A good highway was built in Sevier County, Ark., in 1940, and it's still carrying traffic without a structural failure.
A Perpetual Pavement Award from the Asphalt Pavement Alliance was recently given to the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department for a section of U.S. Highway 71 in Sevier County near De Queen.
The award honors departments for their work in building successful, "long-life" asphalt roadways.
National Center for Asphalt Technology engineers at Auburn University evaluated "well-performing" asphalt pavements 35 years or older with no structural failures and at least 12 years between resurfacing, according to the NCAT announcement.
"They got it right to start with in 1940. We're pleased to have this, but I don't know how to promote it," said De Queen Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy.
Arkansas' winning project is a 2.54-mile section of U.S. 71 from mile 1.16 to 3.7 between De Queen and Gillham. The road was built in 1940 with 11-foot-wide lanes on 7 inches of gravel base and a 2.5-inch asphalt surface. It was chip-sealed in 1947 and left alone for the next 30 years. Two-inch overlays were added in 1975 and again in 1992, when 6-foot shoulders were added. In 2010, contractors milled a half-inch from the road and added another 2-inch overlay, according to a highway department report.
U.S. 71 has had an estimated loading of 9.3 million equivalent single-axle loads during its lifetime. Average daily traffic volume is 4,900 vehicles, with 20 percent truck traffic.
The road qualified for the award because AHTD has added only 5.5 inches of structure to the road over its lifetime, and an average interval of 23.3 years has passed between resurfacing jobs.
"This pavement has remained in service to the traveling public for more than 70 years with only standard maintenance overlays, and it is still performing well," AHTD Director Scott Bennett said.
"Perpetual pavement is a necessity for Arkansas if we are to maintain our highways in this time of diminishing resources and funding. Even perpetual pavements need periodic maintenance to keep them in good traveling condition," said Greg Harding, a District 3 construction engineer who recently retired.