Developing a quality index for pavement construction and rehabilitation

Keeping in view the severe lack of research in the field of quantification of pavement quality, an analysis of suitable methods for quantifying the quality of pavement construction and rehabilitation was carried out in this study. The main and sub-factors that significantly impact the quality of pavement construction and rehabilitation from managerial and constructional perspectives were identified using a questionnaire survey. A pavement construction and rehabilitation quality index equation has been developed that yields a quantified level of quality achieved in a project in terms of percentage. Ranking analysis of the top six influencing main factors revealed that constructional factors, such as paving and compaction practices and subsurface drainage, are more important than managerial factors, such as the client’s and quality consultant’s capability, payment and finances, and contractor’s capability. Sensitivity analysis revealed that each sub-factor has its individual significance on the overall quality index, irrespective of the rank of its main factor, and the quality index equation developed in this study duly encompasses the impact of each sub-factor and main factor, collectively, on the overall quality index. The practical application of the developed index was also validated through a case study. This study is one of the pioneer studies that specifically explored the quantification of pavement rehabilitation and construction quality in terms of a quality index, duly encompassing both managerial and constructional aspects. The results of this study and recommendations for future research can be effectively used as a benchmark checklist to improve particular main and sub-factors in order to enhance the overall quality of pavement rehabilitation and construction in future projects.