design documents and specifications such as • Close liaison between road authorities, practitioners
those contained in the Technical Recommendations for Highways and researchers, and
(TRH) documents that addressed technical aspects covering a
wide range of related aspects within the road management,
design, maintenance and rehabilitation environment. • Unique environment of trust in which optimisation of
designs were seen as a joint risk leading to direct
The draft TRH12 series of documents specifically addresses major improvements in South African pavement
project level flexible road pavement rehabilitation investigations design technology.
and design. The TRH12 series of documents give detail
recommendations towards the implementation of procedures The emphasis on the APT programme invariably resulted
aimed at the optimisation of information required to confidently in major advances in the understanding of fundamental
determine pavement rehabilitation needs. However, the physics and basic material properties that influences the
optimisation of rehabilitation design involves much more than
behaviour of pavement structures. It was soon realised that the
technical investigations. Non-technical or “soft-engineering”
aspects, expertise, experience and social awareness all form part behaviour of the pavement structure as a whole controls the
of the arsenal of the “complete” design engineer. formation of distress and hence, the functional performance of
the pavement structure. The understanding of material
This paper defines the “art of rehabilitation design”, behaviour in a combined structure is critical to the correct
identifying various influences, expertise, knowledge and an analysis of existing pavements exhibiting distress and the
awareness of social responsibility that benefits the successful optimisation of corrective procedures for the rehabilitation of
commissioning, implementation and execution of road the pavement structure. Project level pavement rehabilitation
rehabilitation projects. Engineers are trained to assess risk and design is defined [1, 2] as “Involving procedures/measures to
adjust designs to optimally serve the communities involved.
These qualities should be recognised by authorities and
enable existing deficient roads to continue to carry traffic
encouraged to be addressed thoroughly in the execution of loading at adequate speed, safety and comfort in a cost-
projects and interpretation of documents intended as guidelines effective way”. This is achieved through the identification of
as a basis of practical engineering. distress mechanisms and the adjustment/alteration of the
observed behaviour to accommodate the future design traffic
Keywords- pavement rehabilitation design, risk assessment, loading.
art of rehabilitation, engineering expertise, experience, knowledge,
social responsibility, design optimisation. The definition of road pavement rehabilitation design may
be technically correct, but the successful conclusion of a
I. INTRODUCTION
rehabilitation project involves much more than just technical
Due to the development of an Accelerated Pavement expertise. It is often controlled by influences not generally
Testing (APT) programme using a number of Heavy Vehicle understood by a product of training aimed at the achieving of a
Simulators (HVSs) dating back to the 1970's, South Africa has solution expressed in terms of mathematical equations within
been on the forefront of the development of theoretically a narrow field of study. Due to the extent of a thorough
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

investigation and the complexity of the problem to achieve an


optimum solution, rehabilitation can in many ways be seen as • Economic impact and fiscal priorities.
an “art” which is only mastered through extensive and
continued absorption of knowledge and many years of The last two aspects are determined by the broad fiscal
practical experience – a concept that is difficult to explain and policy of a relevant authority at municipal, provincial and/or
more difficult to be understand by a generation accustomed to national level. Engineers well-trained to consider technical
computer generated solutions. inputs, usually develop network Decision Support Systems
(DSSs) (i.e. Pavement Management Systems (PMSs)) based
This paper addresses the complexity of road infrastructure on sound technical grounds and make recommendations based
rehabilitation in a developing environment. All too often, on the outputs of these systems. However, in a developing
design engineers are faced unexpectedly by the consequence environment the input from strategic, social and political
of technical decisions not accommodating social responsible needs must be catered for if these systems are to be
interaction. The “complete” design engineer must develop an implemented successfully. Economic, strategic, and political
awareness of social interaction in the execution of projects needs are addressed at a network level determination of
both at the design as well as implementation stages. Not only priorities before the awarding and commissioning of any
does the rehabilitation engineer require an unparalleled array project level investigation. At the commissioning of a project
of technical expertise and knowledge of a very complex level investigation the road authority should have already
interaction of various specialisations, but also needs to determined the:
develop social skills to determine and manage the non-
technical influences of authorities and communities affected • Viability of the project and priority of the project in
by the project. These requirements can only truly be achieved terms of the road network (and national needs);
through the continuous development of expertise, years of
experience and the development of often “non-familiar” (in a • The extent of the investigation as an output from the
technical field) social skills. Pavement Management System (PMS) and any
related Road Management System (e.g. should any
II. WHAT IS PAVEMENT REHABILITATION DESIGN capacity improvements be investigated and
considered), and
Road pavements are often perceived as comparatively
simple structures. This perception is partially due to the fact • Road category and applicable standards, design
that a non-optimal design will not usually have immediate periods, etc.
disastrous consequences such as, for example, a failure of a
bridge, building or dam structure. However, non-optimal The rehabilitation design engineer must determine the
design has severe cost implications to the road-users and road future pavement bearing capacity requirements in order to
authorities and in-effect, the economy of the country as whole meet the minimum required functionality (serviceability)
and affected communities in particular. All too often, solutions criteria to adequately address the needs of the road-user. These
are designed without proper communication between the functionality criteria should be defined by the specific road
designers, the project manager form the client authority and authority and are based on the statistical evaluation and
the communities affected by the rehabilitation of road analysis of data measured along the length of the project. A
infrastructure. percentage of road length is normally allowed to exceed the
required criteria at the end of the design period as shown in
At the most basic level, pavement rehabilitation can be Table 1 [1, 2]. These criteria are based on a risk assessment of
defined at the difference between what is needed and what the road-user, taking into account the volume of traffic and
exists as demonstrated in Fig. 1. “What is needed” in terms category of road, e.g. primary (A), secondary (B), tertiary road
of road infrastructure is influenced and determined by many (C) or experimental (D) [2].
factors including:
“What exists” in terms of the road to be rehabilitated is
• Road-user needs (functionality/serviceability); determined by the design engineer through a project level
investigation with the main aims to establish the:
• Affected community needs (e.g. safety of pedestrians
and non-motorised transportation); • Characteristics of the existing pavement (distress,
etc.) structure in terms of current condition
• Affordability within the road authority, and functionality, and structural properties, and
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

