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SynC · Editorial revision

Asphalt Paving

Revision7
EditedOct 12, 2026
StatusCurrent
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Current revision. This is editorial revision 7, the current text of this standard. Read it on the standard's page.

SynC Standards Team — Specifier (Platform Standards) ✓ OfficialDiscloses employment SynC (SynC Platform Team)
Datasheet constraints: every range, checkbox and listbox field now states its direction

1 Scope

NOTE This standard governs the materials, mixture design, production, placement, compaction, and acceptance of dense-graded hot-mix asphalt pavement built new on an accepted base, and of the full-depth patching and reconstruction of an existing asphalt pavement where the repair goes through the asphalt into the base. (1.1)
NOTE The work begins at the accepted surface delivered by the base, stabilization, or reclamation scope and ends at a finished pavement surface ready to receive markings. The pavement section itself, the number and thickness of its courses, the binder grade, and the traffic it is designed to carry are produced by the pavement designer and recorded in the geotechnical report and on the civil drawings; this standard states how that design is executed and verified, and no value in it substitutes for the design. (1.2)
NOTE Asphalt pavement is a layered system in which every course distributes the wheel load over a wider area of the course beneath it, and it performs as well as its weakest layer. A sound mixture compacted short of density ravels and cracks years early; a full-thickness surface course over a deficient base follows the base down; a joint left two points below the mat is where the first pothole opens. The defects are cheap to prevent at the paver and expensive to reach after the lot is striped and full of cars. (1.3)
NOTE The following are outside this standard and are governed elsewhere: (1.4)
  • The aggregate base course, including its gradation, compaction, surface tolerance, and acceptance, under Aggregate Base CourseAggregate Base CourseResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/aggregate-base-course
  • The subgrade, including structural fill, proof rolling, and fine grading, under EarthworkEarthworkResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/earthwork and Site Rough GradingSite Grading and Subgrade PreparationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/site-rough-grading
  • Chemical stabilization or modification of a subgrade or base under Soil StabilizationSoil Stabilization and ModificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/soil-stabilization
  • Storm sewers, inlets, and castings under Storm DrainageStorm DrainageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/storm-drainage, and edge drains and underdrains under SubdrainageSubdrainageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/subdrainage
  • Porous asphalt and every other open-graded surface that infiltrates stormwater under Permeable PavingPermeable PavingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/permeable-paving
  • Overlays, milling, crack treatment, and surface seals on an existing asphalt surface under Pavement RehabilitationPavement Rehabilitation and SealcoatingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pavement-rehabilitation
  • Geosynthetic interlayer materials under GeosyntheticsGeosynthetics and GeotextilesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/geosynthetics, pavement markings under Pavement MarkingsPavement Markings and Site SignageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pavement-markings, and concrete curbs, gutters, aprons, and rigid pavement under Concrete PavingConcrete Paving, Curbs, and SidewalksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-paving
NOTE Removal of an existing pavement over the whole of a reconstruction area is a demolition scope under the Contract Documents, and this standard governs that work from the accepted subgrade or base upward; removal within the limits of a full-depth patch is within this standard. (1.5)
1.6 The pavement section, the course thicknesses, the binder grade, and the design traffic level shall be as indicated in the datasheet, which defers them to the pavement design in the geotechnical report and to the civil drawings.
1.7 Where this standard and the pavement design conflict, the pavement design shall govern for the section, the course thicknesses, the mixture designations, and the binder grade, and this standard shall govern for materials, procedure, testing, and acceptance, unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
1.8 The Contractor shall coordinate work under this standard with Aggregate Base CourseAggregate Base CourseResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/aggregate-base-course, Soil StabilizationSoil Stabilization and ModificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/soil-stabilization, and EarthworkEarthworkResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/earthwork for acceptance of the surface that receives the first asphalt course; with Erosion And Sediment ControlErosion and Sediment ControlResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/erosion-and-sediment-control for removal of temporary controls within the paving limits before the surface course and for protection of inlets during paving; with Storm DrainageStorm DrainageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/storm-drainage and Site UtilitiesSite UtilitiesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/site-utilities for adjustment of castings to finished grade; with Concrete PavingConcrete Paving, Curbs, and SidewalksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-paving for the sequence of curbs and asphalt; with GeosyntheticsGeosynthetics and GeotextilesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/geosynthetics where an interlayer is placed beneath an asphalt course; and with Pavement MarkingsPavement Markings and Site SignageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pavement-markings for the age and condition of the surface at the time it is marked.

2 Referenced Standards

2.1 Materials, mixture design, testing, and execution shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
2.2 Where referenced standards conflict, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
Standard Title
AASHTO M 320 Performance-Graded Asphalt Binder
AASHTO M 332 Performance-Graded Asphalt Binder Using Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) Test
AASHTO M 323 Superpave Volumetric Mix Design
AASHTO R 35 Superpave Volumetric Design for Asphalt Mixtures
AASHTO M 140 Emulsified Asphalt
AASHTO M 208 Cationic Emulsified Asphalt
AASHTO M 156 Requirements for Mixing Plants for Hot-Mixed, Hot-Laid Bituminous Paving Mixtures
AASHTO T 166 Bulk Specific Gravity (Gmb) of Compacted Asphalt Mixtures Using Saturated Surface-Dry Specimens
AASHTO T 209 Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity (Gmm) and Density of Asphalt Mixtures
AASHTO T 283 Resistance of Compacted Asphalt Mixtures to Moisture-Induced Damage
AASHTO T 308 Determining the Asphalt Binder Content of Asphalt Mixtures by the Ignition Method
AASHTO T 312 Preparing and Determining the Density of Asphalt Mixture Specimens by Means of the Superpave Gyratory Compactor
AASHTO T 350 Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) Test of Asphalt Binder Using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer
ASTM D140/D140M Sampling Asphalt Materials
ASTM D979/D979M Sampling Asphalt Mixtures
ASTM D977 Emulsified Asphalt
ASTM D2027/D2027M Cutback Asphalt (Medium-Curing Type)
ASTM D2041/D2041M Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity and Density of Asphalt Mixtures
ASTM D2172/D2172M Quantitative Extraction of Asphalt Binder from Asphalt Mixtures
ASTM D2397/D2397M Cationic Emulsified Asphalt
ASTM D2419 Sand Equivalent Value of Soils and Fine Aggregate
ASTM D2950/D2950M Density of Asphalt Mixtures in Place by Nuclear Methods
ASTM D2995 Estimating Application Rate and Residual Application Rate of Bituminous Distributors
ASTM D3549/D3549M Thickness or Height of Compacted Asphalt Mixture Specimens
ASTM D3666 Minimum Requirements for Agencies Testing and Inspecting Road and Paving Materials
ASTM D4791 Flat Particles, Elongated Particles, or Flat and Elongated Particles in Coarse Aggregate
ASTM D5821 Determining the Percentage of Fractured Particles in Coarse Aggregate
ASTM D6307 Asphalt Content of Asphalt Mixture by Ignition Method
ASTM D6373 Performance-Graded Asphalt Binder
ASTM D6690 Joint and Crack Sealants, Hot Applied, for Concrete and Asphalt Pavements
ASTM D6926 Preparation of Asphalt Mixture Specimens Using Marshall Apparatus
ASTM D6927 Marshall Stability and Flow of Asphalt Mixtures
ASTM D7113/D7113M Density of Bituminous Paving Mixtures in Place by the Electromagnetic Surface Contact Methods
ASTM C88/C88M Soundness of Aggregates by Use of Sodium Sulfate or Magnesium Sulfate
ASTM C131/C131M Resistance to Degradation of Small-Size Coarse Aggregate by Abrasion and Impact in the Los Angeles Machine
ASTM C136/C136M Sieve Analysis of Fine and Coarse Aggregates
ASTM D1557 Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Modified Effort
Asphalt Institute MS-2 Asphalt Mix Design Methods
Asphalt Institute MS-19 Basic Asphalt Emulsion Manual
Asphalt Institute MS-22 Construction of Quality Asphalt Pavements

3 Submittals

3.1 Action Submittals

3.1.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for the Engineer of Record's review before any asphalt mixture is delivered to the site:
  • Job-mix formula for each mixture and course, under the mixture design method in the datasheet, showing the aggregate sources and blend, the combined gradation against the control points for the nominal maximum aggregate size, the design binder content, the recycled material content and the resulting binder grade adjustment, the design compactive effort, and the volumetric properties at design
  • Binder certificate of analysis for the specified grade, traceable to the supply terminal and lot, with the MSCR designation where the binder is specified under AASHTO M 332
  • Aggregate quality test results for each coarse and fine aggregate source: fractured particles, Los Angeles abrasion, soundness, flat and elongated particles, and sand equivalent
  • Reclaimed asphalt pavement and recycled asphalt shingle characterization where either is proposed: source, gradation of the recovered aggregate, recovered binder content, and the blended binder grade
  • Product data and proposed application rates for the prime coat and tack coat materials
  • Warm-mix asphalt technology and the producer's mixing and compaction temperature ranges, where warm-mix asphalt is used
  • Anti-stripping additive product data and dosage, where an additive is used
  • Reclaimed base mix design, where the first asphalt course is placed on a full-depth reclaimed base
  • Paving plan showing paving lanes and their widths, the direction of paving, the longitudinal joint locations in each course, the transverse joint locations, the sequence of courses, and the location of hand-placed areas
Action Submittals Requiredcheckbox
☑ Job-mix formula for each mixture and course
☑ Binder certificate of analysis
☑ Aggregate quality test results
☐ Reclaimed asphalt pavement and shingle characterization
☑ Prime coat and tack coat product data and rates
☐ Warm-mix asphalt technology and temperature ranges
☐ Anti-stripping additive product data and dosage
☐ Reclaimed base mix design
☑ Paving plan with joint locations and course sequence
3.1.2 No asphalt mixture shall be placed until the job-mix formula for that mixture has been reviewed and returned.
3.1.3 Review of a submittal does not relieve the Contractor of responsibility for compliance with the Contract Documents.

