PASER MANUAL FOR CONCRETE ROADS

PAVEMENT ENGINEERING SERVICES – PASER RATING

SUNFLOWER VILLAGE HOMES ASSOCIATION

45800 HANFORD ROAD

CANTON, MICHIGAN

SME Project Number: 074170.00

July 1, 2016

PASERConcrete Roads

Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating

PASERManualConcrete Roads

RATING10

RATING4

RATING7

RATING1

Rating system

Surface rating Visible distress* General condition/treatment measures

None. New pavement. No maintenancerequired.10

Excellent

Traffic wear in wheelpath. Slight map cracking or pop-outs.

Recent concrete overlay or jointrehabilitation. Like new condi-tion. No maintenance required.

9Excellent

Pop-outs, map cracking, or minor surface defects. Slight surfacescaling. Partial loss of joint sealant. Isolated meander cracks, tight orwell sealed. Isolated cracks at manholes, tight or well sealed.

More surface wear or slightdefects. Little or no maintenancerequired.

8Very Good

More extensive surface scaling. Some open joints. Isolated transverseor longitudinal cracks, tight or well sealed. Some manholedisplacement and cracking. First utility patch, in good condition. First noticeable settlement or heave area.

First sign of transverse cracks (alltight); first utility patch. Moreextensive surface scaling. Sealopen joints and other routinemaintenance.

7Good

Moderate scaling in several locations. A few isolated surface spalls.Shallow reinforcement causing cracks. Several corner cracks, tight orwell sealed. Open (1⁄4” wide) longitudinal or transverse joints andmore frequent transverse cracks (some open 1⁄4”).

Moderate to severe polishing or scaling over 25% of the surface. High reinforcing steel causing surface spalling. Some joints and crackshave begun spalling. First signs of joint or crack faulting (1⁄4”).Multiple corner cracks with broken pieces. Moderate settlement orfrost heave areas. Patching showing distress.

Severe polishing, scaling, map cracking, or spalling over 50% of thearea. Joints and cracks show moderate to severe spalling. Pumpingand faulting of joints (1⁄2”) with fair ride. Several slabs have multipletransverse or meander cracks with moderate spalling. Spalled areabroken into several pieces. Corner cracks with missing pieces orpatches. Pavement blowups.

Most joints and cracks are open, with multiple parallel cracks, severe spalling, or faulting. D-cracking is evident. Severe faulting (1”)giving poor ride. Extensive patching in fair to poor condition. Many transverse and meander cracks, open and severely spalled.

Extensive slab cracking, severely spalled and patched. Joints failed. Patching in very poor condition. Severe and extensive settlements or frost heaves.

Restricted speed. Extensive potholes. Almost total loss of pavement integrity.

First signs of shallow reinforce-ment or corner cracking. Needsgeneral joint and crack sealing.Scaled areas could be overlaid.

First signs of joint or crackspalling or faulting. Grind torepair surface defects. Somepartial depth patching or jointrepairs needed.

Needs some full depth repairs,grinding, and/or asphalt overlayto correct surface defects.

Needs extensive full depthpatching plus some full slabreplacement.

Recycle and/or rebuild pavement.

Total reconstruction.

6Good

5Fair

4Fair

3Poor

2Very Poor

1Failed

* Individual pavements will not have all of the types of distress listed for any particular rating. They may have only one or two types.

RATING 10 & 9

EXCELLENT — No maintenance required

Rating 10 is for new pavement.Rating 9 is used for recentconcrete rehabilitation or like-new condition. Some trafficwear. Slight map cracking orpop-outs. No maintenancerequired.

RATING 10New pavementwith integralcurb.

RATING 9Like newcondition.

RATING 9Recent jointrehabilitation.Like newcondition.

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RATING 8

VERY GOOD — Little or no maintenance required

More surface wear, or slight defectsshowing in lanes. Pop-outs, slightsurface scaling, partial loss of jointsealant, or isolated meander crack.Isolated manhole distress. Little or no maintenance required.

Slightscaling.

Isolatedspall at

manhole.

Partialloss ofjointsealant.

Isolatedmeander

crack, tightand well

sealed.

