Utility-based road maintenance prioritization method using pavement overall condition rating

Abstract

Pavement maintenance and rehabilitation are expensive activities and the available budget to manage the existing pavement infrastructure is limited. Managers require a prioritization method to assist them in selecting the most appropriate maintenance options. Maintenance prioritization is necessary to maintain pavement sections at acceptable service levels within the given budget and resource constraints. In this paper, a utility approach is proposed for maintenance prioritization purposes based on the condition assessment results of the pavement sections. A pavement network of five sections is considered in this study, and a numerical example is illustrated considering one section to show the implementation of the utility approach for section ranking. The overall assessment of various pavement sections was provided by the inspector as degrees of belief in seven assessment grades, which are: A (Good), B (Satisfactory), C (Fair), D (Poor), E (Very poor), and F (Serious). The assessment of pavement condition and the estimated grade utilities are used to calculate maximum, minimum, and average utilities for each of the five pavement sections. Based on the results, the pavement sections are ranked for maintenance and rehabilitation actions.