Well designed, constructed, and maintained pavements provide safe and comfortable rideability. In a case of roadway rehabilitation, measures should be such that they do not compromise the above factors. Potential problems arise at roadway approaches to bridges when either the roadway or the bridge deck is rehabilitated. Ideal conditions exist when the pavement and bridge are overlaid by layers of equal thickness. NJDOT Practice NJDOT in those situations is to overlay bridge decks with a Latex Modified Concrete (LMC) riding surface. A major disadvantage of the LMC overlay is a long curing time that can create traffic disruptions, thus having a significant economic impact and causing inconvenience to motorists.

An alternative approach to the LCM overlay is an asphalt concrete overlay, black topping. The advantages of this approach are that overlaying can be done fast and that the roadway and bridge deck, whether new or old, can be overlaid by the same layer. The main objective of the research is to determine the feasibility of an asphalt concrete overlay as an alternative to the LMC overlay. The feasibility will be evaluated considering both technical and economic aspects of the application.