The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is taking a new approach to preserving and paving highways, in response to dwindling preservation funds.In the past, highways were resurfaced on a regular schedule with projects planned every 12 to 15 years, depending on the location and condition. WSDOT crews inspected pavements annually, and projects were set up in sections several miles long. The existing pavement was ground out to a depth between one and two inches, for the full width of the roadway. New asphalt was then placed and the highway is good for another decade or so.
With less and less money available for highway resurfacing, the WSDOT needed to find additional ways to preserve state highways, according to an email sent out yesterday. So, they're switching to what's called “strategic preservation.” Because most of the early pavement failure issues begin as small segments, the idea is to repair them first, delaying the programming of a multi-million dollar project over long sections of state highways. WSDOT engineers review the highway pavements every year, look for small segments of failing pavement, create a list of locations, then paves just those locations, rather than multiple miles of roadway as in the past.
WSDOT maintenance crews patch small asphalt problems, such as potholes, on a regular basis, but strategic paving is a more extensive fix. Once fixed, the full width paving job is delayed, allowing those dollars to be used elsewhere in the system where the small repairs are no longer practical. A small pavement grinding machine is used to remove the top layer of asphalt in narrow strips. A fresh layer of hot mix asphalt is placed in the segment then compacted with a small roller until it is even with the surrounding surface.
Repairing these small segments at a minimal cost allows WSDOT to defer the cost of the larger project for two or three years, or longer.
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