Pavement Patching Practices

Pavement patching is one of the most extensive and expensive pavement maintenance activities undertaken by highway agencies at all levels. Because of the costs and resources involved in this massive undertaking, there are significant benefits to be attained by managing patching programs in the most cost-effective manner. This synthesis summarizes current practices for patching both concrete and asphalt pavements. The intent is to document the state of the practice for patching relatively small-scale surface defects in concrete and asphalt pavements. Both reactive and planned patching are addressed. The synthesis covers management or administrative issues, materials, methods, equipment, specifications and tests, traffic control, and other aspects of patching operations. The information in this synthesis was collected through extensive literature reviews of U.S. and international sources and electronic surveys and followup phone and e-mail interviews.