Fig.1: Illustration of the basic principles involved in pavement rehabilitation design


CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

TABEL 1 [1. 2]: PERCENTILE LEVELS FOR DATA PROCESSING ON economic point of view. The cost implication in terms of a
ROADS IDENTIFIED FOR PROJECT LEVEL INVESTIGATIONS
life-cycle analysis of a “technical inadequate” or “wrong”
Length of road project Percentile levels
allowed to recommended analysis during the project level rehabilitation design
Category
of Road exceed minimum for data processing on roads investigation could be significant and by far exceeds the cost
performance levels at the identified for project level involved in the optimisation of the design. Pavement
end of its design life (%) rehabilitation investigations rehabilitation is defined as “involving procedures to restore,
A 5 95
B 10 90 improve or salvage existing deficient road pavements so
C 20 80 that these may continue to carry traffic at adequate speed,
D 35 65 safety and comfort in a cost-effective way”. The project
level rehabilitation investigation procedure should aim to fully
• Variation in the “inherent bearing capacity” along the utilise all available information on the existing pavements
project length and the identification of sections with under investigation in a holistic process of ever-increasing
similar structural properties. complexity and detail. This includes all available information
on the design of the pavement, materials used, previous
It follows, that the existing road pavement to be maintenance on the road, history of traffic loading and
rehabilitated must be fully investigated to accurately information available from the PMS of the Road Authority.
determine the rehabilitation needs. Hence, the project level
rehabilitation investigation procedure is designed to determine III. PAVEMENT “LIFE”
with confidence differences in inherent bearing capacity of
adjacent uniform pavement sections. No existing pavement Traditionally, road pavement engineers have referred to the
section will have a zero inherent bearing capacity as illustrated “life” of a pavement structure and “end of life” when
in Fig. 1. Hence, no project should be deemed to require rehabilitation is required. These terms and especially “end of
complete reconstruction, except for reasons other than life” are generally confusing (even to engineers other than
structural bearing capacity. Rehabilitation options applicable specialists in the road pavement engineering field) to the
to a road could vary considerably and may involve any or public at large and more specifically to decision-makers
more aspects, including: controlling the financing of roads. In pavement engineering
terms the “end of life” of a pavement is referred to as the time
• Partial reconstruction involving the strengthening of when the pavement has reached the “end of optimal
existing pavement layers, with or without functionality” as defined for a specific road category. A road
stabilisation (numerous alternatives available which has reached the “end of optimal functionality” will
depending on in-situ material characteristics), before require rehabilitation to ensure that it will continue to be
resurfacing; managed cost- effectively by the road authority and that it will
continue to provide a safe and cost-effective facility to the
• Asphalt (various design alternatives with different road-user to travel at optimum speed, safety and comfort.
binders) and/or granular overlays;
At the “end of life” the pavement will still be able to carry
• Concrete inlays and overlays; traffic. However, this service will continue at a compromise
to the optimal pavement functionality of the road, which will
• Levelling courses, including rut filling with reseals result in a higher risk to the road-user and/or the road
(numerous combinations with a large selection of authority/agency. This higher risk is quantified in terms of:
alternative binders);
• Risk to the road-user:
• Resealing with a large selection of type of seal and
using different binders depending on various design o Unacceptable safety conditions, such as:
considerations, and
 Deformation in the wheel-tracks (Rut-depth)
• Provision of drainage (surface as well as sub- along the length of a road that allows water
surface), and/or improvements to existing drainage ponding which could lead to dangerous
facilities, etc. conditions such as skid problems and
aquaplaning of vehicles. (For example, at a
Any combination of the above mentioned rehabilitation cross-fall of 2 per cent a Rut-depth of 10 mm
activities could be applicable to a specific pavement structure. will lead to water ponding in a wheel-track
Furthermore, several available options exist within each of the with a width of about 1m.);
rehabilitation options from which the best solution should be
recommended. With all these alternatives available, the  Pot-holes and breaking-up of the surfacing,
project level rehabilitation investigation procedure must which could lead to dangerous driving
facilitate and enable the design engineer to identify the most conditions, resulting in accidents and/or
suitable option from both a functional, structural and vehicle damage, and
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

