BST considered paving?

[SLTA]

Hi folks,

My neighborhood association has been challenged that the BST on the roads is not actually "paving". I'm looking for an AASHTO or other applicable reference that BST is considered paved, especially in a low-density residential neighborhood. If it comes to it, I'd need something that would make a lawyer back off. I'm a bit out of my element with road design.

thanks for the help!
Linnea

 

[teeman]

It is my understanding that Bituminous Surface Treatments such as "chip seals" are used to extend the life of an existing pavement by sealing cracks and providing an improved wearing surface. I would not consider it a structural element of the "pavement", which is wht is under the BST.

 

[GeoPaveTraffic]

slta,

It would help if we knew the context of your question. While Teeman is correct that very thin BST's are not generally considered to add any structural support to the pavement, there are some thin BST's that do add to the structure.

What type of BST is being proposed and specificaly why are trying to determine if it is paving?

 

[SLTA]

I live in a rural area, and the BST is the road surface in our neighborhood. The roads were compacted gravel with layers of tar, more gravel, and the BST applied over the top. (I should say this is a common method of finishing roads in my state, even on medium-density public roads, which these aren't.) A shared road was recently finished in this same manner, and the folks with whom we share the road are saying that the finished surface doesn't constitute "a paved condition" as is required by a legal document between my association and the other folks. We, of course, believe it is considered "a paved condition" and so I'm looking for something written somewhere to send them stating that.

Confused yet?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Debaser]

Would it be better to go to your state's highways department and sound out their reasoning on using this method on apparently higher class roads, and whether for legal purposes they class it as paved?

I do understand that ultimately this could lead to the 'wrong' answer on your part and would, I imagine, place their advice in the public domain making things harder for you to refute.

 

[teeman]

Thank you for the clarification. It appears the parties involved have different undestandings of what the word "paved" means.

The 2nd edition of Croney & Croney's The Design and Performance of Road Pavements (McGraw Hill 1991) defines "pavement" as follows:
"The pavement is the structure which separates the tyres of vehicles from the underlying foundation material."

The 3rd edition of Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, edited by Frederick Merritt (1983)has a section on pavement structures in which it covers surface treatments and high quality pavements. The handbook makes the point that high quality pavements such as bituminous concrete (flexible) and portland cement (rigid) are used to support heavy traffic loads on high volume roadways, and may not be necessary on other roadways.

 

[GeoPaveTraffic]

If you look enough different places, I'm sure you can find a source that will declare any type of surfacing as paved. Therefore anything other than the natural subgrade in the area could be considered paved.

If this is a legal document, then 1. it should have defined paved and 2. lacking a definition in the document I would recommend using the one from a good dictionary.

From Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary 1984 Paved - To cover with a hard, smooth surface that will ear travel.

Good luck.

 

[SLTA]

thanks so much for your suggestions and help. I'll look into these ideas, as well as use good ol' Websters!