Citation

Portigo JM. Transp. Res. Rec. 1976; 594: 57-64.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1976, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Paving shoulders of highways was begun by state highway agencies to eliminate maintenance and safety problems brought about by increasing traffic densities and axle loads. Not all states have established policies concerning the paving of shoulders. In many, the decision to pave the shoulder is still made on an individual project basis and depends on engineering judgment, pass experience, and availability of funds. Because paving highway shoulders is a relatively new practice, state agencies have not had sufficient time to accumulate data for cost- benefit analysis on which to base the justification for paving shoulders. The paved shoulder has not solved all maintenance and safety problems and has even generated several. In addition, it requires a higher initial investment than that required for an unpaved shoulder and is therefore not economically feasible for low-volume highways. Nevertheless, it has gained the general acceptance of both highway engineers and motorist. This report discusses all aspects of shoulder paving and presents methods used by state highway agencies to cope with all types of problems that they encounter in paving shoulders in their highway systems.