Investigation of the Influence of the Condition of Asphalt Pavement Surface on Road Safety of Rural Ontario Highways

Abstract

Road collisions are complex events that are influenced by a combination of factors, including driver behaviour, environmental condition (e.g., icy and wet roads), road geometry, roadside elements, vehicle speed, tire deficiencies, traffic, and pavement condition. While the influence of some of these factors has been studied extensively for decades, the influence of pavement condition on road safety is relatively underresearched. This research investigated the influence of pavement surface condition on road safety by developing statistical models that correlate pavement surface condition and collisions. This research also examined the possibility to integrate skid resistance into pavement management by investigating the correlations between skid resistance, pavement distress, and operational conditions of the roads. This study was limited to rural arterial and freeways of the Ontario asphalt pavement road network. Data of pavement condition, operational condition, and collision was obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation for 6879 kilometers across 37 provincial rural highways for the period of 2012 to 2014. Pavement condition data was collected at network level with an automatic road analyzer road and included information about roughness, rutting, cracking, and macrotexture. Skid resistance data was collected with a locked wheel tester. The collected data was combined into a spatial data model, also known as a vector-based geographic information system. The results of the investigation using regression analysis showed that pavement friction is affected by traffic, pavement age, and pavement distress. Skid resistance decreased with the increase of traffic and increased with the increase of pavement distress. Macrotexture increased with the increase of traffic and pavement distress. 1 Chapter: Introduction This chapter presents background information about the research problem statement, gaps in the literature related to pavement condition and road safety, objectives, and scope of this study. This chapter also outlines the research plan and thesis organization. 1.1 Background Canada is a large country with rural regions and urban centres separated by great distances. Highways and roads play a crucial role in delivering numerous social and economic benefits, including: integrating communities, facilitating access to education and health care, increasing mobility of people and goods, reducing transport costs, improving access to markets, increasing business and industrial opportunities, and increasing employment opportunities generated by the construction and maintenance of roads (Burningham and Stankevich, 2005). However, in order for these benefits to be sustainable, the serviceability of roadway pavements must be preserved. Serviceability considers that roadways are built for the comfort, convenience, and safety of road users

Research on skid resistance performance of Asphalt Pavement Based on 3D Texture Feature Parameters

“…Through research on surface texture in the attenuation of skid resistance of asphalt pavement, it is found that surface texture can be divided into different types according to different wavelength ranges.These types include microtexture (<0.5mm), macrotexture (0.5~50mm), macrotexture (50~500mm) and unevenness (0.5~50m).Microtexture mainly affects low-speed friction, while macrotexture affects high-speed friction, rolling resistance, surface drainage and noise [7][8] .In small accelerated loading experiments, the macro and micro textures of asphalt pavement will directly affect the anti-skid performance of the pavement [9] .Studies based on texture parameters in the spectral domain and spatial domain consider both macro and micro textures, and their prediction models are more accurate [10][11][12] .The anti-skid value of the pavement is significantly positively correlated with the texture surface area, and the texture surface area can be used as an indicator to evaluate the anti-skid performance of the pavement during its service life [13] . The relationship between pavement texture and skid resistance is mainly established through correlation analysis [14] .…”