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Site Glossary

A

  • Aggregate
  • Granular material of mineral composition such as sand, gravel, shell, slag or crushed stone.

  • Arterial Road
  • A high-capacity road or thoroughfare that carries traffic entering and leaving urban areas. An arterial road includes freeways, multilane highways and other important roadways that supplement the Interstate System.

  • Asphalt Binder
  • An asphalt cement (AC) or a modified AC, which acts as a binding agent to glue aggregate particles into a cohesive mass.

B

  • Block Cracking
  • The occurrence of cracks that divide the asphalt surface into approximately rectangular pieces.

C

  • Cape Seal
  • A thin surface treatment constructed by applying a slurry seal or micro surfacing to a newly constructed chip seal. A cape seal is designed to be an integrated system where the primary purpose of the slurry is to fill voids in the chip seal.

  • Chip Seal
  • Chip seal involves placing graded stone (chips) on liquid emulsified asphalt sprayed on pavement surface. The surface is rolled to enable seating of chips.

  • Coarse Aggregate
  • Particles retained on 4.75 mm sieve and range upward in increasing size.

  • Cold In-Place Recycling (CIR)
  • Process in which a portion of the asphalt pavement layers are pulverized, mixed with a recycling agent and repaved in place.

  • Collector Road
  • A major and minor road that connects local roads and streets with arterials.

  • Combination Treatment
  • The combination of two or more traditional non-structural surface treatments to address specific types and levels of distress.

  • Commercial Road
  • Road or street located where the primary activities are commercial.

  • Conventional Fog Seal
  • A single application, typically light, of emulsified asphalt to an existing asphalt surface.

  • Crack Seal
  • Crack seal involves placing elastomeric material directly into cracks in pavement.

  • Cul-de-sac
  • Roadways that have one point of entry.

  • Curb and Gutter
  • Concrete or asphalt structures used to collect surface water runoff from paved streets or roads, parking lots and other impervious surfaces.

D

  • Delay Penalty
  • Can be thought of as the consequence of delaying maintenance activities designed to deter and impede pavement deterioration.

  • Dense Grade
  • A well-graded (even distribution of aggregate particles from coarse to fine), dense HMA mixture consisting of aggregates and asphalt binder.

  • Deterioration
  • A gradual decline in quality, functioning or condition.

  • Disintegration
  • Breakup of pavement into fragments.

  • Double Chip Seal
  • A two-layer preventive maintenance treatment for roadways exhibiting moderate to severe cracking, raveling, oxidation and friction loss.

  • Double Micro Surfacing
  • A double layer, polymer modified surface treatment designed to address rutting, raveling, oxidation and enhance durability on high-volume roads.

F

  • Fatigue Cracking
  • Interconnected cracks that form a series of small blocks resembling an alligator's skin and are caused by excessive surface deflection over unstable subgrade or lower courses of the pavement.

  • Fine Aggregate
  • Sands composed of particles that pass the 4.75 mm sieve.

  • Freeze-thaw Cycle
  • Temperature fluctuation from freezing to below freezing and then back to freezing.

  • Full Depth Reclamation (FDR)
  • A rehabilitation technique in which all of the asphalt pavement section and a predetermined amount of underlying materials are treated to produce a stabilized base course.

G

  • Groundwater
  • Groundwater is generally a function of either spring/seepage flow or surface water infiltration.

H

  • Hairline Cracking
  • A fracture that is very narrow in width, less than 1/8".

  • High-Performance Fog Seal
  • Trackless spray-applied asphalt emulsion treatment that locks down aggregate, prevents raveling and provides a quick return-to-traffic time once cured.

  • Hot In-Place Recycling (HIR)
  • A hot process in which the existing asphalt pavement material is recycled in place.

  • Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA)
  • High-quality, thoroughly controlled hot mixture of AC (binder) and high-quality aggregate, which can be compacted into a uniform mass.

I

  • Industrial Road
  • Road or street linking property zoned industrial with a greater road network.

L

  • Longitudinal Cracking
  • The occurrence of cracks parallel to the pavement centerline.

  • Loss of Friction
  • Sustained reduction in friction over time.

  • Low-Volume Road
  • A paved or unpaved road lying outside of built-up areas of cities, towns and communities and has traffic volumes less than 400 AADT.

M

  • Major Mill and Fill
  • A structural pavement treatment that restores and strengthens a road's surface by removing a deep portion of the existing surface layer and replacing with new asphalt.

