ABSTRACT

Abstract Paving fabrics, used in road maintenance, inserted between the existing, cracked road surface and the new asphalt wearing course, saturated with bitumen, act as a stressabsorbing, water-proofing interlayer membrane system prolonging the lifetime of the entire road construction if:

• the material (bitumen/paving fabric/asphalt material) are suitable

• the working procedure is qualified

• the installation of the paving fabric is done properly

This paper will focus on why the contractor, both before and while doing a road maintenance work, has to pay attention to a lot of important differences in each single component; the condition of the existing road surface, the bitumen used as tack-coat for the paving fabric, the paving fabric itself, the asphalt material, the weather conditions, the available equipment and the possibilities for solid workmanship of the local shifts etc. That the contractor is to combine all these components during the installation and completion highlightens the necessity of having qualified working procedures, and focusing on what happens, if the paving fabrics are not properly installed. Keywords: Asphalt material, bituminous tack-coat, paving fabric, reflective cracking, road maintenance, stress-absorbing water-proofing interlayer membrane system, working procedure.