Code of Federal Regulations Title 23. Highways § 23.490.305 Definitions

The following definitions are only applicable to this subpart, unless otherwise provided:

Asphalt pavements means pavements where the top-most surface is constructed with asphalt materials. These pavements are coded in the HPMS as having any one of the following Surface Types:

Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements (CRCP) means pavements where the top-most surface is constructed of reinforced Portland cement concrete with no joints. These pavements are coded in the HPMS as having the following Surface Type:

Cracking means an unintentional break in the continuous surface of a pavement.

Cracking Percent means the percentage of pavement surface exhibiting cracking as follows:

(1) For asphalt pavements, Cracking Percent is the percentage of the area of the pavement section, exhibiting visible cracking.

(2) For jointed concrete pavements, Cracking Percent is the percentage of concrete slabs exhibiting cracking.

(3) For CRCP, the Cracking Percent is the percentage of pavement surface with longitudinal cracking and/or punchouts, spalling or other visible defects.

Faulting means a vertical misalignment of pavement joints in Portland Cement Concrete Pavements.

International Roughness Index (IRI) means a statistic used to estimate the amount of roughness in a measured longitudinal profile. The IRI is computed from a single longitudinal profile using a quarter-car simulation, as described in the report:  “On the Calculation of IRI from Longitudinal Road Profile” (Sayers, M.W., Transportation Research Board 1501, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC 1995).

Jointed concrete pavements means pavements where the top-most surface is constructed of Portland cement concrete with joints. It may be constructed of either reinforced or unreinforced (plain) concrete. It is coded in the HPMS as having any one of the following Surface Types:

Pavement means any hard surfaced travel lanes of any highway.

Pavement section means a nominally 0.1 mile-long reported segment that defines the limits of pavement condition metrics required by FHWA.

Present Serviceability Rating (PSR) means an observation based system used to rate pavements.

Punchout means a distress specific to CRCP described as the area between two closely spaced transverse cracks and between a short longitudinal crack and the edge of the pavement (or a longitudinal joint) that is breaking up, spalling, or faulting.

Rutting means longitudinal surface depressions in the pavement derived from measurements of a profile transverse to the path of travel on a highway lane. It may have associated transverse displacement.

Sampling as applied to pavements, means measuring pavement conditions on a short section of pavement as a statistical representation for the entire section. Sampling is not to be used to measure or rate NHS pavement conditions.