Multi objective life cycle cost and performance analysis to improve pavement asset management

Pavements are considered the lifeline of a nation. It is important that not only must pavement networks expand to accommodate higher traffic but sufficient resources have to be allocated to make sure that pavements are in serviceable condition for their entire life cycle. One of the biggest challenges facing nations across the world is that vast road networks are deteriorating rapidly. This results in pavements being unsafe for use by the public and drastically increases rehabilitation costs in the future. The purpose of this research is to create a tool that allows small cities to test the effect of applying various maintenance strategies for 10 years into the future and develop a strategy that is both cost effective and maintains the condition of the pavement at a set target. This has been done by developing pavement scoring techniques and using pavement condition prediction equations. The result is a simple easy to use excel spreadsheet that can be changed based on the criteria of a particular location/individual. A case study was also performed using the proposed system and results indicated that preventive or routine maintenance in the initial years of usage can reduce costs significantly in and can help maintain good serviceability for a longer period of time. Keywords: Pavements, Maintenance, Condition prediction, Life Cycle