ABSTRACT
Pavements are expected to have finite lives, and deteriorate with age due to traffic loading, weather effects and structural degradation of materials. Deflection data and qualitative video assessment collected over the years in the Wollongong region (NSW, Australia) indicates that the strength of pavements has actually been improving over time without requiring any major reconstruction of the sub-surface pavement layers. This is contrary to the deterioration models and design life criteria established at time of construction, and indicates that road pavement assets have residual life and significant salvage value past their specified finite lives. This study aims to investigate the major factors contributing to longer pavement service life and refine the current asset valuation system to incorporate the slow or lack of pavement deterioration observed. Observations are largely composed of deflectiondata, historical records of pavement composition and visual inspection of the road network. A number of factors are investigated including climate data, type and age of surface treatment.
