Paper ID#: 60

Paper Title: A GIS-Based Pavement Management System

Primary Author: A. Ferreira

Abstract Text : The utilization of Pavement Management Systems (PMS) increased considerably during the 90s. However, the best days of PMS are certainly yet to come, because recent advances in PC technology allow them to become more ‘visual’ and interactive. In the near future, many new national, regional, and local road administrations will undoubtedly adhere to PMS attracted by these highly appreciated attributes. This paper presents SIGPAV, a GIS-based PMS developed at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). The system consists of three basic modules: a Road Network Database; a Quality Evaluation Tool; and a Decision-Aid Tool. The latter is based on a mixed-integer optimization model aimed at minimizing the expected agency discounted costs of maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) actions over a given planning time-span, while keeping the road network within given quality standards. The model allows actions to be directly assigned to road segments. The evolution of pavement condition over time is assumed to be probabilistic, and described by Markov chains. The model is solved with a genetic-algorithm heuristic. The application of SIGPAV is illustrated on a case study involving the main road network of Coimbra (254 segments), the third-largest Portuguese city.