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RATING 7

GOOD — May require some routinesealing or maintenance

First signs of transverse cracking, patch-ing or repair; more extensive pop-outs orscaling; some manhole displacement,isolated heave or settlement. May needsome sealing or routine maintenance.

Recent full depthpavement repair.In very goodcondition.

Well sealedtransverse crack.Joint repairs ingood condition.

Transverse crack.Tight, soundpavement.

Extensive pop-outs. Pavementis unsightly but still providesgood level of service.

Residential street pavementin good condition after many years of service. Mayonly need periodic jointsealing maintenance.

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RATING 6

GOOD — Joint and crack sealing needed

First signs of corner cracking or shallowreinforcement. More frequent transversecracks. Open (1⁄4”) joints and cracks.Moderate scaling. Needs joint and cracksealing.

Severaltransverse

cracks. Tight orwell sealed.

Moderatescaling.Surface rust stain.

Indicates shallowreinforcing.

First signs ofcorner cracks.

Isolated, tight meander crack. Severalpop-outs. Remaining joints and cracks all tight and sound.

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RATING 5

FAIR — Partial depth patching andjoint repairs may be needed

First signs of joint or crack spalling, orfaulting. Multiple cracking at cornerswith broken pieces. Patching in faircondition. Surface texturing repairs maybe necessary. Some partial depth patch-ing and joint repairs may be needed.

First signs oftransverse jointfaulting. Grindingwill improve ride.

Faulting atlongitudinal jointand spalling alongjoint edge.

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Open cracks with edgespalling. Corner crack andbroken corner piece.

Isolated manhole problems andjoint spalling. Full depth repairrequired adjacent to manhole.

Patching in fair condition.

RATING 5

FAIR — (continued)Partial depth patching and joint repairs may be needed

Broken cornerpieces. Some

joint spalling.

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Severe scaling over extensive areas.Patching or overlay needed.

Spalling caused by shallow reinforcing steel.Temporary patching needs to be followed by extensive partial depth repairs.

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RATING 4

FAIR — Some full depth joint or crack repair required

Severe surface distress requires asphaltoverlay or extensive surface texturing.Multiple transverse cracks withspalling and broken pieces. Cornercracking with potholes or patches.Blowups. Some full depth joint orcrack repair required.

Wide open meander crack(1”) with edge spalling.Corner crack with spalling.

All joints show somedeterioration and spalling.

Multiple opentransverse cracks.Failed corner crack.Patches in faircondition.

Corner crackingdeveloped

into small hole;moderate

spalling oftransverse

crack.

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Moderatespalling attransverse joint.

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Moderate to severelongitudinal joint faulting.Transverse jointalso has spalling.

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RATING 3

POOR — Extensive full depthpatching plus some full slabreplacement required

Most joints and cracks are open (1”),spalled, or patched. D-cracking isevident. Severe (1”) faulting. Extensivefull depth patching required plus somefull slab replacement.

Joints and cracks badlyspalled. Patching is

failing. Full depthrepairs required.

D-cracking(discoloration) at

transverse joint andcorner cracking. Needs

full-depth repair.

Multiple transversecracks. Poor longitudinaljoint with spalling.

Failed joint needsreplacement.

Discoloration atjoints indicates

D-cracking. Slabreplacement needed.

Badly spalled joint and open crack.

Slab or jointreplacement needed.

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RATING 2

VERY POOR — Pavement recyclingand reconstruction necessary

Failed patches.Replace entireportion of lane.

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Closely spacedtransverse cracks andpoor longitudinaljoint. Replace slab.

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Severedeterioration.Requiresextensivereconstruction.

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Remove and replacepavement aroundmanhole and inlet.

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Extensive jointfailure. Majorrehabilitation orcomplete replace-ment needed.

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RATING 1

FAILED — Complete reconstruction necessary

Slab andpatch

failure.

Broken slabsrequire

completerebuilding.

Totalfailure.

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Inventory and field inspection

Most agencies routinely observeroadway conditions as a part of theirnormal work and travel. However, anactual inspection means looking at theentire roadway system as a whole andpreparing a written summary of condi-tions. This inspection has many benefitsover casual observations. It can behelpful to compare segments, andratings decisions are likely to be moreconsistent because the roadway systemis considered as a whole within arelatively short time.

