AASHTO Journal - AASHTO Issues 42nd Materials Standards Edition

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently released the 42nd edition of its “Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing, and AASHTO Provisional Standards,” commonly referred to as the “Materials Standards” publication.

[Above image by AASHTO]

Developed by the organization’s Committee on Materials and Pavements, the Materials Standards guide contain specifications, recommended practices, test methods, and provisional standards commonly used in the construction of highway facilities. It also contains provisional standards to allow practitioners to use them early in the research or development phase.

In addition to typical revisions to harmonize industry standards, update technology, and generally improve the standards, the 42nd edition includes numerous changes related to thermometers and temperature measurement.

Many of these changes result from a National Cooperative Highway Research Program or NCHRP report that more clearly defined appropriate choices to replace mercury thermometers.

A partnership between three AASHTO committees helped developed new pavement preservation specifications and quality assurance information within the latest Materials Standards edition. Those are in the Guide Specifications for Highway Construction, 10th edition, 2021 Supplement.

Overall, the 42nd Materials Standards edition includes 589 standards, including three new and 276 revised standards, with over 200 standards that include changes related to thermometers and temperature measurement.

Click here to download a copy of the Summary of 42nd Materials Standards, which includes each standard’s designation number, title, technical section number, and balloted revisions for each standard.

The new guide is available now as a PDF download, with a paperback version coming in September.

To purchase a copy of the 42nd Materials Standards, visit the online AASHTO Store and search by the publication item code HM-42 or click here.