Highway systems are deteriorating at a rapid rate due to increased traffic loads and severe climatic conditions. In order to keep these highways in good condition, maintenance and repair strategies must be based on the precise understanding of pavement conditions. Visual observations of pavement distress by trained engineers is the most common practice for monitoring and evaluating pavement surface conditions. Since pavement management needs are great, alternative methods of data collection and evaluation are needed to manage the datarapidly and accurately. In response to this need, the japanese wereamong the first to develop high-speed photographic methods that successfully measure cracking and rutting. The japanese were also successful in the development of field equipment for longitudinal profilesurveys made with a three-laser sensor system. In a parallel effort, the development of an overall road surface (pavement) condition evaluation system for japan was begun in 1975. The application system was combined with the field hardware to form an integrated system ofpavement performance modeling. In this paper, a typical applicationof the road surface condition survey and data reduction in japan isdiscussed. An example of actual use of the high-speed photographic recorders for surface distress and the longitudinal profile measuring device with three laser sensors is presented. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1196, Pavement evaluation and rehabilitation.
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