Pavement Profile Smoothness
ASTM defines roughness as the deviations of a surface from a true planar surface with characteristic dimensions that affect a vehicle ride quality.
Smoothness Matters
National surveys of road users list smooth pavement as a top highway characteristic. Rough or uneven pavement adversely affects driver safety, fuel efficiency, ride quality, vehicle wear-and-tear, and pavement durability.
Smoothness Specifications
- Specifications: Sections 36, 39 and 40
- Section 36 NSSP Pavement Smoothness
- Section 39 NSSP Asphalt Concrete Smoothness
- Section 40 NSSP Concrete Pavement Smoothness
- Nonstandard Specifications (nSSP) Requests
- Payment Adjustment
Inertial Profiler Certification Program
The Inertial Profiler Certification Program is being administered by the Material Engineering and Testing Services group of Caltrans.
File Sharing System
Measuring Smoothness
- International Roughness Index
- National Rankings
- How Texture Relates
- Measuring Devices
Smoothness Publications and Presentations
- Providing Pavement Profile Smoothness Data Memo (PDF)
- CPD 19-6, Hot Mix Asphalt Pavement Smoothness (PDF)
- CPD 19-10, Concrete Pavement Smoothness (PDF)
- CPD 20-11, Submittal Requirements for Pavement Smoothness Data (PDF)
- The Little Book of Profiling (external link)