Genesis of a Comprehensive Concrete Pavement Noise, Texture, and Friction Data Collection Program

The lack of quality data that relates tire-pavement noise to the texture of concrete pavements has hindered the pavement community in both understanding the phenomena and finding ways to minimize its impact. The National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (USA), the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, and the American Concrete Pavement Association have formed a coalition to address this problem. Work to date includes the simultaneous measure of noise, profile (unevenness), friction, and texture from active roadways across the U.S. The intent is to first link tire-pavement noise to texture to friction, then attempt to measure the rate of change of these properties over time. The data collection process has been categorized hierarchically. At the top are new construction sites employing conventional texture variations (e.g., tining, burlap drag) termed Type 1 New Construction. There are also sites including diamond grinding variations (Type 1 Grinding). For each of the Type 1 sites, full control is maintained over the types of textures, including their construction techniques. Extensive information is collected on the design, materials, construction, and climate during placement or grinding. A second level of experiments termed Type 2 includes existing projects with various types of surface texture, tested comprehensively for all surface characteristics over time. Finally, a third type of experiment includes an inventory of numerous sites, measured with noise and texture only (Type 3). The field work of this effort is well underway, with monitoring expected to continue for at least five years on an annual basis. The findings to date have been very significant, and have the potential to alter how concrete pavement surfaces are specified in the future.