Enhancing quality management in highway construction using emerging methods

Highway systems contribute immensely to economic development and growth. However, the recent D+ rating for highway infrastructure in the US highlights the dire state of highways across the nation and the need to invest in renovating or building new roads. The cascading impact of regular highway projects creates a need to construct highways that will last longer. The adverse effect of these operations increases the economic cost for state highway agencies (SHA) and commuters. For example, congestion costs for the freight industry in 2018 exceeded $87 billion. Efficient and sustainable construction practices can increase the return on investment and provide the infrastructure that meets and possibly exceeds the design life. With respect to pavements, asphalt concrete (AC) comprises over 90% of pavement surface materials. A well-designed AC pavement can have a lifespan of over 15 years with minor maintenance; however, this design life may be reduced without strongly enforced quality management processes (i.e. quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) programs). In cases of exceptional QC/QA programs, SHAs have observed long AC pavement service lives. For example, there is a section of I-90 in Washington state that has been in service for 35 years with no rehabilitation except minor resurfacing. The New Jersey DOT found the same to be true on a section of I-287 with 26-year-old AC pavement. This dissertation focuses on the quality of highway construction in these aspects: 1. Effect of nighttime construction on quality of asphalt paving, 2. A review of the application of emerging technologies for highway construction quality management, 3. Quality management technologies in highway construction: stakeholders' perception of utility, benefits, and barriers, 4. Model development for automation assessment readiness in highway construction quality management processes: a fuzzy synthetic evaluation approach. Existing literature for pavement construction practices and operations have primarily focused on cost, schedule, and safety whereas this study will examine the issues surrounding quality during construction in the context of paving operation technology and efficiency. Similarly, existing literature for pavement construction practices contains numerous studies evaluating nondestructive testing NDT technology. However, this study will evaluate the application of various technologies holistically to identify information on the current state, effectiveness, and automation readiness of some quality management technologies in the highway construction industry. Information from the study will enhance the adoption of emerging methods for quality management processes and procedures in highway construction.