Level-Up Pavement Patching: Survey of Texas Practice

Abstract

Level-up patching is a common and inexpensive corrective pavement rehabilitation treatment. It differs from the conventional spot-patching of localized pavement problems. Level-up patching involves laying down a thin asphalt layer over an existing pavement structure to correct for rutting, restore cross-slope, and improve ride quality. It is performed mainly through either blade or laydown operations. This paper provides a summary of the best practices, field performance, and lifecycle cost analysis of level-up patches versus conventional overlays. It is based on a Texas department of transportation (DOT) survey of pavement maintenance/operations district engineers and study of unit bid costs for these treatments. The unit bid costs ($/ton) for these treatments were comparable. Assuming typical thickness and service lives allowed lifecycle cost comparisons. It was revealed that the annualized cost of level-up patches is lower than that of conventional hot-mix asphalt (HMA), amounting to $4,79/lane-km/year and $5,3/lane-km/year, respectively.