A condition assessment method for roadside assets

Abstract

Infrastructure condition assessments provide key information for monitoring the quality of infrastructure, planning and budgeting of maintenance and rehabilitation activities and establishing performance goals. Although the literature is rich in condition assessment methods for roadway pavement and bridges (and to some extent for traffic signs), it is lacking such methods for roadside assets. This paper describes the development and validation of a condition assessment method for 12 roadside asset types and maintenance activities that are related to roadway safety, drainage, cleanliness and vegetation. These assets and maintenance activities are located in the area between the outside edges of the outside shoulders and the right-of-way boundaries. On divided highways, the median is also included. The developed condition assessment method consists of a set of performance standards, a visual inspection procedure to assess compliance with these standards and a statistical analysis procedure to determine the roadside level of service. To test and validate the developed method, it was applied to five highway corridors in Texas, USA, representing different climatic conditions, topography, traffic volume and population density (urban vs. rural). These field trials provided insights into the developed method, including practicality, reproducibility and probability distribution function which best represents the sample unit score.

Keywords::

• condition assessment
• roadside
• infrastructure management
• maintenance quality assurance

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for funding the work presented in this paper. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of TxDOT or FHWA. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments.

Notes

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