Porous Asphalt Pavement Performance in Cold Regions

Local agencies are interested in porous asphalt pavement's potential for improved water quality and quantity control by allowing direct infiltration through the pavement structure. However, prior research in the seasonally diverse Minnesota climate is lacking. The purpose of this research is to study the durability, maintenance requirements, hydrologic benefits, and environmental considerations of a full-depth porous asphalt pavement, installed on a low-volume roadway in a cold climate. This report includes the design, construction, and performance of two porous asphalt test cells and one dense graded asphalt control cell constructed at MnROAD in 2008. These cells were constructed to evaluate the performance of porous asphalt pavements on a low-volume road in a cold-weather climate. The cells discussed in this report are as follows: full-depth porous asphalt over granular subgrade, full-depth porous asphalt over cohesive subgrade, dense graded HMA on mixed materials subgrade.