VAA Virginia Asphalt Spring/Summer 2021

VAASPHALT.ORG 25 THE 20 YEAR FALLACY aggregates and mixes. And simply tacking between lifts of asphalt during paving will minimize the occurrence of delamination- related cracking and potholes. For over 20 years, the asphalt industry has promoted the theory of perpetual pavements. While not wanting to appear biased, the pavement design community promotes the term “long-life pavements.” Even the other secondary paving product in some parts of the US has embraced the long-life terminology. Still, only asphalt has a long-running record of performance to support the claim—not projected hopes. So while I have a deep respect for Dr. Witczak, we do not have to design pavements to fail—at least not from a bottom-up fatigue standpoint. We have the knowledge and tools to design, produce, and construct asphalt pavements that fail from the top down where maintenance is easy and economical. They do not need to last for only 20 or 30 years; they can last perpetually! We have the knowledge and tools to design, produce, and construct asphalt pavements that fail from the top down where maintenance is easy and economical.