3.2 Informational Submittals

3.2.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before paving begins:
  • Asphalt producer qualification under the basis in the datasheet, with the plant's quality-control plan where that basis requires one
  • Paving contractor qualifications, with the project references this standard requires
  • Testing agency accreditation under ASTM D3666 and the current calibration records of the density gauges to be used
  • Control strip report for each control strip this standard requires, with the rolling pattern established and the density achieved
Informational Submittals Requiredcheckbox
☑ Asphalt producer qualification and quality-control plan
☐ Paving contractor qualifications and references
☑ Testing agency accreditation and gauge calibrations
☐ Control strip reports

3.3 Closeout Submittals

3.3.1 The Contractor shall deliver the following before substantial completion:
  • Plant and field test reports for binder content, gradation, volumetrics, in-place density, and core thickness, passing and failing, indexed to lot, sublot, course, and location
  • Daily paving records giving the tonnage placed by mixture and course, the mixture temperature at delivery and behind the screed, the surface and air temperatures at placement, the areas paved, and the roller passes
  • Binder and emulsion delivery tickets and certificates for every load, including any source change during the work
  • Tack coat and prime coat application records with the measured rate for each shot
  • As-built survey of finished surface elevations at the grid the Engineer of Record directs, and the core thickness record for each course
  • Record of each nonconforming lot, the disposition directed, and the correction performed
  • Warranty documentation under this standard
Closeout Submittals Requiredcheckbox
☑ Plant and field test reports, passing and failing
☑ Daily paving records
☑ Binder and emulsion delivery tickets and certificates
☐ Tack and prime coat application records
☑ As-built surface survey and core thickness record
☑ Nonconforming lot record and dispositions
☑ Warranty documentation

4 Quality Assurance

4.1 Governing Specification Basis

NOTE Most asphalt placed in the United States is placed under a state department of transportation standard specification, and the plants, the laboratories, and the paving crews in a region are tooled to that document: its mixture designations, its binder grades, its acceptance tests, and its lot structure. A project that writes its own requirements gets the words it wants at the cost of asking a regional industry to produce something slightly different from what it produces every day; a project that adopts the DOT specification by reference gets a mixture the plant already has approved and a crew that knows the acceptance routine, at the cost of inheriting highway lot sizes, pay-factor arithmetic, and a document the Owner did not write and cannot edit. (4.1.1)
4.1.2 The requirements governing the asphalt mixtures and their construction shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Governing Specification for Mixtures and Constructionradio
● The requirements of this standard
○ The state DOT standard specifications for hot-mix asphalt, adopted by reference, with this standard governing where they are silent
4.1.3 Where the state DOT standard specifications are adopted by reference, the DOT mixture designation for each course shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
State DOT Mixture Designation for Each Coursetext
Enter value...
Per drawings — the pavement section details on the civil drawings (deferred by default)
4.1.4 Where the state DOT standard specifications are adopted by reference, the DOT acceptance tests, lot structure, and tolerances shall apply in place of the corresponding provisions of this standard, and the warranty, submittal, and coordination provisions of this standard shall apply in every case.
4.1.5 Where the state DOT standard specifications are adopted by reference and the datasheet also records a value for a provision the DOT specification covers, the DOT provision shall govern and the datasheet value shall be treated as a minimum the Contractor shall also meet.

4.2 Asphalt Producer Qualifications

4.2.1 The asphalt mixture shall be produced by a plant qualified on the basis indicated in the datasheet.
Asphalt Producer Qualification Basisradio
● Current state DOT plant certification or approved-producer listing
○ Plant conforming to AASHTO M 156 with a quality-control plan accepted by the Engineer of Record
NOTE A DOT-certified plant has already been inspected for the scales, the thermometers, the storage, and the laboratory this standard would otherwise have to verify, and its approved-mix listing is evidence that the mixture has been produced and accepted in volume; the AASHTO M 156 basis admits a plant that serves only private work or sits in a state without a certification program, and it depends on the Engineer of Record reviewing a quality-control plan rather than on a listing. (4.2.2)
4.2.3 The plant shall be capable of producing the specified mixture at the rate the paving operation requires, of holding the mixture within the producer's temperature range through loading, and of furnishing plant test data for each lot.
4.2.4 The Contractor shall not change the producing plant, or the aggregate or binder source feeding an approved job-mix formula, without submitting a revised job-mix formula and receiving the Engineer of Record's acceptance.

4.3 Paving Contractor Qualifications

4.3.1 The paving contractor shall have completed not fewer than three hot-mix asphalt paving projects of comparable area and mixture type within the preceding five years, and shall furnish those references on request.
4.3.2 The paving superintendent shall be present at the paver whenever asphalt is being placed.

4.4 Mixture Design Approval

4.4.1 Each job-mix formula shall be approved on the basis indicated in the datasheet before production for the project begins.
Mixture Design Approval Basisradio
○ State DOT approved job-mix formula for the specified mixture
○ Project-specific job-mix formula verified by the testing agency
○ Project-specific job-mix formula accepted on the producer's laboratory data
NOTE A DOT-approved formula arrives verified, in volume production, and at no design cost, and it fits where the project's mixture is one the plant already makes; a formula verified by the testing agency is the basis where the project specifies a mixture, binder, or recycled content the plant has no approved design for, and it adds the agency's verification time and fee to the schedule; acceptance on the producer's own data is the fastest and least expensive basis and rests entirely on the producer's laboratory, which is the party whose product it approves. (4.4.2)
4.4.3 A job-mix formula approved for an earlier project may be reused only where the aggregate sources, the binder source and grade, the recycled material sources and contents, and the design compactive effort are unchanged.
4.4.4 Any change in aggregate source, binder source, recycled material fraction, or warm-mix technology shall require a revised job-mix formula and re-approval.
NOTE Volumetrics shift with aggregate shape and absorption and with the stiffness of the recovered binder in reclaimed material, so a source change is a design change even when the gradation is matched. (4.4.5)

4.5 Testing Agency

4.5.1 Acceptance testing for density, thickness, and mixture properties shall be performed by a testing agency accredited under ASTM D3666 and retained as indicated in the datasheet.
Asphalt Testing Agency Retained Byradio
● Owner
○ Contractor, with results reported directly to the Owner
NOTE Owner retention keeps the agency independent of the party whose work it accepts; Contractor retention with direct reporting to the Owner is used on design-build work and on projects where the Owner holds no separate testing contract, and it depends on the reporting path being enforced. (4.5.2)
4.5.3 The testing agency shall standardize each density gauge at the start of each testing day and shall correlate each gauge to cores from the project mixture as this standard requires.
4.5.4 The producer's quality-control tests do not substitute for the acceptance tests of this standard, and acceptance tests shall be taken on samples the testing agency selects.

4.6 Pre-Paving Conference

4.6.1 Before any asphalt is placed, the Contractor shall convene a conference attended by the paving superintendent, the asphalt producer's quality-control representative, the testing agency, the geotechnical engineer of record, and the Engineer of Record.
4.6.2 The conference shall review the approved job-mix formulas, the pavement section and course sequence, the condition of the receiving surface and its acceptance, the prime and tack materials and rates, the weather limits, the paving plan and joint locations, the lift thicknesses and the rolling pattern, the density and smoothness acceptance criteria and the lot structure, the control strip procedure, the procedure for a failing test, and the casting and curb coordination.

4.7 Control Strip

4.7.1 A control strip shall be constructed as indicated in the datasheet, using the project mixture, the project paver and rollers, and the lift thickness of the course it represents.
Control Stripradio
○ Required at the start of each mixture and course
○ Required for the surface course
○ Not required
NOTE A control strip establishes the rolling pattern that reaches density before the mat cools and gives the gauge its correlation to cores on the mixture actually being placed, at the cost of a day's production placed under observation and, where it fails, removed; requiring one for every mixture suits a project with several mixtures and a large tonnage, requiring one for the surface course alone concentrates the effort on the course whose density and texture are seen, and waiving it suits a small lot where the first day's production is itself the whole surface course and the correlation is taken from the first cores. (4.7.2)
4.7.3 Where a control strip is required, it shall be not less than 300 ft long and one paving lane wide, and the testing agency shall take density readings after each roller pass to establish the pattern and shall take not fewer than three cores at the completion of rolling to correlate the gauge.
4.7.4 A control strip that reaches the specified density may remain as part of the pavement, and a control strip that does not shall be removed and replaced at the Contractor's expense.

5 Pavement Section and Receiving Surface

5.1 Design Traffic Level

5.1.1 The design traffic level for the pavement, expressed in equivalent single-axle loads over the design life, shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Design Traffic Levelselect
Less than 0.3 million ESALs
0.3 to less than 3 million ESALs
3 to less than 10 million ESALs
10 to less than 30 million ESALs
30 million ESALs or more
Per drawings — the pavement design in the geotechnical report (deferred by default)
NOTE The design traffic level is the single input that the mixture design, the aggregate angularity, the binder traffic designation, and the compactive effort all key to, which is why it is recorded here once and the fields that depend on it are derived from it rather than selected separately. A parking lot sees the lowest level, a drive lane with delivery trucks the next, and a loading dock, a bus lane, or a truck route the levels above, where load duration matters as much as load count. (5.1.2)
5.1.3 Traffic speed at the pavement, for the purpose of the binder traffic designation and grade adjustment, shall be taken as standing where vehicles stop and idle on the pavement, slow where average speed is below 45 mph, and standard elsewhere.

5.2 Course Thicknesses

5.2.1 The compacted thickness of the surface course shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Surface Course Compacted Thicknessrange
in
14
Per drawings — the pavement section details on the civil drawings (deferred by default)
5.2.2 The compacted thickness of the intermediate course shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Intermediate Course Compacted Thicknessrange
in
06
Per drawings — the pavement section details on the civil drawings (deferred by default)
5.2.3 The compacted thickness of the asphalt base course shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Asphalt Base Course Compacted Thicknessrange
in
010
Per drawings — the pavement section details on the civil drawings (deferred by default)
NOTE A thickness of zero for the intermediate or asphalt base course records a section without that course. A light-duty section is commonly a surface course on aggregate base; a drive lane adds an intermediate course; a truck route or a section on a weak subgrade adds an asphalt base course, because each inch of asphalt carries several times the structural contribution of an inch of aggregate. (5.2.4)
5.2.5 Where more than one pavement section is shown, the limits of each section shall be as shown on the paving plan.
5.2.6 The Contractor shall not thin a course to correct a high receiving surface or to recover grade, and a receiving surface that is high shall be corrected under the standard that placed it before asphalt is placed.