rehabilitation is to identify pavements possibly requiring


 Poor Riding-quality, resulting in a decrease in rehabilitation for more detailed investigations at a project
road-user vehicle control with a resultant level. A flow diagram of typical procedures in a network level
increase in accidents together with an increase study is shown in Fig. 4 [2].
in the severity of accidents.
PMS's at the network level use models and algorithms
o Higher road-user costs due to a decrease in based on the average expected condition of the pavements
Riding-quality resulting in an increase in vehicle within the road network. The systems could include models
maintenance costs and damage to the transport of predicting expected performance (serviceability), models
farming produce and fragile goods. predicting deterioration based on a number of distress
manifestations, i.e. cracking, deformation, etc. and combining
• Risk to the road authority/road agency with an these models incorporating time and costs. These models can
increase in: be developed further, taking into account variables such as the

o Road maintenance costs, and


End of Optimal
Pavement
o Pavement rehabilitation costs due to accelerated Time/Loading Functionality
pavement deterioration and the development of
Decrease in
secondary distress (such as pavement layer Pavement A
damage and pot-holes) resulting from delays in Functionality B
the time identified for optimal intervention as
C
determined by a fully functioning PMS.

The deterioration of a road pavement over time due to Acceptable levels of


pavement functionality for
environmental factors and the action of traffic loading and the different categories of roads C B A
resultant effect on the functionality of the pavement is shown
in a basic illustration in Fig. 2 [2]. A road pavement reaches
the end of its optimal functionality at the end of its design
period. Due to differences in traffic loading and traffic
Design period
volume (defining acceptable risk) different levels of optimal
pavement functionality applies to different categories of roads.
Fig. 2 [2]: Basic illustration of a decrease in pavement functionality over the
Pavements reaching the end of its design period will be design period for different categories of road which shows that the “end of
referred to as having reached the “end of optimal pavement optimal functionality” is reached at the end of the end of the pavement design
functionality” at which time it should be rehabilitated to period
continue to cost-effectively carry traffic at adequate speed,
safety and comfort. It follows, that a rehabilitation
investigation done on a section of road which has not reached Time of End of Optimal
Time/Loading investigation Pavement
the “end of optimal pavement functionality” will show some
Functionality
remaining “life”, referred to as the remaining “design period”,
before the end of “optimal pavement functionality” is reached.
The concept of the remaining design period is demonstrated
Decrease in
in Fig. 3 [2]. Pavement
Functionality
IV. MANAGING REHABILITATION DESIGN

A). Network level management Remaining design


period

Most of the major road authorities in South Africa use a C B A


network level PMS. These systems vary in their level of
sophistication and detail, but all aim to provide the necessary
information for the effective funding and planning of
operations needed to protect the integrity of the road network.
Design period
The main aim is to obtain the required information to cost-
effectively plan and provide for the preservation of the road
network, often referred to as “asset preservation”. The main Fig. 3 [2]: Basic example demonstrating the concept of the remaining design
objective of the network level study within the context of period of a pavement section under investigation
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

Gathering of basic information


on the road network, e.g. Condition surveys of the
length, age, traffic and traffic road network, e.g. riding
loading, pavement type, etc. DATA quality, distress, etc.
BANK

Performance model for network


Functionality

Social
Needs

N E
E V
Time T A
W L Strategic
O U Inputs
Cost model for network R A
Costs K T
I
O
Condition N Financial
inputs
(Budget)
Time

