About the project

Mechanistic-empirical pavement design has been one of the primary pavement design tools in South Africa since the early 1970s. Although some improvements were made to the original method over the years, the main components of the current method are still based on research done during the 1970s and 1980s. The problems associated with the current method were highlighted at the Conference for Asphalt Pavements in Southern Africa held in 2004. These problems were again raised at the subsequent Roads Pavement Forum meeting held in May 2005 and a workgroup appointed to initiate the revision of the South African Mechanistic-Empirical Design Method.

Project sponsors

Currently two sponsors have approved funding for the revision of the flexible pavement design method, the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) and the CSIR. CSIR funding covers mostly research activities to establish the foundation from which the development and implementation activities will be launched. SANRAL is the main sponsor and largest client body to implement the revised design method.

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