PERFORMANCE OF HMA TEST SECTIONS AT WESTRACK

A federally-funded multi-million dollar hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement research project is currently underway to further the development of performance-related specifications (PRS) technology and to provide early field verification for the Superpave asphalt mixture design procedure. WesTrack refers to a full-scale road test experiment in which various asphalt mixes are loaded in an accelerated fashion to determine the effect on field performance of "off-target" mix properties. The track is located near Reno, Nevada, and the WesTrack team includes consulting firms, universities, and road contractors. This paper provides background information on the project including the nature of the experiment, the experimental factors, structural and mix design, track construction, vehicle loading, driverless vehicle technology, performance monitoring and laboratory testing. It also presents information on the interim performance of the test sections and summarizes the planned approach to developing the pavement performance prediction models.