Pavement design

Pavement design and construction is a highly technical field that has its own special machines and techniques for creating and testing new materials, structures, and paving elements. But the basic principles of pavement design are simple and similar to those of other structures.

Pavement design is not like designing a building or a bridge. The parts of a building or a bridge will be assembled before the structure is complete, but the parts of a road will only be added as needed. Changing your mind on an important detail—say, whether to use concrete or asphalt—can mean ripping up the entire road and starting over again.