Republic of Armenia

Lifeline Roads Improvement Project (Credit #4549-AM and Loan # 7751-AM)

Consulting Services

Term of Reference
Review of Pavement Design and Construction in Armenia

A. OBJECTIVES

1. The overall objective of this assignment is to review and update the current pavement
design practice, while establishing cost effective design approaches and standards for different
road classes in Armenia.
2. The proposed pavement design practice should be based on the best international
practice taking into account the actual local conditions of traffic, climate and materials, and sound
engineering principles and procedures for the planning and design of road pavements

B. SCOPE OF SERVICES

3. This consultancy is intended to critically review all aspects of pavement design practice
in Armenia, including soils, materials, pavement types (flexible, rigid, semi-rigid, gravel, and
earth) and pavement dimensioning taking into account the functional classification  of the roads, 
traffic, axle loads, geometric standards and climatic factors (temperature, frost, rainfall).
4. Following a review of relevant international pavement design common practice (in
particular, US, Canada, UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden), the Consultant will analyze and
identify the gaps and deficiencies in the current pavement design methodology.
5. Based on the above review and analysis, the Consultant shall recommend an
appropriate pavement design procedure for Armenia, maximizing the use of aggregate materials
(crushed stone, gravel) in all pavement layers, accounting for the severe climatic factors -
temperature extremes, rainfall and frost action, and utilizing recycled pavement components and
new technologies and materials (e.g., warm mix asphalt; polymerized asphalt, etc.) in an
environmentally sound manner.
6. The output of this assignment is to help the Government of Armenia to make sound
policy decisions by providing information on, the costs and benefits of different standards for
pavement design, including alternative pavement structures and materials, and the implications of
these standards for road operations and maintenance.
7. The consultant shall recommend a new approach to pavement design and construction,
with relevant design criteria and a Quality Control and Quality Assurance (QC/QA) program
based on practices around the world taking into account the practical conditions in Armenia, in
particular the local institutional capacity and construction practices, and testing equipment and
laboratory facilities for pavement evaluation and design.
8. A Life-Cycle-Cost-Analysis (LCCA) will be developed and implemented for future use
assisting the engineers in selection of the type of pavements to be used based on the local
conditions and funding availability.
9. The recommendations will also include the increased use of Portland cement concrete
mixtures in Armenia.
10. The revision of standards and specifications should not result in new specifications and
standards but should modify existing Armenian standards and specifications while retaining the
current format (chapters, titles, numbers etc).
11. Universities in Armenia will be visited and utilized for future research activities or
developing future standards and procedures. In addition, the facilities will be evaluated and
recommendations will be made for future expansion and equipment acquisition.

C. REPORTS AND TIMELINE

12. The Consultant will prepare and submit to the Client the inception, preliminary and final
reports (in Armenian and English languages in electronic format and 3 hard copies in each
language) on the main findings and recommendations of the review of pavement design practice in
Armenia, propose changes/modifications to existing pavement design guidelines and manuals,
including the following items:
 A pavement catalog (typical layer thicknesses and cross-sections based on appropriate
design criteria and methodology) for different road classes in Armenia, based on a full
range of design parameters including: soils, paving materials, traffic, axle loads,
geometric standards, construction methods, and climatic/environmental factors specified
in terms of geographical regions/zones; 
 Design of pavement overlays (on flexible, rigid, and semi-rigid pavements) including
recycled pavement components, and in particular cold, warm, and hot recycling of
bituminous pavements);
 Design for frost protection and poor drainage conditions;
 Design of pavements for low-volume roads with aggregate and stabilized surfaces using
various types of stabilizers;
 Standard soil and material laboratory testing procedures required for the design and
construction quality control of all pavement components;
 Standard field survey and testing procedures/protocols - traffic surveys (including axle
loads), pavement condition surveys (IRI, surface/ structural defects), soil pavement
strength surveys (deflection, in-situ bearing capacity), etc.;
  Standard specifications for construction of pavements (all types included in the catalog)--
based on current Armenian specifications;
 Pavement construction procedures and appropriate use of equipment and materials; and
 Pavement recycling procedures and methods covering both flexible and rigid pavement
(bituminous and Portland cement concrete).

13. Inception Report will be submitted no later than 2 weeks following the commencement
of the assignment and should include but not be limited to the following :
 Proposed schedule of the assignment;
 Description of the methodology to be used by the Consultant;
 Method of data collection/sampling and review to be used by the Consultant;
 List of documentation (standards and specifications) to be reviewed by the
Consultant.

14. The Client’s comments will be transmitted to the Consultant no later than 2 weeks after
the date of submission of the Inception Report.

15. Preliminary Report will be submitted no later than 16 weeks following the
commencement of the assignment and should have the following structure:
 Summary of the Report, presenting findings of the Consultant;
 Chapter describing the methodology used by the Consultant;
 Specific Chapter, comprising of method of data collection/sampling, review and
recommended changes/modifications to existing pavement design guidelines and
manuals;
 Annexes with proposed amendments to the existing pavement design guidelines and
manuals and any additional guidelines and manuals (mentioned in the Section 19
above).

16. The Client’s comments will be transmitted to the Consultant no later than 4 weeks after
the date of submission of the Preliminary Report.

17. The Final Report will be submitted no later than 4 weeks following the Client’s
comments and should have the following structure:
 Summary of the Report, presenting the general conclusions of the assignment;
 Client’s comments and the remarks by the Consultant on the Client’s comments;
 Final recommendations on changes/modifications to existing pavement design
guidelines and manuals;
 Annexes with the final amendments to the existing pavement design guidelines and
manuals and any additional guidelines and manuals (mentioned in the Section 19
above).
18. Prior to submission, the Consultant must make a presentation of principle conclusions of
the reports.

D. ASSIGNMENT ADMINISTRATIVE ARRAGEMENTS:

19. The Client of this assignment is represented jointly by the ARD and Transport PIU. The
Consultant is expected to work on day-to-day basis with the ARD. The ARD will be responsible
for review and approval of the Consultant’s deliverables. The Transport PIU will be responsible
for circulation of the assignment deliverables to the World Bank to review and to provide
feedbacks and for payment pertaining to the Consultant (only after approval of deliverables by the
ARD).
The assignment will commence in two weeks from the date of the signature of the respective
contract. The total duration of the assignment is approximately six months. The Consultant
should visit Armenia for three missions with total duration of three weeks. The first mission
will begin mid-March 2010. The dates of the following missions should be agreed in advance
with the Client.
E. CLIENT’S INPUT

20. After commencement of the assignment the ARD will provide the existing design
documents, manuals, LRIP reports. However, the Consultant shall be responsible for obtaining and
assessing information on local conditions and practices.

F. POSSIBLE EXTENSION OF CONSULTING SERVICIES

21. Provided satisfactory performance of the Consultant its Contract may be extended for a
potential similar assignment. If a new competitive selection process to be carried out, the current
Consultant will be allowed to participate in that process.