Assessment of an incentive-only ride specification for asphalt pavements.

PDFTech ReportVCTIR 16-R2Asphalt pavementsSmoothnessRide qualityPavingSpecificationsQuality assuranceContractorsIncentivesVirginiaVirginia Center for Transportation Innovation and ResearchNair, HarikrishnanMcGhee, Kevin K.Habib, AffanShetty, SameerVirginia Center for Transportation Innovation and ResearchVirginia. Dept. of TransportationUS Transportation CollectionSmoothness specifications are applied by almost all state transportation agencies, including the Virginia Department ofTransportation (VDOT), to promote the overall quality and optimum ride quality of pavements. VDOT has a ride specificationthat provides a pay adjustment (either incentive or disincentive) depending on the smoothness of the final paved surface.VDOT\ue2\u20ac\u2122s ride specification also has a provision to waive the disincentive and apply the incentive part only to projects whereproject geometry, etc., is perceived to make it difficult for the contractor to achieve the desired ride. When applied, the waiver isintended to encourage the contractor to apply additional efforts to improve the ride for otherwise difficult projects.In late 2011, VDOT\ue2\u20ac\u2122s executive leadership formed an Asphalt Quality Task Force to identify and recommend specificachievable measures to improve the quality of the asphalt paving in Virginia. The task force agreed to consider the proposal tomake an incentive-only provision the default for projects that would otherwise not qualify for the regular ride specificationapplication. This study documented and critically reviewed the pilot application of the incentive-only provision for rideability onselected asphalt resurfacing schedules for VDOT\ue2\u20ac\u2122s 2013 construction season. Several lane-miles of control sites were comparedwith the \ue2\u20ac\u153incentive-only\ue2\u20ac? sites to determine if the prospects of added incentives led contractors to alter their paving procedures inpursuit of a higher quality ride.There was no statistically reliable distinction between the achieved quality of the incentive-only and control sites. Further,it was found that the originally proposed incentive-only provisions did not provide any meaningful benefit to VDOT orcontractors. The study developed a revised incentive-only specification and further recommended that the proposed provision beapplied to a wider range of projects in VDOT\ue2\u20ac\u2122s 2015 construction season