Management Systems for Pavement Maintenance

One of the single biggest investments of public agencies, if not the biggest, is its network of roads and streets. A lack of information concerning pavement designs, life cycles, maintenance effectiveness, and maintenance costs makes it difficult to objectively and systematically allocate funds. A variety of management systems are being developed which will provide useful information for deciding what kind of maintenance should be performed and when and where. One such effort has recently been completed in the City of Palo Alto, Calif. This system entails the collection, sorting, and reporting of information about design and construction, maintenance history, and pavement condition. With the information provided, it is possible to establish a candidate list of projects that require miantenance or rehabilitation. The Palo Alto system is described in this paper.