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1. Introduction <br /> <br />Road and street surfaces represent the largest <br />single shar~ of the transportation investment in <br />most counties. It has been estimated that 40 per- <br />cent et' the public funds spent on highways are <br />spent on road surfaces. <br /> <br />Unfortunately, in many counties the road surfaces <br />acquired at such great cost are being allowed to <br />deteriorate. Figure l-1 shows how deterioration <br />dramatically increases the cost of rehabilitation. <br />For example, suppose a section of pavement needs <br />a preventive maintenance treatment today, esti- <br />mated at $20,000. If the action is deferred to the <br />point that damage occurs in the structure, then it <br />may cost $60,000 to rehabilitate the same <br />pavement to an acceptable condition. If the <br />rehabilitation treatment is deferred until com- <br />plete reconstruction is needed, then an expen- <br />diture of $150,000 may be necessary. In effect, <br />deferred maintenance is like a debt at high <br />interest rates. The debt must be paid, and the <br />longer it is put offthe more expensive it becomes. <br /> <br />The probiem is, et' course, much more complicated <br />than this example. Counties are not managing <br />just or{e section of pavement but a whole network <br />of roaHs, all at different levels of condition and <br />experiencing different rates of deterioration. <br />More°;ver, regardless of the most rational action to <br />take at any given time, there are almost never <br />enough funds. <br /> <br />To endure that the public gets the maximum <br />possibie benefit from its massive investment in <br />road sprfaCe, a set of activities called "road surface <br />management" has evolved to improve decisions re- <br />gardir~g maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and <br />reconstruction of road surfaces. Specifically, road <br />surface management helps public works execu- <br />tives answer questions like these: <br /> <br />· FOr how many miles of roads and what types <br /> of pavement are we responsible? <br /> <br />· Should maintenance effort be used on our <br /> best or our worst roads? <br /> <br />Very <br />Good <br /> <br />Good <br />Fair <br /> <br />Poor <br /> <br />Very <br />Poor <br /> <br />75 percent Time <br /> <br /> Each $1.00 of Renovation <br /> · . Cost Here . . . <br />40~ percent / <br /> <br /> ~'~ Will Cost $4 to $5 if <br /> J ' Delayed to Here <br /> <br /> 40 percent <br /> Quality Drop <br /> . <br /> 1 7 percent Time <br /> I <br /> 12 16 <br />Years <br /> <br />Figure 1 -1. Pavement Deterioration/Re, habilitation Relationship <br /> <br />I~ad Surface Management <br /> <br />1-I <br /> <br /> <br />