Investigation into Best Timing of Highway Asphalt Pavement Preventive Maintenance Based on Benefit-Cost Analysis

Best timing of highway asphalt pavement preventive maintenance was investigated in the study, considering the pavement overall quality, the cost and the benefit. The optimization is to maximize the overall ratio of benefit over cost in the analysis period through the method of integer programming. A case study on the highway asphalt preventive maintenance decision-making in Jiangsu Province was conducted to illustrate the proposed procedure. The case study clearly demonstrated the applicability and rationality of the optimization model based on benefit-cost analysis. The results can be used as a guideline for highway agencies in their pavement maintenance decision-making process.