Abstract

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018, Section 136 requires the FAA to allow the use of state highway specifications for airfield pavement construction at non-primary airports serving aircraft with a gross weight less than 60,000 lb if requested by the state. To confirm that state highway specifications provide an acceptable level of performance when used on airport pavements, the FAA initiated this study to compare the performance of airports constructed using state highway specifications with those constructed using FAA specifications. Performance data and specifications from 51 projects at 15 airports in Iowa and Missouri were analyzed, with 23 using FAA specifications and 28 using state highway specifications. Based on the summarized pavement condition index (PCI) ratings from those projects (which are based on visual condition surveys and do not consider structural or functional performance), it was determined that the performance of airport concrete pavements varies based on age, location, and specification, but the effects of the individual factors was not explained well. The projects used in this study skewed to a young age and good overall performance, which may not reflect the long-term performance of these pavements. There were no significant differences in load-related distresses or climate-related distresses between the FAA and state specification projects. The good performance of projects constructed with state specifications may reflect that knowledge gleaned from the local performance of highway concrete pavements has been incorporated into the specifications used for airfield concrete pavements.