The implementation of a pavement preservation program involves a learning curve with not only a determination to succeed, but also the courage to fail. Also, successful implementation of pavement preservation program requires knowledge of the performance of preservation surface treatments over time, which is critical to the select of candidate projects and the development of performance models for pavement management analysis. In addition, preservation surface treatments, such as chip seal, fog seal, microsurfacing, 4.75 mm thin or ultra-thin overlay, can not only repair certain pavement surface defects, but also change the surface characteristics of pavement and therefore affect pavement surface friction performance. Nevertheless, such information is currently not available but is essential for the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to evaluate the effectiveness of pavement preservation surface treatments. As a concentrated effort, this study focused on the long-term friction performance of preservation surface treatments, particularly those have been widely used and those have seen increasing use by INDOT. Based on the selected field pavement test sections, this study aimed to evaluate the surface characteristics, particularly the long-term friction performance for those surface treatments that have been widely used and have seen increasing use by INDOT, including chip seal, fog-chip, fog seal, rejuvenating seal, microsurfacing, ultrathin bonded wearing course (UBWC), 4.75-mm hot mix asphalt (HMA) thin overlay, and profile milling (or diamond grinding). The test sections for each type of surface treatment covered a wide range of traffic volume from light to high. The service life for the selected test sections varied from 6 months to 60 months. Friction testing was mainly conducted using ASTM E 274 locked wheel trailer. Surface texture testing was conducted using either the ASTM E 2157 circular track meter (CTM) or a laser scanner. Pavement roughness and noise tests were also conducted to address the smoothness and noise issues, particularly on microsurfacing. Detailed analysis was provided to evaluate the friction performance of 4.75-mm HMA overlays. It is believed that the test results and findings drawn from this study not only provides timely information for INDOT to improve its pavement preservation program, but also provides the original information for the potential readers to better utilize preservation surface treatments.

This report contains guidelines and recommendations for managing and designing for friction on highway pavements. The contents of this report will be of interest to highway materials, construction, pavement management, safety, design, and research engineers, as well as others concerned with the friction and related surface characteristics of highway pavements.

This study aimed to evaluate the long term performance of the selected surface friction treatments, including high friction surface treatment (HFST) using calcined bauxite and steel slag, and conventional friction surfacing, in particular pavement preservation treatments such as chip seal, microsurfacing, ultrathin bonded wearing course (UBWC), and diamond grinding. This study also attempted to determine the correlation between vehicle crash and pavement surface friction, which makes it possible to quantitatively establish the so-called crash modification factors (CMFs) that are extremely useful in selecting a cost-effective solution to reduce wet pavement vehicle crashes.In-depth reviews were conducted to identify the aspects of the properties for aggregates used in HFST, including aggregate abrasion value (AAV), Los Angeles abrasion (LAA), Micro-Deval abrasion, and polished stone value (PSV). Extensive laboratory testing was conducted to examine the LAA, Micro-Deval abrasion, and PSV, and to provide first-hand data on the calcined bauxite and steel slag that may be used for HFST and friction surfacing in Indiana. Laboratory accelerating polishing was carried out to evaluate the effect of aggregate gradation and identify the HFST systems with satisfactory friction performance with respect to surface macro-texture and friction. Test strips were installed in the pavement on a real-world road to further evaluate the friction performances of the promising HFST systems under the true traffic polishing and assess the potential effect of winter and snow plow. Pull-off testing was also conducted to examine the bonding between the proposed HFST systems and the substrate surface. Field friction test data was utilized to evaluate the long-term friction performances of pavement preservation treatments, including chip seal, microsurfacing, UBWC, and diamond grinding. Statewide vehicle crash data between 2010 and 2014 was examined to determine the crash statistics associated with pavement friction. The crash data was also matched to the annual pavement inventory friction data to quantify the probabilistic association between vehicle crash and pavement friction with respect to interstate, US, and state highways, respectively.

This synthesis report will be of interest to pavement design, construction, management, and research engineers, highway safety officials, and others concerned with pavement friction characteristics. It describes the current state of the practice and discusses the methods used for evaluating wet pavement friction characteristics of new and restored pavements. This synthesis reviews models used for measuring and evaluating friction and texture, causes for friction changes over time, and aggregate and mix design to provide adequate friction. Also presented are construction and surface restoration practices for providing good pavement surface characteristics. In addition, considerations of noise and ride quality are discussed when compromise may be required.