Use of Pavement Management Information System for Verification of Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide Performance Predictions

The performance models used in the Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) are nationally calibrated with design inputs and performance data obtained primarily from the national Long-Term Pavement Performance database. It is necessary to verify and calibrate MEPDG performance models for local highway agencies’ implementation by taking into account local materials, traffic information, and environmental conditions. This paper discusses the existing pavement management information system (PMIS) with respect to the MEPDG and the accuracy of the nationally calibrated MEPDG prediction models for Iowa highway conditions. All the available PMIS data for Interstate and primary road systems in Iowa were retrieved from the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) PMIS. The retrieved databases were then compared and evaluated with respect to the input requirements and outputs for Version 1.0 of the MEPDG software. Using Iowa DOT's comprehensive PMIS database, researchers selected 16 types of pavement sections across Iowa (not used for national calibration in the NCHRP 1-37A study). A database of MEPDG inputs and the actual pavement performance measures for the selected pavement sites were prepared for verification. The accuracy of the MEPDG performance models for Iowa conditions was statistically evaluated. The verification testing showed promising results in terms of MEPDG's performance prediction accuracy for Iowa conditions. Recalibrating the MEPDG performance models for Iowa conditions is recommended to improve the accuracy of pavement performance predictions.