Pavement Topics
- Standards
- Plans and Specifications
- Types
- Best Practices
- Sublayers
- Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
- Environment & Traffic
Quick Reference
Other Smoothness Websites
This collection of websites is here to provide some extra information and/or insight on Smoothness. The information contained therein is not necessarily endorsed by Caltrans.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Purdue University Research
- The Effects of Varying the Tire Cap Ply, Sidewall Filler Height and Pavement Surface Texture on Tire/Pavement Noise Generation by The Institute for Safe, Quiet and Durable Highways (PDF, 157KB)
Consultant Research
- The Transtec Center for Pavement Surface Characteristics (TCPSC)
- Smoothness Issue (PDF, 404KB) in Concrete Pavement Progress (American Concrete Pavement Association), April 22, 2005
- Issues in Pavement Smoothness: A Summary Report (Transportation Research Board)
- Pavement Surface Analysis Laboratory at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
- Measuring Pavement Texture
- Measuring Pavement Roughness
- Combatting Pavement Roughness with ROSAN in Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Focus
- Surface and Pendulum Tester
- Skid Resistance and High Friction Surfacing by The Idiot's Guide to Highways Maintenance
- Circular Texture Meter
- Field Evaluation of Porous Asphalt Pavement, (PDF, 1.2MB) by Rebecca S. McDaniel, William D. Thornton, and Jorge Gomez Dominguez, North Central Superpave Center, Perdue University
- Pavement Tester
Flexible Pavement Resources
- SMOOTH MOVING - it's a measure of quality, (PDF, 118KB) by Flexible Pavements Association of Ohio
Rigid Pavement Resources
- Current Practice of PCC Pavement Texturing by Todd E. Hoerner, P.E., et. al., Applied Pavement Technology, Inc. Presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, January 12-16, 2003, (PDF, 283KB)
Smoother Pavements
ASTM defined roughness as: The deviations of a surface from a true planar surface with characteristic dimensions that affect a vehicle ride quality.
Smoothness Matters
In a 2002 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) survey, road condition was cited as the public’s number one criteria for satisfaction. Other national surveys of road users list smooth pavement as a top highway characteristic. Rough or uneven pavement adversely affects driver safety, fuel efficiency, ride quality, vehicle wear-and-tear, and pavement durability.
Smoothness Specifications
Designing for Smoothness
- Current Specifications for Smoothness
- Pilot Incentive/Disincentive Specifications
- Criteria to Use Specification
- How to Obtain Approval
- Letter from Chief Deputy
- Projects Already Approved to Pilot
Measuring Smoothness
- International Roughness Index
- National Rankings
- How Texture Relates
- Measuring Devices
Recent Articles
- Concrete Pavement Conference (PDF, 101KB)
Please forward any questions/comments/suggestions to Hector Vergara (hector_vergara@dot.ca.gov). Last updated 09/18/2008.