Identify pavements not requiring Identify pavements requiring


rehabilitation rehabilitation & prioritise projects in
terms of an Economic evaluation

Recommendations:
- maintenance needs,
- survey priorities, Projects which cannot be Identify projects for
- survey frequency, accommodated within the rehabilitation
- etc. available budget design

Give indication of the costs of deferred


rehabilitation

Commission of project level Pavement


Rehabilitation Investigation and Design projects

Fig. 4 [2]: Some basic elements of Pavement Management at Network level aiming at the identification of Project level Rehabilitation Design projects
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

type of pavement (type of materials in the base-layer) and its • The impact of existing distress under the action of
effect on the expected pavement performance and distress traffic loading (e.g. open cracks and water ingress
manifestations of the pavement and hence, the effect of into the pavement structure which could lead to rapid
rehabilitation on transportation costs. deterioration);

The PMS developed for use in network level pavement • Inadequate in-situ properties of pavement materials,
rehabilitation design can gradually be expanded to include and
various sub-systems which could assist to:
• Non-load associated distress, e.g. expansive sub-
• Optimise long-term planning of operations; grades, geological changes, etc.

• Optimise the level of operations (e.g. frequency of Although some formal procedures may recognise these
condition assessments); factors, they are often not satisfactorily incorporated and
addressed by the practising engineer, especially when mainly
• Determine budget requirements and limitations, and relying on automated computerised systems. It is often
difficult, if not impossible, to identify whether such factors
• Determine the cost implications of deferred have contributed to the cause and mechanism of distress, or to
maintenance and rehabilitation. determine the way in which they should be dealt with in the
rehabilitation design in the absence of thorough investigations
It is important to note that the network level study is involving site visits and inspections by experienced design
generally used to identify roads requiring rehabilitation. personnel and verification through appropriate testing.
Specific projects are identified for project level investigations
after an economic evaluation has shown the improvement of It is essential to recognise that the future behaviour of a
the specific roads to be justifiable. However, a more detailed pavement cannot be predicted with absolute certainty due to
project level study is required to identify specific needs and to the variability of pavement materials and inadequate
facilitate cost-effective detailed testing followed by a cost- knowledge of their properties. Such uncertainty can be
effective rehabilitation design. countered to some extent through the use of extensive testing
which would enable the design to be based on a statistical
B). Project level investigations: design considerations approach through which a small (acceptable) percentage
(based on a risk assessment) of the road length is allowed to
An incorrect or “wrong” decision with regard to the exceed predetermined performance criteria at the end of its
required rehabilitation for a road project could have design life.
substantial cost consequences. Therefore, more detailed
pavement condition and quality tests are usually warranted in However, it is necessary to be very selective about the
a project level study to improve confidence in the design and type and number of tests [2, 3] to keep the investigation
selection of an appropriate rehabilitation option. Many of the within acceptable logistic and cost (budget) limits. The
design variables which have to be estimated/assumed for a designer achieves this by progressively determining the
new pavement can be determined with an acceptable level of contribution of additional testing at each stage of the
accuracy on existing pavements. These include traffic loading investigation, until the degree of confidence necessary to
conditions and the in-situ strength parameters of the pavement determine the applicable rehabilitation options has been
components (layers). The aim of rehabilitation is to modify obtained. Testing is selected and limited with the aim to
the behaviour of a pavement in order to carry the design maximise the information needed to achieve the objectives of
traffic loading at an acceptable level of service. The more the different stages of the project level investigation [1, 2].
fully this behaviour [1. 2] is evaluated, the more accurate and
therefore the more economical the rehabilitation should be. The ability of models based on pavement condition tests to
predict the behaviour of pavements is limited for reasons such
All relevant factors which could contribute to distress must as:
be considered during the evaluation of the pavement. These
include: • The varied nature of materials;

• Traffic loading (load as well as tyre pressures); • Differences between specified values and those
actually achieved;
• Drainage problems;
• The simplistic nature of models in the face of many
• Environmental impact (e.g. temperature, moisture, factors affecting the behaviour of materials in
ultra-violet radiation, etc.); pavements, and

• Uncertainty of traffic load prediction.


CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

The value of additional information to be gained by further shown in Fig. 5 [2] is designed to manage the information
tests can be calculated explicitly trough statistical analysis needed to confidently proceed to the next level of an
procedures when the problem is well-defined and has a investigation. The objectives to be achieved during each phase
simplistic structure. However, in pavement rehabilitation this of the investigation are aimed at the optimisation of the
is not always possible because of the complexity of the understanding of the existing pavement structure and the
pavement, and the value of such information can often be optimisation of the testing required to adequately achieve each
assessed well enough for practical purposes by considering the objective. No road length can be assumed to be uniform in
cost of obtaining additional information in relation to the: behaviour requiring the same rehabilitation. It is seen that
some guidelines [1. 2] are also identified for the determination
• Consequences of not making the optimal decision (in of non-technical aspects that should be considered and taken
terms of cost and performance of rehabilitation into account during the rehabilitation investigation. These
measure); non-technical aspects as shown in Fig. 5 [2] are:

• Probability of not making the optimal decision • Managerial inputs;


without additional information, and
• Social/environmental inputs, and
• Probability of not making the optimal decision in
spite of having additional information. • Practical and functional inputs.

Experience and engineering judgement must be used to V. THE “ART” OF REHABILITATION DESIGN
assess these factors and decide whether further tests are
justified. All tests should be aimed at improving the As previously discussed, pavement structures are often
understanding of the behaviour of the pavement, rather than perceived to be relatively simplistic in nature. In reality,
providing absolute information. Moreover, no type of test or pavement structures are comparatively very complex
analysis is excluded, provided that it is appropriate and structures. The complexity of road pavement pavements to be
that it can be justified by the value of the information that accurately analysed for, in particular, rehabilitation design is,
will add to the understanding of the problem. At the same inter alia, due to the:
time testing is only done and decided upon if the information
to be gained can be utilised. All too often test programmes • Combination of materials with different properties,
are implemented by the designer without any notion of exhibiting different characteristics (such as failure
how the information is to be used to actually benefit the mechanisms) into a single structure;
investigation and/or the following rehabilitation design.
• Inherent variability of pavement materials which
Based on the above principles and design considerations, exceeds, by far, the variability usually found in other
the project level pavement rehabilitation approach [1, 2] will civil engineering structures;
enable suitable rehabilitation options to be determined through
a systematic process of testing and analysis. This involves an • Loading conditions which are subject to high levels
assessment of the pavement condition, assessment of the of change and fluctuation (including variation in
uniformity of the existing pavement in terms of “inherent imposed stresses due to a complex road, load and tyre
bearing capacity”, determination of existing structural pressure interaction at various speeds and oscillation
capacity, identification of the cause and mechanism of of vehicles);
distress, use of suitable rehabilitation design methods and
finally, the comparison of applicable options and strategies
• Variability in environmental influences (e.g.
based on Present Worth of Costs (PWC).
moisture, temperature, ultra-violet radiation) and the
The project level rehabilitation management approach use of materials that are highly influenced by these
must be designed to optimally use high frequency screening environmental factors, and
tests in first phase investigations to statistically meaningfully
identify uniform road pavement sections. This approach lends • Variability in inherent bearing capacity of the
itself to limit the number of destructive and expensive testing existing facility.
within the identified uniform road pavement sections.
The complexity of pavement structures implies that the
The draft TRH12 [1] series of documents, first published pavement engineer needs to have applicable technical
in 1983, address and recommend the project level knowledge and experience in order to be able to evaluate,
investigation and design procedures needed to facilitate the analyse and design rehabilitation options for pavements at
optimisation of the cost-effective rehabilitation needs of the optimum costs. Pavement engineers should, inter alia, have
road facility. The project level rehabilitation design procedure
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

NETWORK LEVEL
INVESTIGATIONS:
ROAD MANAGEMENT Commission project level
SYSTEMS rehabilitation investigation and
design projects

PROJECT LEVEL ROAD REHABILITATION INVESTIGATIONS &


DESIGN

MANAGEMENT
CONSIDERATIONS

CONDITION ASSESSMENT:
• INITIAL ASSESSMENT
• DETAILED ASSESSMENT

SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS

REHABILITATION
DESIGN

PRACTICAL & FUNCTIONAL


CONSIDERATIONS

LIFE-CYCLE COST
COMPARISON OF
APPLICABLE
REHABILIATION
OPTIONS

Fig. 5 [2]: Flow diagram of the recommended Project level Management process for Road Pavement Rehabilitation Investigations and Design
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

