Development of a Multi-year Operational Plan for the Rehabilitation of a Low Volume Pavement Network

Abstract The majority of Canada's northern roads are low volume highways covering long distances between isolated communities. They present complicated problems for highway managers,- they are costly to maintain due to isolated maintenance centers, most trips are long distance trips where users require a higher level of service and heavy truck traffic associated with resource development constitutes a disproportionate percentage of the total traffic. The highway system in the northwestern part of Canada is a mix of Bituminous Surface Treatments (BSTs) and conventional Asphalt Concrete Pavements. Pavement management systems for asphalt concrete pavements emphasize the need for timely interventions to protect the investment in the pavement while it still has considerable salvage value. By contrast, BST does not have any structural value, and when it reaches an unacceptable ride score, its useful life is finished. While pavement ratings tend to change gradually with time, BST service lives can change quickly, often requiring rehabilitation within a year. This paper details how performance models are used to establish five-year rehabilitation programs for two such networks. The process of transforming network predictions to project level work items is detailed for a system where traffic can change drastically with changes in international prices for primar