Engineering cost-benefit analysis of thin, durable asphalt overlays

Use of sustainable and cost-effective pavement overlays as a rehabilitation technique has been emphasized for several years as oil prices continue their instability in the United States. Since the 1980s, significant advances have been introduced in asphalt pavements regarding material selection, mix design, and construction technology that improve pavement performance. Some of these improvements require the use of a highly modified asphalt binder and expensive high-quality aggregates to achieve the desired performance. This study developed four potentially cost-effective asphalt mixtures and efficient cross sections for asphalt wearing surfaces. The newly developed asphalt mixes incorporated locally available aggregates, special binder additives such as fibers, innovative surfacing technologies, or all of these techniques. The cost- effectiveness of the newly developed asphalt mixtures is presented, and the improved performance is considered. Deterministic and probabilistic life-cycle cost analysis was performed on the considered mixes. The performance of the considered mixes was investigated in the laboratory and on site under actual traffic. The engineering cost-benefit analysis showed that the new mixtures performed better and were more cost-effective than the control mixes considered.