Extended life road system and method

Abstract

A roadway is widened preferably by no more than 36 inches to move current traffic lanes on state and interstate highways and county roads to control the wear of these roadways. After a period of time with normal road wear taking place along a first pair of strips in each demarked travel lane where the tires normally ride, the travel lanes are shifted preferably by 36+−inches. The old roadway lines are removed and new lines added shifted by 36+−inches. After the shift, the pair of strips of the road wear are now shifted to a second pair of strips in each demarked travel lane where there has been little wear, thus extending the life of the roadway, then after a period of time these lanes can be shifted back 18 inches, then shifted back to the original position and repeated until the roadway needs to be resurfaced, thus further extending the life of the roadway.

1 . A roadway system providing periodic long term normal traffic flow partial lane shifts along an entire length of a roadway surface for extending the life of a roadway, the system comprising: 
 a roadway surface comprising a hard vehicle bearing surface having a number of travel lanes marked by lane divider lines thereon, each of the travel lanes having a pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface by receiving wear from tires of vehicles traveling over the roadway surface repeatedly following the same path of travel in each of the travel lanes, the pair of wear strips comprising a spaced parallel pair of roadway sections along the length of the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, each of the wear strips having a width not greater than a quarter of the width of a travel lane, and a lateral extension of the roadway surface by at least the width of a wear strip along the entire length of the roadway surface creating an extra side surface along the length of the roadway, so that an extended width roadway is formed for laterally shifting the location of the travel lanes on the roadway by a wear strip width, the extended width roadway having a set of first designated travel lanes marked by first lane divider lines on the extended width roadway in a first laterally positioned location on the roadway surface along the entire length of the roadway surface for long term normal traffic flow over a period of time with a first pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, and the set of designated travel lanes having a shifted position laterally on the extended width roadway to a second location on the roadway surface spaced apart from the first position on the roadway surface by a width of a wear strip along the entire length of the roadway surface after a scheduled period of time to create an alternate new set of second designated travel lanes with the first lane divider lines removed and replaced by second lane divider lines spaced apart from the first lane divider lines on the extended width roadway for long term normal traffic flow over a period of time replacing the first designated travel lanes with a second pair of wear strips formed on the roadway surface by receiving wear from the tires of vehicles in each of the travel lanes in the shifted position, the second pair of wear strips being located on relatively unworn surfaces of the roadway surface spaced apart from the first pair of wear strips to distribute wear from vehicles over an entire roadway surface over time to extend a usable life of the roadway surface.    
   
   
       2 . (canceled)  
   
   
       3 . The roadway system of  claim 1  wherein the extra side surface is at least eighteen inches thereby widening the roadway surface by the eighteen inches.  
   
   
       4 . The roadway system of  claim 1  wherein the extra side surface is between eighteen inches and thirty-six inches.  
   
   
       5 . The roadway system of  claim 1  wherein the designated travel lanes are marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway by having a coating on the roadway visually different from the roadway itself so that the coating is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway.  
   
   
       6 . The roadway system of  claim 5  further comprising a means for covering the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes have a shifted position laterally on the extended roadway.  
   
   
       7 . The roadway system of  claim 5  further comprising a means for removing the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes have a shifted position laterally on the extended roadway.  
   
   
       8 . The roadway system of  claim 1  wherein the designated travel lanes are marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway by imbedding a series of marking means on the roadway visually different from the roadway itself so that the series of marking means is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway, the series of marking means being capable of being removed when the set of designated travel lanes have a shifted position laterally on the extended roadway.  
   
   
       9 . A method for extending the life of a roadway by providing periodic long term normal traffic flow partial lane shifts along an entire length of a roadway surface, the method comprising: 
 a first step of adding a lateral extension of roadway surface on a roadway, the roadway surface comprising a hard vehicle bearing surface having a number of travel lanes marked by lane divider lines thereon, each of the travel lanes having a pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface by receiving wear from tires of vehicles traveling over the roadway surface repeatedly following the same path of travel in each of the travel lanes, the pair of wear strips comprising a spaced parallel pair of roadway sections along the length of the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, each of the wear strips having a width not greater than a quarter of the width of a travel lane, creating an extra side surface along the entire length of the roadway surface, the lateral extension of the roadway surface width being at least the width of a wear strip, thereby forming an extended width roadway for laterally shifting the location of the travel lanes on the roadway by a wear strip width, the extended width roadway having a set of first designated travel lanes marked by first lane divider lines on the extended width roadway in a first laterally positioned location on the roadway surface along the entire length of the roadway surface for long term normal traffic flow over for a period of time with a first pair of wear strips formed in the roadway surface in each of the travel lanes, and    a second step of shifting the position of the set of designated travel lanes laterally on the extended roadway after a period of time by removing the first lane divider lines and marking second lane divider lines spaced apart from the first lane divider lines to create an alternate new set of second designated travel lanes marked on the extended width roadway for long term normal traffic flow over a period of time replacing the first designated travel lanes with a second pair of wear strips formed on the roadway surface by receiving wear from the tires of vehicles in each of the travel lanes in the shifted position, the second pair of wear strips being located on relatively unworn surfaces of the roadway surface spaced apart from the first pair of wear strips to distribute wear from vehicles over an entire roadway surface over time to extend a usable life of the roadway surface.    
   
   
       10 . (canceled)  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the extra side surface is at least eighteen inches thereby widening the roadway surface by the eighteen inches.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the extra side surface is between eighteen inches and thirty-six inches.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising the step of placing a coating on the roadway to mark by lane divider lines the designated travel lanes on the extended roadway, the coating being visually different from the roadway itself so that the coating is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step of covering the coating with a means for covering the coating of the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step of removing the coating with a means for removing the coating of the first designated travel lanes marked by lane divider lines on the extended roadway when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising the step of imbedding a series of marking means in the roadway for marking by lane divider lines the designated travel lanes on the extended roadway, the series of marking means on the roadway being visually different from the roadway itself so that the series of marking means is clearly visible as roadway lane divider lines by motorists traveling on the roadway.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step of removing the series of marking means with a means for removing the series of marking means from the first designated travel lanes when the set of designated travel lanes are shifted laterally on the extended roadway.