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Australian Road Research BoardSeptember 25, 20172 min read

Paving the way for the next generation of pavement engineering solutions

The 2017 edition of the Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology: Part 2: Pavement Structural Design will be published this October, incorporating the most comprehensive changes to pavement design procedures in over a decade. This will significantly change the way in which designers, materials suppliers, contractors and owners develop and build next-generation pavement engineering solutions.

The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) is shaping Australia and New Zealand’s transport future. We do this by carrying out ground-breaking research which underpins parts of the Austroads guidelines, including this specific guide.

If you’re asking yourself ‘why do I need to care about this guide update?’ Read on.

Think about what it means to save potentially millions of dollars on any given road project, extending the longevity of the pavement life-cycle. What would you do with the savings? How will this impact the way you carry out your job?  

We know you’re with us on the journey to build a safe, sustainable and connected road network -  one that will withstand disruptive technologies and serve the community for generations to follow. It’s for this reason that we invite designers, engineers, consultants, maintenance supervisors, local government, the construction industry and the directors of road agencies to join us at the 'New Pavement Designs Delivering Best Value Pavements' workshop series, formulated to showcase the key advances in the new document prepared by ARRB for Austroads.

 Running from 17 October to 5 December across Australia and New Zealand, the one-day intensive workshops highlights the fundamental improvements - each the result of significant research and development conducted by ARRB in recent years:

  • the direct assessment of pavement wear caused to asphalt and cemented materials by different axle groups and loads resulting in substantial asphalt thickness reductions for thick asphalt structures
  • the structural contribution of lime-stabilised subgrades can be considered for flexible pavements
  • guidance on the direct measurement of asphalt flexural modulus is provided
  • a maximum design traffic level cap recognises that beyond certain traffic levels no additional asphalt thickness is warranted
  • new materials characterisation and fatigue performance assessment for cemented materials allows the consideration of new and innovative material blends
  • design traffic calculations incorporate capacity checks for highly trafficked pavements to ensure that future projected traffic volumes do not exceed the vehicle capacity of the design lane

..as well as much more.

 The optional AustPADS design software tool will also be presented; local road agency staff will discuss implementation of the new processes in a regional context. 

The workshops will be facilitated by ARRB’s own Dr Michael Moffatt and Chief Scientist Geoff Jameson, who undertook the background research work and prepared the document. They are uniquely placed to describe not only the changes but also the reasons for them and the significance of their implementation.

Interested in learning more? Click here

 

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