This document covers the design, implementation and usage of the heavy vehicle simulator (HVS) database in use by the Pavement Research Center (PRC) at the University of California (UC), which is referred to as the PRC-HVS database. This report describes the portion of the database used to store all of the data collected directly from HVS test sections. The same database is used to store data from both flexible and rigid pavement sections. Not included in this report are discussions of the environmental data, long term pavement performance data, and laboratory testing data, which are also included in the PRC database and which have been collected since 1995 during the operation of the two Caltrans heavy vehicle simulators. This report is broken into three main sections. The first provides some background about the HVS activities and the reasons for various choices in the database design. The second covers the design of the database. The final section covers the processing of the data as it is loaded into the database. Besides the raw data files collected during testing, the database consists of two components: a Microsoft Access® database, PRC-HVS.mdb (referred to as the database) and a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet, PRC-HVSLoader.xls, (referred to as the loader). The database is also stored in an Oracle® database, which is used to drive a World Wide Web site. The Web site can be used to view the data.

The quality of the construction process is a major factor in determining how well a pavement will perform under traffic loading and when subjected to environmental influences. To improve the construction process, quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) procedures and pay incentives have been instituted in recent years. It is the objective of this report to demonstrate a rational and feasible method for quantitatively establishing penalties/bonuses for asphalt concrete construction with the initial emphasis placed on new asphalt concrete pavement construction.

This pilot study applies the principles of Vehicle-Pavement Interaction (V-PI) and state-of-the practice tools to simulate and measure peak loads and vertical acceleration of trucks and their freight on a selected range of typical pavement surface profiles on the State Highway System. Outputs from the pilot study are expected to provide input for planning and economic models to enable an improved evaluation of the freight flows and costs in selected regions. The San Joaquin Valley corridor, a major production and transportation corridor in California, is identified as well-suited to be the pilot area for the remainder of this project.

This technical memorandum presents the results of pavement evaluation and rehabilitation design for 01-LAK-53, PM 3.1/7.0. The pavement evaluation consisted of deflection testing, coring, and material sampling; backcalculation of stiffnesses using the CalBack program; and condition assessment. Designs were prepared using current Caltrans methods, and alternative rehabilitation designs were prepared using mechanistic-empirical software and models included in the CalME program.

This technical memorandum presents the results of pavement evaluation and rehabilitation design for 06-KIN-198, PM 9.2/17.9. The pavement evaluation consisted of deflection testing, coring, material sampling, backcalculation of stiffnesses using the software program CalBack, and condition assessment. Designs were prepared using current Caltrans methods and alternative rehabilitation designs were prepared using mechanistic-empirical software and models included in the software program CalME.

This technical memorandum presents the results of pavement evaluation and rehabilitation design of 02-PLU-36, PM 6.3/13.9. The pavement evaluation consists of deflection testing, coring, material sampling, backcalculation of stiffnesses, and condition assessment. Rehabilitation designs were developed using standard Caltrans methods. Alternative rehabilitation designs were developed using mechanistic-empirical software and models (CalME). Performance of all designs was assessed using mechanistic-empirical models. Suitable designs are recommended.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has the potential to improve mass transit service and contribute to reduced traffic congestion in urban areas. To achieve this improvement in service BRT will require the use of dedicated bus lanes together with lane assist and precision docking (LA/PD) to accelerate the passenger boarding process. Using this approach, BRT lanes can be reduced somewhat in width. However, such a reduction will result in increased channelization of traffic which in turn can lead to a more rapid development of pavement distress. With today’s improved pavement engineering technology, it is possible to design and construct pavement infrastructure which can result in long term and cost effective pavement performance (both in terms of pavement deterioration and equipment wear and tear). At the same time the system can be environmentally friendly with reduced traffic noise and increased passenger comfort from a smoother ride.

This document is a compilation of the executive summaries of the four reports developed for this research project. Each of the four individual reports covers a specific aspect of the project, and this report provides an overview of the entire project. For details on each of the tasks in the overall project, readers should access the individual reports.