Development and Implementation of Washington State's Pavement Management System

This report describes the pavement management system developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) staff over a period of five years. Both project-level and network-level pavement management are represented within the four broad areas of data processing which combine to constitute the foundation of the system. The design of a pavement data file is laid out together with the process of assembling it. Also shown are the methods used to analyze and convert the file data from pavement condition ratings to pavement performance curves for each project. The performance curves are then used, together with appropriate cost data to determine the most cost effective type and time of fix. The network-level program then summarizes the needed work for each year of a rehabilitation program. Means are provided for adjusting the program to fit budget constraints or minimum acceptable levels of average pavement condition. It is concluded that the system, operating on biennial pavement condition ratings, provides a good solid framework for orderly analysis to estimate the economic benefits of the type, timing, and sequence of rehabilitation activities applied to a pavement.