IMPLEMENTATION OF MICRO-SURFACING WARRANTY SPECIFICATIONS IN ONTARIO

Since the Ministry's initial trials with micro-surfacing in 1991, the use of micro-surfacing as a maintenance treatement for highways with significant surface distresses has grown substantially. Although the Ministry has been satisfied with the micro-surfacing work completed to date, there have been the following concerns: 1) a lack of reliable quality assurance testing; 2) the reliance on the contractor to make many decisions in the field especially affecting the mix design; 3) the use of proprietary emulsion products and 4) the need for specialized testing to determine a mix design. The current method specification hinders the contractor's operation at times and was difficult to enforce. The development of a warranty specification for micro-surfacing required formulating the performance criteria for the proposed two year warranty period and deciding on a suitable bonding arrangement. The new specification requires the contractor to certify the micro-surfacing materials and mix design. This paper will discuss the need for a warranty specification, the development of the specification through discussions with the contractors, and its first year of implementation on ministry contracts. For the covering abstract of this conference, see IRRD number 872672. (A)