Toward Context-Sensitive Rigid Pavement Design in Indonesia: Insights from MDPJ 2024

Rigid pavements are essential for Indonesia's transportation infrastructure, where large variations in subgrade conditions and traffic loading pose significant design challenges. The recently released Indonesian Road Pavement Design Manual (MDPJ) 2024 provides updated procedures for rigid pavement design; however, the sensitivity of its design outcomes to the key input parameters has not yet been critically evaluated. This study investigated the influence of subgrade strength, concrete flexural strength, and regional axle load distribution on rigid pavement thickness using the MDPJ 2024 framework. A parametric analysis was conducted by varying the subgrade CBR values, concrete flexural strengths, and representative traffic characteristics for Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. The pavement performance was assessed using fatigue and erosion criteria. The results show that erosion consistently governs the design, whereas variations in concrete flexural strength have a negligible influence on the slab thickness. Subgrade strength and regional axle load distribution significantly affect the required pavement thickness, with heavier traffic conditions in Java resulting in thicker slabs than those in other regions. These findings highlight the importance of erosion-focused design and region-specific traffic considerations for optimising rigid pavement design under MDPJ 2024.