The mathematical model of multilayer viscoelastic system based on the actual structure of asphalt pavement and the properties of its numerical solutions are studied. Firstly, based on the partial differential equations, the variational inequality model of the multilayer viscoelastic system is derived, and the existence and uniqueness of its solutions are further proved. Then, based on the finite element theory, the convergence property and error analysis of the semi‐discrete numerical solutions of the variational inequalities are further studied. Finally, the convergence and error analysis of the fully discrete numerical solutions of the variational inequalities are derived by the forward difference method. The conclusion of the above error analysis also confirms the feasibility of studying the mechanical response of asphalt pavement based on variational inequality.