Overview Of Pavement Management Systems Developments In The State Department Of Highways And Public Transportation

This report describes the pavement management system developed by WSDOT staff over a period of five years. Both project-level and network-level pavement management are represented within the four broad areas of data processing which combine to constitute the foundation of the system.

This synthesis will be of interest to highway administrators; pavement management system (PMS), maintenance, and computer engineers; and technologists involved with data collection and computer programming for the purposes of a PMS. This synthesis describes the state of the practice with respect to pavement management methodologies to select projects and recommend preservation treatments. This report of the Transportation Research Board also describes the predominant pavement management methodologies being used by U.S. state and Canadian provincial transportation agencies; provides a general description of each methodology; and summarizes the requirements, benefits, hindrances, and constraints associated with each. It includes a review of domestic literature and a survey of current practices in North America. In addition, case studies are included to illustrate the use of these methodologies within transportation agencies. Operational and soon-to-be implemented technologies are also discussed, and an extensive bibliography is provided for further reference.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 required states to develop and implement 6 systems for managing highway pavement, bridges, highway safety, traffic congestion, public transportation facilities and equipment, and intermodal transportation facilities and systems. In 1995, the National Highway System Designation Act made the systems optional. This report identifies: the status of the states' development and implementation of the transportation management systems; how the states expect to use the systems; and the factors that have facilitated or hindered the development and implementation of the systems.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) required states to develop and implement six systems for managing highway pavement, bridges, highway safety, traffic congestion, public transportation facilities and equipment, and intermodal transportation facilities and systems. In 1995, the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 - often called the NHS Act - made the systems optional, except the congestion management system in certain areas, and prohibited the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) from withholding funds from states that elected not to implement any system. In addition, the NHS Act required the General Accounting Office (GAO) to examine issues concerning the states' implementation of the management systems. GAO agreed to identify (1) the status of the states' development and implementation of the systems, (2) how the states expect to use the systems, and (3) the factors that have facilitated or hindered the development and implementation of the systems.