Role of Regional Agencies in Implementing Pavement Management Systems & Overcoming Institutional Obstacles

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) – the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area – conducted a study that estimated that the region’s 17,000 miles of pavement had a deferred maintenance price tag of $400 million. Recognizing a problem, MTC and six cities and counties from the San Francisco Bay Area proceeded to develop a Pavement Management System (PMS) that helps local governments make the best use of available funds, and answers the question, “If I don’t have enough money to fix everything, what should I fix?” Since 1984, MTC has provided a comprehensive support structure with regular training workshops, user meetings, and one-on-one help with implementation of PMS at the local level. This paper describes new measures MTC have in place to ensure region-wide implementation of PMS in the San Francisco Bay Area. The new measures are aimed to overcome institutional obstacles, such as personnel turnover and lack of senior management support at local agencies. Other regional and state agencies may use such measures to achieve wider use of PMS in their regions. The approach used by MTC has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of San Francisco Bay Area jurisdictions using MTC PMS in the Bay Area – 91% (99 out of 109) now use the system. The paper also describes how results from MTC PMS were used to secure additional regional funds for pavement repair. Nearly $205 million of regional funds were secured for pavement repair projects over a period of six years.