Performance of warranted asphalt pavements : smoothness and performance of Indiana warranted asphalt pavements.

In the early 1990s the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) developed a five-year warranty specification for asphalt pavements with the first project being built in 1996. In 2004, results indicated that the asphalt pavements built with the warranty specification had improved performance over the conventional asphalt pavements. Nineteen years have passed since the original asphalt pavement warranty project was placed in Indiana. It has been eleven years since the performance of the warranted asphalt pavements has been analyzed to determine the effectiveness of warranties. Therefore, it is prudent to reexamine the potential benefits of asphalt pavement warranties. Hence, the ultimate goal of the project is to advise the INDOT on whether the use of asphalt pavement warranties has potential benefit for lowering the cost of ownership for asphalt paved roadways. Overall, performance comparisons of Indiana’s warranted and non-warranted asphalt pavements indicate that warranted asphalt pavements tend to perform more effectively than do non-warranted asphalt pavements. On average, warranted asphalt pavement sections had lower IRI values and rut depths than did non-warranted sections. The variability in International Roughness Index (IRI) values and rut depths was also found to be less for warranted pavement sections than for the non-warranted sections. In terms of service life based on changes in IRI and rut depth, analyses indicate that warranted asphalt pavements could last 10 to 14 years longer than non-warranted asphalt pavements. When both initial capital costs and maintenance expenditures are considered, warranted asphalt pavements appear to be 15 to 40% more cost effective over a 5-year (short-term) period and 47 to 61% more cost effective over a 15-year (long-term) period. These savings do not include potential benefits of reduced user costs nor reduced INDOT inspection costs.