NCDOT Division 3 Pavement Testing and Recommendations

NCDOT contracted S&ME to provide pavement design and engineering services to assist their Materials and Testing Unit. As part of the Pavement Design and Analysis On-Call, S&ME was tasked with performing pavement forensic investigations, including as-built plans examination and pavement testing.

Pavement testing included Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing to evaluate the existing pavement structural capacity, and Pavement Design Investigation consisting of pavement coring and Kessler Dynamic Cone Penetrometer Tests (DCP) of over 150 centerline miles of pavement in Division 3, North Carolina. This includes Sampson, Pender, Duplin, New Hanover, Brunswick, and Onslow counties.

Based on the collected data, S&ME provided pavement rehabilitation and reconstruction recommendations for Division 3’s Pavement Rehabilitation Program, Plan Years 2020-2022. Recommendations have included overlays, full depth reconstruction, crack sealing, and milling and replacing the milled-out asphalt.