Tool developing of MRR strategy selection

Abstract

Better decision-making processes, guidelines, and tools to select MRR (maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction) strategies are very necessary for SHAs (state highway agencies) to evaluate the effectiveness of their MRR strategies and treatments in order to better maintain and preserve the nation's highways. The purpose of this study is to present a spreadsheet-type analysis program, an automation of MRR strategy selection, to assist in the overall selection process. The utility theory is utilized through all strategy selection procedures and the automation relies upon a rating process that balances factors that influence the selection of MRR strategies. These factors include pavement treatment and material selection, safety, constructibility, construction and traffic control cost, corridor impact, and road user delay. Three main tasks are involved in the decision process and accomplished by related programming tools. Task 1 is to assess pavement condition data and develop key evaluation indicators to identify the strategy type (i.e. routine maintenance, CPR (concrete pavement restoration), overlay, or construction). Task 2 develops feasible strategies from a list of possible strategies and determines the level of MRR that is to be carried out in this process along with required additional pavement condition data to select the feasible treatment combinations. In this part, treatment combinations (including assessment of remaining life and life extension relative to cracking, spalling, faulting and roughness in concrete pavements and reflective cracking, rutting, and delamination in asphalt overlay of concrete pavements) are modelled, and traffic level, time of construction, and corresponding first cost are estimated. In Task 3, life cycle cost, non-agency cost, corridor impact, and constructibility are assessed for the selection of the most preferred strategy for the project. The data used in demonstrating the process is taken from an actual site in Arkansas on I-30W near Texarkana. Through the whole selection procedure it is evident that both preferred MRR strategy for pavement and techniques for optimizing the service life of the pavement in terms of cost and performance are accomplished. In the conclusion of the thesis, possible improvements and further extensions to the present strategy selection program are discussed.