This paper describes a framework for selecting the best pavement preservation treatments for an available pavement preservation budget. It includes formulation of project-specific strategies, evaluation of funding requirements, and setting of priorities. The technology is illustrated using data for 75 sections from the Stratford district. The key component of this framework is an action plan that recommends preferred and fall-back pavement preservation strategies for all individual pavement management sections. The task of preparing action plans is assigned to experienced regional staff. The action plan documents the existing pavement condition, integrates all major pavement maintenance and rehabilitation efforts into a unified preservation plan, and co-ordinates pavement preservation functions of different offices within the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Linear programming is used to allocate pavement investments in a manner that yields maximum benefits to the total pavement network. The linear programming solution considers all section-specific strategies listed in the action plans. Sensitivity analyses are used to evaluate the effect on the linear programming solution of using different optimisation goals and different budget constraints. While the objective function used only maximises the technical benefits of pavement investments, it can be modified to include societal benefits.
Abstract