Developing and implementing traffic-speed network level structural condition pavement surveys

Abstract

Traffic-speed surveys of surface condition have been implemented on the English Strategic Road Network since 2000 but, at the same time, slow speed structural condition surveys using the Deflectograph were discontinued on a routine basis and only employed on a project-level basis. In the meantime, TRL have been developing a methodology for assessing the structural strength of the network based on regular surveys carried out at traffic speed under funding from the UK Highways Agency. This methodology was first applied to the network in 2010 and is now an established part of the Highways Agency’s pavement assessment strategy. This paper will describe the various stages of the development of such a strategy from the initial worldwide review of available techniques, the acquisition of the most promising prototype equipment, the development into a robust tool and the creation of an interim quick-win method of interpreting the measurements. Operational issues associated with obtaining such survey data and the necessary quality assurance procedures needed to ensure robust and reliable data will be discussed. The acquisition of both surface and structural condition now enables the Agency to manage the network more efficiently with a minimum of disruption from condition surveys. With further development of the equipment and its interpretation there is potential for even more efficient and less disruptive data collection.