Iowa DOT’s engineers have long recognized the link between the quality of a pavement’s foundation and the long-term durability of the finished road. But despite improvements in how foundations are designed and the types of materials that are used, there is sometimes still a gap between how the road is intended to be constructed and what is actually built.
Advancements in technology now make it possible to directly measure and analyze a pavement’s foundation during the construction process to ensure it has been compacted sufficiently and uniformly. This gives inspectors the tools to pinpoint any weaknesses in real-time so they can be addressed while construction is still underway.
With a grant from the federal Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration program, Iowa DOT and a team of engineers recently piloted new tools and methods to assess the foundations at five road construction projects across the state. The efforts helped the team better understand what measurements should be taken, how the equipment should be used and calibrated, and how the data should be interpreted.
The project’s results will help Iowa DOT and other transportation agencies across the country save significant resources as better foundations lead to longer-lasting pavements with fewer maintenance needs.
Learn more about this project in Iowa DOT’s new research brief.
Delivering targeted solutions for Iowa's transportation future.
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