Statewide Implementation of the Surface Performance Graded (SPG) Specification for Chip Seal Binders in Service

Résumé du livre

Over the past almost 20 years, a Surface Performance-Graded (SPG) specification for chip seal binders was developed and validated using laboratory measurements and visual field performance of 141 highway sections. This SPG specification was established in an effort to extend the service life of chip seals and save approximately $9 million per year by providing a binder grading system and associated selection guidelines that: (1) accounts for differences in climate and (2) uses existing equipment and performance-based properties that preclude bleeding and aggregate loss in the critical first year of service after construction. This report documents a multi-year implementation effort that includes: (1) further validation and (2) industry interaction including outreach, state round robin testing programs, laboratory characterization efforts with private laboratories, and associated work with a national task force. The SPG specification now available as a special provision to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Item 300 (SP 300-011) will replace the TxDOT Chip Seal Binder Material Selection Table with the tiered system and conventional chip seal binder specifications for materials in service provided in TxDOT Item 300.