Abstract

Pavement management is a decision-making process of vital importance for the preservation of road infrastructure. The planning, programming, and execution of maintenance and rehabilitation activities to preserve the road infrastructure at an adequate level of service requires a large investment of resources. The availability of these resources, including budgetary constraints, and the progressive deterioration of the pavements due to the action of traffic loads and environmental factors create a complex problem to be solved during the management process. The purpose of pavement management practices is to find the best strategy to provide the desired level of service. From a broader perspective, pavement management covers all phases of planning, programming, analysis, design, construction, and research. A Pavement Management System (PMS) is a tool that helps agencies make cost-effective decisions about maintenance and rehabilitation policies. PMPs allow evaluating alternative strategies and predicting the impact of maintenance and rehabilitation interventions on the future performance of the pavement network. This technical article describes the evolution of pavement management systems in an effort to face the great challenge of preserving road infrastructure efficiently to provide an adequate level of service to users.