Maintenance of Flexible &

Rigid Pavement
 Objective of Road Maintenance
• The routine work performed to keep a pavement, under normal
conditions of traffic and normal forces of nature, as nearly as
possible in its as constructed condition.
• The function of preserving, repairing, restoring a pavement
and keeping it in condition for safe, convenient, and
economical use.
• Road maintenance is essential in order to
(1) preserve the road in its originally constructed condition,
(2) protect adjacent resources and user safety,
(3) provide efficient, convenient travel along the route.
Why Pavement Maintenance is Necessary
• Maintenance ensures that the road remains serviceable
throughout its design life. Maintenance is important because it:
o Prolongs the life of the road by reducing the rate of
deterioration, thereby safeguarding previous investments in
construction and rehabilitation,
o Lowers the cost of operating vehicles on the road by
providing a smooth running surface,
o Improves the reliability of the road allowing it to remain open
for traffic on a continuous basis and thus contributes to more
reliable transport services, and
o Sustains social and economic benefits of improved road
access.
 Types of Pavement Maintenance
 Pavement maintenance is the key to pavement
preservation. An effective pavement preservation program
integrates many maintenance strategies and treatments.
 There are three types of pavement Maintenance
• Preventive Maintenance
• Corrective Maintenance
• Emergency Maintenance
 Preventive Maintenance
 Planned strategy of cost-effective treatments to an existing
roadway system and its appurtenances that preserves the
system, retards future deterioration, and maintains or
improves the functional condition of the system (without
increasing the structural capacity). Surface treatments that
are less than two inches in thickness are not considered as
adding structural capacity.
 Corrective Maintenance
 Performed after a deficiency occurs in the
pavement, such as moderate to severe rutting,
raveling or extensive cracking. This may also be
referred to as “reactive” maintenance.
 Corrective maintenance treatments include:
structural overlays (3 inches or greater), milling,
patching and crack repair.
 Emergency Maintenance
 Performed during an emergency situation, such as a
blowup or severe pothole that needs repair immediately.
This could also include temporary treatments that hold the
surface together until a more permanent treatment can be
performed.
 When emergency maintenance is needed, some of the
typical considerations for choosing a treatment method
are no longer important. Cost may be the least important
consideration, after safety and time of application are
considered.
 Pavement Life Cycle
 All pavement will deteriorate over time. The pavement life
cycle includes how pavements are built, how their
condition changes over time, and how this process can be
affected by different forms of maintenance, rehabilitation
and reconstruction.
 Typically, pavement deteriorates at an ever-increasing rate:
at first very few distresses are present and the pavement
stays in relatively good condition, but as it ages more
distresses develop with each distress making it easier for
subsequent distresses to develop.
Pavement Condition Life Cycle
 Maintenance Operations
 Road surfaces
 Shoulders & approaches.
 Roadsides
 Traffic controls & safety devices.
Maintenance of Road Surfaces
 Aggregate road surfaces
◦ Failures due to: improper drainage, poorly
mixed materials, inadequate foundation.
◦ Repairs:
 Patching
 Blading
 Scarifying & resurfacing (when areas to be patched
are numerous).
 Stabilization.
 Bituminous surface treatment
 Maintenance of Road Surfaces
Cont.
 Bituminous surfaces
◦ Failures due to: weathering, failure of base or
subgrade due to material quality or
compaction or improper drainage.
◦ Repairs:
 Patching
 Paint patching
 Scarifying
 Resealing.
 Non skid surface treatment
 Maintenance of Road Surfaces
Cont.
 PCC surfaces
◦ Repairs:
 Filling & sealing of joints & cracks
 Repairing spalled, scaled, & map cracked areas.
 Patching areas where failure has occurred.
 Repairing areas damaged by settlement & pumping.
 Treating buckled pavements.
Maintenance of Shoulders & Approaches

 Well graded gravel shoulder : blading to proper slope

and filling ruts or worn out materials.
 Turf shoulders: filling holes & ruts, blading, seeding, mow
& clean shoulders (weed control).
 Approaches: include public side roads, private driveways,
ramps, speed change lanes, & turnouts.
 Approach maintenance is similar to shoulder
maintenance + extra efforts to maintain potholes, ruts,
and other types of deterioration.
 Maintenance of Roadsides
 Roadside: include area between traveled surface & the limit
of the right-of-way (medians, roadside parks, right-of-way
fences, picnic tables, ..etc.
 Vegetation management & control (include mowing, weed
eradication & control, seeding, planting vegetation, & care of
trees & shrubs).
◦ Mowing is done to provide sight distance, improve
drainage, reduce fire hazards, & improve appearance of the
roadway.
◦ Seeding & planting vegetation are important for prevention
of erosion.
 Maintenance of rest areas.
 Litter control.
Maintenance of Traffic Control & Safety
Devices
 Safety devices:
Guardrails, barriers, impact attenuators,
pedestrian overpasses & underpasses, fence to
restrict access of pedestrians & animals.
 Safety devices should be frequently &
systematically inspected & repaired.
A Systems Approach to Pavement Maintenance
 The road pavement should be graded as good, fair and
poor on the basis of parameters such as pavement
condition index, potholes, cracks, patching, raveling, etc.
Range of Distress (per cent)
Sl. No. Parameter
Good Fair Poor

1. Potholes Upto 0.5 From 0.5 to 1.0 Above 1.0

2. Patching Upto 5 From 5 to 20 Above 20

3. Cracking Upto 10 From 10 to 20 Above 20

4. Raveling Upto 10 From 10 to 20 Above 20

5. Pavement Condition Index 4 to 5 2 to 3 1

Table gives the indicative range of distress being

considered by the Indian Roads Congress. For each
parameter, depending upon the level of distress, the
treatment required should be decided and provided.
Recommended Timing of Maintenance
Activities