05/18/2026
📢 The latest edition of Paving Virginia is now available!
This Paving Virginia article reviews Virginia’s experience with “perpetual pavements,” summarizing award-winning projects, common design and construction factors, and recommendations for a bottom-up design approach. It describes three APA award categories—By Performance, By Design, and By Conversion—and highlights Virginia winners: several long-performing I-81 sections (Perpetual Pavement By Performance), I-64 and I-66 rehabilitation/design projects (By Design), and a rubblized PCC and overlaid US-460 conversion using a high-modulus, high-binder (HMHB) base (By Conversion).
Drawing on VTRC research and field experience, the article identifies common factors for longevity: a stable subgrade/foundation, appropriate subbase selection (including stabilized layers or CCPRM), sufficient total asphalt thickness to prevent bottom-up fatigue, and durable surface mixes (e.g., SMA, HiMOD) to control rutting and top-down cracking. It advocates “begin with the end in mind®” design that protects the foundation, designs asphalt to fail at the surface, and uses tools like PerRoad/PaveXpress to balance performance and cost. Concluding guidance addresses when perpetual concepts are justified for lower-volume routes and how material advances can optimize thickness and lifecycle costs.
Also featured in this issue:
✨ Member Spotlight: Chemung Contracting Corporation - a fourth-generation family-owned company delivering heavy/highway construction, paving, bridge, and infrastructure projects across the Mid-Atlantic.
✨ New Member Spotlight: Road Worx Inc. - a civil contracting company specializing in full-depth reclamation, soil stabilization, and grading solutions that strengthen long-term pavement performance.
📖 Read the full issue of Paving Virginia to learn more about the innovations and partnerships shaping Virginia’s transportation network.
Trenton Clark, P.E.