Abstract
In this paper an experimental study and comparative analysis of temperature and moisture in pavements and their soil bases on experimental road sections located in two southern metropolises of Kazakhstan—in the cities of Almaty and Shymkent—were conducted. The temperature and moisture values were measured by systems for long-term continuous monitoring of temperature and moisture in structural elements of roads. Sensors were installed at ten locations within the pavements and soil bases at depths ranging from 2.5 cm to 270–275 cm below the pavement surfaces. The temperature and moisture monitoring period extends from 21 October 2024 to 31 December 2025. Temperature and moisture readings were recorded hourly. It has been established that the temperature conditions of pavements and their soil bases in the two cities are qualitatively the same, and the quantitative differences are small: air temperatures and soil temperatures at depths of 2.5 cm and 10 cm in Shymkent are higher than in Almaty by an average of 4.75 °C, 5.69 °C and 2.12 °C, respectively. These facts make it possible to use a single methodological approach to account for temperature changes in the design of new roads and in the operation of existing roads. It is recommended to pay attention to ensuring the resistance to rutting and fatigue cracking of asphalt concrete layers of pavement. The moisture regime at the experimental section in Almaty up to 130–140 cm depth is unstable due to seepage of precipitation and surface water through the stone mastic and the two coarse-grained porous asphalt concrete layers of the pavement; in Shymkent the pavement and the soil base have a stable moisture regime throughout the year; these features should be taken into account when calculating accumulations of plastic strains (increasing of rut depth) and fatigue damage in asphalt concrete layers of pavements while also accounting for temperature changes in them and transport facility loads in different time periods.