The use of asphalt rubber aggregate membrane (ARAM) interlayers (ARAMI) in the
rehabilitation of flexible and rigid pavement systems has been shown to improve the
performance of these systems and extend their service life. This has been demonstrated in the
laboratory, field, and using analytical tools such as finite element method (FEM). These
interlayers are also widely known as stress absorbing membrane interlayers (SAMI-R) where
“R” refers to rubberized.
In this paper, the benefits of using ARAMIs in combination with asphalt concrete overlays in the
rehabilitation of flexible pavement systems are quantified using life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA).
The use of both dense graded hot mix asphalt (HMA) and gap graded rubberized hot mix
asphalt (RHMA) is also analyzed. It was found that the use of ARAMI with HMA would be a costeffective
way of rehabilitating HMA surfaced flexible pavements. The analyses have also
demonstrated that the use of gap graded rubberized hot mix asphalt (RHMA) reduces the life
cycle cost of rehabilitating flexible pavements compared to using conventional dense graded
asphalt concrete (HMA).