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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Pavement Friction

SECTION 1: Introduction

SECTION 1: Introduction

1.1. Background

Single and multi-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of fatalities and major injuries in the United States, particularly in rural areas.

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Roadway departure fatalities account for approximately 65 percent of all traffic-related fatalities in Kentucky.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The FHWA would like to acknowledge the staff of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) who have supported this study with their time, effort and comments, and substantially contributed to its success.

We are especially grateful to the following individuals for supporting and assisting us with developing this case study:

Tracy Lovell, KYTC

Jason Siwula, KYTC

Jarrod Stanley, KYTC

Tracy Nowaczyk, KYTC

Tim Scully, UK-Kentucky Transportation Center

Eric Green, UK-Kentucky Transportation Center

INSTALLATION

1.. What surface preparation and installation conditions are required?

General

LESSONS LEARNED

1. Can patches that de-bond be fixed?

  • This is not extremely common, but can be caused by an isolated spot on the pavement that was not cleaned well or had undetected solvent on the pavement.

MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS / DURABILITY

 What is the life expectancy of HFST?

  • Life expectancy will vary with climate and roadway characteristics, such as geometry, volume and mix of traffic types, and the nature of traffic movements.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

1. What effect does HFST have on road noise?

  • In general, roads treated with HFST will be less noisy than transversely tined concrete pavement, chip seals, and certain dense-graded asphalt pavements. While HFST does increase the mean texture depth (MTD) and mean profile depth (MPD), the relationship (for all types of pavement surfaces) between MPD and noise level is extremely weak, and it is even worse for MTD.

COST

 What is the average unit cost for HFST?

  • Installed costs vary according to the quantity of material to be installed and the site location for the project. Most projects are solicited as "turnkey," meaning they including materials, labor, equipment, and traffic control. Project costs range from $21/yd2 to $26/yd2 as of 2017.