Pavement Inspection

AC Distress Measurement

This section provides details about all of the distresses measured on Asphalt Concrete (AC) pavements. Click on one of distress names at the left (or the list below) to view a detailed description of the distress.


The following list provides additional clarification for special cases that are encountered in the field when identifying AC pavement distresses.

  • A distress is said to have foreign object damage (FOD) potential when surface material is in a broken or loose state such that the possibility of ingestion of the material into an engine is present, or the potential for freeing the material due to trafficking is present.
  • Crack sealant is in satisfactory condition if it is in good working order and prevents water or incompressible material from entering the crack.
  • If alligator cracking and rutting are identified in the same area, each is measured and recorded separately.
  • If bleeding is identified, polished aggregate is not recorded in the same area.
  • A signification amount of polished aggregate should be identified before it is recorded.
  • Any distresses identified within the area of a patch are not recorded; however they are used to determine the severity of the patch itself.
  • If block cracking is present, longitudinal and transverse cracking should not be recorded in the same area.
  • If block cracking and joint reflection cracking are identified in the same area, each distress is measured and recorded separately.