When is sampling and testing required for paved shoulders?

Sampling and testing for paved shoulders is particularly required when the shoulders are of a uniform width greater than 4.0 feet. This criterion is established to ensure that the construction and materials used meet the necessary quality standards, especially for wider paved shoulders that will experience increased traffic loads and provide more significant contributions to the overall roadway safety and functionality.

The rationale behind this requirement is that wider shoulders can have more considerable implications on vehicle stability, emergency situations, and general roadway integrity. Therefore, maintaining quality through systematic sampling and testing is critical in such scenarios. While narrower shoulders or those that are not uniformly wide may have less impact on safety, regulations prioritize attention on consistent and wider paved sections to uphold road performance and safety standards effectively.