Cost Effective Prevention:: Reflective Cracking in Composite Pavements

Louisiana had experimented with various techniques and treatments to control reflection cracking since the 1970s; however, the cost-effectiveness and performance of these methods had not been reliably evaluated. In addition, scientific evaluation and testing of these treatment methods was not performed on many projects. To ensure successful control of this distress and effective allocation of maintenance funds, there is a critical need to assess the performance of pavement sections across the state built with various treatment methods and to determine the most cost-effective techniques to delay or to prevent reflection cracking in composite pavements. The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare different reflection cracking control treatments by evaluating the performance, constructability, and cost-effectiveness of pavements built with these treatments across the state. To achieve this objective, a survey of current state practices identified the treatment methods that are used or that had been used to delay and mitigate reflection cracking in composite pavements.