EVALUATION OF AUTOMATED PAVEMENT DISTRESS DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES FOR LOCAL AGENCY PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT

This paper describes the evaluation of several automated and manual methods of collecting pavement distress data used to calculate the Pavement Structural Condition used in Washington and the Pavement Condition Index used in Oregon. Selecting the best method of collecting data is always a process of trade-offs, and there is normally an increase in cost associated with an increase in accuracy, precision, and resolution. The indexes based on distress data collected by both normal manual and automated methods is compared to indexes based on detailed distress surveys of selected test sections. This information can be used by local agencies to select the most cost-effective process for collecting distress data to be used in their network-level pavement management activities.