Every kilometre of pavement that is under-designed or poorly built turns into years of repeated patching, traffic disruption and rising maintenance bills — which is why decisions made at the design table often matter as much as the work the paving crew does on site. This training course walks participants through highway pavement engineering as one connected process, from subgrade and material selection through construction quality control and into long-term maintenance planning.

The programme builds practical competency in designing both flexible and rigid pavements, working through subgrade characteristics, layer thickness, asphalt and concrete material properties, and the traffic and environmental loads that drive design decisions. Participants also learn to read pavement distress accurately, cracking, rutting, settlement and joint defects, and to translate that diagnosis into the right maintenance, rehabilitation or reconstruction response for a road network.

Arab British Fellowship Training Academy delivers this training through its Highway Pavement Engineering: Design Decisions, Materials and Network Maintenance Training Course, aimed at highway, transportation and civil engineers, and the technical teams responsible for pavement quality, maintenance and rehabilitation.

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Understand how design decisions at the pavement stage affect long-term cost and performance.
• Select suitable flexible or rigid pavement systems based on traffic, climate and soil conditions.
• Apply material property requirements for asphalt and concrete pavement layers.
• Apply quality control and construction monitoring methods for pavement works.
• Diagnose common pavement defects and their underlying causes.
• Select appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation methods based on pavement condition.

Target Audience

• Highway, transportation, and civil engineers working on highway projects
• Engineers, supervisors, and technicians responsible for pavement works and quality control
• Professionals working in road maintenance, condition assessment, and rehabilitation
• Project managers, consultants, and technical staff in the road sector

Module 1: Why Pavement Decisions Made Early Cost (or Save) Millions Later

• The cost impact of pavement decisions made at the design stage
• Traffic loads, climate and soil conditions as core design inputs
• Flexible versus rigid pavement: how the choice is made
• Technical standards that govern pavement quality and performance

Module 2: Subgrade and Layer Design Fundamentals

• Soil classification and engineering properties relevant to pavement design
• Bearing capacity, stability, moisture and drainage effects on the subgrade
• Pavement layer functions: subgrade, base, subbase and surface
• Layer thickness, gradation and compaction requirements

Module 3: Designing Flexible (Asphalt) Pavements

• Basic requirements for asphalt pavement design
• Effect of traffic loads on required layer thickness
• Material properties, environmental conditions and design life
• Selecting appropriate layer thicknesses for site conditions

Module 4: Designing Rigid (Concrete) Pavements

• Components of rigid pavement and the function of each layer
• Factors influencing the choice of rigid pavement for highways
• Joint types, functions and reinforcement requirements
• Load transfer and structural detailing of concrete slabs

Module 5: Materials: Asphalt Mixtures and Concrete for Pavement

• Bitumen and aggregate properties and their effect on performance
• Asphalt mixture components and selecting mixtures for site conditions
• Cement, aggregate, water and admixture properties for pavement concrete
• Base and subbase material selection criteria

Module 6: Building It Right: Construction and Quality Control

• Subgrade preparation and base layer construction
• Asphalt placement and control of thickness and smoothness
• Rigid pavement construction and concrete slab placement
• Material testing, density monitoring and technical acceptance requirements

Module 7: Reading Pavement Distress: Inspection and Defect Diagnosis

• Types of surface and structural pavement defects
• Cracking, rutting and settlement and their underlying causes
• Field and laboratory methods for collecting condition data
• Analysing inspection results to determine deterioration levels

Module 8: Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Extending Network Life

• Preventive maintenance and surface treatments
• Rehabilitation options: resurfacing, strengthening and reconstruction
• Prioritising and planning maintenance programmes across a road network
• Monitoring post-maintenance performance and extending pavement service life