Pavement Design

General
The proper design of a long-lasting pavement must be included in the overall project design in order to reduce pavement costs and future maintenance costs. Lower maintenance requirements also reduce road user costs by minimizing future lane closures for maintenance. TxDOT’s
Pavement Manual
provides pavement design methods and other standards.
Federal Requirements
  1. 23 CFR §626.3
    – Requires pavements to be designed to accommodate current and predicted traffic needs in a safe, durable and cost-effective manner.
  2. FHWA Pavement Design Considerations
    (formerly Federal-aid Policy Guide Non-regulatory Supplement to 23 CFR Part 626) – Even though a particular pavement design procedure is not specified, each state is expected to use a design procedure appropriate for its conditions. The state may use the design procedures outlined in the “
    AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures
    ” or other pavement design procedures that, based on past performance or research, are expected to produce satisfactory pavement designs.
State Requirements
  1. 43 TAC §§5.59
    ,
    15.56
    ,
    26.33
    and
    27.56
    – Requires projects to be designed in accordance with TxDOT manuals, procedures, standards and guidelines. For RMA, toll and pass-through financed projects, preliminary design information must be sent to TxDOT for review and approval when the design is approximately 30 percent complete.
Required Practices
In general, the LG must use standard pavement design methods approved by TxDOT. The
LGPM Guide
provides the required practices and responsibilities of each party for pavement design.