As road agencies that are strapped for cash look for ways to optimize their limited dollars, many are taking a much closer look at the practice of pavement preservation.

Pavement preservation techniques are being promoted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) as cost-effective and environmentally sustainable strategies designed to extend the life of existing pavements before they deteriorate substantially.

Pavement preservation techniques include nonstructural preventive maintenance surface treatments such as slurry surfacings, crack sealing, chip sealing, micro surfacing, rejuvenation, hot and cold in-place recycling and thin-lift hot-mix asphalt paving; and structural preservation techniques used in concrete pavement restoration (CPR).

Pavement preservation methods prolong pavement life, avoiding high future costs of reconstruction or rehabilitation through the expenditure of lesser amounts of money at critical points in a pavement’s life. Pavement preservation pays off in both the short and long term. Experience shows that spending a dollar on pavement preservation can eliminate or delay spending $6 to $10 on future rehabilitation or reconstruction costs.

We at FP² Inc. support the adoption of pavement preservation at all levels of government, and work to ensure pavement preservation becomes a part of road programs from coast-to-coast. We invite you to browse these pages to learn more about pavement preservation, and view our quarterly magazine, Pavement Preservation Journal.​