A rational approach for prioritization of highway sections for maintenance

In this paper, a rational approach is presented for prioritization of highway sections for maintenance on the basis of present highway condition, future highway condition and the highway importance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method of pair wise comparison is employed to obtain the relative importance (weight) of various factors influencing the priority. The key feature of the proposed approach is that it provides a framework for the hierarchical structure of the present problem. In the present work, functional condition of highway sections is evaluated considering the safety, efficiency of traffic operation and riding comfort. The relative weights of these factors have been conceived from the expert opinion of field engineers which are analysed using AHP. For evaluation of structural condition a simple and cost effective statistical model is proposed, which is developed based on Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database of US Department of Transportation. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E212095.