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FHWA Highway Safety Programs

Traditional Friction Treatments

A 2013 study titled Evaluation of Pavement Safety Performance conducted by FHWA as part of the Evaluation of Low Cost Safety Improvements Pooled Fund study (ELCSI-PFS) Phase VI provides an excellent description of various pavement treatment types, including:

Photo: Roadway

  • Thin Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay,
  • Open graded friction course,
  • Ultra-thin bonded wearing course,
  • Chip seal (seal coat),
  • Slurry seal,
  • Microsurfacing,
  • Diamond grinding,
  • Grooving,
  • Micro-milling,
  • Shortblasting/abrading,
  • Cape seal,
  • Scrub seal, and
  • High friction surfacing.

NCHRP Report 500, Volume 7 discusses pavement friction treatments and their associated safety benefits.