Using Remaining Service Life as the National Performance Measure of Pavement Assets

Contained in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Transportation Legislation are three primary provisions that create a comprehensive, outcome-based program for pavements. The objective of this program is for States to invest resources in projects that will collectively make progress toward achievement of national goals. The principle provision – §150 National Goals and Performance Management Measures – requires that the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to develop performance measures and targets related to seven national goals, including maintaining the highway infrastructure assets in a state of good repair. The second provision – §119 National Highway Performance Program – requires the States to develop a risk-based asset management plan to improve or preserve the condition of assets through a program of projects that make progress toward achievement of the State targets for asset condition and performance of the system. The third provision – §135 Statewide and Nonmetropolitan Transportation planning – requires States to use a performance-based approach to transportation decision-making in their statewide transportation planning process to support the national goals. This paper shows how States can address these three provisions for pavements by using a concept called Remaining Service Life or RSL. RSL is a measurement of the time until the next rehabilitation of a pavement section. It is useful as a Performance Measure because it enhances pavement condition data by including pavement deterioration information. It is useful as part of an Asset Management Plan because it ensures investments are made to improve the life and usefulness of the highway system and it is useful as part of an Effective Planning Process because it gives agencies the long term information they need, with reasonable accuracy, to plan future maintenance and rehabilitation needs cost effectively.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABC30 Performance Measurement.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Mack, James W
  • Sullivan, Robert L
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC
  • Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
• Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway maintenance; Infrastructure; Legislation; Pavement performance; Performance measurement; Service life
• Identifier Terms: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act; U.S. Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements; Policy; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01516819
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-1709
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 4 2014 11:34AM