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PAVEMENT SURFACE

CONDITION

RATING MANUAL

Written by

Northwest Pavement Management Systems Users Group

and

R. Keith Kay

Washington State Department of Transportation

Produced by

Washington State Transportation Center

University of Washington

for

Northwest Technologies Transfer Center

Washington State Department of Transportation

Local Programs Division

March 1992

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Editor

Amy O'Brien

Graphic Design

Mary Marrah

Photographs

Amy O'BrienMary Marrah

Joe P. MahoneyWashington State Department of Transportation

Printing

Washington State Printing Office

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The development of this manual is the result of cooperationamong the members of the Northwest Pavement ManagementSystems Users Group, their respective agencies, and the Wash-ington State Department of Transportation. Members of theUsers Group offered many suggestions and spent many hoursreviewing, critiquing, and commenting on the drafts.

Particular appreciation is extended to Derald Christensen ofMeasurement Research Corporation for authoring and updatingthe original series of drafts. Many thanks go to Randy Firoved,Snohomish County; Scott Radel, City of Bellingham; ButchMcGuire, City of Snohomish; and Steve Pope, City of Tacoma,for their continual participation and contributions.

Others who contributed considerable effort areArthur M. "Bud" Furber, Pavement Services, Inc.County Road Administration BoardAssociation of Washington CitiesWashington State Transportation Center (TRAC)

Appreciation is extended to Stan Moon, Assistant Secretary forLocal Programs (WSDOT), for his sponsorship and to KeithAnderson, Federal Programs - Research Office (WSDOT), forcoordination of all the details.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1

Objective of this Manual ................................................................... 2How to Use This Manual .................................................................. 2

COMMON TERMS .......................................................... 3

PAVEMENT TYPES .......................................................... 7

Flexible Pavements ............................................................................ 7Rigid Pavements ................................................................................ 7Composite Pavements....................................................................... 8

INSPECTION PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES.. 9Rating Considerations....................................................................... 9General Notes................................................................................... 11

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT DISTRESSES........................ 13

Severity and Extent Summary ....................................................... 151. Rutting and Wear ....................................................................... 192. Alligator Cracking ...................................................................... 213. Longitudinal Cracking ............................................................... 254. Transverse Cracking................................................................... 285. Raveling ....................................................................................... 316. Flushing........................................................................................ 347. Patching........................................................................................ 378. Corrugation and Waves............................................................. 419. Sags and Humps ......................................................................... 4310. Block Cracking .......................................................................... 4511. Pavement Edge Condition....................................................... 4712. Crack Seal Condition................................................................ 49

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PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE DISTRESSES. 51

Severity and Extent Summary ....................................................... 531. Cracking ....................................................................................... 572. Joint and Crack Spalling ............................................................ 593. Pumping and Blowing ............................................................... 614. Faulting and Settlement............................................................. 64

5. Patching........................................................................................ 666. Raveling or Scaling ..................................................................... 687. Blowups........................................................................................ 718. Wear.............................................................................................. 72

PAVEMENT CONDITION RATING AIDS............... 75

Miles to Feet Conversions .............................................................. 77ACP and BST Estimating ................................................................ 78PCCP Estimating ............................................................................. 79

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INTRODUCTION

Transportation (WSDOT)concentrates on defects thatindicate progressive deterio-ration, particularly those that

are associated with thepavements strength orability to support and carrytraffic loads.

In general, each defect isclassified and rated accord-ing to type, severity, andextent. In most cases threelevels of severity are defined,and the extent is measured,

or estimated, as a percentageof the length of the surveyedsegment. A matrix of severi-ties and ranges of extent wasdeveloped by WSDOT foreach type of defect. Therater is then able to select theone combination of severityand extent range for eachdefect that most representsthe condition of the segment.

WSDOT has performed thistype of manual visual sur-veys, and accumulated theresulting data, since 1969.The usefulness of the infor-mation, and the validity ofthe techniques used, havebeen proved.

Regularly scheduled pavementcondition inspection is one ofthe most important steps inimplementing a comprehen-

sive Pavement ManagementSystem (PMS). Such a systeminvolves dividing the pave-ment network into logicalsegments, recording descrip-tive segment inventory data,and collecting pavementperformance informationrelating to these segments.These processes provide thecritical information needed for

analysis to determine mainte-nance and rehabilitation re-quirements, project priorities,and conduct long-term plan-ning.

The purpose in performingmanual (or automated) pave-ment condition surveys is todocument the progressivedeterioration of each of thesegments of paved roadway.For these data to be useful in apredictive way, consistency inlocating, defining, observing,and recording the surfacedefects is critical.

While many types of datamight be collected, the Wash-ington State Department of

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Ideally, the extent of the sever-ity of each type of defectwould be accurately mea-sured, recorded, and used fordeveloping the PavementCondition Rating. However,

in order for a manual, visualsurvey to progress along anextensive network of road-ways, the number of types andseverities of defects that areindependently collected andrecorded, as well as the accu-racy of the measurement oftheir extents, must be limited.Automated survey techniquesmay allow more precise collec-

tion of data at a reasonablecost in time and funds.

To assist local agencies withinWashington state in develop-ing and operating an effectivePMS, a Core Program wasdefined on the basis of theconcepts and practices of theWashington State PavementManagement System(WSPMS). These conceptsinclude the basic theory offatigue based performancecurves, the definitions ofspecific defect types, theirseverities and units of mea-sure, and the computationaltechniques that WSDOT uses.

To achieve the same successand reliability, obtain compa-rable results, and make use of

past and future state researchand development, the CoreProgram must be used asdefined. Deviation from thedetails as defined will yieldresults that may not be mean-ingful when used in subse-quent processes or compari-sons.

OBJ ECTIVE OF THIS MANUAL

The objective of this manual isto provide guidelines anddefinitions for identifyingpavement distress types anddefining the levels of severity

and extent (area, length, count)associated with each distress.

This manual is intended to bea training aid for pavementraters and a field referenceduring the rating process. Inperforming pavement inspec-tions, you, the pavementcondition rater, should be ableto identify each distress typeand its level of severity andextent consistent with thedescriptions contained withinthis manual.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL

This manual provides thename, description, severitylevels, and quantificationprocess for each distress typethat an age