Part-time shoulder use (PTSU) and full-depth paved shoulders are typically implemented in the metropolitan areas due to high traffic demand. Full-depth paved shoulders are beneficial as the shoulder is structural sound. As the population of the United States (U.S.) spread to rural regions, full-depth paved shoulders are not always guaranteed. With increasing populations and limited funding, strategies that have worked in more urbanized regions, such as PTSU, will need to be evaluated for use in these growing rural regions. Partial-depth paved shoulder designs are common in rural regions, a reduced cross-section when compared to the mainline lanes, some not even paved shoulders. This study aims to determine the pavement impacts of PTSU on a selection of partial-depth shoulder designs and approaches to minimize the structural weaknesses for simplified PTSU implementation. The objectives of this research are completed with the use of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Guidelines for Design of Pavement Structures 1993 design. This study found that only two of the nine states evaluated can handle PTSU with minimal to no reconstruction.
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