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APPENDIX E
MEASURING PAVEMENT ROUGHNESS
INTRODUCTION
In order to provide a measure of pavement surface condition that has nationwide consistency and comparability and is as realistic and practical as possible, a uniform, calibrated roughness measurement for paved roadways is required by the HPMS. Roughness is defined in accordance with ASTM E867 as The deviation of a surface from a true planar surface with characteristic dimensions that affect vehicle dynamics and ride quality. After a detailed study of various methodologies and road profiling statistics, the International Roughness Index (IRI) was chosen as the HPMS standard reference roughness index. The summary numeric (HPMS data reporting unit) is the IRI in meters/kilometer (inches/mile). The primary advantages of the IRI are: 1. It is a time-stable, reproducible mathematical processing of the known profile. 2. It is broadly representative of the effects of roughness on vehicle response and users perception over the range of wavelengths of interest, and is thus relevant to the definition of roughness. 3. It is a zero-origin scale consistent with the roughness definition. 4. It is compatible with profile measuring equipment available in the U.S. market. 5. It is independent of section length and amenable to simple averaging. 6. It is consistent with established international standards and able to be related to other roughness measures.
However, some of these obstacles can be overcome by collecting roughness data during non-peak hours or at night, where speed, traffic, and safety are less of a problem. There are situations where it also may
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not be possible to obtain meaningful roughness measurements on some urban other principal arterial sections. In these cases, a value of 0 may be reported. All equipment must be operated within manufacturers specifications; quality assurance guidelines outlined in AASHTO PP 37-04, Section 5, and Appendix B, must be followed. Each State should document and retain records of its quality assurance procedures; FHWA field offices should monitor adherence to these procedures as part of roughness data process reviews.
Data should only be collected at the speeds that correspond to the manufacturers recommended
speed range. Constant speeds should be maintained for all measurements within specified ranges. Exclude the impacts of bridge approaches and railroad crossings (or other localized discontinuities) from the roughness measurement for the roadway. Bridge decks should not be included; the objective is to obtain a measure of pavement not bridge roughness. Roughness measurements should be taken over the entire length of an HPMS roadway section. However, in order to achieve equipment and speed stability, a minimum run-in length, consistent with the manufacturers specification, may be required prior to the beginning of the measurement area. If this minimum cannot be met prior to the start of the sample section, a shorter portion of the HPMS section may be measured, but that same portion should always be measured in future roughness data collection activities. Short HPMS sections also may be included in slightly longer roughness test sections for measurement and reporting purposes. However, the same longer sections should always be measured in future data collections.
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forts should be made to utilize the LTPP established sections/profiles as multiple-use verification sections in each State. Many State and some local transportation agencies have operational or are developing a PMS to guide program development, improve life-cycle costs, and help select the most effective pavement improvement strategies. The HPMS pavement data reporting should make full use of existing PMS data and collection activities. Data collected by others (cities, counties, MPOs, etc.) should be subjected to the same AASHTO quality assurance guidelines before incorporation into the HPMS.
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