5.3 Surface Receiving the First Asphalt Course

5.3.1 The course on which the first asphalt course is placed shall be as shown on the pavement section details on the civil drawings.
5.3.2 An aggregate base receiving asphalt shall have been placed, compacted, finished to tolerance, and accepted under Aggregate Base CourseAggregate Base CourseResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/aggregate-base-course, and the Contractor shall obtain the written acceptance before placing asphalt on it.
5.3.3 A chemically stabilized subgrade or base receiving asphalt shall have been cured and accepted under Soil StabilizationSoil Stabilization and ModificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/soil-stabilization, and the top of the treated layer shall be at the elevation that preserves the full asphalt section thickness shown in the pavement design.
5.3.4 A reclaimed base receiving asphalt shall have been constructed, cured, and accepted under this standard.
5.3.5 The receiving surface shall be free of loose material, dust, mud, standing water, frost, and vegetation at the time the prime coat or the first asphalt course is placed.
5.3.6 The Contractor placing asphalt shall report any rutting, pumping, softness, high or low grade, or contamination in the receiving surface to the Engineer of Record before paving over it, and paving over an unreported defect shall make the Contractor responsible for the defect and its consequences in the pavement.
NOTE The base scope delivers a surface the paver cannot improve: a soft spot telegraphs through every course as a depression, a high spot becomes a thin course, and both are found by the owner's traffic rather than by the roller. (5.3.7)

5.4 Reclaimed Base

NOTE Full-depth reclamation pulverizes the existing asphalt and part of the base beneath it into a new base layer, with or without a stabilizing agent, and places new asphalt courses on it; the reclamation design is the pavement designer's, and this article governs its execution and acceptance as the surface that receives the first asphalt course. (5.4.1)
5.4.2 Where the pavement design calls for a full-depth reclaimed base, the existing pavement and base shall be pulverized to the depth indicated in the datasheet.
Full-Depth Reclamation Depthrange
in
416
Per drawings — the pavement design in the geotechnical report (deferred by default)
5.4.3 The pulverized material shall be sized so that 100 percent passes the 2 in. sieve and not less than 95 percent passes the 1.5 in. sieve.
5.4.4 The reclaimed base shall be treated with the stabilizing agent indicated in the datasheet, at the dosage established by the reclaimed base mix design.
Reclaimed Base Stabilizing Agentselect
Mechanical, without a stabilizing agent
Portland cement
Asphalt emulsion
Foamed asphalt
Lime or fly ash
NOTE Mechanical reclamation grades and compacts the pulverized material as an unbound base, the least expensive treatment and the one that depends most on the existing material being sound; portland cement builds strength quickly and widely but produces a rigid layer that shrinkage-cracks and reflects those cracks into the asphalt above; asphalt emulsion and foamed asphalt produce a flexible, bound base that resists reflective cracking and tolerates moisture, at a cost that rises with the binder content and a cure that waits on the moisture leaving the layer; lime or fly ash is the treatment where the reclaimed material carries plastic fines that an asphalt binder would not hold. (5.4.5)
5.4.6 Where portland cement, lime, or fly ash is the agent, the spreading, mixing, moisture conditioning, compaction, and curing procedures of Soil StabilizationSoil Stabilization and ModificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/soil-stabilization shall apply to the reclaimed base.
5.4.7 The reclaimed base shall be compacted to not less than 95 percent of the maximum dry density determined by ASTM D1557 on the reclaimed material, or to the density the reclaimed base mix design states, whichever is greater.
5.4.8 The reclaimed base shall be finished to the surface tolerance that Aggregate Base CourseAggregate Base CourseResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/aggregate-base-course requires of an aggregate base beneath asphalt.
5.4.9 The reclaimed base shall cure for the period the reclaimed base mix design states before asphalt is placed on it, and the geotechnical engineer of record shall accept the cured layer in writing before the first asphalt course is placed.
NOTE A bound reclaimed base paved too soon traps the moisture or the hydration water the cure was meant to release, and the trapped moisture strips the first asphalt course from below. (5.4.10)

6 Weather and Placement Conditions

6.1 Surface and Air Temperature

NOTE Hot-mix asphalt gives up heat to the surface beneath it and to the air above it, and compaction has to be finished before the mat cools below the temperature at which the binder still moves. A thick lift holds its heat for many minutes and tolerates a cool base; a thin lift placed on a cold surface can be below compaction temperature before the breakdown roller reaches it. (6.1.1)
6.1.2 For lifts 2 in. and thicker in compacted thickness, asphalt shall not be placed unless the temperature of the receiving surface is not less than the value indicated in the datasheet and the air temperature is rising.
Surface Temperature for Lifts 2 in. and Thickerrange
°F
32354045505560
Default: Not less than 40 °F
6.1.3 For lifts thinner than 2 in. in compacted thickness, asphalt shall not be placed unless the temperature of the receiving surface is not less than the value indicated in the datasheet and the air temperature is rising.
Surface Temperature for Lifts Thinner Than 2 in.range
°F
32354045505560
Default: Not less than 50 °F
NOTE A lower limit extends the paving season and admits a shoulder-season surface course, at the cost of a compaction window measured in minutes and a mat whose density depends on the rollers staying tight to the paver; a higher limit buys density margin and is set where the mixture is polymer-modified and stiff at the roller, where the lift is thin, or where the site is windy. (6.1.4)
6.1.5 The Contractor shall measure and record the surface temperature, and not the air temperature alone, before each day's placement begins and whenever conditions change.
6.1.6 Asphalt shall not be placed on a frozen surface or on a surface with frost in it.
NOTE A frozen base thaws beneath the new mat into a loose layer that settles under the first season's traffic, and the moisture it releases flashes to steam against the hot mixture and breaks the bond. (6.1.7)

6.2 Seasonal Limits and Surface Course Deferral

6.2.1 Where the Contract Documents state a seasonal paving shutdown, no asphalt shall be placed during that period without the written approval of the Engineer of Record.
6.2.2 Deferral of the surface course to a later period of favorable weather, with the intermediate course serving as the temporary wearing surface, shall be permitted only as indicated in the datasheet.
Surface Course Deferral to Favorable Weatherradio
○ Not permitted
○ Permitted with the Engineer of Record's written approval
NOTE Deferring the surface course lets a late-season project open on its intermediate course and place the surface in warm weather, which protects the course whose density and texture are seen; it costs a second mobilization, a winter of traffic and plowing on a course not designed to be exposed, and a surface placed over a lift that must be cleaned and tacked before it is covered. (6.2.3)
6.2.4 Where the surface course is deferred, the Contractor shall record the deferred quantity and area, the intermediate course shall be swept clean and tack-coated before the surface course is placed, and any damage to the intermediate course during its exposure shall be repaired at the Contractor's expense before the surface course is placed.

6.3 Rain, Moisture, and Wind

6.3.1 Asphalt shall not be placed on a wet surface or while rain is falling, and placement shall stop at the onset of rain.
6.3.2 Mixture in the paver hopper or in a hauling unit at the site when rain begins may be placed only if it is still within the producer's placement temperature range and the receiving surface is free of standing water, and mixture that does not meet both conditions shall be wasted at the Contractor's expense.
6.3.3 Mixture shall not be placed when the wind at the site cools the mat so that the specified density cannot be reached before the mat falls below the producer's minimum compaction temperature, and the Contractor shall suspend placement of lifts thinner than 2 in. under those conditions.
6.3.4 A tack coat shall not be applied to a wet surface, and a tack coat on which rain has fallen before the mixture covers it shall be inspected and reapplied where it has washed off.

7 Aggregates

7.1 Coarse Aggregate

7.1.1 Coarse aggregate shall be crushed stone, crushed gravel, or crushed slag, clean, hard, durable, and free of clay, organic matter, and adherent coatings.
7.1.2 The percentage of coarse aggregate particles with two or more fractured faces, tested per ASTM D5821, shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Coarse Aggregate Fractured Facesrange
% with two or more fractured faces
55758595100
Derived — the design traffic level under the coarse aggregate angularity criteria of AASHTO M 323 (by default)
NOTE Angular particles lock together under the roller and under traffic, while rounded gravel particles roll past one another and the mat shoves and ruts; the angularity a mixture needs rises with the traffic it carries, which is why the requirement follows the design traffic level rather than being set once. (7.1.3)
7.1.4 The Los Angeles abrasion loss of the coarse aggregate, tested per ASTM C131/C131M, shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Los Angeles Abrasion Lossrange
%
3050
Default: Not more than 40 %
7.1.5 The soundness loss of the coarse aggregate after five cycles in sodium sulfate, tested per ASTM C88/C88M, shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Sodium Sulfate Soundness Lossrange
%
820
Default: Not more than 12 %
NOTE A tighter abrasion or soundness limit buys a surface that holds its texture and resists freeze-thaw breakdown at the cost of excluding regional sources that have served well, and the limits are tightened where the surface course carries heavy traffic or de-icing chemicals and loosened for an intermediate or base course that is never exposed. (7.1.6)
7.1.7 Flat and elongated particles at a 5:1 ratio, tested per ASTM D4791, shall not exceed 10 percent of the coarse aggregate.
7.1.8 Where the geotechnical report or the state DOT specification adopted by reference sets a tighter aggregate quality limit than the datasheet, the tighter limit shall govern.

