Developing Pavement Performance Specifications For Interstate 15 Reconstruction Project, Salt Lake County, Utah

摘要

Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major north-south route linking Canada, the United States and Mexico. Twenty-seven kilometers of three lane (each direction) freeway through Salt Lake County was reconstructed to five lanes in each direction while maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction. This was accomplished through design build delivery method in a record time of 4 1/2 years. Original pavement was a combination of both Portland cement concrete (PCCP) and hot mixes asphalt concrete (HMAC) sections. I -15 was originally constructed in sections over different time periods and therefore the surface course over the twenty-seven kilometers interchanged between PCCP and HMAC. The various sections were at different states of wear; a preliminary investigation was conducted to develop rehabilitation alternates. However, since the facility had exceeded its life expectancy it was determined to totally reconstruct the freeway to meet the current highway and seismic standards at the cost of approximately 1.6 billion U. S. dollars. Details of preliminary evaluation; decision on pavement type, section and other performance criteria as it pertains to constructing highway pavement on the single largest design build contract to date in the United States will be presented in this paper.