DOTs Take Hard Look At Long-Life Roads Eight-mile study in Ohio mirrors nationwide quest for a highway “fountain of youth”
ODOT officials acknowledge that the future of long-life pavements will be more complicated than a mere black-or-white decision. Some people might think the end goal is that one material wins over another, says Brian R. Stacy, ODOT spokesman. But we want to see how they perform and how we can apply lessons learned for other projects.
The face-off started three years ago when the department initiated design work on a relocation of U.S. Route 30, an eight-mile trucking corridor between Wooster and Orrville in northeastern Ohio. The new four-lane highway was sited alongside its older two-lane counterpart. About 18,000 vehicles travel on the existing highway each day, and the number is expected to increase to 23,500 by 2026. Heavy trucks carrying freight make up about 21% of total vehicle traffic. Click here to view map