7.2 Fine Aggregate and Mineral Filler

7.2.1 Fine aggregate shall be natural sand, manufactured sand, or a blend, free of clay lumps, organic matter, and deleterious material.
7.2.2 The sand equivalent of the fine aggregate, tested per ASTM D2419, and the fine aggregate angularity shall meet the criteria of AASHTO M 323 for the design traffic level.
7.2.3 Mineral filler, where added to meet the gradation or the dust-to-binder ratio, shall be limestone dust, hydrated lime, portland cement, or fly ash, dry and free of lumps.
NOTE Natural sand rounds the fine fraction and makes a mixture tender under the roller, so its proportion is limited by the angularity criterion rather than by a fixed percentage; manufactured sand from the crushing operation restores the angularity at a cost in workability. (7.2.4)

8 Asphalt Binder

8.1 Binder Specification System and Grade

8.1.1 The asphalt binder shall be a performance-graded binder specified under the system indicated in the datasheet.
Binder Specification Systemradio
○ AASHTO M 320 performance grade, with traffic addressed by grade adjustment
○ AASHTO M 332 performance grade with MSCR traffic designation
NOTE Under AASHTO M 320 a heavy or slow traffic condition is met by raising the high-temperature grade one or two steps above the climate grade, so the same binder carries different names in different states and a bumped grade cannot be distinguished from a hot-climate grade; under AASHTO M 332 the climate grade stays fixed and traffic is carried by a letter designation verified by the multiple stress creep recovery test of AASHTO T 350, which measures the binder property that actually resists rutting and identifies a polymer-modified binder by its recovery. The system to specify is the one the regional terminals certify to, because a binder certified under one cannot be accepted under the other without retesting. (8.1.2)
8.1.3 The performance grade of the binder for each mixture shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Binder Performance Gradeselect
PG 46-34
PG 52-28
PG 52-34
PG 58-22
PG 58-28
PG 58-34
PG 64-16
PG 64-22
PG 64-28
PG 64-34
PG 67-22
PG 70-22
PG 70-28
PG 76-22
PG 76-28
PG 82-22
Per drawings — the pavement design in the geotechnical report (deferred by default)
NOTE The first number of a performance grade is the high pavement temperature, in degrees Celsius, at which the binder resists rutting, and the second is the low pavement temperature at which it resists thermal cracking; both are set from the site's pavement temperature climate at the reliability the pavement designer selects, which is why the grade comes from the pavement design rather than from a regional habit. A high number too low ruts in the first summer and a low number too warm cracks in the first winter, and a grade spread wider than about 92 degrees between the two numbers can be reached only with a modified binder. (8.1.4)
8.1.5 Where the binder is specified under AASHTO M 332, the traffic designation of the binder shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
MSCR Traffic Designationselect
S
H
V
E
Derived — the design traffic level and the traffic speed at the pavement under AASHTO M 332 (by default)
8.1.6 Where the binder is specified under AASHTO M 320, the high-temperature grade in the pavement design includes the adjustment for traffic speed and loading that AASHTO M 323 requires, and the Contractor shall furnish the grade stated and not the climate grade beneath it.
8.1.7 The binder shall conform to AASHTO M 320 or ASTM D6373 where specified by performance grade, and to AASHTO M 332 where specified with a traffic designation.
8.1.8 The Contractor shall not substitute a binder of a different grade or designation, including a binder of a higher grade, without the Engineer of Record's written acceptance of a revised job-mix formula.

8.2 Binder Modification and Additives

8.2.1 The modifier used to produce the specified grade shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Binder Modifierselect
Unmodified
Elastomeric polymer
Plastomeric polymer
Ground tire rubber
Manufacturer's standard (by default)
NOTE An unmodified binder reaches the grades a region's crude produces; an elastomeric polymer adds elastic recovery and spreads the grade, and is what carries a V or E designation or a 76 or 82 high grade; a plastomeric polymer stiffens the binder at high temperature with less recovery and at lower cost; ground tire rubber stiffens the binder and consumes a waste stream, at the cost of higher mixing temperatures and a binder that must be kept agitated in storage. The datasheet records a modifier only where the project needs one named; otherwise the terminal's standard means of reaching the grade is accepted. (8.2.2)
8.2.3 An anti-stripping additive shall be incorporated as indicated in the datasheet.
Anti-Stripping Additiveradio
○ Required in every mixture
● Required where the tensile strength ratio is below the specified minimum
○ Not required
NOTE Stripping is the loss of the binder's bond to the aggregate in the presence of water, and whether a mixture is prone to it depends on the aggregate mineralogy and the binder chemistry together, which is what the tensile strength ratio test measures. Requiring an additive in every mixture removes the question at a small cost per ton and is set where the aggregate sources in the region are known to strip; tying the additive to the test result adds it only where the design shows it is needed; omitting it is set where the aggregate is known to be hydrophobic and the test history is clean. (8.2.4)
8.2.5 Where an anti-stripping additive is used, it shall be a liquid amine additive metered into the binder at the terminal or at the plant, or hydrated lime added to the aggregate, at the dosage established in the job-mix formula.

9 Recycled Materials

9.1 Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement

NOTE Reclaimed asphalt pavement is milled or crushed asphalt processed and fed back into a new mixture, recovering both its aggregate and its aged binder; it lowers the mixture's cost and virgin binder demand and brings with it a stiff, oxidized binder whose proportion in the blend has to be accounted for. (9.1.1)
9.1.2 The reclaimed asphalt pavement content of the surface course, by weight of the total mixture, shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Surface Course Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Contentrange
% of mixture
040
Default: Not more than 15 % of mixture
9.1.3 The reclaimed asphalt pavement content of the intermediate and asphalt base courses, by weight of the total mixture, shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Intermediate and Base Course Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Contentrange
% of mixture
050
Default: Not more than 25 % of mixture
NOTE Below about 15 percent reclaimed content the recovered binder is a small enough fraction of the blend that the virgin grade is used unchanged, which is why the surface course default stops there; a higher content lowers cost and virgin binder demand in proportion, requires the virgin grade to be softened or the blend to be verified, and in a surface course carries the aged binder into the layer exposed to weather, where a stiff blend cracks first. A zero limit buys a virgin surface where the Owner has had recycled surfaces crack, and a limit in the 30 to 50 percent range is set for a base course at a plant equipped to fractionate and dry the reclaimed material. (9.1.4)
9.1.5 Where the reclaimed binder exceeds the fraction below which AASHTO M 323 permits the virgin grade to be used unchanged, the virgin binder grade shall be adjusted or the blended binder grade shall be verified by testing in accordance with AASHTO M 323, so that the blended binder in the mixture meets the specified grade.
9.1.6 Reclaimed asphalt pavement shall be from a characterized source of consistent gradation and binder content, shall be crushed and screened so that 100 percent passes the sieve one size larger than the nominal maximum aggregate size of the mixture, and shall be stockpiled separately from virgin aggregate.
9.1.7 Reclaimed material of unknown source, or containing coal-tar sealer, soil, concrete, or debris, shall not be used.

9.2 Recycled Asphalt Shingles

9.2.1 The recycled asphalt shingle content of any mixture, by weight of the total mixture, shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Recycled Asphalt Shingle Contentrange
% of mixture
05
NOTE Shingle binder is far stiffer than pavement binder, so a few percent of shingles replaces a large share of the virgin binder and a mixture that uses them is more sensitive to the blend than one using reclaimed pavement alone; shingles are admitted where the plant has a processed, asbestos-cleared source and the mixture design accounts for the recovered binder, and excluded where the surface course is expected to stay flexible through cold winters. (9.2.2)
9.2.3 Where recycled asphalt shingles are used, they shall be processed manufacturer waste or tear-off shingles certified free of asbestos, ground so that 100 percent passes the 3/8 in. sieve, and the combined recycled binder from shingles and reclaimed pavement shall be accounted for in the blended binder grade under AASHTO M 323.

10 Mixture Design

10.1 Mixture Design Method

10.1.1 Each mixture shall be designed by the method indicated in the datasheet.
Mixture Design Methodradio
● Superpave volumetric design
○ Marshall design
NOTE Superpave design under AASHTO M 323 and AASHTO R 35 compacts trial specimens in a gyratory compactor to a gyration count keyed to the design traffic and accepts the mixture on its volumetric properties, so it is the design method every state DOT and most plants now run; the Marshall method under ASTM D6926 and D6927, following Asphalt Institute MS-2, compacts specimens with a drop hammer and accepts the mixture on stability, flow, and air voids, and remains in use at plants and laboratories that never converted, on airfield work, and where a local agency still specifies it. (10.1.2)
10.1.3 The Superpave gyratory compactor shall conform to AASHTO T 312, and the Marshall apparatus shall conform to ASTM D6926.

10.2 Mixture Type and Nominal Maximum Aggregate Size

10.2.1 The mixture type of the surface course shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Surface Course Mixture Typeradio
● Dense-graded
○ Stone matrix asphalt
NOTE A dense-graded mixture is the continuously graded, low-permeability surface that every plant produces; stone matrix asphalt is a gap-graded mixture that carries load through stone-on-stone contact and is specified for a surface under heavy, slow, or channelized truck traffic where rutting resistance governs, at a cost in binder content, mineral filler, fibers, and placement temperature that puts it beyond most site work. (10.2.2)
10.2.3 Intermediate and asphalt base courses shall be dense-graded mixtures.
10.2.4 The nominal maximum aggregate size of the surface course mixture shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Surface Course Nominal Maximum Aggregate Sizerange
mm
4.759.512.519
10.2.5 The nominal maximum aggregate size of the intermediate course mixture shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Intermediate Course Nominal Maximum Aggregate Sizerange
mm
9.512.51925
10.2.6 The nominal maximum aggregate size of the asphalt base course mixture shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Asphalt Base Course Nominal Maximum Aggregate Sizerange
mm
12.5192537.5
NOTE A smaller nominal maximum aggregate size gives a tighter, quieter, less permeable surface that can be placed in a thin lift, at a higher binder content and a lower resistance to rutting; a larger size is stiffer, cheaper per ton, and needs a thicker lift to compact, which is why the surface course runs small, the base course runs large, and the intermediate course is sized to the thickness it has to fill. The 4.75 mm mixture is a thin surface for parking stalls and pedestrian areas; 9.5 mm is the common parking lot surface; 12.5 mm is the common drive lane and intermediate course; 19 mm and larger are intermediate and base courses. (10.2.7)
10.2.8 The combined aggregate gradation of each mixture shall fall within the control points of AASHTO M 323 for its nominal maximum aggregate size, or within the gradation band of Asphalt Institute MS-2 for a Marshall design.
10.2.9 Production gradation shall track the approved job-mix formula within the production tolerances of the governing specification, and not merely remain within the control points.
NOTE A gradation that wanders across the control-point band from load to load produces a mat whose density, permeability, and texture vary even though every sample passes; the job-mix formula is the target and the band is only the space the design was allowed to occupy. (10.2.10)

10.3 Design Compactive Effort

10.3.1 For a Superpave design, the design number of gyrations shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Superpave Design Gyrationsrange
gyrations
506575100125
Derived — the design traffic level under AASHTO M 323 (by default)
10.3.2 For a Marshall design, the compactive effort shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Marshall Compaction Blows per Facerange
blows per face
355075
Derived — the design traffic level under Asphalt Institute MS-2 (by default)
NOTE The compactive effort stands in for the traffic the pavement will see: a mixture designed at too many gyrations for a parking lot comes out dry and brittle and ravels, and one designed at too few for a truck lane comes out rich and ruts, which is why the count follows the design traffic level and is not chosen for the plant's convenience. (10.3.3)

10.4 Volumetric Criteria

10.4.1 The design air void content of each mixture at the design compactive effort shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Design Air Void Contentrange
%
35
Default: 4 %
NOTE The design air void content is the volumetric target that sets the binder content, because the binder content is whatever produces that void content at the design compactive effort. Four percent is the value AASHTO M 323 designs to; a lower target adds binder for a richer, more durable mixture at a cost in rutting resistance, and a higher target leans the mixture out for stability at a cost in durability and permeability. (10.4.2)
10.4.3 The voids in the mineral aggregate at the design compactive effort shall be not less than the minimum of AASHTO M 323 for the nominal maximum aggregate size of the mixture.
10.4.4 The voids filled with asphalt at the design compactive effort shall be within the range of AASHTO M 323 for the design traffic level.
10.4.5 The dust-to-binder ratio of each mixture, the material passing the No. 200 sieve divided by the effective binder content, shall be within the range of AASHTO M 323 for the gradation.
NOTE Voids in the mineral aggregate are the room in the compacted stone skeleton for both the air voids and the binder, so a mixture short of the minimum cannot hold enough binder to be durable at the design void content; excess dust stiffens the mastic and makes the mixture brittle, and too little leaves it tender under the roller. (10.4.6)
10.4.7 For a Marshall design, the stability, flow, and air voids shall meet the criteria of Asphalt Institute MS-2 for the design traffic level.

