As a part of the Pavement Management Systems (PMS) project, ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted at locations throughout New Jersey. Interpretations of the survey information were conducted for both network-level pavement management and design-level (project management) purposes. The objective of the work was to provide NJDOT with useful information obtained by the GPR survey regarding pavement structure and layer properties (thickness, dielectric, etc…), useful at the pavement management level for decision-making, and at the design level for improvement of FWD backcalculation or characterization of pavement thickness variability over potential project sections.

The project included field surveys, associated data analysis, and reporting on approximately 600 lane-miles (test miles) of pavements designated as network level investigations, as well as 25 to 50 lane-miles of project (design)-level pavement. Pavements consisted of all pavement types (flexible, rigid and composite), as well as a few sample ramp pavements; with approximately 375 test miles of Interstate, 125 test miles of State Highway System (SHS), 75 test miles on road sections selected for FWD testing for project scoping, and the test sites used for the seasonal variation and model refinement sub-tasks. Some of the test miles included the testing of multilane sections that have been the subject of widening and/or realignment.