Management systems for unpaved roads are often neglected becauseof the low traffic density on those roads. However, unpaved roads constitute a large portion of the length of the road network and often a large portion of the administration's total maintenance budget. An efficient system for dividing and optimizing that expenditure is therefore justified. The finland roads administration recognized theneed for an analytical optimization method for setting up maintenance levels and standards, organizing the required road condition measurements and monitoring systems, and selecting and timing the most economical maintenance actions for gravel roads. A long history of developing management systems for paved roads, good experiences in collecting road condition data, and the availability of a very precise road data bank containing data on road structure, traffic, and costsformed a good background for the development of an analytical network-level maintenance management system for gravel roads. The final system will also include the project-level approach, organization of road condition measurements, and a monitoring system. The optimization model, based on semi-markovian models, is divided into 1-year andmultiyear models on the basis of condition variables and the maintenance actions taken. Although the model is mathematical, it can be used for dividing funds between maintenance districts and for settingup the objective maintenance standards for the gravel road network.The system is to be used in the central administration and districtheadquarters. A simpler, project-level system to be used by maintenance engineers will be developed and integrated with this system. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1268, Highwaymaintenance operations and research 1990.
Abstract