The seven states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have expressed interest in participating in a pooled fund study to jump-start their efforts to implement pavement preservation and update their use of current preventive maintenance treatments. The National Center for Pavement Preservation (NCPP) would be retained collectively by the 7 above states to provide expert assistance in the areas of establishing preventive maintenance programs, specifications for methods and materials, treatment identification and selection guidelines, and training for key staff. Recognizing the particular circumstances of each state, NCPP would consult with the states individually in order to provide assistance targeted to their unique needs. In the event that a particular state's needs could not be adequately addressed with the resources available, NCPP would be willing to enter into a special agreement to provide customized help. Today, state highway agencies are under increased pressure to deliver more products and services with fewer resources, both skilled staff and funding. In times of limited resources, there is a strong tendency to concentrate on short term critical operational requirements, making it very difficult to step back and commit the time, effort, and resources to establish new programs such as preventive maintenance. Yet, in the long run, implementation of a preventive maintenance program will achieve economies that provide considerable relief from today¿s pressures. In fact, much of the short term pavement distress that largely preoccupies the efforts of maintenance staff, will not occur, with the result that the resources saved can be used to increase pavement levels of service to the motoring public.

The project objectives are: - Uniformity of regional guidelines for pavement preservation treatments. - Development of practical specifications to facilitate the application of preservation treatments such as joint replacement and chip seals. - Training for key technical staff. - Use of improved materials, equipment, and processes among the member agencies. - Development of a common terminology and definitions.

The following benefits are expected to be derived from this project: - Assistance in the establishment of new preventive maintenance programs without having to incur substantial overhead and developmental expenditures and recruit new staff. - The benefits of experience gained by other highway agencies as they have established and operated their own preventive maintenance programs. - Augmented sets of treatment options that can be used to extend pavement life. - Conversion of the maintenance process from a reactive, backward-looking repair activity to a proactive, forward-looking activity with the important eventual result of being able to work with accurate, predictable budgets and clearly definable products. - Reduction of the states' program costs as a result of adopting common procedures, materials, and treatment specifications. This pooled fund project will generate the following ongoing deliverables: - Assistance in streamlining the state's / district's business process to include a preventive maintenance program - Specialized advice on how to establish a pavement preservation program for a state or district. - Sample specifications covering materials and methods for application of preventive maintenance treatments. - Guidelines to assist in selecting appropriate preventive maintenance treatments. - Short (1 - 2 day) training courses for technical personnel.

Requested minimum state commitment of $15,000 each. (Project to begin with a one year commitment and expand an additional 2 years, at 15,000 per state per additional year, if successful.)