Research on the International Roughness Index Threshold of Road Rehabilitation in Metropolitan Areas: A Case Study in Taipei City

Shong-Loong Chen, Chih-Hsien Lin, Chao-Wei Tang, Liang-Pin Chu and Chiu-Kuei Cheng
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Shong-Loong Chen: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan
Chih-Hsien Lin: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan
Chao-Wei Tang: Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengching Rd., Niaosong District, Kaohsiung 83347, Taiwan
Liang-Pin Chu: Taipei City Government, No. 1, City Hall Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City 110204, Taiwan
Chiu-Kuei Cheng: Department of Agribusiness Management, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Shuefu Rd., Neipu, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: The International Roughness Index (IRI) is the standard scale for evaluating road roughness in many countries in the world. The Taipei City government actively promotes a Road Smoothing Project and plans to complete the rehabilitation of the main and minor roads within its jurisdiction. This study aims to detect the road surface roughness in Taipei City and recommend appropriate IRI thresholds for road rehabilitation. A total of 171 asphalt concrete pavement sections in Taipei City with a total length of 803.49 km were analyzed and compared by IRI. The longitudinal profile of the detected road sections was measured using an inertial profiler. The statistical analysis showed that the IRI value prior to road leveling was mainly distributed between 5 and 8 m/km, while the IRI value after road leveling was mainly distributed between 3 and 4.5 m/km. This confirms that the implementation of the Road Smoothing Project has a significant effect on improving road smoothness. Moreover, based on the analysis results, it is recommended that the IRI threshold value for road rehabilitation in Taipei City be set at 4.50 m/km.

Keywords: pavement smoothness; international roughness index; urban road; road rehabilitation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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