Flexible Pavement Rehabilitation using Paving Fabric – Quantifying the Benefit

In 2002, the Greenville County, South Carolina, Department of Public Works (GCDPW) was asked by a paving contractor to allow the substitution of a thicker overlay in place of the specified paving fabric-thinner overlay remediation. The request prompted the PWD to facilitate a review of pavement performance to establish relative cost/effectiveness information for the various remediation methods used on County roads. The review has provided the potential to independently quantify the relative benefits of using paving fabric as compared to increased overlay thickness or other maintenance techniques. This paper presents the tabulation of data for an initial selection of roads, including the pavement condition at time of maintenance, the selected pavement maintenance technique and associated costs, and the subsequent pavement performance. Additionally, an evaluation of the data along with conclusions related to evidence of the effectiveness of paving fabric is presented.