GIS-Based Road Maintenance Management

Timely maintenance of highways is very essential to create uninterrupted traffic flow that results in reduced traffic delays and operating costs. Federal as well as State governments are struggling to maintain highways due to budget limitations and lack of decision making tools that help to prioritize the highways that require immediate maintenance. A large number of software has been recently developed based on Geographical Information System (GIS) for the management of traffic, road conditions, and safety data. The majority of the software provides an interface between data and maps. This paper describes the process of developing a GIS-based maintenance management tool that assists in making a reliable and accurate decision regarding road maintenance and management. Factors like traffic counts, pavement conditions, maintenance costs, and alternative roadways available were taken into account in this tool to make a decision regarding prioritization of road maintenance. Synthetic data was used to test and verify the tool. The importance of the tool is discussed and recommendations regarding future research are provided.