CRACKING THE MYTHS: THE TRUTH ABOUT PAVEMENT PRESERVATION
Why "worst-first" is the costliest road to take
Welcome to part four of our six-part series on concrete pavement preservation (CPP) education. Each installment takes on a misconception that shapes how agencies plan, budget and make pavement decisions, then examines what the evidence actually shows. This week, we turn to a funding philosophy that feels responsible but quietly drains budgets year after year.
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Myth:
The smart strategy is to direct all funding to the most deteriorated roads first.
On the surface, worst-first sounds logical. The roads in the poorest condition are the most visible, they generate the most complaints and fixing them feels like the responsible use of public dollars. For many agencies, it has been standard practice for decades.
Reality:
Worst-first policies drive costs higher, not lower.
By the time a pavement reaches severe distress, preservation is no longer an option. The only remaining choices are full reconstruction or replacement, the most expensive work an agency can perform. Meanwhile, the roads still in fair condition receive no attention. They continue to deteriorate, and each one eventually slides into that same costly reconstruction category.
The result is a cycle that never catches up. Every dollar poured into the worst roads is a dollar that could have preserved several miles of pavement still worth saving. Agencies end up spending more to maintain a network that keeps getting worse.
The solution
Preservation-based strategies reverse the trend by applying the right treatment to the right road at the right time.
Instead of waiting for failure, agencies should manage the rate of deterioration across the entire network. CPP restores pavement to a condition close to or better than its original state and addresses the underlying causes of distress rather than masking them. Applying the right CPP treatment at the right time in a pavement's life cycle has been proven to extend pavement life 10 to 20 years, and even longer in many cases.
Is your pavement a CPP candidate?
Good candidates for CPP are concrete roadways with various degrees and types of distress that still retain adequate structural integrity. Managing deterioration early in the life cycle is preferred, but modern repair methods also provide options to restore older pavements exhibiting more severe deterioration. The key is to analyze both the extent and severity of the distress to determine the best repair approach.
Watch for these technical indicators that a concrete pavement may be ready for preservation:
· Poor ride quality
· Joint and surface spalling
· Cracked slabs
· Corner breaks
· Joint pumping
· Faulting at transverse or longitudinal joints
· Joint sealant failure
Watch for Myth #5
This is the fourth of six myths we will tackle in this series. In the next installment, we will debunk Myth 5 and continue building the case for smarter, more cost-effective pavement management. To learn more, explore the IGGA Pavement Preservation Toolkit: https://www.igga.net/pavement-preservation-toolkit