  • Mass Crack Treatment
  • Process of treating roads or streets with widespread cracking.

  • Micro Surfacing
  • Involves spreading a properly proportioned mixture of polymer modified asphalt emulsion, mineral aggregate, mineral filler, water and other additives on a paved surface. Micro surfacing differs from slurry seal in that it can be used on high-volume roadways to correct wheel path rutting and provide a skid-resistant pavement surface.

  • Mill and Fill
  • A structural pavement treatment that restores and strengthens a road's surface by removing the existing surface layer and replacing with new asphalt.

  • Minor Mill and Fill
  • A structural pavement treatment that restores and strengthens a road's surface by removing a shallower depth of the existing surface layer and replacing with new asphalt.

O

  • Oxidation
  • Gradual alteration of pavement's physical characteristics (color, flexibility, fragility, etc.) due to asphalt binder's exposure to oxygen.

  • Pavement Condition Index (PCI)
  • A numerical value between 0 and 100 that is calculated from a visual survey of pavement distress on a sample of the network.

  • Pavement Condition Index - Good
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 85-100.

P

  • Pavement Condition Index - Satisfactory
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 70-84.

  • Pavement Condition Index - Fair
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 55-69.

  • Pavement Condition Index - Poor
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 40-54.

  • Pavement Condition Index - Very Poor
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 25-40.

  • Pavement Condition Index - Serious
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 10-25.

  • Pavement Condition Index - Failed
  • A pavement rating or class typically ranging from 0-10.

  • Pavement Preservation Program
  • Employs a network-level, long-term strategy that enhances pavement performance by using an integrated, cost-effective set of practices that extend pavement life, improve safety and meet motorist expectations.

  • Pavement Preservation Treatment
  • Process or application of a material to improve and extend the life and serviceability of pavement.

  • Polymer Modified
  • An asphalt mixture containing asphalt binder that is typically modified with polymer.

  • Proactive Approach
  • Entails the application of a series of low-cost, preventive maintenance treatments that individually last for a few years. The key is to apply the treatment when the pavement is still in relatively good condition with no structural damage.

R

  • Reactive Approach
  • Activities that must be done in response to events beyond the control of highway agencies.

  • Reflective Cracking
  • The fracture of asphalt concrete above joints in the underlying joint plain concrete (JPC) layer(s).

  • Rejuvenating
  • Act of refreshing or restoring life.

  • Rejuvenating Fog Seal
  • Rejuvenating emulsion that can be applied when the level of surface distress is greater than what would normally be used as a criterion for typical chip or fog seals.

  • Residential Road
  • Road or street designed to provide local traffic access to abutting property.

  • Road Network
  • A collection of roads under the jurisdiction of an agency.

  • Rural Road
  • Low-volume road or street located in an unincorporated area.

  • Rut
  • Longitudinal surface depression(s) in the wheel path.

S

  • Shoving
  • Permanent longitudinal displacement of a localized area of the pavement surface caused by traffic pushing against the pavement.

  • Sink Hole
  • Depressions or holes in the ground or road surface caused by surface layer collapse.

  • Slurry Seal
  • A low-cost bituminous surface treatment used to seal the underlying surface from water infiltration, fill surface cracks and voids, and improve friction and appearance of an existing pavement.

  • Stress-absorbing Interlayer
  • An application of a membrane on distressed pavement surfaces before applying a pavement preservation surface treatment.

  • Subbase
  • Layer or layers of specified or selected materials of designed thickness placed on a subgrade to support a base course.

  • Subgrade
  • The top surface of a roadbed upon which the pavement structure and shoulders are constructed.

  • Surface Friction
  • The surface friction indicator for the pavement segment.

T

  • Top-down Fatigue Cracking
  • Top-down cracking initiates at the surface of the asphalt pavement and progresses downward to the bottom of the asphalt layers.

  • Traffic Load
  • The gross weight of a vehicle as well as the portion that is carried by the tires of each wheel assembly, axle and axle group on the vehicle that a pavement is subject to.

  • Transverse Cracking
  • The occurrence of cracks perpendicular to the pavement centerline.

U

  • Ultra-Thin Lift Overlay
  • A dense-graded, small nominal maximum aggregate size asphalt mixture placed at a thickness of less than 1 1/2" using conventional asphalt production and placement operations.

  • Upheaval
  • Occurs when elements below an asphalt surface cause pavement to move upward.

W

  • Water Infiltration
  • Water that seeps into the pavement structural section.