Characterization of pavement materials in the three hierarchical design levels of the proposed mechanistic-empirical pavement design (MEPD) guide involves application of the dynamic modulus technique for asphalt concrete and the resilient modulus for unbound materials. This approach, if adequately implemented, is expected to improve the road design processes. The advance design level recommends using actual laboratory test data of the dynamic and resilient modulus determined under simulated environmental and traffic loading conditions. To circumvent the need for conducting the mechanical test in lower design levels, predictive equations and correlations established with physical properties are used to estimate the mechanistic properties needed as input to the design software. This paper examines the simplifications incorporated in the model using results of dynamic and resilient modulus tests performed at the National Research Council Canada (NRC). For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E211426.