| The purpose of this research project was to develop a methodology that helps the decision makers in charge of managing pavement infrastructure, to make a selection of the level of maintenance intervention for a Jointed Concrete Pavement (JCP). The data used to develop the methodology presented in this thesis is from the State of Texas On a previous research project (TxDOT 0-6386) differences between the recommendations from the Texas Pavement Management Information System (PMIS), and the final decisions of the District Personnel on pavement maintenance intervention were identified. Using available PMIS data (1993 to 2010), models were developed that reflect the behavior of the Distress Score (DS) versus the accumulated 18 kip ESALs, the Ride Score (RS) versus the Distress Score and the Intervention Cost versus the Distress Score. To develop the last model, the author based his assumptions on opinions expressed by District's Pavement Engineers that were collected during project TxDOT 0-6386 and other expert opinions as Freeman, Jung and Zollinger (Jung, Freeman, & Zollinger, 2008). Using the traffic and distress information of a certain JCP section and; applying the three models in four steps, the methodology provides the cost of intervention for each scenario that needs to be analyzed, and selects the best decision by comparing Net Present Worth. The thesis includes an example that summarizes the methodology application. |
