Abstract:
In a pavement management system (PMS) the performance evaluation indices and their prediction methods are important aspects for assessing the overall pavement condition. So, an accurate location reference system is necessary for managing pavement evaluations and maintenance. In this regard, the length of the pavement section selected for evaluation may also have significant impact on the assessment irrespective of the type of performance indices. This study investigates the variability in pavement performance evaluation and maintenance decisions due to change in pavement section lengths. It considers rut depth, Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and International Roughness Index (IRI) as performance indices. Data from twenty seven road segments of Ontario with a total length of 172.5 km are selected for empirical investigation. The distributions these indices are compared by grouping various segment lengths ranging from 50m, 500m, 1000m and 10000 m. The variations of performance assessment due to changing section length are investigated based on their impacts on maintenance decisions. A Monte-Carlo simulation is carried out by varying section lengths to estimate probabilities of the necessity of maintenance works. Results of such empirical investigation reveal that most of the longer sections are evaluated with low rut depth and the shorter sections are evaluated with higher rut depth. Monte-Carlo simulation also reveals that 50m sections have higher probability of maintenance requirement than that for the 500m section. Although the results are related to the Ontario’s highway system, these can also be applied elsewhere with similar conditions.