Industry Groups Introduce Web-Based Pavement Design Platform

WASHINGTON (January 8, 2018) – Leading cement and concrete organizations unveiled a new online pavement design tool that offers features and benefits never before available to the pavement design community. 

PavementDesigner.org is free of charge and was created for city, county, and consultant engineers, academia, or anyone involved in design of roadway, industrial and parking area pavements. PavementDesigner improves upon traditional pavement design software programs, and provides the following value-added features:

• No cost – The platform and is offered completely free of charge, eliminating the expense and burden of ordering software and updates, licenses, etc.
• Immediate access – The platform brings the industry’s best pavement design programs[2] together into a single website that allows professionals to design pavements immediately.  
• Cloud storage/retrieval – Users have the option of creating a user ID and password to save their design work, as well as to retrieve projects using any digital device. 
• Automatic updates and improvements – The online system is automatically updated when new content or details are added.  Users will not have to download updated software or “patches.”

“ACPA was excited to serve as the project leader for PavementDesigner, working closely with our industry partners and our software designer,” said Eric Ferrebee, EIT, director of technical services for the American Concrete Pavement Association. “We are pleased to introduce all in one place the industry’s best design solutions for concrete and cement-based pavement design.  

“This comprehensive but easy-to-use pavement design tool not only covers full-depth concrete, but also provides design solutions for concrete overlays and composite pavements,” said Wayne Adaska, P.E., director of pavements for the Portland Cement Association. “Further, the tool includes other cement-based materials like roller-compacted concrete, cement-treated base and full-depth reclamation with cement.”

Designers also can reach out for design support, using contact information found on the website to reach the network of pavement design experts representing PavementDesigner guides the user through three basic stages of pavement design. The user first selects the project type (parking, street, or intermodal facility). The system then guides the user through the project level details and the design of the pavement structure. Each module has help screens and conversions built in to assist the user in entering pavement structure details. After pavement structure information is entered and calculated, the user moves to a summary screen where the pavement design may be reviewed, analyzed, printed and/or saved. 

The portal also includes helpful resources, which are readily available from the sidebar. Users can view a PavementDesigner introductory video; view the platform’s map and methodology visual to see solutions and a process flow; and watch a video that shows how to use the portal to design a jointed plain concrete pavement.  
The resource section also includes details from drawings of various concrete pavement structures, as well as images, descriptions and weblinks to other resources and tools designed to assist pavement designers and others gain more insights about specific types and applications for concrete pavements. Additional training and support materials will be added as feedback is received.

Primary sponsors are the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA), the Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation, and the the Portland Cement Association (PCA).  Additional funding and support came from the RCC Pavement Council.   The RMC Research and Education Foundation is affiliated with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.   

PavementDesigner is built on updated versions of ACPA’s StreetPave, AirPave, and WinPAS programs, as well as PCA’s PCAPave program.  The portal also includes design guidance, substructure sensitivity, and asphalt design evaluation capabilities.

For more information, visit pavementdesigner.org.