PURPOSES OF PAVEMENT EVALUATION. Airport pavement evaluations are necessary to assess the ability of an existing pavement to support different types, weights, or volumes of airplane traffic. The load carrying capacity of existing bridges, culverts, storm drains, and other structures should also be considered in these evaluations. Evaluations may be also necessary to determine the condition of existing pavements for use in the planning or design of improvements to the airport. Evaluation procedures are essentially the reverse of design procedures. This chapter covers the evaluation of pavements for all weights of airplanes.