Ten peer-reviewed papers give you a timely look at HMA smoothness measurements, specifications, and equipment. Evidence shows that pavements constructed with low roughness measurements perform longer with fewer needed maintenance activities than pavements with a higher level of initial roughness. This collection of papers, written by industry experts, provides an overview of the current approaches to constructing smooth HMA pavements.

Three sections cover:

State Agency Perspective—provides insight into both the history of the development and the implementation of ride quality specifications for new hot mix asphalt pavements in Alabama, Arizona, New Jersey, Virginia, and Tennessee. These papers highlight the wide range of differences in equipment and approaches used to quantify HMA smoothness by state agencies across the country. This information will provide the readers with insight into complexities associated with developing and implementing ride quality specifications.

National and International Perspectives—uses analysis of the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) national pavement database to determine the affect of various construction alternatives on the smoothness of the final HMA surface. It also presents correlation equations that relate the traditional, but slow, method of measuring roughness with a hand-operated profilograph to that measured with the state-of-the-art vehicle-mounted. A second paper compares the use of six devices for measuring roughness on recently constructed Taiwan highways. This information will prove especially useful for agencies faced with assessing ride quality in confined urban areas.

Equipment Comparisons, Materials Considerations, and Analyses—focuses on how various HMA mixtures, friction courses, and construction practices influence smoothness measurements and pavement quality; and compares the results obtained from an inclinometer profiler and a vehicle mounted profiler when used to test a wide range of HMA mixtures. Correlations between construction practices and their influence on roughness are also presented. It also discusses a new method for analyzing the raw profile obtained by a wide range of profilers. This analysis method can be used to improve data processing for any equipment that collects the raw profile

This new publication is a valuable technical resource for

• Consulting and Paving Design Firms

• Pavement Design Engineers

• Asphalt Suppliers and Contractors

• Federal, State, and Local Government Personnel involved with Road and Highway Management and Development

• Asphalt Researchers