Data Collection Technologies for Road Management

Different types of data are required for managing the road infrastructure. Inventory data describe the physical elements of a road system. Condition data describe the condition of elements that can be expected to change over time. There are a wide range of technologies available to the road manager for measuring attributes of the road network. The challenge is to select the appropriate equipment, given local conditions and the way in which the data are expected to be used. The purpose of this note is to give a general view of the currently available survey technologies applied to pavements, bridges and traffic. This includes an assessment of the applicability of these technologies in developing countries. The goal is to assist managers in establishing an appropriate and sustainable e data collection program and procuring the appropriate equipment to collect the data. This note is a summary of the report 'Data Collection Technologies for Road Management' (see report no. 37372). The note opens with a discussion of data collection requirements. This is then followed by separate discussions on pavements, bridges and traffic survey technologies. A cost/performance analysis between available equipment is presented in each section. Finally, recommendations for data collection are presented as a guidance to managers in developing countries.