The Connecticut Photolog Laser Videodisc‐Based Pavement Rating System

In 1983, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, began developing a pavement management system (PMS) tor use on state‐maintained highways. A major offshoot from the project was the Connecticut photolog laser videodisc (PLV) retrieval system, which is changing the means and methods for storing, retrieving, and using highway photolog images. The PLV retrieval system formed the backbone for a network‐level pavement‐condition rating system, which allows ConnDOT engineers or technicians to rate pavement distress inside the office under ideal, controlled working conditions. Under these conditions, and with the aid of computers, ConnDOT personnel can perform more objective evaluations of pavement conditions than with previous windshield surveys. This pavement rating system has been successfully used for two years. Although research is under way to determine how the sun's position affects rating results, ConnDOT engineers are convinced that videodisc photolog images yield superior image quality over other systems that use video images.