What are Some of the Benefits of Structural Testing?

• Every preservation treatment and minor rehabilitation is a potential waste of money if the structure of the road is not adequate to support the traffic loads.
• Alligator cracking may not always indicate structural failure! Pavements that have age-related alligator cracking that is a result of the binder having oxidized and become brittle may be structurally adequate and only require resurfacing, as opposed to rehabilitation. This can be identified with FWD testing and further confirmed from the rutting results and substantially reduce the treatment costs.
• The structural strength of a road is especially important for roads with higher and heavier (truck) traffic. Inadequate structure on roads with more traffic may deteriorate much faster than expected.

Fast-Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing, together with surface condition data collection, ensures that treatments are targeting the actual pavement needs, maximizing budget efficiency.

The substructure of a road, which cannot be seen, is the most significant determining factor in the long-term performance of pavement. Let’s talk more about it.