Significant findings from the first three research cycles at the NCAT pavement test track

TheNCATPavementTestTrack is a unique accelerated pavement testing facility that unites real-world pavement construction with live heavy trafficking for rapid testing and analysis of asphalt pavements. It is funded and managed as a cooperative project among highway agencies and industry sponsors. The track, shown in Figure 1, is a 2.7-km oval with 46 different 60-m test sections that are sponsored on three-year cycles. Each sponsor has specific research objectives for their section(s) and shared objectives for the track as a whole. Three cycles have been completed since the test track opened in 2000, and a fourth cycle will end in 2011.