knowledge of: correct solutions. Road pavement rehabilitation also requires


the mastering of social skills only acquired and understood
• Materials ranging from soils (i.e. clays, sands, through years of experience with particular emphasis on the
crushed stone, natural gravels, etc.) to asphalt social responsibility associated with the rehabilitation of road
surfacings (including modified binders, etc.); infrastructure. The social influences on the rehabilitation
design could crucially influence the outcome of any
• Modification and stabilisation of materials using technically correct solution. The design engineer must also
various materials, design methods and equipment and acquire skills to enable proper investigation and the acquiring
the complex interaction of basic material of inputs not commonly expected from technically oriented
properties/contents with various stabilising agents and qualified professional individuals.
(e.g. influence of Smectite, Mica, etc.);
Transport facilities are built, maintained and rehabilitated
• Pavement structure/balance behaviour which could to serve the road-user, but have a crucial impact on
drastically influence and change the ”expected” communities within the influence sphere of the facility. In
behaviour of materials as determined in a laboratory; order to optimise the rehabilitation of a road these influences
must be taken into consideration and issues resolved as part of
• Traffic loading conditions exerted onto the pavement the investigation procedures. Road authorities are also often
structure as defined by the tyre pressures and wheel- not sensitive to the needs of communities involved, although
loading and load growth rates; general aspects may be included in briefings that address
social, safety and environmental guides. These non-specific
• Environmental variations and the effect thereof on non-technical aspects are briefly discussed [1, 2] in current
different materials (e.g. weathering, ageing, etc.); guideline documents under the heading of non-technical
aspects as summarised in Fig. 6 [2]. However, true
• Statistical concepts defining materials, loading, involvement and implementation may not be adequately
structural behaviour, pavement performance, addressed by these guidelines and community participation
evaluation and analyses processes; can be crucial (even in the basic concept of a rehabilitation
investigation of an existing facility). Hence, the design
• Construction techniques and associated practical engineer should also acquire and develop expertise with
limitations; regard to social skills in order to:

• Tests/tools and methods that can be used to determine • Manage project managers to understand “soft” non-
the present condition of the pavement and their technical inputs to be collected during rehabilitation
applicability and limitations with regard to the investigations;
prediction of the future pavement behaviour;
• Manage and acquire inputs from affected
• Structural evaluation and design methods and their communities and a have the skills to convince
applicability to be used to design appropriate communities of project and financing limitations; and
rehabilitation alternatives and to predict its future
behaviour and the resultant pavement performance • Be able to adapt “guideline” documents to best serve
using applicable measured input parameters; all affected communities and convince client bodies
of the engineering responsibilities and the
• Prioritisation and financing of projects, and reasons/logic involved to deviate from accepted
practice to find a compromise between road-user
needs and community needs.
• Life-cycle costs comparison techniques to assess
various applicable rehabilitation options using, inter
alia, probability theories to assess the various The skills outlined above will enable practicing engineers
to apply hard earned expertise to the best advantage of the
probable outcomes and recommend the most
communities it is serving through any infrastructure
appropriate rehabilitation alternative.
improvement appointment. Engineers are not trained to read
The list gives some indication of the considerable base of and apply guideline documents blindly. Training enables
engineers to use guideline documents and recommend changes
technical knowledge and experience needed by the pavement
based on all the evidence collected and the consideration of
engineer. Pavement rehabilitation investigations and design
risks to achieve optimum solutions to best benefit affected
can be compared to forensic research in a crime
communities and the economy as a whole. Engineers must
investigation. Similarly, with limited information and time-
accept this responsibility, cultivating a trusting relationship
and cost-constraints, often using circumstantial evidence,
which must exist to allow engineers to fully implement this
optimal solutions must be found. However, the above list only
acquired expertise in a developing environment.
caters for the technical aspects required to achieve technically
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

Managerial Inputs Comments Check list

• Non-pavement technical
o Safety Determine the need
o Geometry for a Traffic Safety
o Maintenance Audit
o Structures

• Management considerations Active


o Policy communication
o Funding between the designer
o Standards and road authority
o Planning

• Logistical inputs
o Equipment availability
o Terrain influence
o Material availability

Establish and
Social/Environmental Inputs;
participate in
Community
• Labour enhanced construction Participation
Forums
• Occupational health and safety
Determine need for
• Environmental impact Environmental
Impact Studies (EIA)

Practical & Functional Considerations:

• Applicability of
o Investigation methods
o Design methods
o Materials
o Rehabilitation options

• Constructability
o Traffic accommodation
o Widening constraints
o Layer thickness constraints
o Resources availability
o Environmental influences

• Performance adequacy
o Surface drainage
o Sub-surface drainage
o Cross drainage
o Surfacing & wearing course selection

• Maintainability
o Resources of road authority

Fig. 6 [2]: Summary and check-list of non-technical aspects that should be included in a project level rehabilitation investigation.