10.5 Moisture Susceptibility

10.5.1 The tensile strength ratio of each mixture, tested per AASHTO T 283, shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Tensile Strength Ratiorange
%
7090
Default: Not less than 80 %
NOTE The tensile strength ratio compares the strength of conditioned specimens, saturated and frozen and thawed, to dry specimens, and the 80 percent value is the AASHTO M 323 criterion; a higher ratio is set where the pavement sits in a wet climate or a poorly drained section and stripping is the governing distress, and a lower ratio is accepted for a base course that stays dry and under cover. (10.5.2)
10.5.3 Where a mixture fails the minimum tensile strength ratio, the anti-stripping additive shall be added or its dosage increased and the test repeated until the mixture passes, or the aggregate source shall be changed.

10.6 Warm-Mix Asphalt

10.6.1 Warm-mix asphalt technologies, which lower the mixing and compaction temperatures by foaming the binder or by a chemical or organic additive, shall be used as indicated in the datasheet.
Warm-Mix Asphalt Technologyradio
● Permitted at the producer's option
○ Required
○ Not permitted
NOTE Lowering the production temperature saves fuel, cuts emissions and fumes at the paver, ages the binder less in the plant, and extends the compaction window and haul distance, which is why most agencies now permit it; requiring it is set where the Owner's sustainability commitments call for it or where a long haul or a cool season makes the extended window the point; prohibiting it is set where a specific technology has a stripping history with the regional aggregate or where the mixture must be produced exactly as its approved formula was. (10.6.2)
10.6.3 Where warm-mix asphalt is used, the technology and its temperature ranges shall be part of the job-mix formula, the mixture shall meet every volumetric and moisture susceptibility criterion of this standard at the warm-mix temperatures, and the placement and compaction temperature limits of this standard shall be read against the producer's warm-mix ranges.

11 Prime Coat

NOTE A prime coat is a low-viscosity asphalt applied to an untreated aggregate base to penetrate and bind its surface, hold its fines against the paver and haul traffic, and resist moisture until the first asphalt course is placed. A dense, tightly compacted base often will not take a penetrating prime, and a prime that sits on the surface instead of entering it becomes a slip plane; whether the base will accept a prime depends on the base gradation and its moisture at the time of application. (11.1)
11.2 A prime coat shall be applied to the aggregate base as indicated in the datasheet.
Prime Coat on Aggregate Baseradio
○ Required
○ Not required
11.3 Where a prime coat is required, the prime material shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Prime Coat Materialselect
Medium-curing cutback asphalt
Asphalt emulsion prime
Specialty penetrating emulsion prime
NOTE A medium-curing cutback, conforming to ASTM D2027/D2027M, penetrates a dense base better than any emulsion and releases a petroleum solvent as it cures, which air-quality rules in many jurisdictions now restrict or prohibit; an asphalt emulsion prime conforming to AASHTO M 140 or ASTM D977 is water-based and permitted everywhere, and penetrates only a base that is open and slightly damp; a specialty penetrating emulsion is formulated to enter a tighter base than a standard emulsion will, at a higher material cost. (11.4)
11.5 Where a prime coat is required, the residual application rate shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Prime Coat Residual Application Raterange
gal/sq yd
0.10.5
NOTE An open, coarse base absorbs a rate at the top of the range and a tight, fine base takes only the bottom of it; the rate that is right leaves the base bound and dark without free asphalt on the surface, and the Contractor adjusts it within the range to that result. (11.6)
11.7 The prime coat shall be applied by a pressure distributor at a uniform rate, and the applied rate shall be verified per ASTM D2995.
11.8 The primed base shall cure until the prime has penetrated and no free asphalt remains on the surface before the first asphalt course is placed, and any pooled prime shall be blotted with clean sand and the excess sand swept off.
11.9 Traffic shall be kept off the primed base except for the paving operation, and areas of prime removed by traffic or weather shall be reprimed before paving.

12 Tack Coat

NOTE A tack coat is a thin film of asphalt between two asphalt courses, or between an asphalt course and a concrete surface, curb face, or vertical joint face, that bonds them into one section. An unbonded interface lets the courses flex independently, which doubles the tensile stress at the bottom of the upper course and produces slippage cracking, debonding, and a surface that peels in sheets at the first turning truck. It is the least expensive material in the pavement and the one most often shorted. (12.1)
12.2 The tack coat material shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Tack Coat Materialselect
Slow-setting anionic emulsion
Slow-setting cationic emulsion
Rapid-setting emulsion
Non-tracking emulsion
Hot-applied performance-graded binder
NOTE Slow-setting anionic emulsions, SS-1 and SS-1h under AASHTO M 140, and slow-setting cationic emulsions, CSS-1 and CSS-1h under AASHTO M 208, are the common tack and differ in which charge bonds better to the aggregate in the surface being tacked, with the cationic grade favored on siliceous aggregate; a rapid-setting emulsion breaks faster in cool or humid weather at the cost of a shorter window to pave over it; a non-tracking emulsion sets to a film that haul trucks do not pick up on their tires, which keeps the tack where it was sprayed on a project with heavy haul traffic across the tacked surface; hot-applied performance-graded binder is the tack where the overlying course is placed immediately behind the distributor by a spray paver and no emulsion water has to leave. (12.3)
12.4 Emulsions shall conform to AASHTO M 140 or ASTM D977 for anionic grades and to AASHTO M 208 or ASTM D2397/D2397M for cationic grades, and a hot-applied tack shall be the binder grade of the mixture being placed.
12.5 The residual asphalt application rate of the tack coat shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Tack Coat Residual Application Raterange
gal/sq yd
0.020.1
Derived — the condition of the surface being tacked, whether new asphalt, aged asphalt, milled asphalt, or portland cement concrete, and the residual asphalt content of the emulsion (by default)
NOTE A new, dense asphalt surface needs a residual film near the bottom of the range, an aged or oxidized surface more, and a milled surface or a concrete surface the most, because the rougher and more absorptive the surface, the more asphalt it takes before a continuous film is left to bond to; the as-sprayed rate of a diluted emulsion is higher than the residual rate in proportion to its water content, and the record kept is the residual. (12.6)
12.7 Tack coat shall be applied to every asphalt surface that receives another asphalt course, to every concrete surface an asphalt course abuts or overlies, to the vertical face of every cold longitudinal and transverse joint, and to curb faces, gutter edges, and the sides of castings the mixture will contact.
12.8 The tack coat shall be applied by a pressure distributor with a spray bar producing a uniform, unbroken film, or by a hand wand where a distributor cannot reach, and the applied rate shall be verified per ASTM D2995.
12.9 An emulsion tack coat shall be allowed to break, turning from brown to black, before the overlying course is placed, except where a non-tracking emulsion or a spray paver is used and the manufacturer's instructions provide otherwise.
12.10 The tacked surface shall be protected from dust, dirt, and tracking until the overlying course covers it, and a tacked area that has been contaminated or tracked bare shall be cleaned and retacked at the Contractor's expense.
12.11 Dilution of an emulsion tack coat shall not exceed one part water to one part emulsion, and the dilution shall be made by the supplier or at the plant and recorded on the delivery ticket.

13 Mixture Production and Delivery

13.1 Plant Production

13.1.1 The mixture shall be produced within the mixing temperature range the binder supplier publishes for the grade and the warm-mix technology used, and the mixture temperature at discharge from the plant shall not exceed the upper limit of that range.
NOTE Binder heated above the supplier's maximum oxidizes in the plant and arrives at the paver as a stiffer grade than the one specified; the temperature at discharge, not the temperature at the paver, is where that damage is done. (13.1.2)
13.1.3 Aggregate shall be dried so that the moisture content of the mixture at discharge does not exceed 0.5 percent by weight.
13.1.4 Reclaimed asphalt pavement and recycled asphalt shingles shall be metered into the mixture by weight from a separate feed, and shall not be heated in direct contact with the burner flame.
13.1.5 The plant shall sample the mixture at the frequency the governing specification requires for its quality-control program and shall make the results available to the testing agency on request.
13.1.6 Mixture held in a storage silo shall be placed within the holding time the producer's quality-control plan states, and mixture held longer, or showing a crust, segregation, or a temperature below the producer's minimum, shall not be loaded for the project.

13.2 Hauling

13.2.1 Mixture shall be hauled in vehicles with tight, clean, smooth metal beds, insulated and covered with a tarp that extends over the sides of the bed, and the tarp shall remain in place until the vehicle is in position to discharge into the paver or transfer vehicle.
13.2.2 The bed of each hauling vehicle shall be coated with a thin film of a release agent that does not dissolve or soften asphalt binder, and petroleum distillates, including diesel fuel, shall not be used as a release agent.
13.2.3 Hauling shall be scheduled so that the paver operates continuously and no mixture is held in a vehicle at the site beyond the time at which it falls below the producer's minimum placement temperature.
13.2.4 Each load shall be accompanied by a ticket giving the mixture designation, the net weight, the time of loading, and the mixture temperature at loading, and the Contractor shall deliver the tickets to the testing agency daily.
13.2.5 A load that has crusted or that is segregated shall be rejected and removed from the site at the Contractor's expense.

