This policy deals with the selection of pavement types. It covers a five-year period and is a core component of our road system management policy. Comprehensive in approach rather than project-based, it set outs the most appropriate types of pavement for roads under the Department's jurisdiction. The analysis methodology it stipulates is a thorough, proven approach based on consistent, verifiable parameters and a transparent development process throughout. The new policy, which replaces the Policy on the Construction and Maintenance of Cement Concrete pavements in force since 1995, allows greater consideration of new technologies and road work requirements through its integrated approach under a comprehensive Québec pavement management framework. Implementation of this policy must fit with road work planning strategies and the Department's financial capabilities. In drawing up this new policy, the Department met with representatives of the concrete and asphalt industries as well as the Association des constructeurs de routes et grands travaux du Québec (Québec's road builders' association) in order to take their views into account.
Objectives
Department authorities decided to replace the 1995 policy and assigned the task of drawing up a new policy to the Infrastructures and Technologies Directorate (Direction générale des infrastructures et des technologies). The Department's new position takes the form of a departmental policy covering a five-year period. In particular, the new policy seeks to :
Determine the kinds of pavements best suited to the road system under the Department's jurisdiction
Take a system-wide rather than project-by-project approach
Use a thorough and proven analysis methodology based on consistent, verifiable parameters
Make the entire process a transparent one.
Isssues
The main roadways under the jurisdiction of the ministère des Transports were built more than thirty years ago. The Department must devote substantial sums to maintaining and improving the level of service provided. The Department recognizes that all pavement types are viable options. The important thing is to choose the ones that offer the best return on investment. From this perspective, we must determine what is necessary to maintain pavement construction know-how to ensure that all work done is long-lasting and of high quality. Similarly, it is impor tant to consider the maintenance and development of a high level of expertise within the industry to ensure the emergence of innovative and effective solutions.
Profile of the Road System
The road system under the Department's jurisdiction is 29,100 km in length. The portion built out of concrete, with or without a coating of asphalt, amounts to 1,239 km (two-lane equivalent), or 4% of the total. About a quarter of Québec's major highways are concrete. Of these, some three-quarters are in the Montréal metropolitan area. This portion of the road system bears 35% of total automobile traffic in Québec.
Process
As originally planned, input was sought out from industry stakeholders. Meetings were held with the cement concrete and asphalt industries to gather their comments on the 1995 policy.
These consultations led to a consensus, notably on the following :
Replace the existing policy with a general departmental pavement management policy to be reviewed every five years
Establish a method for selecting different paving techniques, taking into account the cost of road works over the whole life cycle of the pavement and the cost to users as a result of maintenance and repair work
Establish a multicriteria analysis method making it possible to assign weights to criteria whose cost is difficult to quantify
Develop and maintain a high level of expertise in the industry
Encourage the use of performance specifications. Also as originally planned, the next step called for rigorous analysis using consistent parameters. The Department applied the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) and multicriteria analysis methods.
Also as originally planned, the next step called for rigorous analysis using consistent parameters. The Department applied the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) and multicriteria analysis methods.
The LCCA method seeks to compare return on investment over a given period for different types of pavement. A comparison is generally done for each road project. Analysis was based on typical conditions and costs for different traffic categories representative of Québec conditions. Sixteen standard cases of traffic on each pavement type were analyzed, for a total of thirty-two. These traffic conditions were then transposed to the corresponding sections on the road system, associating the analysis results in each case.
The parameters - for reconstructed concrete and asphalt pavement - were as follows :
Analysis period of 50 year
Pavement structures calculated according to traffic conditions, on the basis of
average annual daily traffic (AADT)
the proportion of heavy trucks
the average aggressivity factor associated with each of the trucks
Typical intervention frequency
Typical costs of road works and differential for the period analyzed
Cost actualization.
The Department also evaluated a number of non-quantifiable criteria, the main ones for purposes of the study being road marking and winter maintenance. Paired with the costs to users, these criteria made it possible to assign weights to the LCCA results.
It was thus possible to determine the parts of the road system where pavement types led to noticeably better returns on investment. The results guided the preparation of the following policy statement.
Policy
With regard to major rehabilitation work and the reconstruction of roads under its jurisdiction, the Department has established three zones where different types of pavement are to be used. These zones are shown on the maps in Appendix 1.
Thus the Department recognizes that :
Concrete pavement is suited to that portion of the road system where analysis has shown it to be the most cost-effective option
Asphalt pavement is suited to that portion of the road system where analysis has shown it to be the most cost-effective option
A more detailed analysis based on LCCA and multicriteria methods must be done on those portions of the road system where no option is noticeably superior in ter terms of return on investment. In such cases,
Cost to user of traffic disruptions resulting from road works is an additional factor to consider
The scope of the analysis must be greater than the length of a given project. The Department first defines the segment to be analyzed, then selects a single pavement type in order to consolidate maintenance work and facilitate road system operation
Analysis is to be performed by the regional offices and validated by the Department' Pavements Branch (Service des chaussées), to ensure consistency in the study methodology
A description of how the detailed analysis is to be performed based on the LCCA and multicriteria analysis methods is provided in Appendix 2.
The performance specification concept can be used once the best-performing pavement option has been determined. This type of specification cannot be used to put two types of pavement in competition with each other. With regard to the construction of new roads, a description of how the policy is to be applied is provided in Appendix 3.
Conclusion
This five-year departmental policy replaces the 1995 policy, Politique de construction et de conservation des chaussées en béton de ciment. The Department recognizes that each type of pavement is suited to those portions of the road system where rigorous analysis has shown it to be the most cost-effective option. If major changes came about in regard to the factors used to carry out the studies, the Department could review its findings. This policy must be integrated into the current road works planning strategy, the multiyear financial framework, and the new priorities of user safety and traffic flow. Its purpose is to extend the life cycle of existing pavements through recourse to any appropriate technique that will optimize the scheduling of major reconstruction or repairs work. For the next five years, a minimum of work involving the different pavement types will be planned in order to ensure know-how is maintained. In addition, the Department plans to continue the development of decisionmaking tools by encouraging the creation of discussion panels, groups, and forums whose role will be to maintain and develop a high level of expertise.
