Visual Analytics, Modeling, and Simulation (VAMS) Group

Pavement / Infrastructure Management Systems

In 1983 ITRE began working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Division of Highways to develop and implement a Pavement Management System for its 60,000 miles of paved state highways.

At the request of numerous municipalities, ITRE and NCDOT made the Pavement Management System available to North Carolina municipalities. ITRE subsequently modified the procedures in an effort to better serve municipal street implementation and has since conducted over 400 surveys for more than 160 municipalities ranging in size from 5 to 2,200 street system miles in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

In 1999, an optional GIS-based version of the Pavement Management System survey was developed by ITRE to fulfill the growing need for municipalities to integrate the resulting project data into their existing GIS datasets. This version of the survey is advantageous because it enables the municipality to geographically and spatially analyze the field-collected and post-processed project data during their annual routine maintenance and resurfacing planning stages.

Municipal pavements are in a continual state of deterioration. The deterioration rate depends upon many factors including insufficient pavement thickness, unanticipated truckloads, inadequate subgrade, and poor drainage. Therefore, it is reasonable and prudent to conduct Pavement Condition Survey’s periodically to monitor the condition of the street system. Such periodic surveys help to indicate the rate of deterioration of the street system, as well as the effects of existing resurfacing programs and street maintenance activities.

Although all recommended maintenance activities are needed in the immediate future, typically there are more maintenance needs than funds available. Periodic surveys make it possible to prioritize current maintenance efforts while helping to gauge the impact of previous repair activities. The project findings also help to plan for more cost-effective future street maintenance procedures.


Contact

John Oklevitch    Research Associate, Pavement / Infrastructure Management Systems
919.515.8651 | jroklevi@ncsu.edu