Abstract
Most local agencies have asphalt compaction specifications in their contracts as well as inspectors who check the contractors’ operations. But following specifications that tell a contractor how to do the compaction, called method specifications, typically leads to very poor results because even the most experienced inspector or contractor cannot tell how well or poorly compacted the asphalt is by just watching the compacting operation or looking at the completed surface. In these situations the possible life can be cut in half. On the other hand, a city or county can use quantitative quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) specifications that call for measurement of compaction to determine the extent to which the contractor has met the compaction requirements.
