State highway agencies have used both asphalt concrete and portland cement concrete pavement warranties for many years.  Some states that use pavement warranties have reported a reduction in costs and an improvement in quality, while others have not. For example, the Wisconsin DOT has reported significant quality increases and overall cost reductions through the use of 5-year performance warranties for asphalt concrete pavements. However, an evaluation of 3-year workmanship and materials warranties completed by the Colorado DOT showed no discernible impact on quality or cost.

Research is needed to investigate the use of pavement warranties by state highway agencies on order to understand the impact of pavement warranties and develop guidelines to assist state highway agencies in determining when to use warranties and how best to apply them.  NCHRP Project 10-68, Guideline for the Use of Pavement Warranties, was developed to address these issues

Additionally, a number of state highway agencies have used warranties for components other that pavements.  Research is needed to investigate the other types of warranties being implemented on highway construction projects in order to develop a summary of state practices and provide implementation strategy recommendations.  NCHRP Project 20-07 (201) was developed to address these issues.

Research Objectives

The objectives of the research are two fold.  The first objective relates specifically to the use of pavement warranties in highway construction and the development of a guideline to assist state agencies in the implementation of pavement warranties.  Much research has already been accomplished regarding the use of pavement warranties in highway construction.  The guideline will be developed based on the evaluation of the existing pavement warranty research and on evaluation and performance data recorded by several state agencies with significant experience in implementing pavement warranties. 

Meet the Team

Project Tasks