Weights Comparison of Pavement Surface Distress Indexes in China and the US

Different pavement surface distress indexes have been developed in different regions in order to meet different engineering demands. Thus, a special pavement distress index can show the unique characteristics of a specific region. In this paper, we analyze and compare the weights of distress types for the PCI (Pavement Condition Index), the PCR (Pavement Condition Rating), and for the pavement condition index that was developed in Mainland China (PCI_MC). In order to estimate the weights of the PCI distress types, the integral method is used to calculate the area using a deduct value curve. Based on a normalization method, we set the M level of Alligator Cracking as a basic unit and show the distress type sequence for the PCI, PCR, and the PCI_MC. The descriptive statistics indicating the severity of the distress types for the three indexes are shown. Engineers who want to develop a new pavement distress index specific to the special demands of a particular region should consult the differences among these three indexes.