An inspection also encourages areview of specific conditions importantin roadway maintenance, such as drain-age, adequate strength, and safety.

A simple written inventory is usefulin making decisions where other peopleare involved. You do not have to trustyour memory, and you can usuallyanswer questions in more detail.Having a written record also improvesyour credibility with the public.

Finally, a written inventory is veryuseful in documenting changing road-way conditions. Without records overseveral years, it is impossible to know ifyour overall road conditions are improv-ing, holding their own, or declining.

Annual budgets and long rangeplanning are best done when based onactual needs as documented with awritten inventory.

The Wisconsin DOT local roadinventory (WISLR) is a valuable resourcefor managing your local roads. AddingPASER surface condition ratings is animportant improvement.

Averaging and comparing sections

For evaluation, divide the local roadsystem into individual segments whichare similar in construction and condi-tion. Rural segments may vary from 1⁄2 mile to a mile long, while sections in urban areas will likely be 1-4 blocks

long or more. If you are starting withthe WISLR Inventory, the segmentshave already been established. You maywant to review them for consistentroad conditions. Obviously no roadwaysegment is entirely consistent. Also,individual pavements will not have allof the types of distress listed for anyparticular rating. They may have onlyone or two types. Therefore, some“averaging” is necessary.

The objective is to rate the conditionthat represents the majority of theroadway. Small or isolated conditionsshould not influence the rating. It isuseful to note special conditions on theinventory form so this information canbe used in project design. For example, some spot repairs may be required.

Occasionally pavement conditions will vary signifi-cantly. For example, shortsections of good condi-tion may be followed bysections of poor pave-ment conditions. In thiscase, it is best to rate thepavement according tothe worst conditions andnote the variation on theform.

The overall purpose ofcondition rating is to beable to compare eachsegment relative to all theother segments in yourroadway system. On com-pletion you should be ableto look at any two pave-ment segments and findthat the better surface hasa higher rating.

Within a given rating,say 6, not all pavementswill be exactly the same.However, they should allbe considered to be inbetter condition than thosewith lower ratings, say 5.

Sometimes it is helpful in rating adifficult segment to compare it to otherpreviously rated segments. For example,if it is better than one you rated 5, andworse than a typical 7, then a rating of6 is appropriate. Having all pavementsegments rated in the proper relativeorder is important and useful.

Assessing drainage conditions

Moisture and poor pavement drainageare significant factors in pavement dete-rioration. Some assessment of drainageconditions during pavement rating ishighly recommended. While you shouldreview drainage in detail at the projectlevel, at this stage simply include an

Practical advice on rating roads

Urban drainage. RATING: Excellent

Adequate rural ditch and gooderosion control. RATING: Good

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Reshape terrace behindcurb to restore drainageand prevent damage tocurb and street.

RATING: Fair

shoulders should have a greater slope toimprove surface drainage.

Good drainage improves a pave-ment’s ability to resist pumping, faultingand joint damage. Some new concretepavements are being constructed with aspecial drainage layer and drain systemto reduce water-related deterioration.

These systems requireinspection and periodicmaintenance.

You should also checkcurb and gutter, culverts,and storm drain systems.Storm drainage systemsthat are silted in, have alarge accumulation ofdebris, or are in poorstructural condition willalso degrade pavementperformance.

The T.I.C. publication,Drainage Manual: LocalRoad Assessment andImprovement, describesthe elements of drainagesystems, depicts them indetailed photographs,

Flooding. Curband gutter need

reconstruction.

RATING: Poor

overview drainage evaluation at thesame time as you evaluate surfacecondition.

Look at the roadway crown andcheck for low surface areas that permitponding. Paved surfaces should haveapproximately a 2% cross slope orcrown across the roadway. Rural

and explains how to rate their condi-tion. Copies are available from the T.I.C.

Planning annual maintenance and repair budgets

We have found that relating a normalmaintenance or rehabilitation procedureto the surface rating scheme helps localofficials use the rating system. However,an individual surface rating should notautomatically dictate the final mainte-nance or rehabilitation technique.

