Use of Traffic Speed Deflectometer Data in Project-Level Pavement Rehabilitation Design

Abstract

Current traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) analyses have focused on the application of pavement structural-condition data at the network level. Pavement management systems use the deflection data to adjust the treatment as determined from the surface deflections and ride quality, resulting in better treatment selection. However, TSD data can also be used at the project level to inform pavement design decisions, though this has yet to be well documented in the U.S. A pilot study was conducted in 2021 to develop a methodology to analyze the TSD data for the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) based on the AASHTO 1993 overlay design methodology. The TSD analysis methodology determines the effective structural number for each TSD datapoint. The results generated from this analysis were used for an ongoing construction project to assess the structural condition of the pavement within the project limits. Grade restrictions on the project presented a challenge in determining limits of pavement reconstruction and pavement overlay. The results of the TSD analysis were used to characterize the effective structural number at a 52 ft interval, allowing for optimization of the limits of pavement reconstruction. This paper presents the TSD analysis methodology used and how SCDOT incorporated the TSD results at the project level to perform rehabilitation designs of an ongoing construction project.