We completed an RSMS Flexible Pavement Condition Survey for approximately every
1000ft on every public road in Bolton. These completed sheets can be found in the Bolton DPW Office. They rate the section of road on
seven conditions. This data was compiled into Excel sheets and graphs that can be
found in the front of the 2006 Binder.
•Alligator Cracking
•Longitudinal/Transverse Cracking
•Edge Cracking
•Patching/Potholes
•Drainage
•Roughness
•Rutting
Alligator cracks are interconnected cracks, forming a series of small blocks resembling an alligator’s skin. This occurs when the sub-base gravel fails to provide adequate support for the asphalt pavement. It is
also known as fatigue cracking, and repeated heavy loads and moisture create excess flexing of the surface.
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Low Med High
Low
Med
High
NO
Defects
Longitudinal cracks are individual and run parallel to the centerline. Transverse cracks run perpendicular to the centerline. They are caused by inadequate bonding between paving lanes or asphalt shrinkage from
low temperatures.
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Low Med High
Low
Med
High
NO
Defects
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Low Med High
Low
Med
High
NO
Defects
Edge cracks are approximately 1ft from the road edge. Normally they are caused by lack of shoulder support, or by
the settlement of the material under the edge. This can indicate poor drainage, frost heaves, or shrinkage of the
surrounding earth.
Potholes arise when the wearing surface disintegrates under traffic, due to inadequate structural strength in one or more layers of the pavement. They are bowl-shaped voids and are often located in areas of poor drainage. Patches are portions of pavement that have been removed and replaced, usually to
repair defects in the pavement. Problems occur when the patches crack, settle, or distort.
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
NO
Defects
(0)
(2)
(5)
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
NO
Defects
Inadequate drainage is important to document because of the long-term affects of moisture on pavement. Rain falling on pavement should be efficiently directed to drains and catch basins. Poor drainage can damage the concrete, weaken the
sub-grade, etc.
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
The roughness of a road is determined by the severity of uneven surfaces, corrugations, sags, humps, frost heaves and
the previous survey conditions.
Rutting is the displacement of pavement material that creates channels in the wheel path and is sometimes referred to as
channeling.
No visible rutting (<1 in.)
Rutting visible (>1 in.)
(0)
(8)
We compiled all of this information into spreadsheets, and we devised and grading system for each condition so all the roads can be compared. All this data is subjective, and you may not
agree with every score, but this is a sufficient way of determining which roads need the most attention. There are
many ways of organizing this data, and a few of these ways will be presented here, so as to create a good picture of the road
conditions.
The following graphs are using average numbers. The full sheets divided by each section are the best indication of which portion of a road needs the most attention, but for general road conditions, averages are useful to tell the best from the worst.
Low Traffic
2.52
4.5
8
0 0
0.71 1
4 4
11.6
1 1
2.8
4 4
1
5
6
1 1
7.7
21.5
7
1.5
0
2
1
3
0.5
6
2
4
2
4
3
5
3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Annie
Moore
Road
Autu
mn L
ane
Bolto
n W
oods W
ay
Burn
ham
Road
Buttern
ut Lane/H
ubbard
Lane
Corn
Road
Coventry W
ood R
oad
Danfo
rth L
ane
Deer Path
Farm
Road
Fla
nig
an R
oad
Fox R
un R
oad
Fry
e R
oad
Harr
is F
arm
Road
Jord
an R
oad
Kettle
Hole
Road
Laure
l Road
Lib
erty C
ircle
Liv
ely
Road
Marr
inott R
oad
McN
ulty
Road
Mt. W
achusett
Nashaw
ay R
oad
Old
Harv
ard
Road
Old
Sugar R
oad
Pin
ew
ood D
rive
Pow
der H
ill R
oad
Quail R
un
Quaker Lane
Randall R
oad
Rocky D
undee R
oad
Sarg
ent R
oad
Saw
yer R
oad
Teele
Road
Tw
in M
aple
Lane
Weath
ers
Lane
West Berlin
Road
Wheele
r R
oad
Whitc
om
b R
oad
Woobly
Road
Woodsid
e D
rive
Medium Traffic
3.100
43.3
40
55
06.7
00.9
023
1.15
0 5 10 15 20 25
Ballville RoadBare Hill Road
Century Mill RoadChase Road
East End RoadGolden Run Road
Hubbard Lane/Butternut LaneLancaster RoadLong Hill Road
Manor RoadMeadow RoadNourse RoadOld Bay Road
Sampson RoadSpectacle Hill Road
Vaughn Hill RoadWarner Road
High Traffic
0.7
6
0
0
2.4
2.2
2.6
1.5
0.9
3.5
1.2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Berlin Road
Forbush Mill Road
Green Road
Harvard Road
Hudson Road (85)
Main Street
South Bolton Road
Still River Road
Sugar Road
Wataquadoc Hill Road
Wilder Road
0 2 4 6 8
Main StreetManor Road
Marrinott RoadMcNulty Road
Meadow RoadMt. Wachusett
Nashaway RoadNourse RoadOld Bay Road
Old Harvard RoadOld Sugar RoadPinewood Drive
Powder Hill RoadQuail Run Rd
Quaker RdRandall Road
Rocky Dundee RoadSampson Road
Sargent RoadSawyer Road
South Bolton RoadSpectacle Hill Road
Still River RoadSugar RoadTeele Road
Twin Maple LaneVaughn Hill Road
Warner RoadWataquadoc Road
Weathers LaneWest Berlin Road
Wheeler RoadWhitcomb Road
Wilder RoadWoobly Road
Woodside Drive
Alligator
Longitudinal
Edge
0 2 4 6 8
Annie Moore RoadAutumn LaneBallville Road
Bare Hill RoadBerlin Road
Bolton Woods WayBurnham Road
Butternut/Hubbard LaneCentury Mill Road
Chase RoadCorn Road
Coventry Wood RoadDanforth Lane
Deer PathEast End Road
Farm RoadFlanigan Road
Forbush Mill RoadFox Run Road
Frye RoadGolden Run Road
Green RoadHarris Farm Road
Harvard RoadHubbard Lane (Butternut)
Hudson Road (85)Jordan Road
Kettle Hole RoadLancaster Road
Laurel RoadLiberty Circle
Lively RoadLong Hill Road
Alligator
Longitudinal
Edge
Roughness (1=Good, 2=Fair, 3=Poor)
0
1
2
3Annie
Moore
Road
Autu
mn L
ane
Ballv
ille R
oad
Bare
Hill R
oad
Berlin
Road
Bolto
n W
oods W
ay
Burn
ham
Road
Buttern
ut Lane/H
ubbard
Lane
Centu
ry M
ill R
oad
Chase R
oad
Corn
Road
Coventry W
ood R
oad
Danfo
rth L
ane
Deer Path
East End R
oad
Farm
Road
Fla
nig
an R
oad
Forb
ush M
ill R
oad
Fox R
un R
oad
Fry
e R
oad
Gold
en R
un R
oad
Gre
en R
oad
Harr
is F
arm
Road
Harv
ard
Road
Hubbard
Lane/B
uttern
ut Lane
Hudson R
oad (85)
Jord
an R
oad
Kettle
Hole
Road
Lancaste
r R
oad
Laure
l Road
Lib
erty C
ircle
Liv
ely
Road
Long H
ill R
oad
Main
Street
Manor R
oad
Marr
inott R
oad
McN
ulty
Road
Meadow
Road
Mt. W
achusett
Nashaw
ay R
oad
Nours
e R
oad
Old
Bay R
oad
Old
Harv
ard
Road
Old
Sugar R
oad
Pin
ew
ood D
rive
Pow
der H
ill R
oad
Quail R
un
Quaker Lane
Randall R
oad
Rocky D
undee R
oad
Sam
pson R
oad
Sarg
ent R
oad
Saw
yer R
oad
South
Bolto
n R
oad
Specta
cle
Hill R
oad
Still R
iver R
oad
Sugar R
oad
Teele
Road
Tw
in M
aple
Lane
Vaughn H
ill R
oad
Warn
er R
oad
Wata
quadoc H
ill R
oad
Weath
ers
Lane
West Berlin
Road
Wheele
r R
oad
Whitc
om
b R
oad
Wild
er R
oad
Woobly
Road
Woodsid
e D
rive
•In an ideal scenario: have enough money to redo each road with just the occasional maintenance
•Plan: to separate the roads into deciles and bring all the roads into that top 10% score (0-3)
•Achieved by paving or reconstructing the worst roads, or the sections of a road that are bringing the averages up, and then crack sealing and patching the roads in the middle range
•If all the roads have this low score then repave appropriately
•Repairing drainage issues and cracks will prolong the life of a road at least 4-5 years, by preventing damaging moisture from harming the sub-bases, which in turn adds more issues to the top layer of pavement
•Ultimate goal: have all the roads in this 10% range, avoiding disasters like Spectacle Hill in the future
0-10% Overall Condition
Road Name Types of Cracks Severity
Berlin Road Long, Edge <1
Coventry Wood Road Long, Edge <1
Danforth Lane Long 1
Deer Path Long 1
Fox Run Road Long 1
Harris Farm Road Long 1
Harvard Road ALL <1
Lively Road Long 1
Mt. Wachusett Edge 1
Nashaway Road Edge <1
Nourse Road - 0
Old Bay Road Long, Edge <1
Quaker Road - 0
Rocky Dundee Road Long <1
Sawyer Road Long, Edge <1
Sugar Road Long, Edge <1
10-20% Overall Condition
Road Name Types of Cracks Severity
Frye Road Long, Edge <1
Hudson Road Long, Edge 1
Old Sugar Road Long, Edge 1
Pinewood Drive Long, Edge 1
Quail Run Road Long, Edge 1
Randall Road Long, Edge 1
Still River Road ALL <1
Twin Maple Road Long, Edge 1
Vaughn Hill Road ALL <1
West Berlin Road Long, Edge <1
Wilder Road Long, Edge 1
Numbers shown under severity are averages of all the cracks found.
These data tables present the roads that their overall condition is good, yet could use some attention to
keep them in a ‘good’ condition. As stated before, this can be achieved by patching and repairing the
deformities.
20-30% Overall Condition
Road Name Types of Cracks Severity
Annie Moore Road ALL 1
Autumn Lane Long, Edge 1
Kettle Hole Road Long, Edge 1
Main Street Long, Edge <1
Sargent Road Long, Edge 2
South Bolton Road ALL 1
Whitcomb Road ALL 1
Woodside Drive Long, Edge 2
30-40% Overall Condition
Road Name Types of Cracks Severity
Ballville Road ALL 1
Chase Road ALL 1
East End Road ALL 1
Farm Road ALL 1
Flanigan Road ALL 1
Golden Run Road ALL 1.5
Laurel Road ALL 1
Liberty Circle Edge 4
Wataquadoc Hill Road ALL 1
Weathers Lane Alligator, Long 2
Wheeler ALL 1.5
40-50% Overall Condition
Road Name Types of Cracks Severity
Bolton Woods Way ALL 1.5
Lancaster Road ALL 1
Long Hill Road ALL 1.5
Marrinott Road Long, Edge 1
Warner Road ALL 3
Woobly Road ALL 2
These data tables present the roads in fair/good condition. As shown, most of the roads have all the different types of cracks and many of them have a higher severity average. These are the roads that
need to be attended to soon or they have or may be past the ‘patching’ stage.
50%- more Overall Condition
Road Names Types of Cracks Severity
Burnham Road ALL 2
Forbush Mill Road ALL 1
McNulty Road ALL 2
Meadow Road ALL 1
Old Harvard ALL 2
Powder Hill Road ALL 3
Spectacle Hill Road ALL 2
Teele Road ALL 2
This data table presents the roads that are in the 50% or more percentile in overall condition. These are the worst
roads in town according to our findings.
Roads in Order (worst to better)
1. Spectacle Hill Road
2. Burnham Road
3. Old Harvard Road
4. Powder Hill Road
5. Meadow Road
6. Forbush Mill Road
7. Teele Road
8. McNulty Road
75% Time
40% Quality Drop
Each $1 of Renovation Cost Here…
40% Quality Drop
17% Time
Will Cost $4 to $5 if Delayed to Here
Years