The Road Pavement is the portion of the road located directly above the subgrade, and beneath any wearing surface. In urban areas it is often bordered by kerb & channel, and in rural areas by road shoulders. It is typically constructed from compacted imported material such as crushed rock. The road pavement is sometimes broken up into two components, namely the base and the sub-base
Glossary of Austroads Terms
The Glossary of Austroads Terms defines pavement as "that portion of a road designed for the support of, and to form the running surface for, vehicular traffic." and "the portion of the road, excluding shoulders, placed above the design subgrade level for the support of, and to form a running surface for vehicular traffic."
Types of Pavements
There are two main types of road pavements; flexible pavements & rigid pavements
Useful Life
The useful life of a road pavement will depend on a number of factors including soil conditions, the material it is made from, its thickness, its surface type and climate.
As asphalt concrete pavement ages and is exposed to the effects of weathering, it begins to break down and has a likelihood of developing potholes. Potholes are an annoyance and a danger to the public and their patching consumes time from state department of transportation and local department of public works agencies that could be spent elsewhere
Therefore correctly patching potholes the first time is extremely important to reduce long-term costs associated with repeated patching. In addition, correct patching techniques prolong the life of the pavement and prevent further degradation, which can lead to an accelerated rate of decay of the pavement. Potholes can be dangerous to the traveling public, and “on principal roadways potholes are considered dangerous if they are vertically sided, are more than 1 inch deep and have an area of greater than one sq. foot.”