You should consider safety, futuretraffic projections, original construction,and pavement strength since these maydictate a more comprehensive rehabilita-tion than the rating suggests. On theother hand, it may be appropriate underspecial conditions to do nothing and letthe pavement fully deteriorate, thenrebuild when funds are available.

Summary

Using local road funds most efficientlyrequires good planning and accurateidentification of appropriate rehabilita-tion projects. Assessing roadwayconditions is an essential first step in this process. This concrete pavementsurface condition rating procedure hasproved effective in improving decisionmaking and using roadway funds moreefficiently. It can be used directly bylocal officials and staff. It may becombined with additional testing anddata collection in a more comprehensivepavement management system.

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This manual is intended to assist local officials in understanding andrating the surface condition of concrete pavements. It describes typesand causes of distress and provides a simple system to visually ratepavement condition. The rating procedure can be used as conditiondata for the Wisconsin DOT local road inventory and as part of acomputerized pavement management system like PASERWARE.

Produced by the T.I.C. with support from the Federal HighwayAdministration, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and theUniversity of Wisconsin-Extension. The T.I.C., part of the nationwideLocal Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), is a Center of the College ofEngineering, Department of Engineering Professional Development,University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Copyright © 1989, 2002Wisconsin Transportation Information Center

432 North Lake StreetMadison, WI 53706

phone 800/442-4615fax 608/263-3160e-mail tic@epd.engr.wisc.eduURL http://tic.engr.wisc.edu

Printed on recycled paper.

Contents

Introduction 2

Rigid pavement performance 2

Pavement conditions and defects 3

Evaluation 4

Surface defects 4

Joints 7

Pavement cracks 9

Pavement deformation 12

Rating pavement surface condition 15

Rating system 16

Rating 10 & 9 — Excellent 17

Rating 8 — Very Good 18

Rating 7 — Good 19

Rating 6 — Good 20

Rating 5 — Fair 21

Rating 4 — Fair 23

Rating 3 — Poor 24

Rating 2— Very Poor 25

Rating 1 — Failed 26

Practical advice on rating roads 27

Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) Manuals

Asphalt PASER Manual, 2002, 28 pp.

Brick and Block PASER Manual, 2001, 8 pp.

Concrete PASER Manual, 2002, 28 pp.

Gravel PASER Manual, 2002, 20 pp.

Sealcoat PASER Manual, 2000, 16 pp.

Unimproved Roads PASER Manual, 2001, 12 pp.

Drainage ManualLocal Road Assessment and Improvement, 2000, 16 pp.

SAFER ManualSafety Evaluation for Roadways, 1996, 40 pp.

Flagger’s Handbook (pocket-sized guide), 1998, 22 pp.

Work Zone Safety, Guidelines for Construction, Maintenance, and Utility Operations, (pocket-sized guide), 2002, 58 pp.

Wisconsin Transportation Bulletins

#1 Understanding and Using Asphalt#2 How Vehicle Loads Affect Pavement Performance#3 LCC—Life Cycle Cost Analysis#4 Road Drainage#5 Gravel Roads#6 Using Salt and Sand for Winter Road Maintenance#7 Signing for Local Roads#8 Using Weight Limits to Protect Local Roads#9 Pavement Markings

#10 Seal Coating and Other Asphalt Surface Treatments#11 Compaction Improves Pavement Performance#12 Roadway Safety and Guardrail#13 Dust Control on Unpaved Roads#14 Mailbox Safety#15 Culverts-Proper Use and Installation#16 Geotextiles in Road Construction/Maintenance and Erosion Control#17 Managing Utility Cuts#18 Roadway Management and Tort Liability in Wisconsin#19 The Basics of a Good Road#20 Using Recovered Materials in Highway Construction#21 Setting Speed Limits on Local Roads

432 North Lake StreetMadison, WI 53706

phone 800/442-4615fax 608/263-3160e-mail tic@epd.engr.wisc.eduURL http://tic.engr.wisc.edu

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CenterPublications

PASERConcrete Roads

Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating

PASERManualConcrete Roads

RATING10

RATING4

RATING7

RATING1