FPInnovations, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), and a local forest company, are collaborating on the introduction of a new high-efficiency truck configuration to a permitted haul corridor in north-west Ontario. Prior to permitting any new truck configuration the MTO requires a formal assessment to quantify truck impacts to corridor infrastructure and pavements. The impact assessment for this project was conducted in two phases – first for a network of highway sections west of Thunder Bay and second to expand this haul corridor to areas east of Thunder Bay. This paper describes the second assessment, and efficiencies made possible by general trends identified in the first analysis. The paper also describes a comparative analysis of pavement impacts assuming equal and unequal within-group axle loading.
This paper describes a 2023 pavement impact assessment from 9-axle B-trains operating in north-west Ontario. Building on a previous (2021) assessment of other highways, researchers utilized efficiencies and trends to streamline the assessment. The paper also describes a sensitivity analysis that modeled the impacts from within-group axle weight variation.
Key words: High efficiency; Truck configurations; Log trucks; Pavement performance.
