Sustainable road maintenance planning in developing countries based on pavement management systems: Case study in Baja California, México

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop a useful procedure that allows the collection, analysis, processing and updating of pavement conditions data, with the vision of generating inputs for the implementation of sustainable strategies for maintenance and rehabilitation of roads, based on pavement management systems. The relevance of this proposal lies in the fact that road management agencies in most of the developing countries have limited resources, staff and data to plan the interventions carried out on road networks. The proposed model comes from a work that has been done since 2014 to date, on the Centinela-La Rumorosa Highway, located in the state of Baja California, Mexico. Results integrate data gathered from analyzing the surface and structural conditions of its pavement and the study area, as well as the operating conditions of the road, including a georeferencing process in order to determine critical points in the network, and simulation to determine the effects of maintenance work carried out annually. It is concluded that the proposed planning model contributes to the improvement of highway performance, since it allows planning and administering the allocation of resources in making appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation decisions. Additionally, it allows to generate valuable inputs for pavement management systems implementation. The foregoing allows road management agencies in developing countries to provide a quality transportation system to their users.