Fig. 6 [2]: Summary and check-list of non-technical aspects that should be included in a project level rehabilitation investigation.
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

The “buy-in” of authorities in this concept of used all over the world. These range from empirically derived
responsibility, trust and know-how in the appointment of methods to sophisticate theoretically based Mechanistic-
“Professional Service Providers” are crucial for engineers to empirical design methods mostly based on the multi-layer
operate in an environment that encourages the principle of the linear-elasticity theory. These methods differ in their
optimisation of services within given constraints of funding. suitability for solving specific problems, the expertise required
Guideline documents are there to “guide” and be adopted to to optimally and correctly apply these methods and the cost of
best address specific problems taking into account all inputs. implementation. Furthermore, the benefits to be obtained
This responsibility should become foremost in the minds of from the use of a specific method could depend on the design
engineers that have the ability to do just that. The holistic traffic loading, type of distress, type and condition of a
combination of technical expertise, soft-engineering and social pavement, and the cause and mechanism of distress.
skills in the rehabilitation design and provision of road
infrastructure is demonstrated in Fig. 7.
High risk
Acceptable risk
It follows, that optimal design solutions at an acceptable
Increase in expertise/experience
level of risk will only be achieved through the utilisation of
suitable knowledge and experience, as demonstrated in Increase in
Fig. 8 [2]. Low skills will invariably lead to a conservative risk
approach and an increase in construction cost to compensate
for the risk associated with a low-skill design.
Low risk
VI. MANAGING RISK
Optimal Conservative
design design
The Rehabilitation Design phase of the investigation is
Increase in rehabilitation construction costs
more complex than the preceding phases of a rehabilitation
investigation, requiring a higher level of skills to achieve the
required level of confidence as demonstrated in Fig. 9 [2]. Fig. 8 [2]: The complexity of pavement rehabilitation design invariably leads
to the optimisation of design at an acceptable risk with an increase in expertise
and experience
Currently, numerous pavement rehabilitation design
methods have been practically implemented and are being

Fig.7: Influence of expertise, experience and social skills on a Project level Rehabilitation Investigation and Design project
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

• Social responsibility and experience of the design


team;

• Phase of investigation during the rehabilitation design


process as shown in Fig. 5 [2];

• Complexity of the pavement system that is usually


also associated with the category of the road, and

• Changes in acceptable levels of risk due to the


changes in impact that a specific facility may have in
terms of the safety and cost to the road-user, cost of
the road, impact on affected communities and the
total economic impact and influence within a region.

Fig. 9[2]: The relative complexity of the various phases of a rehabilitation


investigation in terms required expertise, cost of implementation and
confidence achieved.

It follows that rehabilitation design methods are limited


in their applicability and that their indiscriminate use could
lead to the design of inappropriate rehabilitation measures. A
specific rehabilitation design method may be applicable
only to specific pavement material, loading, environmental
and distress conditions which in combination represent
specific pavement situations. The correct identification of a
pavement situation and the determination of the suitability of
specific methods to analyse the pavement situation will lead to
improved use of available design methods and hence, to more
appropriate and cost-effective rehabilitation design options.
Unfortunately, these limitations are often hidden and
considerable experience and expertise in the basic principles Fig. 10 [2]; The cost of a wrong decision on the rehabilitation of a road is
incorporated in pavement rehabilitation design methods are directly related to the complexity of the road system (pavement situation) and
the category of road as influenced by the confidence required and expertise
required for the effective use of the available/recommended
involved in the design.
methods.

Roads carrying high traffic loads are usually comprised


of composite layers of stabilised materials which are complex
in their behaviour. Comparatively, these roads are also
relatively expensive to construct and rehabilitate. It follows,
that the consequences of an inaccurate or “wrong” decision in
terms of an appropriate rehabilitation design are directly
related to the road category as a function of the traffic loading
and importance as demonstrated in Fig. 10. Optimal design at
an acceptable risk is only achieved by ensuring that the
expertise utilised is adequate to address the problem in hand as
shown in Fig. 11[2].

In follows that optimal (cost-effective) pavement


rehabilitation involves risk associated with the rehabilitation
of any road which is a direct function of:

• Technical knowledge, expertise and experience of the


design engineer; Fig. 11 [2]: Demonstration of the effect of risk versus expertise on the cost of
rehabilitation and acceptable risk for different categories of road
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