14 Placement

14.1 Preparation of the Receiving Surface

14.1.1 Before the first asphalt course is placed, the Contractor shall verify in writing that the receiving surface has been accepted under the standard that placed it and that the acceptance has not been voided by subsequent rain, traffic, or disturbance.
14.1.2 Castings for storm structures, utility manholes, valve boxes, and cleanouts within the paving limits shall be adjusted to finished grade under Storm DrainageStorm DrainageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/storm-drainage and Site UtilitiesSite UtilitiesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/site-utilities before the surface course is placed, and the Contractor shall protect each casting from mixture and tack during paving.
14.1.3 Temporary inlet protection and other sediment controls within the paving limits shall be removed under Erosion And Sediment ControlErosion and Sediment ControlResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/erosion-and-sediment-control immediately before the course that covers their location is placed, and inlets shall be protected from mixture and tack by covers removed when paving past them is complete.
14.1.4 The sequence of curbs and asphalt shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Curb and Asphalt Sequenceradio
● Curb and gutter in place before the asphalt courses are placed
○ Extruded concrete curb placed on the finished asphalt surface
NOTE A curb placed first confines the mat, which lets the roller reach density at the edge and sets the finished grade the paver works to; an extruded curb placed on finished asphalt saves a form and a pour but bonds only to the asphalt surface, which it can be knocked from by a plow or a bumper, and it leaves the edge of the mat unconfined during compaction. (14.1.5)
14.1.6 Concrete curbs, gutters, aprons, and pads abutting the asphalt shall have attained the age Concrete PavingConcrete Paving, Curbs, and SidewalksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-paving requires before the paver and rollers work against them.
14.1.7 The receiving surface shall be swept clean by power broom immediately before the prime coat, tack coat, or mixture is applied.

14.2 Mixture Temperature at Placement

14.2.1 The mixture temperature behind the screed, measured in the uncompacted mat, shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Mixture Temperature Behind the Screedrange
°F
225325
Derived — the binder grade and modification, the warm-mix technology where one is used, and the producer's placement temperature range in the job-mix formula (by default)
NOTE An unmodified binder is typically placed at 275°F to 325°F, a polymer-modified binder at the upper part of that range or above it, and a warm-mix asphalt at 225°F to 275°F, so a single minimum cannot be set for the standard without either rejecting warm mix or admitting a cold modified mixture; the producer's range for the specific binder is the criterion, and it is recorded in the job-mix formula where the inspector can read it. (14.2.2)
14.2.3 Mixture delivered below the minimum placement temperature shall not be placed and shall be removed from the site at the Contractor's expense.
14.2.4 Mixture shall not be placed at a temperature above the producer's maximum placement temperature.
14.2.5 The Contractor shall measure and record the mixture temperature in each hauling vehicle at delivery and behind the screed at intervals not exceeding one hour and at every change in the paving operation.

14.3 Paving Equipment

14.3.1 The mixture shall be placed by a self-propelled paver with a heated, vibrating screed capable of placing the mixture to the width, thickness, grade, and cross slope shown without segregation, tearing, or dragging.
14.3.2 The paver screed shall be controlled as indicated in the datasheet.
Paver Grade Controlradio
● Automatic screed control from a reference
○ Manual screed control
○ Three-dimensional machine control
NOTE Automatic control from a stringline, a ski, or a sonic sensor on the adjacent mat corrects the screed continuously and produces the smoothness that a straightedge test rewards, at the cost of setting up a reference; manual control is the method on a small or irregular area where the operator works to grade stakes and the result depends on the operator's hand; three-dimensional machine control positions the screed from a design model and a total station or satellite reference, which eliminates stakes and stringlines and corrects grade over a large area at the cost of a model, a survey setup, and an operator trained on it. (14.3.3)
14.3.4 A material transfer vehicle between the hauling units and the paver shall be used as indicated in the datasheet.
Material Transfer Vehicleradio
○ Required for the surface course
● Not required
NOTE A material transfer vehicle remixes the load, which removes the temperature and gradation segregation that develops in a truck bed, and it keeps the paver moving between trucks, so the surface it produces is more uniform and the transverse marks of a stopped paver disappear; it is the practice on highway surfaces, and on a site project it costs a machine that may not fit the area, which is why it is required only where the Owner wants highway-grade uniformity on the surface course. (14.3.5)
14.3.6 Hand placement shall be limited to areas the paver cannot reach, and hand-placed mixture shall be spread with lutes and rakes, not shovels thrown across the mat, and shall be compacted to the same density as the machine-placed mat.
14.3.7 The paver shall be operated at a uniform speed matched to the delivery rate so that it stops as seldom as the delivery allows, and the hopper shall not be emptied between loads.

14.4 Lift Thickness

14.4.1 Each course shall be placed in one or more lifts, and the compacted thickness of each lift shall be not less than three times the nominal maximum aggregate size of a fine-graded mixture and not less than four times the nominal maximum aggregate size of a coarse-graded mixture.
14.4.2 The compacted thickness of a single lift shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Compacted Thickness of a Single Liftrange
in
1.522.53456
NOTE A lift thinner than three to four times the nominal maximum aggregate size cannot compact, because the largest particles cannot reorient under the roller and fracture instead; a thicker lift holds its heat and compacts readily, and is limited by the paver's capacity, by the roller's ability to reach density through the full depth, and by the risk of a mat that is dense at the top and open at the bottom. A 2 in. lift is the usual limit for a 9.5 mm or 12.5 mm mixture, 3 in. for a 19 mm mixture, and 4 in. or more for a 25 mm or 37.5 mm base mixture placed with a heavy roller train. (14.4.3)
14.4.4 Where the course thickness exceeds the maximum single lift, the course shall be placed in lifts of approximately equal thickness, each compacted and accepted before the next is placed, with a tack coat between lifts.

14.5 Compaction

14.5.1 Compaction shall begin as soon as the mat will support the roller without excessive displacement and shall be completed before the mat cools below the producer's minimum compaction temperature.
14.5.2 The rollers in the compaction train shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Compaction Roller Traincheckbox
☑ Vibratory steel-wheel roller for breakdown
☐ Pneumatic-tired roller for intermediate rolling
☑ Static steel-wheel roller for finish rolling
☐ Oscillatory roller for breakdown adjacent to structures
NOTE Breakdown rolling directly behind the paver achieves most of the density while the mat is hottest; a pneumatic roller kneads the surface closed and seals it, and is added where the surface course is to be impermeable or where a tender mixture needs working rather than impact; finish rolling removes roller marks; an oscillatory roller compacts by horizontal shear rather than vertical impact and is used over shallow utilities, next to structures, and on thin lifts where a vibratory drum would crack the mat or disturb what is beneath it. (14.5.3)
14.5.4 The rolling pattern, including the number of passes, the vibration setting, and the roller sequence, shall be established on the control strip where one is required, or on the first day's production where none is, and shall be followed until a change in mixture, lift thickness, or equipment requires it to be re-established.
14.5.5 Rollers shall not stop on a hot mat, shall reverse on a compacted portion of the mat, and shall not turn sharply on the mat.
14.5.6 A vibratory roller shall operate in static mode on a lift thinner than 1.5 in., over utilities with less than 24 in. of cover, and within 3 ft of a structure, casting, or curb, unless the control strip demonstrates that vibration at that location reaches density without damage.
14.5.7 Mixture that has cooled below compaction temperature before reaching the specified density shall be removed and replaced at the Contractor's expense, because rolling a cold mat fractures the surface aggregate without densifying the mat.
14.5.8 Compaction along a curb, a casting, or a vertical face that the roller cannot reach shall be completed with a hand-operated vibratory plate or a trench roller before the mat cools.

14.6 Joints

NOTE The longitudinal joint between adjacent paving lanes and the transverse joint between one day's paving and the next are where density is lowest, water enters first, and the first raveling appears; the joint type determines how much of the mat density the joint can reach and what it costs in paving sequence to get there. (14.6.1)
14.6.2 Longitudinal joints shall be constructed as indicated in the datasheet.
Longitudinal Joint Constructionradio
○ Hot joint by echelon paving
○ Cold butt joint with a tacked vertical face
○ Notched wedge joint
○ Cold butt joint with a hot-applied joint adhesive
NOTE A hot joint, made by a second paver working alongside the first so both lanes are compacted together, reaches mat density at the joint and leaves no cold face, and it needs two pavers and a delivery rate that keeps both moving; a cold butt joint tacked on its vertical face is what one paver produces and depends on the first lane's edge being cut or rolled to a clean vertical face and the second lane overlapping it by about 1 in. before it is rolled; a notched wedge joint tapers the first lane's edge so the second lane compacts against a slope rather than a face, which raises joint density on lifts 2 in. and thicker and is unsuited to thin lifts; a joint adhesive applied hot to the cold face in place of emulsion tack seals the joint against water and costs more per foot than tack. (14.6.3)
14.6.4 The longitudinal joint in each lift shall be offset from the longitudinal joint in the lift beneath it by not less than the distance indicated in the datasheet.
Longitudinal Joint Offset Between Liftsrange
in
6121824
Default: Not less than 6 in
14.6.5 Longitudinal joints in the surface course shall be located on the lane lines and stall lines shown on the pavement marking plan where that location is practical, and shall not be located in a wheel path.
14.6.6 A cold longitudinal joint face shall be clean, vertical or notched as the joint type requires, and tacked for its full height before the adjacent lane is placed.
14.6.7 Transverse joints shall be formed by placing against a removable bulkhead or by sawcutting the cooled end of the previous mat to a vertical face and removing the tapered end, and the face shall be tacked before paving resumes.
14.6.8 Transverse joints in adjacent lanes shall be offset from one another by not less than 3 ft, and the transverse joint in each lift shall be offset from the transverse joint in the lift beneath it by not less than 3 ft.
14.6.9 The joint between the asphalt surface course and an abutting concrete curb, gutter, apron, or rigid pavement shall be sealed as indicated in the datasheet.
Sealant at the Asphalt-to-Concrete Interfaceradio
○ Hot-applied sealant conforming to ASTM D6690
○ No sealant
NOTE The asphalt-to-concrete interface opens as the asphalt shrinks and the concrete does not, and water entering there reaches the base along the edge where the mat is least confined; sealing it keeps that water out at the cost of a sealant that has to be maintained, and leaving it unsealed is the usual practice where the gutter carries water away from the joint and the Owner's maintenance program includes crack sealing. (14.6.10)
14.6.11 Where a sealant is specified at the interface, the joint shall be cleaned and dry, and the sealant shall be installed flush with the surface after the asphalt has cooled.

