Proposed integrated road surface management system for small municipalities

Abstract

Assessment of road surface condition is a crucial part of pavement management systems (PMS). A comprehensive assessment of the road surface condition in a metropolitan area will result in the efficient allocation of resources and a successful road surface maintenance plan. This process is usually undertaken either through manual inspection, which is highly demanding in terms of manpower, or it is outsourced to specialised companies that use highly sophisticated and expensive equipment. Usually large cities and municipalities can afford to outsource this task.However, small cities and municipalities cannot afford either the automated or the manual method due to their limited resources. The objective of this paper is to make a reasonable compromise between cost and accuracy by developing an economical system for making an initial assessment of the condition of road surfaces. The initial assessment will be automated to cover the jurisdiction of the municipality. Following the results of the initial assessment, decision-makers will then be able to identify the areas that will need further manual assessment. The results of the system will be tested and validated using manual inspection. The final product of the proposed integrated PMS will be a working prototype that can be mounted on a passenger car or light truck.

World highways pavement management system: an overview

“…A modest system based on visual examination and stored in a Microsoft Excel or Access database might be sufficient for a small town or rural county. As a rule of thumb, a state road network can benefit from a more complex PMS [11][12][13]. Where instructions on how to carry out compensating methods as a cost-effective alternative to rehabilitation were supplied.…”

Editorial

“…Mubaraki's paper on an integrated road surface management system for small municipalities investigates pavement management systems and proposes a simple vehicle-mounted system for trials to assist jurisdictions in efficiently managing their highway networks (Mubaraki, 2013). The paper includes some useful descriptions and discussion of pavement management techniques and principles, and highlights some of the difficulties maintaining roads in areas with high ambient temperatures.…”