1. Long-Term Pavement Performance Program
AASHTO
Research Advisory Committee
Briefing on the
Long-Term Pavement Performance Program
Debra Elston
Director, Office of Corporate Research, Technology & Innovation Management
Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center
July 22, 2014

2. The Long Term Pavement Performance
Program
High-Level Overview
Why LTPP Matters in 2014
What’s Ahead
Key points I’ll cover:
What LTPP is all about
Why it is, if anything, more important than ever
FHWA’s plans going forward

3. The LTPP Program Mission: Increase Pavement Life…
HOW and WHY pavements perform as they do.
LTPP was established as part of the original SHRP program to “increase pavement life by instigation of various designs of pavement structures and rehabilitated pavement structures, using different materials and under different loads, environments, subgrade soil, and maintenance practices.”
More succinctly, the program is providing the data needed to understand how and why pavements perform as they do. As we make the transition to a performance-based Federal Aid program, the questions LTPP was designed to answer are, if anything, more important than ever.

4. Partnership AASHTO States & Provinces FHWA TRB
LTPP has always been a partnership
The States and Provinces that own the test sections and support data collection
Support from AASHTO at critical times has helped to strengthen the program and keep it going. Funding provided through NCHRP has funded some analysis projects.
The TRB Long Term Pavement Performance Committee provides a forum for concensus stakeholder input to guide the program
FHWA manages that day-to-day data collection, database development, and some analysis.

5. Evolution of LTPP
1987: SHRP 1992: Transition to FHWA 2000: 2509th Test Section Today: 745 Test Sections 2020: ?
Currently, about 750 of the original LTPP test sections remain in service. Most of these sections fall into one of two categories:
New concrete pavements that are less than 20 years old and still performing well;
Pavements that were initially monitored in one of the LTPP “new construction” experiments and then rehabilitated using Superpave asphalt mixes.
Continued monitoring of these sections is needed if we are to learn everything we set out to learn when they were constructed.

6. This past January, FHWA launched a new web-based portal to provide access to the LTPP data and supporting information. All of the LTPP data and supporting documentation are available through this web site.

7. Why LTPP Matters: Selected Contributions
AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design
SHRP2 Long-Life Renewal
Performance Monitoring Guidance and Tools
LTPP Bind
Key Findings: RAP, Widened Lanes, Skewed Joints …
Over the years, LTPP has made or contributed to many advancements in pavement engineering. This morning, I’d like to touch on just two that illustrate its value.
As many of you know, NCHRP sponsored development of what we now know as the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide – the MEPDG - and the supporting AASHTOWare Pavement ME software. The group that developed and calibrated the MEPDG relied heavily on LTPP data. Indeed, its development would not have been possible without LTPP. And now, many states are relying on LTPP in their local calibration of the software. It has been estimated that implementation of the MEPDG could save the States, collectively, $1 billion per year.
In addition LTPP made important contributions to the SHRP2 Renewal research. In particular, the SHRP2 R-23 project “Using the Existing Pavement In-Place and Achieving Long Life” relied heavily on LTPP data to identify long-lived pavement designs. Use of the project scoping tool developed through this project has already saved Washington State DOT $20 million.

8. WHY LTPP Matters - Continued
LTPP Database
Nationwide coverage
Consistent, high quality data
Critical mass
Foundation For Managing Performance
As we look to the future, LTPP will continue to be important as the only source of in-service pavement performance data that provides nationwide coverage, consistent, high-quality data and the critical mass of test sections needed to support well-founded conclusions.
In short it provides the foundation that is needed to effectively manage pavement performance.

9. What’s Ahead The LTPP Database Maintain the Asset User Support
Completion of Performance Histories
Ease Of Use Improvements
Looking to the future, FHWA’s priorities for LTPP are as follows:
First and foremost – maintaining and supporting the tremendous asset that we already have
To the extent that funds permit, we will also complete the data collection for the test sections that remain in service and pursue improvements to the LTPP InfoPave portal to make the data even easier to access and use.

10. What’s Ahead Applying the Asset
LTPP Strategic Analysis Plan – 211 Projects
76 projects completed
18 in progress
13 planned
And we will also continue to apply the LTPP database through execution of the Strategic Plan for LTPP Data Analysis to derive the answers and products that highway agencies need.

11. What’s Ahead Warm Mix Asphalt Experiment Pavement Preservation
Recruitment Ongoing
Initiate Construction Summer 2014
Pavement Preservation
Planning
In response to strong interest from the states, we’ve developed a new LTPP experiment looking at warm mix asphalt. Recruitment for that experiment is ongoing, and we’re hoping to construct the first project this summer.
In addition, we have initiated planning for a pavement preservation experiment.

12. Partnership AASHTO States & Provinces FHWA TRB
In conclusion, I’d like to ask for your continued support.
LTPP’s success to date is the result of our partnership, and its success in the future is dependent on keeping that partnership strong.
Please support the continued data collection on your states LTPP test sections;
If you have not already nominated a project for the Warm Mix experiment, please consider doing so;
Look for opportunities to apply the LTPP data to the challenges that concern your state – either on an individual basis, or through pooling resources with others;
If asked to serve on the TRB LTPP Committee, or one of its supporting ETGs, please become involved.
Thank you.

13. For More Information: LTPP: www. infopave. com FHWA R&T:. www. fhwa
For More Information: LTPP: FHWA R&T: