PAVEMENT TEXTURE: ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND DEVELOPMENT.

This paper discusses the influence of roadway surface textures on skid resistance, the skid resistance-speed gradient, accident rates on wet pavements, pavement wear, and the noise generated by tire-road interaction. The author shows how the tendency of a vehicle to hydroplane is reduced by increasing the depth of the pavement texture. Appropriate textures are developed by using open-graded asphalt friction surface courses and by finishing portland cement concrete with steel tines or a vibrating float while the concrete is plastic.