Pavement Management

A pavement management system (PMS) is a planning tool used to aid pavement management decisions.  The Town utilities a software program to model future pavement deterioration due to distresses caused to the pavement and recommended maintenance and repairs to the road’s pavement based on the condition of the pavement and various measures of existing pavement quality.  Measurements are conducted using accelerometer and laser sensors, cameras, and inertial GPS systems mounted to a vehicle. The vehicle identifies various distress types as follows: Alligator Cracking, Longitudinal Cracking, Edge Cracking, Map Cracking, Transverse Cracking, Excessive Crown, Rippling and Shoving, Potholes, Distortion, Flushing and Bleeding, Rutting, Raveling and Streaking, and Patching. The measurements collected are used to evaluate a pavement quality index (PQI) value for each roadway pavement section. 

As shown in the asphalt deterioration curve above there are various treatments that can be applied to extend the life of a roadway. These treatments have to follow the ‘Three Rights’, the right treatment on the right road at the right time. The curve above shows examples of this process. It would be inadvisable to use fog seal on a road that has not received any treatments for more than 15 years, and a five-year-old road would not typically need a mill-and-overlay treatment.