Assessment of the Effect of Pavement Macrotexture on Interstate Crashes
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 5
Abstract
An assessment and comparison of the effect of pavement macrotexture on crashes along Interstate corridors with tinned concrete and asphalt pavement is presented in this manuscript. Data obtained for I-40 in Durham County, North Carolina, with tinned concrete pavement, and I-40 in Pender County, North Carolina, with asphalt pavement were used for evaluation. Laser profilometer data obtained from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) were processed to calculate pavement macrotexture at 100-m (ft) sections according to the ASTM standards. Crash data for each section was integrated with the calculated pavement macrotexture. Generalized linear models (GLM) were developed by considering predictor variables such as million vehicle miles of travel, the number of interchanges, the number of bridges, the number of culverts, and the number of grade-separated interchanges along with pavement macrotexture. The negative coefficient obtained for pavement macrotexture indicates that the number of crashes decreases as pavement macrotexture increases. The statistical significance of pavement macrotexture on a logarithm of crashes, when compared with other predictor variables, was observed to be stronger along the study’s corridors. The effect of pavement macrotexture on crashes was also observed to vary by the pavement type. Results obtained indicate that maintaining pavement macrotexture greater than or equal to 2.032 mm (0.080 in.) on tinned concrete pavements, and greater than or equal to 1.016 mm (0.040 in.) on asphalt pavements, would reduce crashes and enhance safety through improved braking performance on Interstates.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for providing financial support for this project. Special thanks are extended to Judith Corley-Lay, Tony Wyatt, Neil Mastin, Stephen Lowry, and Jay Bennett for providing the required data and valuable inputs for successful completion of the project.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 5 • May 2012
Pages: 610 - 617
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 14, 2010
Accepted: Sep 12, 2011
Published online: Sep 14, 2011
Published in print: May 1, 2012
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