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viii ABSTRACT This report documents and presents the results of a study on the relative influence of design and construction features on the response and performance of new flexible and rigid pavements, included in SPS-1 and SPS-2 experiments. The SPS-1 experiment is designed to investigate the effects of HMA layer thickness, base type, base thickness, and drainage on flexible pavement performance, while the SPS-2 experiment is aimed at studying the effect of PCC slab thickness, base type, PCC flexural strength, drainage, and lane width on rigid pavement performance. The effects of environmental factors, in absence of heavy traffic, were also studied based on data from the SPS-8 experiment. Various statistical methods were employed for analyses of the LTPP NIMS data (Release 17 of DataPave) for the experiments. In summary, base type seems to be the most critical design factor in achieving various levels of pavement performance for both flexible and rigid pavements, especially when provided with in-pavement drainage. The other design factors are also important, though not at the same level as base type. Subgrade soil type and climate also have considerable effects on the influence of the design factors. Although, most of the findings from this study support the existing understanding of pavement performance, the methodology in this study provides a systematic outline of the interactions between design and site factors as well as new insights on various design options.
