Ridge-to-Valley Depth Measured with Road Profiler to Control Micromilled Pavement Textures for Super-Thin Resurfacing on I-95

Funding shortages create pavement preservation challenges for state departments of transportation (DOTs). The Georgia DOT developed an innovative micromilling resurfacing method as a cost-effective way to preserve its pavements. The new method can save more than $5 million on an I-95 project of 84 lane miles. To ensure that the micromilled surface texture has a good bond and good runoff capability, the Georgia DOT established a stringent ridge-to-valley-depth (RVD) specification. Preliminary tests were conducted on an I-75 project with a circular track meter and an ultralight inertia profiler, but the RVD was first measured with a laser road profiler for the entire 84 lane miles of the I-95 project. The rough and smooth micromilled pavement surfaces have been studied and compared through an exploration of their statistical characteristics and patterns. Results from four 0.5-mi segments showed that both smooth and rough surface textures revealed normal distributions, although a smooth surface had a slight ...