Optimising maintenance and rehabilitation outcomes: strategies and knowledge
For most developed countries more and more use of allocated funds for roads will be spent on the maintenance of the road, as distinct from their construction. Limiting the deterioration rate of the road pavement is therefore an essential goal as typically pavement maintenance is the largest single component of a road agency’s recurring costs. The challenge then is to provide optimum maintenance strategies, to understand them and to ensure quality implementation of the most appropriate strategy. Australia relies more on road transport than any other nation in the world, on a per capita basis and is challenged on critical fronts like few others, given its size, its climatic and geological diversity, and a low population base (but high road length km/head). An overview will be provided of the various pavement evaluation techniques used and the maintenance strategies performance. Future improved performance is however threatened by the continuing loss of experienced road and pavement engineers, resulting in the evaluation of pavements and the selection of the most appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation being undertaken by less experienced and knowledgeable engineers. Today’s roads and pavement engineers however need to be more skilled and knowledgeable, and this is a priority issue in Australia, and becoming more so globally. How we achieve this is a major task and old paradigms are no longer valid as we continue to become a more global society and technology provides new opportunities. To enhance the standing of roads and pavements sector for attracting engineers, and to provide improved education and training of our current engineers and technologist, systems and learning materials for personal and career development need to be improved, and readily accessible. The development in iPads and other mobile phone devices which can rapidly deliver high quality video, text and sound, just about anywhere, provides attractive options for improved learning. Technology transfer, education and the optimisation of maintenance and rehabilitation are inextricability linked and success in enhancing each will play a big part in the sustainability of the asphalt road in the future.
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Authors:
- Webb, G
- Farrelly, R
- Conference:
- Publication Date: 2012-6
Language
- English
Media Info
- Pagination: 24p
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Serial:
- Issue Number: A5EE-394
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Asset management; Education; Engineering; Highway maintenance; Highway operations; Technology
- Uncontrolled Terms: Road design and asset management
- Geographic Terms: Australia
- ATRI Terms: Asset management; Education; Engineering; Road maintenance; Road management; Technology
- Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01449024
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: ARRB
- Files: ATRI
- Created Date: Oct 9 2012 1:19PM