Evaluation of Cost-Effectiveness for Different Sealant Materials Used in Highway Maintenance Operations

Abstract

An important element in pavement maintenance practices is the sealing and filling of cracks. Hot pour materials are the most commonly used material, providing good performance for most of the cases. However, some maintenance processes utilize cold pour asphalt emulsion crack sealants. Cold pour crack sealants require longer setting and curing times, especially in areas of high humidity. In addition, the performance history of these cold pour sealants is not known nor well documented in comparison to the performance of hot rubber crack sealants. The costs associated with the use of this material versus hot rubber asphalt are also not well documented or determined. An extensive, three year research has been completed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in pursuit of evaluating and comparing the costeffectiveness for hot pour and cold pour sealants. Eight different roads in five districts were selected for the comparison of the sealants. A total of thirty-three different test sections were obtained through this operation. The surveys and field study indicate that hot pour rubber sealants performed better than cold pour sealants. In the test sections, hot pour sealants performed better over time than cold pour sealants. The cost analysis for this research is based on the comparison of all aspects related to the placement of hot and cold pour sealants. Construction cost is not the sole factor in cost-effectiveness. Performance of a sealant is also another significant factor, because a poorly performing sealant will require sealing to occur more often. Based on the service-life information collected from field evaluations, life-cycle costs can be calculated. The average annual cost (AAC) values were calculated for each sealant in twenty-five test sections in five districts. The cost analyses showed that the overall AAC for cold pour materials is $0.351/m, and for hot pour materials, the average AAC is $0.147/m.