14.7 Edges and Transitions

14.7.1 An unconfined edge of the mat shall be compacted with the roller extending not more than 6 in. beyond the edge, and the edge shall be finished to a slope not steeper than 1:1 unless a vertical edge is shown.
14.7.2 Where the new pavement meets an existing pavement, the existing pavement shall be sawcut to a straight vertical face, the face shall be tacked, and the new surface shall match the existing surface elevation within the smoothness tolerance of this standard.
14.7.3 Where the finished surface meets a casting, the surface shall be flush with the casting rim or not more than 1/4 in. above it, and shall not be below it.
14.7.4 The Contractor shall shape the mat around castings, curbs, and structures so that water drains away from them to the inlets shown on the grading and drainage plan.

14.8 Paving Over an Interlayer

14.8.1 Where a paving fabric or other geosynthetic interlayer is shown beneath an asphalt course, the interlayer material and its placement shall conform to GeosyntheticsGeosynthetics and GeotextilesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/geosynthetics, and the asphalt course over it shall conform to this article.
14.8.2 The interlayer shall not be placed farther ahead of the paver than the area that will be covered with asphalt the same day, and an interlayer left exposed overnight or wetted by rain shall be inspected and replaced where it has lost bond, wrinkled, or been damaged by traffic.
14.8.3 The compacted thickness of the first asphalt course over a paving fabric shall be not less than 1.5 in.
14.8.4 Mixture over a paving fabric shall be placed at a temperature not exceeding the fabric manufacturer's published maximum, and hauling vehicles shall not turn or brake sharply on the exposed fabric.
NOTE A paving fabric works as a membrane and a stress-relieving layer only while it is saturated and bonded to the course beneath it and the course above it; a fabric exposed to a day's traffic and a night's dew bonds to neither, and the overlay over it slips. (14.8.5)

14.9 Protection and Opening to Traffic

14.9.1 No traffic, including construction traffic, shall be permitted on a freshly placed course until the mat surface has cooled to not more than the temperature indicated in the datasheet.
Mat Surface Temperature for Opening to Trafficrange
°F
120160
Default: Not more than 140 °F
NOTE A mat opened while the binder is still soft takes tire marks, scuffs under turning wheels, and loses the surface texture the finish roller produced; the cooler the mat at opening, the longer the lane is closed, and the limit is set lower where the first traffic is heavy or turning and higher where it is light and straight. (14.9.2)
14.9.3 Turning, parking, and standing of vehicles and equipment on the surface course shall be prohibited for 24 hours after placement, and longer where the mat remains soft.
14.9.4 The Contractor shall protect the finished surface from fuel, hydraulic oil, solvents, and release agents, and shall repair surface damage and contamination at the Contractor's expense before substantial completion.
14.9.5 Pavement markings are applied under Pavement MarkingsPavement Markings and Site SignageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pavement-markings after the surface has aged the period that standard requires, and the Contractor shall deliver the surface to the marking applicator swept clean, dry, and free of tack, release agent, and loose material.

15 Full-Depth Patching and Reconstruction of Existing Pavement

NOTE A full-depth patch replaces a failed area of an existing asphalt pavement through the asphalt and into the base or subgrade beneath it, and is the repair for a failure the surface treatments of Pavement RehabilitationPavement Rehabilitation and SealcoatingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pavement-rehabilitation cannot correct; that standard requires these patches to be complete and accepted before its surface work begins, and a pavement whose condition index falls below the reconstruction threshold is rebuilt under this standard rather than patched. (15.1)
15.2 The limits of each full-depth patch shall be as marked by the Engineer of Record in the field, and shall extend not less than 12 in. beyond the visible limits of the failure into sound pavement.
15.3 The existing pavement within the patch limits shall be sawcut to a straight vertical face for its full depth and removed without damaging the pavement outside the limits, and the removed material shall be recycled or disposed of legally.
15.4 The base and subgrade exposed within the patch shall be inspected by the geotechnical engineer of record, and soft, wet, or contaminated material shall be removed to the depth the geotechnical engineer directs.
15.5 The patch section below the surface course shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Full-Depth Patch Section Below the Surface Courseradio
○ Full-depth hot-mix asphalt
○ Aggregate base course beneath asphalt courses matching the adjoining section
○ Controlled low-strength material beneath asphalt courses
NOTE A full-depth asphalt patch is placed and compacted in one operation, bridges a marginal subgrade better than aggregate, and costs the most per cubic foot; replacing the aggregate base and matching the existing courses restores the original section at the least material cost and depends on compacting aggregate in a confined hole, which a small plate compactor does poorly; controlled low-strength material fills a deep or irregular excavation without compaction and cures before the asphalt courses go on, and is the section where the patch is over a utility that compaction equipment would damage. (15.6)
15.7 Aggregate base within a patch shall conform to Aggregate Base CourseAggregate Base CourseResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/aggregate-base-course, and controlled low-strength material within a patch shall conform to EarthworkEarthworkResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/earthwork.
15.8 The vertical faces of the patch shall be tacked for their full height, and the asphalt courses shall be placed in lifts not exceeding the maximum single lift in the datasheet, each compacted to the density this standard requires of the course it matches.
15.9 The patch surface shall be flush with the adjoining pavement within the smoothness tolerance of this standard, shall drain with the adjoining surface, and shall not be left high to allow for settlement.
15.10 Where an existing pavement is reconstructed over its full area, the existing pavement shall be removed under the demolition scope, the exposed subgrade and base shall be accepted under EarthworkEarthworkResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/earthwork and Aggregate Base CourseAggregate Base CourseResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/aggregate-base-course or reclaimed under this standard, and the new pavement shall be built under every provision of this standard.

16 Acceptance Testing

16.1 Density Acceptance Basis

NOTE In-place density is the single acceptance parameter that governs how long the pavement lasts, because the air voids left in the mat are the paths by which water and air reach the binder and age it; a mixture compacted to 92 percent of its maximum density has 8 percent voids, and one compacted to 89 percent has voids that connect. (16.1.1)
16.1.2 In-place density shall be specified and accepted on the basis indicated in the datasheet.
Density Acceptance Basisradio
● Percent of theoretical maximum specific gravity
○ Percent of laboratory-compacted bulk specific gravity of the job-mix formula
○ Percent of control strip density
NOTE Percent of theoretical maximum specific gravity, the Rice value measured per AASHTO T 209 or ASTM D2041 on production mixture, states the in-place air voids directly and is the basis Superpave acceptance uses everywhere; percent of laboratory-compacted density compares the mat to a Marshall specimen of the same mixture and is the basis that accompanies a Marshall design, with a numerically higher target for the same voids; percent of control strip density compares the mat to what the project's own equipment achieved on the control strip and is used where the mixture has no reliable maximum specific gravity, such as a mixture with absorptive aggregate, at the cost of accepting whatever the control strip reached. (16.1.3)
16.1.4 Where the basis is percent of theoretical maximum specific gravity, the maximum specific gravity shall be determined on each day's production of each mixture and whenever the job-mix formula or an aggregate source changes.

16.2 In-Place Density

16.2.1 Where the basis is percent of theoretical maximum specific gravity, the average in-place density of each lot of surface and intermediate course shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet, and no individual test shall be more than 2 percentage points below it.
Lowest In-Place Density, Percent of Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravityrange
% of Gmm
8996
Default: Not less than 92 % of Gmm
16.2.2 Where the basis is percent of theoretical maximum specific gravity, no individual in-place density test shall exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Highest In-Place Density, Percent of Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravityrange
% of Gmm
9599
Default: Not more than 97 % of Gmm
16.2.3 Where the basis is percent of laboratory-compacted bulk specific gravity, the average in-place density of each lot shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet, and no individual test shall be more than 2 percentage points below it.
In-Place Density, Percent of Laboratory Densityrange
% of laboratory Gmb
93100
Default: Not less than 96 % of laboratory Gmb
NOTE A 92 percent minimum against the maximum specific gravity leaves 8 percent voids, the level at which the voids stop connecting and the mixture ages at its design rate; a 93 or 94 percent minimum is set under truck traffic and for a surface course expected to stay impermeable, at the cost of more roller passes and more failed lots on a cool day; a 90 or 91 percent minimum is accepted for an asphalt base course that stays covered. The ceiling exists because a mat compacted beyond about 97 percent of maximum has too little void space left for the binder to expand into in summer, and it flushes and ruts. (16.2.4)
16.2.5 Where the basis is percent of control strip density, the average in-place density of each lot shall be not less than 98 percent of the control strip density, and no individual test shall be less than 96 percent of it.
16.2.6 The density of the mat within 6 in. of a longitudinal joint shall be not more than the number of percentage points indicated in the datasheet below the minimum mat density of this standard.
Longitudinal Joint Density Allowance Below the Mat Minimumrange
percentage points
03
Default: Not more than 2 percentage points
NOTE An allowance of zero holds the joint to mat density, which only a hot joint reliably reaches; a 2 point allowance is what a well-made cold joint achieves, and a wider allowance accepts the joint a thin lift or a single roller produces, at the cost of a joint that ravels first. (16.2.7)
16.2.8 The density of an asphalt base course shall meet the minimum for the surface and intermediate courses unless the pavement design states a lower value for the base course.

16.3 Density Test Method

16.3.1 In-place density shall be measured for acceptance by the method indicated in the datasheet.
In-Place Density Test Methodradio
● Pavement cores
○ Nuclear density gauge correlated to cores
○ Electromagnetic density gauge correlated to cores
NOTE Cores tested per AASHTO T 166 measure the density of the mat itself and are the reference every other method is corrected to, at the cost of a hole in the new surface for each test and a day's wait for the result; a nuclear gauge per ASTM D2950/D2950M reads in a minute and lets the roller operator see the density develop, and it carries a licensed source, a correlation offset that changes with the mixture, and a reading that a thin lift over a dense base cannot isolate; an electromagnetic gauge per ASTM D7113/D7113M reads as quickly without a radioactive source and depends more heavily on its correlation and on surface moisture. (16.3.2)
16.3.3 Where a gauge is the acceptance method, it shall be correlated to not fewer than five cores from the project mixture at the start of production and to not fewer than three cores per 5,000 tons thereafter, and the correlation offset shall be applied to every gauge reading.
16.3.4 Where a gauge reading and a core taken at the same location disagree, the core shall govern.
16.3.5 Core holes shall be filled with mixture or with a hot-applied filler the same day the core is taken, and compacted flush.