Transportation facilities do not represent a “low risk” • The accelerator pedal – it’s functions and what
involvement but have a pronounced impact on society and the happens if it is used incorrectly, and
economy and well-being of a town, region, province and
finally, the country as a whole. Governmental bodies • The brake pedal and what happens when used or not
managing transportation infrastructure need to be aware of the used.
required expertise and experience to ensure that the risk are
suitably accounted for in the appointment of “Professional In terms of vehicle operation it is also necessary to
Service Providers”. Such awareness and an associated distinguish between a qualified driver (driver with a licence)
accountability will ensure that a competitive transportation and when to call a driver an “expert”. The “risk” involved in
network is created, managed, maintained and rehabilitated in using a non-expert in a situation requiring the use of an expert
service of affected communities and a healthy economy. (e.g. as a racing or rally driver) – the consequences it most
probably will have and the carnage it most probably will cause
VII. EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE – must be assessed and should have direct accountable
consequences also on the decision taker that took the decision
Basic engineering knowledge can be obtained through to use the non-expert. Such examples are available at all levels
tertiary training adhering to the principles of “best possible of life in all industries, from the most basic to the most
practice”. Hence, the importance of continued high level of complex.
expertise at tertiary institutions cannot be over-emphasised.
Only through the continued maintaining of levels of training at The same principles apply to the field of Civil
formal institutions and the improvement of standards will a Engineering that influences all spheres of infrastructure
winning nation be created. More emphasis is needed on the provision and have a considerable impact on communities -
crucial role that locally achieved expertise, in an applicable also in the field of pavement engineering – which is a
environment, plays in the maintenance and rehabilitation of relatively complex field requiring a high level of expertise and
hard-earned transportation infrastructure. experience. The consequences of the use of non-registered and
non-experienced Engineers/ Technologists/ Technicians
Experience is only possible under suitable mentorship reaches far beyond the individual and the “now”, as is the case
and acknowledgement must be given and room provided for in several much more stringently controlled professions such
the full utilisation of these scarce resources. An engineer is not as found, for example, in the medical field.
trained in four years (minimum time at training institute).
Only after professional registration (additional minimum of VIII. CONCLUSIONS
three years of appropriate internship) can a person with
approved qualifications apply to become a ‘Professional The pavement rehabilitation engineer requires a
Engineer/Technologist/Technician” in South Africa and considerable array of knowledge, expertise and experience to
allowed to practice as an Engineer/Technologist/Technician cost-effectively design applicable rehabilitation options. Road
(South African Law –Act 46 of 2000). pavement structures are comparatively complex structures
consisting of materials containing numerous variables in
However, experience requires mentorship of high properties which are subject to large fluctuations in
standard in order to acquire the necessary skills to optimally environmental and loading conditions. The design engineer
function in a manner most beneficially to society. Professional must evaluate and accommodate all these variations and assess
registration also does not allow an Engineer/Technologist/ applicable risk factors to design cost-effective solutions and
Technician to operate in fields outside its line of experience predict pavement performance over a pre-determined design
(South African Law – Act 46 of 2000 – Engineering Council period.
of South Africa (ECSA) - Code of Conduct). These principles
must be widely understood and practically stringently applied The uncertainty involved in the prediction of future
if cost-effective infrastructure is to be provided, not only in influences, together with the numerous variables within an
South Africa, but in any winning nation. existing facility require considerable, knowledge, expertise
and years of experience to cost-effectively take all factors into
Knowledge, expertise and experience are needed in all account. The understanding of risk in the rehabilitation design
fields of life to ensure optimal functionality. Some basic skills of various different categories of roads, the managing of
are, for example, needed to operate a vehicle. Knowledge of information to reach an optimal solution and accommodating
the basic components and workings of a vehicle and its “soft” social needs with confidence, qualifies the rehabilitation
behaviour is needed, e.g. the: design of pavements to closely represent “art”, far exceeding
the normal requirements of only technical training.
• Gears and its workings and the effect if it is used or
not used; This paper discusses and identifies some of the qualities
required by a pavement engineer to become an “expert”. In
addition, some aspects with regard to the management of
information, testing and the consequences of an inaccurate or
CAPSA 2015 – Peer reviewed published papers

“wrong” decision are identified and discussed in brief. Not REFERENCES


only should the expert be knowledgeable in the technical
aspects of problem solution, but should also acquire the social [1] Committee of State Road Authorities. Draft TRH 12: Flexible
pavement rehabilitation investigations and design, CSRA, Pretoria,
skills to implement and take into account the needs of affected 1997.
communities to design and implement solutions to benefit all [2] G. J Jordaan. Optimisation of flexible road pavement rehabilitation
it is supposed to serve. Design documents are guidelines and investigations and design. ISBN 978-1-77592-036-6, www.lulu.com,
the experience to convince authorities to adapt these University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 2013.
[3] G. J Jordaan, J. S. M. Venter. and S. C. van As. Optimisation of the
guidelines (when required) to best address specific problems number and type of testing needed for the evaluation and assessment
should be present as part of the true engineering solution that of pavements. Department of Transport, Research Report RR91/249,
defines the “art” of pavement rehabilitation design. Pretoria, April 1992.

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