Pavement Maintenance - Cornell Local Roads Program - Cornell ...

PREFACE
Millions of dollars are spent each year maintaining and repairing pavements all over New York
State. Since inadequate drainage is the source of many of the problems, the Cornell Local Roads
Program offers a one-day course devoted exclusively to drainage. I was fortunate to develop that
course, Roadway and Roadside Drainage, in 1997.
Another issue I have seen in my travels around the state is that of selecting the correct pavement
repair, particularly with regard to pavement surviving winter weather and heavy traffic. In many
textbooks and training manuals, there is a concentration either on the management of the
pavement or on the specific repair. While these items are important, I feel it is essential to focus
on the selection of the repair. Management of highway systems can only be accomplished with a
thorough knowledge of why pavements fail and what it takes to fix them.
To this end, this class on Pavement Maintenance was developed. We considered other titles such
as Pavement Preservation and Pavement Fixes.
This manual discusses choosing the proper repair techniques for paved and unpaved roads. It
also goes into more detail on some of the most common asphalt pavement maintenance
techniques such as patching and chip seals. It is not intended to provide all of the training needed
to properly select and perform pavement maintenance. It is intended to answer the most common
questions and to help you get what you expect when it comes to pavement repair.
David P. Orr, P.E.
Senior Engineer
Cornell Local Roads Program
Ithaca, New York
March 2006
Cornell Local Roads Program i