Simple Empirical Guide to Pavement Design of Low-Volume Roads in Indiana

Low-volume roads constitute the vast majority of the U.S. road network. From an economic standpoint, preservation of low-volume roads costs more than $80 billion per year, or more than half the annual investment in roads. Although low-volume roads carry a small percentage of the overall traffic, their associated crash rates are considerably higher than those for higher-volume roads. Because low-volume roads are an important part of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, engineering principles should be used when these roads are designed to ensure economy and to avoid premature road failure. Many agencies have proposed design methods for low-volume roads, yet most of these roads require input that may not be available to local agencies. This paper presents an empirical design guide for low-volume roads that requires local agencies to gather only limited, readily available information and that is simple for agencies to use but customizable to account for specific weather and subgrade conditions.