16.4 Thickness Verification

16.4.1 The compacted thickness of each course shall be verified by measuring the cores taken for density per ASTM D3549/D3549M, supplemented by survey of the course surface against the accepted surface beneath it where the Engineer of Record directs.
16.4.2 No core or survey point shall show a course thickness deficient from the thickness in the datasheet by more than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Permitted Course Thickness Deficiencyrange
in
0.1250.250.3750.5
Default: Not more than 0.25 in
NOTE A deficiency allowance of zero makes every core a potential failure on a surface that cannot be placed to a finer tolerance than the screed holds; a 1/4 in. allowance is the tolerance the paving operation can hold on a surface course and is the usual value; a wider allowance is set for an asphalt base course placed on an aggregate surface whose own tolerance is coarser. (16.4.3)
16.4.4 Thickness in excess of the design thickness shall not be cause for rejection and shall not be paid as additional work.
16.4.5 The Contractor shall not place a deficient lift in the expectation of recovering the thickness in the course above it.
NOTE Deficient thickness reduces the structural capacity of the section in direct proportion to the deficiency, and it cannot be corrected except by removing and replacing the course or by adding a course the design did not have. (16.4.6)

16.5 Surface Smoothness and Grade

16.5.1 The finished surface course shall not deviate from a 10 ft straightedge laid in any direction by more than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Surface Course Straightedge Deviationrange
in
0.1250.18750.250.3750.5
Default: Not more than 0.25 in
16.5.2 The finished intermediate course shall not deviate from a 10 ft straightedge laid in any direction by more than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Intermediate Course Straightedge Deviationrange
in
0.1250.250.3750.50.75
Default: Not more than 0.375 in
NOTE The 1/4 in. surface tolerance is what an automatically controlled paver produces and what a parking lot needs to drain; a tighter tolerance is set for a loading dock apron or a surface that will carry a forklift, and a looser one for an intermediate course whose irregularities the surface course corrects. A ride-quality profiler specification belongs to a highway and is not written here. (16.5.3)
16.5.4 The finished surface elevation shall be within the tolerance indicated in the datasheet of the elevation shown on the grading plan.
Finished Surface Elevation Tolerancerange
in
0.1250.250.3750.50.751
NOTE The elevation tolerance is set tight where the surface must meet an accessible route cross slope, a dock height, or a building threshold, and loose where the surface need only drain; it is a separate control from the straightedge, which finds a bump the survey grid misses and misses a surface that is uniformly high. (16.5.5)
16.5.6 The finished surface shall drain to the inlets shown on the grading and drainage plan with no area that holds water deeper than 1/4 in. after a rain, and no area of ponding within an accessible parking space or access aisle.
16.5.7 Accessible parking spaces, access aisles, and accessible routes across the pavement shall be finished within the slope limits of the adopted accessibility standard, and the Contractor shall verify the finished slopes at each space and aisle before the surface is released for marking.
16.5.8 Areas failing the straightedge, elevation, or drainage requirement shall be corrected by removal and replacement of the surface course over the failing area to the nearest joint, or by a method the Engineer of Record accepts in writing, at the Contractor's expense.

16.6 Production Mixture Testing

16.6.1 The binder content of the produced mixture shall be determined for acceptance by the method indicated in the datasheet, and the aggregate gradation shall be determined on the aggregate recovered from the same sample.
Production Binder Content Test Methodradio
● Ignition oven
○ Solvent extraction
○ Plant metering records with periodic ignition-oven verification
NOTE The ignition oven, per AASHTO T 308 or ASTM D6307, burns the binder off a sample in under an hour with no solvent and is the method most laboratories now run, with an aggregate correction factor that must be established for each job-mix formula; solvent extraction per ASTM D2172/D2172M recovers the binder for grading and does not degrade a soft aggregate in the burn, at the cost of solvent handling and time; plant metering records read binder content from the plant's own scales and flow meters and are accepted as the primary record where the plant is DOT-certified, with periodic ignition tests to confirm the meters. (16.6.2)
16.6.3 Production binder content shall be within ±0.3 percentage points of the job-mix formula, and production gradation shall be within the tolerances of the governing specification on each control sieve.
16.6.4 The volumetric properties of the produced mixture, compacted in the laboratory at the design compactive effort, shall be within ±1.0 percentage point of the design air void content and shall meet the voids in the mineral aggregate minimum.
16.6.5 Where production tests fall outside the tolerances, the producer shall adjust the plant before the next load is shipped, and a lot represented by two consecutive out-of-tolerance tests shall be evaluated as nonconforming under this standard.

16.7 Testing Frequency

16.7.1 The testing agency shall take in-place density tests for acceptance at a frequency of not less than one test for each quantity of mixture indicated in the datasheet, and not fewer than three tests per lot.
Mixture Quantity per In-Place Density Testrange
tons
1002505007501000
16.7.2 The testing agency shall take one mixture sample for binder content, gradation, maximum specific gravity, and volumetrics for each quantity of mixture indicated in the datasheet, and not fewer than one per day for each mixture produced.
Mixture Quantity per Production Mixture Testrange
tons
25050075010001500
NOTE A closer frequency finds a low-density lane or a plant drift before the next lot buries it, at the cost of a technician who cannot keep up with a large paving crew and of more core holes in the surface; one density test per 250 to 500 tons and one mixture test per 500 to 1,000 tons are the usual settings on site work, a 100 ton interval is set for a small lot where the whole project is a few lots, and the wider intervals are set where the state DOT lot structure is adopted and its sampling applies. (16.7.3)
16.7.4 A lot shall be one day's production of one mixture on one course, or 1,000 tons, whichever is less, and the testing agency shall locate tests within the lot by random selection.
16.7.5 The thickness of each course shall be verified at not fewer than one core per lot and not fewer than one core for each 5,000 sq ft of each course.
16.7.6 The Engineer of Record may increase any testing frequency in an area showing variable density, variable temperature, segregation, or failing results, at no change in the Contract Sum.

16.8 Nonconforming Work

16.8.1 A lot failing the density, thickness, or production mixture requirements of this standard shall be dispositioned as indicated in the datasheet.
Disposition of a Nonconforming Lotradio
○ Removal and replacement
○ Removal and replacement, or acceptance at an adjusted price at the Owner's option
NOTE Removal and replacement is the disposition that restores the pavement the Owner paid for, and on a site project where the failing lot is a lane of a parking lot it is the usual one; a price adjustment, computed under the pay-factor schedule of the state DOT specification or under a schedule the Contract Documents state, accepts a lot that is short of the requirement but serviceable and credits the Owner the value lost, and it is the disposition where the lot is a base course already covered or where the DOT specification is adopted and its pay factors come with it. (16.8.2)
16.8.3 The Contractor shall stop placing mixture in the area represented by a failing lot until the cause is identified and corrected.
16.8.4 A segregated area, a torn or dragged surface, a fat spot, a roller mark, or a check crack visible in the finished surface shall be removed and replaced to the nearest joint, and where the parties disagree whether a surface defect is cause for removal, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
16.8.5 The cost of retesting a failing lot, of coring to establish the limits of a deficient area, and of the correction shall be borne by the Contractor.
16.8.6 A failing test shall be reported to the Contractor's superintendent and the Engineer of Record on the day it is taken and before the next course is placed over it, and a failing test discovered after the next course is placed shall be resolved by coring through both courses at the Contractor's expense.

17 Delivery, Storage, and Handling

17.1 Asphalt binder at the plant shall be stored in heated, insulated tanks at a temperature not exceeding the supplier's maximum storage temperature, and a modified binder shall be kept agitated or circulated as the supplier directs so that the modifier does not separate.
17.2 Emulsions for prime and tack coats shall be stored above 50°F and below 185°F, shall be protected from freezing, and shall be circulated or agitated before use so that they do not separate or break in storage, and an emulsion that has broken in storage shall not be used.
17.3 Emulsion shall not be stored in a tank that has held a cutback or a hot binder without the tank being cleaned, and anionic and cationic emulsions shall not be mixed or stored in the same tank.
17.4 Aggregate stockpiles at the plant shall be built and worked so that each stockpile remains a single material free of contamination from adjacent stockpiles, and the stockpile faces shall be worked to prevent segregation of the coarse fraction.
17.5 Reclaimed asphalt pavement and recycled asphalt shingles shall be stockpiled separately, on a drained surface, and covered or sloped so that the stockpile moisture does not exceed the moisture the plant can dry at its production rate.
17.6 Mixture shall be sampled for testing per ASTM D979/D979M and binder per ASTM D140/D140M, and samples shall be stored and transported so that they are not contaminated or segregated.

18 Warranty

18.1 The Contractor shall warrant the asphalt pavement against defects in materials and workmanship for the period indicated in the datasheet, beginning at substantial completion.
Asphalt Pavement Warranty Periodrange
years
1235
Default: Not less than 1 years
NOTE A one-year correction period matches the general warranty of most construction contracts and catches the raveling, debonding, and drainage defects that appear through the first winter and the first hot summer; a two-year or longer period is set where the pavement carries truck traffic whose rutting takes a second summer to show, or where the Owner has had a surface fail in its second year on earlier work, and it is priced by the Contractor as a risk. (18.2)
18.3 The warranty shall cover raveling, rutting, shoving, slippage cracking, debonding between courses, fatigue cracking attributable to deficient density or thickness, ponding that violates the drainage requirement of this standard, and joint raveling and separation.
18.4 The warranty shall not cover damage caused by loads exceeding the design traffic level in the datasheet, by a utility cut or excavation through the pavement after substantial completion, by petroleum spillage, by settlement of a subgrade or base prepared under a scope other than the Contractor's, or by the Owner's deferral of the crack sealing and surface maintenance that a flexible pavement requires.
18.5 Normal oxidation, surface weathering, and the maintenance crack sealing and sealcoating performed under Pavement RehabilitationPavement Rehabilitation and SealcoatingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pavement-rehabilitation are the Owner's obligations and are not warranty items.
18.6 Where a warranty repair is performed, the repaired work shall be warranted for the full original period running from the date of the repair, or for the remainder of the original period, whichever ends later.
18.7 The Contractor shall bear the cost of the warranty repair, of the traffic control and the markings restored over it, and of the restoration of adjacent work disturbed by it.
18.8 Where the parties disagree whether a distress is a warranty defect or a cause outside the Contractor's control, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
18.9 The warranty does not limit the Owner's remedies for a latent defect in density, thickness, mixture, or tack coat that is concealed by the course above it and discovered after the warranty period.